Today was “Black Friday”—the day after Thanksgiving when many people feel compelled to trample each other in pursuit of who-knows-what. We geeks, on the other hand, have everything we’ll ever need: Friends, kayaks, drysuits, Long Island Sound—and Jacques Torres wicked hot chocolate! Giving-ukkah a special “thanks” here to Ailsa for this weeks’s skyward theme and to The Weatherman Up Above for today’s 5- to 10-knot NW winds (quite a contrast to the past several days around here).

This morning: A  bird’s-eye view (Kuno’s, in fact) out the bedroom window, looking north towards the New Jersey palisades.  (The shadow is of our building.) Trees are bare now thanks to strong winds all week.

We paddled with Jim from Horseshoe Harbor (Larchmont) to Rye Playland and back, keeping an appreciative eye on the sky.

We pulled up on the beach just south of Rye Playland (the Art Deco amusement park on the horizon, closed for the winter). Dodging a finger-numbing offshore breeze, we holed up on stairs below the promenade and fired up our little campstove (cue the milk, mugs, and hot chocolate mix). Seagulls sensed a picnic.

We certainly didn’t lack for entertainment…this black lab just couldn’t stay out of the water!

Homeward bound. The NYC skyline in the distance.

Rounding the corner to Horseshoe Harbor, we admired the weathervane on the gazebo at Manor Park.

3:30 p.m. The sun is already slanting yellow, setting fast. Jean and her long shadow celebrate “golden hour” in her new bespoke golden drysuit.