I suppose that would be overly optimistic :-d. By the time we get the car traffic should have died down to livable.

Even with traffic, how bad can a forty mile trip be? Certainly not as bad as driving out east.

You will be on west coast time so maybe not that tired. Maybe get the car and depending on the hour, stop nearby for dinner and then drive on to Tarrytown. I wouldn't hang near JFK unless you go to the Allegria hotel in Long Beach and spend Fri. On the beach before heading north.

Thanks all and appreciate the Allegria hotel suggestion mclaurie; what I had in mind for a first night on Long Island. It is a long haul from SFO and even though we are on west coast time, it is nice to be out of vehicles. We can head up to the Hudson Valley on Friday morning after rush hour.

Long Beach was hit badly by hurricane Sandy. Just check what condition they're in. ;)

The Allegria hotel is what I suggested when you first posed your question last week. I have never been there (have you mclaurie?) but it looked interesting so if you do go, please let us know about it.

Have not but a cousin went to a conference there and said it was quite nice. I looked at Thurs. Aug 15 and note that best price, fully cancelable, is on booking.com

Thank you both, and you are correct nyer that you suggested this a while back. I think I have been through so many iterations of this trip that I lost track. Will post experiences if we go there (may still just head north to the Hudson Valley and get off of Long Island before the weekend hits but hotel looks very nice!)

Hi. You are not crazy!
Long Island is very nice in the summertime, everybody basically moves onto the water.

You don't have to be in an uninspiring suburb like Deer Park or Islip to find accommodation close to the Hamptons. Check out East Moriches/Center Moriches/Speonk area for the "poor man's Hamptons" (Westhampton Beach also nice, a bit more posh). Beautiful scenery on the water, lots of water sports and other adventure activities, relaxed pace, less expensive than the Hamptons, and MUCH friendlier people.

Breakfast at Gabreski airport, Westhampton (locals, rich people in corporate jets - see how the other half lives, and airforce personnel from Gabreski air base, plus the adopted cat for the cuteness factor, nice atmosphere), or the luncheonette in Eastport (a local hangout), or excellent lunch/breakfast at the Speonk train station cafe, local free-range eggs, fresh fish and more, or great Italian/Sicilian food at La Volpe in Center Moriches. Catch a show or an international movie at Westhampton Beach (whbpac.org), or stop en route at Patchogue for wonderful Thai food at Lawan (on Main Street).

In the summertime you can also take a tour of Brookhaven National Lab, or visit the William Floyd Estate in Shirley. - Remember, you can hop across to Fire Island easily, either by ferry from Patchogue or Sayville, or drive over at William Floyd Parkway. (Further west, in Nassau County, Robert Moses State Park/Beach is pretty cool; walk over to Kismet for breakfast or lunch (clothing-optional beach on the way).
Worth a visit...

Thank you so much limolly. I have decided that I definitely need to get there, but sadly not this trip. My friends turned out to be occupied with a family event that weekend and we only had 1 day, which seems like way too much driving (in August).

So we will just head to the Hudson Valley and the wedding and plan a real trip here when we can do it in a more relaxed way. The suggestions will come in handy then!