Lost souls find salvation at Daniel’s stand

“Sunset Beach? Pridwin Hotel? Are you lost? Directions by Daniel: better than your GPS!”

That’s what the sign says at what looks like a lemonade stand at 21 Shore Road in the Village of Dering Harbor. The stand has been operated by 12-year-old Daniel Herman, whose family comes from the Washington, D.C. area, where he attends the Kingsbury Day School. He visits Shelter Island for a few weeks in the summer.

For $2, he gives eight to 15 lost drivers a day directions to Sunset Beach or the Pridwin Hotel.

They are people who relied on GPS devices to find those local attractions. The trouble for them — and the inspiration for Daniel — is the fact that there are two Shore Roads: the one Daniel comes to in the summer and the one along Crescent Beach, where the Pridwin and Sunset Beach are located.

Daniel’s one-page directions printout includes some friendly advice, such as: “make a FULL STOP at the four-way stop sign because the police will ticket you there” and to “not trust your GPS” because of the two different Shore Roads. In fact, his directions say, it might be smart not to trusts a GPS anywhere on Shelter Island.

Daniel’s directions also warn drivers to get a beach permit at Shelter Island Town Hall. “I would hate for you to get a ticket,” he says in his printout.

Daniel just went back to Washington but lost motorists need not fret because his neighbors Charles, Jonathan and Lisa Modica and Cole Colby are minding the stand for him until Labor Day. Usually the stand is unattended anyway: the proprietors trusts lost souls to leave their $2 before finding salvation in Daniel’s directions.