Lying on the beach in a green bikini, Dina Rodrigues saw a fellow sorority sister, smiled and gave her an official greeting call: a high-pitched skee-WEE.

For Rodrigues, 25, who recently became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., meeting fellow sorority sisters was worth waking up early and driving four hours from Boston to attend the 21st annual Greekfest at Jones Beach.

"I tried to attend in 1999, but we couldn't find it," said Rodrigues, who was then a sophomore at Salem State College in Boston. "This time I made sure I got here early so I wouldn't miss it."

Rodrigues was joined by about 3,000 people, an increase of 1,000 from last year, according to director of operations for Long Island state parks George Gorman.  more >>