Before I went there, I wondered how Manhattan could possibly work. There are 1.5 million people living in Manhattan, which works out to 46,000 people per square kilometre. Compare that with Edmonton, which is 1500 people per square kilometre (in fact, the wikipedia article on Edmonton compares it with New York for population density). During a weekday, the population in Manhattan swells by 1.3 million people to 2.8 million as people come from the New York metropolitan area to go to work. That means more people than the entire population of Edmonton need to commute into Manhattan every day. How can that possibly work? If there is a stall on the Whitemud in Edmonton it seems like the whole city comes to a stop.
New York, and New Yorkers, seem to be infinitely adaptable. They've had to make their system work every day, and so every day they make it work. Somehow, everything that needs to be done gets done. I shudder to think of how many police officers, transit workers, garbage men, and others are working behind the scenes to keep everything going.
Every day we saw examples of this adaptability. You can buy just about anything on the street. I was amazed to see vendors pushing their hot dog or pretzel or peanut carts down the street in the middle of rush hour traffic. People just find a way around them and they find a place to sell their stuff. On sunny and hot days the vendors put away their ties and pull out their sunglasses. On especially hot days people gather by the tour bus stops with a few cases of Poland springs water, some ice, and a cooler and sell cold water to tourists for $1 by throwing it to the upper deck of the double-decker bus. On rainy days you can buy an umbrella on any street corner for $3.
Our cabbie to the airport said you can't slow down because you feel like you may miss something. The Empire State building started excavation January 22, 1930 and was finished March 1, 1931. The tallest building in the world was completed in 16 months - if you blinked, you could have missed it. Along with 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler building, New York got the three tallest buildings in the world started and completed within three years.
Evidence of change, on a massive scale, was everywhere. Construction and renovations are happening non-stop. Across the street from our hotel, a new development is coming up. In 2006, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, a group of 110 buildings, that have housed veterans and other low-income residents since 1947, was sold for $5.4 billion. They are now privately owned properties and can charge high Manhattan rates. The lease on the hotel we stayed at is coming up for renewal. If it is not renewed, then doubtless the hotel will disappear to be replaced by some kind of development.
And there was plenty of anecdotal evidence we heard about, too. All of our tour guides talked about local businesses being replaced by franchises, and gas station owners not making enough money to make it worth their while. Alan told me he noticed there were less poor people in Manhattan than when he last visited ten years ago. And Toscha told us that she thought her area of Brooklyn was starting to attract more middle class people into slightly more affordable townhouses. So anecdotally it seems the tired, the poor and the huddled masses are slowly being forced further and further away as the prices in Manhattan escalate to ever more ridiculous levels.
Underneath all the skyscrapers and subways is Manhattan schist: a rock formation that is well-suited to anchoring the borough of Manhattan. Whatever changes happen on the surface, the foundation of New York will remain in place, strong and immovable.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
The Trip Back Home
We woke up at 3:00 am in order to catch our 6:30 am flight at LaGuardia. We weren't taking any chances on delays. Driving through New York at 4:00 am, there was still traffic and people awake. The garbage trucks were out. All-night delis and grocery stores had people working at them. Our cabbie was talkative. He told us in New York you can't slow down because you feel like you may miss something.
When we got to LaGuardia most ticket counters were already open except for Air Canada. Despite about 10 people in line, they didn't show up until 5:00 am. After that we went through security, then got some breakfast, and off to our gate to wait. As it turns out our plane had an equipment problem so the flight was canceled. Sigh. So we went to line up to see an agent to find another way back to Edmonton. Originally we were going from LaGuardia to Montreal, then on to Edmonton. He got us on to an 8:30 flight to Toronto, then on to Edmonton.
The only good news was that we were bumped into business class for both flights. We've never flown in business class before so that was a great treat. The room was nice but I was a little amazed at the little perks you get: free newspapers, a nice meal, and there's one flight attendant who's pretty much devoted to the twelve or so people, offering you things repeatedly. Although the attendant did wake me up by spilling some water on me.
In Toronto our flight was once again delayed by equipment problems. Heidi bought some lunch and then got into a rousing fight with Olga, who was mad at us because we were sitting in her restaurant with outside food. By this time we were tired and cranky and ready to be home. Sophie slept for 2.5 hours of the Toronto-Edmonton flight.
We finally got back to our house about 4:00 pm Wednesday. After eating some beef barley soup left at our house by my dad (served in foam bowls with plastic spoons), we all headed to bed for some much-needed rest. By 7:00 we were all sleeping and woke up the next morning at about 7:00 am.
When we got to LaGuardia most ticket counters were already open except for Air Canada. Despite about 10 people in line, they didn't show up until 5:00 am. After that we went through security, then got some breakfast, and off to our gate to wait. As it turns out our plane had an equipment problem so the flight was canceled. Sigh. So we went to line up to see an agent to find another way back to Edmonton. Originally we were going from LaGuardia to Montreal, then on to Edmonton. He got us on to an 8:30 flight to Toronto, then on to Edmonton.
The only good news was that we were bumped into business class for both flights. We've never flown in business class before so that was a great treat. The room was nice but I was a little amazed at the little perks you get: free newspapers, a nice meal, and there's one flight attendant who's pretty much devoted to the twelve or so people, offering you things repeatedly. Although the attendant did wake me up by spilling some water on me.
In Toronto our flight was once again delayed by equipment problems. Heidi bought some lunch and then got into a rousing fight with Olga, who was mad at us because we were sitting in her restaurant with outside food. By this time we were tired and cranky and ready to be home. Sophie slept for 2.5 hours of the Toronto-Edmonton flight.
We finally got back to our house about 4:00 pm Wednesday. After eating some beef barley soup left at our house by my dad (served in foam bowls with plastic spoons), we all headed to bed for some much-needed rest. By 7:00 we were all sleeping and woke up the next morning at about 7:00 am.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Miscellany
- Air plane ticket to New York: $137
- Cab ride from LaGuardia: $40
- Single night stay in New York hotel: $275
- Subway ticket to Coney Island: $2
- Seeing a mannequin outside a haunted house attraction that is simultaneously simulating projectile vomiting AND projectile diarrhea: priceless
Here are some more things that I meant to blog, but forgot to in the proper place when they happened:
- Heidi "popped" sometime during this trip. She is now obviously pregnant-looking.
- Below the door on every fire truck in New York is a list of names. Every truck has a different list of names. These are the names of the 400+ firefighters who were the first responders on 9/11 and who died.
- When we passed the Metropolitan Opera House, the flag outside was at half-mast because Pavorotti had died the night before. Some of his biggest shows were at the Met.
- Every restaurant in New York city has Heimlich maneuver instructions on the wall.
- All the curbs in New York have metal protecting them. I assume this is to protect them from all the traffic.
- When we visited my brother in Brooklyn, we saw some people sitting on stoops or chairs in front of their brownstones or apartments. I guess they do really do that.
- While we were by the Indian restaurant, I saw a magazine store selling Mob Candy. I'd never seen it before.
- Outside of every building there are instructions for firefighters on where various connections are located. Apparently "siamese" connections are quite common.
- Walking down the street can be like smoking a cigarette. Although not everybody smokes, the concentration of people is pretty high and the odds are that at least one or two people will be smoking.
- Honking is an important form of communication.
- Heidi and I gradually learned how much toilet paper the toilet in our room could take before becoming plugged.
- Supposedly you can buy used polar bear toys on e-bay (according to the sign in central park zoo) although I can't find them.
And on the Eighth Day...
...we rested. It was a quiet morning. Juli, Alan and Malachi left at 9:30. Sophie and I were sleeping so we missed saying goodbye. We had an extremely mellow morning of getting some breakfast and slowly getting ready. On TV it was blanket coverage of the September 11 memorial at ground zero. At about 11:00 we headed out into the rainy day to do some last shopping at Macy's and the Manhattan Mall.
After our rainy walk we shopped for a short time in Macy's without buying anything. The Manhattan Mall was next. It's basically just the same as any kind of mall, it's just located in the middle of Manhattan not far from the Empire State building. We didn't find anything we wanted to buy, but decided to eat lunch in the food court there.
We headed back to the hotel. It was still raining. We were definitely feeling the effects of 7 days straight of constant walking and subway rides. Heidi had a nap while Sophie and I just read and watched some Clifford. My brother decided to head here straight after school and we played with the Nerf gun with Sophie. After Toscha arrived we went to Ocha, once again, for dinner and once again it was great.
Once dinner was over, we bid farewell to Jon and Toscha. We'll see them next at Christmas. Back at the hotel Sophie decided we were the cat family and crawled up the stairs to our room, before crawling into bed for sleep. Tomorrow we go home, a little sad but also looking forward to seeing what's happened to our kitchen.
After our rainy walk we shopped for a short time in Macy's without buying anything. The Manhattan Mall was next. It's basically just the same as any kind of mall, it's just located in the middle of Manhattan not far from the Empire State building. We didn't find anything we wanted to buy, but decided to eat lunch in the food court there.
We headed back to the hotel. It was still raining. We were definitely feeling the effects of 7 days straight of constant walking and subway rides. Heidi had a nap while Sophie and I just read and watched some Clifford. My brother decided to head here straight after school and we played with the Nerf gun with Sophie. After Toscha arrived we went to Ocha, once again, for dinner and once again it was great.
Once dinner was over, we bid farewell to Jon and Toscha. We'll see them next at Christmas. Back at the hotel Sophie decided we were the cat family and crawled up the stairs to our room, before crawling into bed for sleep. Tomorrow we go home, a little sad but also looking forward to seeing what's happened to our kitchen.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Empire State Building, Madame Tussaud's, and Oprah Ruins Our Trip
This morning we did something a little different. While Alan looked after Malachi and I looked after Sophie, Juli and Heidi went to the Virgin megastore in Times Square (musicals and musical soundtracks were on special) and then to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. Alan said that wax figures creep him out so he didn't want to go. Heidi said that the wax museum was great and Juli enjoyed herself also with some karaoke.
As for Sophie and I, we chilled for a bit before checking out the Quicksilver and Toys R Us stores in Times Square. Once again Toys R Us was a giant tourist trap. They take your photo about 3 times in it and prints are only $13 each. Sophie wanted to ride the ferris wheel that's in there and when I saw it was $4 I agreed. Only problem was the lady said I had to ride with her so therefore $8. Sigh. Well she had a good time anyway and really enjoyed meeting Geoffrey the giraffe at Toys R Us. She couldn't wait to tell her mom all about it.
We went back to the hotel to wait for Heidi and Juli to return. We played with a nerf gun that I bought at Toys R Us, we invented several games for it, then watched Scooby Doo. When Heidi and Juli returned they took the kids to Central Park. Heidi took several photos of the place where John Lennon was shot at the Dakota as well as the Strawberry Fields in Central Park.
Alan and I walked to Madison Square Gardens to go on a tour. At least, that was the plan until we got there and realized that motherfreakin' Oprah Winfrey was filming her show there today. The place was a madhouse and tours were not offered. Disappointed, we headed for some authentic New York pizza at a place called Tony's. It was delicious thin-crust stuff. We got inside at the perfect time as a downpour started as we were ordering our slices. After the rain stopped we decided to walk to the Empire State building which was relatively close.
On the way we stopped at a comic book store to check it out. They had a TON of comics including an adult section in the back.
The Empire State building was under renovation, just like almost every other attraction/landmark/building in New York. Outside the building they warned us it was cloudy and that visibility was less than a mile (about 5 blocks) and that there were NO refunds. Alan and I had to run a gauntlet of confusing velvet ropes in order to get to the 86th floor:
After that we headed down, doing a reverse velvet-rope maze all the way. Then we walked back to the hotel and phoned to see where Heidi and Juli were. We all decided to rest a bit before heading out for supper.
We took the subway to Strand Bookstore, a giant new/used bookstore in the East Village, E. 12 street and Broadway. It boasts "18 Miles of Books." I should add there is a lot more than 18 miles in there. I had difficulty negotiating since there were quite a few books on the floor in the aisles between shelves, as well as on the shelves themselves. The shelves go quite high also and stepladders are placed randomly throughout. All in all great, inexpensive selection and a great store but difficult to navigate with a 2 year old on your back. We found a Clifford movie for Sophie, some parenting books, and I found a movie called "Ninja Squad" which I hope will be good. I'm a ninja fan but kind of on the fence about squads. We'll see I guess.
After leaving Strand we decided Indian was the way to go for dinner and headed to E. 6 Street between 1st and 2nd avenues where we found Haveli. Dinner was delicious and reasonably priced. Sophie and I explored the restaurant as she was tired and restless. She liked the silver peacock and the wooden elephant that were in there. There was an incident in the restroom (Daddy's fault) with the end result that Sophie's pants were unwearable. I dressed her in my Oilers t-shirt, which reached to her ankles. She had to be careful not to trip on it or flash anyone.
At last after a long day it was time to take the subway home. Heidi and I bought our passes from the automated machine. The machine next to it was unavailable because a drunk guy was leaning on it and refused to move. The station platform was extremely hot and uncomfortable. After talking to one of the subway workers we switched platforms and got on a different train to wait. We had to wait for a while but at least the a/c in the car was working. By this time we were all soaked. The heat is bad enough but New York is pretty humid too. After a short ride we were back at the hotel. Sophie decided it would be best to sleep in the Oilers t-shirt. She's a pretty die-hard Oilers fan.
As for Sophie and I, we chilled for a bit before checking out the Quicksilver and Toys R Us stores in Times Square. Once again Toys R Us was a giant tourist trap. They take your photo about 3 times in it and prints are only $13 each. Sophie wanted to ride the ferris wheel that's in there and when I saw it was $4 I agreed. Only problem was the lady said I had to ride with her so therefore $8. Sigh. Well she had a good time anyway and really enjoyed meeting Geoffrey the giraffe at Toys R Us. She couldn't wait to tell her mom all about it.
We went back to the hotel to wait for Heidi and Juli to return. We played with a nerf gun that I bought at Toys R Us, we invented several games for it, then watched Scooby Doo. When Heidi and Juli returned they took the kids to Central Park. Heidi took several photos of the place where John Lennon was shot at the Dakota as well as the Strawberry Fields in Central Park.
Alan and I walked to Madison Square Gardens to go on a tour. At least, that was the plan until we got there and realized that motherfreakin' Oprah Winfrey was filming her show there today. The place was a madhouse and tours were not offered. Disappointed, we headed for some authentic New York pizza at a place called Tony's. It was delicious thin-crust stuff. We got inside at the perfect time as a downpour started as we were ordering our slices. After the rain stopped we decided to walk to the Empire State building which was relatively close.
On the way we stopped at a comic book store to check it out. They had a TON of comics including an adult section in the back.
The Empire State building was under renovation, just like almost every other attraction/landmark/building in New York. Outside the building they warned us it was cloudy and that visibility was less than a mile (about 5 blocks) and that there were NO refunds. Alan and I had to run a gauntlet of confusing velvet ropes in order to get to the 86th floor:
- take an escalator to the 2nd floor (under renovation)
- walk through a maze of velvet ropes to buy tickets. There were people handing us brochures for various other offers (audio tour, sky tour)
- walk through another velvet rope maze from the place you buy tickets to the area where people with tickets go
- ride the elevator to the 80th floor
- navigate another velvet-rope maze with a "personalized photo" offer in it
- ride another elevator to the 86th floor observation deck
- navigate one more velvet-rope maze to get outside onto the actual deck
After that we headed down, doing a reverse velvet-rope maze all the way. Then we walked back to the hotel and phoned to see where Heidi and Juli were. We all decided to rest a bit before heading out for supper.
We took the subway to Strand Bookstore, a giant new/used bookstore in the East Village, E. 12 street and Broadway. It boasts "18 Miles of Books." I should add there is a lot more than 18 miles in there. I had difficulty negotiating since there were quite a few books on the floor in the aisles between shelves, as well as on the shelves themselves. The shelves go quite high also and stepladders are placed randomly throughout. All in all great, inexpensive selection and a great store but difficult to navigate with a 2 year old on your back. We found a Clifford movie for Sophie, some parenting books, and I found a movie called "Ninja Squad" which I hope will be good. I'm a ninja fan but kind of on the fence about squads. We'll see I guess.
After leaving Strand we decided Indian was the way to go for dinner and headed to E. 6 Street between 1st and 2nd avenues where we found Haveli. Dinner was delicious and reasonably priced. Sophie and I explored the restaurant as she was tired and restless. She liked the silver peacock and the wooden elephant that were in there. There was an incident in the restroom (Daddy's fault) with the end result that Sophie's pants were unwearable. I dressed her in my Oilers t-shirt, which reached to her ankles. She had to be careful not to trip on it or flash anyone.
At last after a long day it was time to take the subway home. Heidi and I bought our passes from the automated machine. The machine next to it was unavailable because a drunk guy was leaning on it and refused to move. The station platform was extremely hot and uncomfortable. After talking to one of the subway workers we switched platforms and got on a different train to wait. We had to wait for a while but at least the a/c in the car was working. By this time we were all soaked. The heat is bad enough but New York is pretty humid too. After a short ride we were back at the hotel. Sophie decided it would be best to sleep in the Oilers t-shirt. She's a pretty die-hard Oilers fan.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Trip to Brooklyn
Today we decided to meet Jon and Toscha in Brooklyn so headed out after breakfast to the subway in Times Square. Luckily for us the Naked Cowboy was in Times Square this morning, so we took some pictures before heading down to the subway. After making sure all bladders were in optimum subway-traveling condition, we boarded the 2 train at the Times Square station.
Just like yesterday, our trip into Brooklyn let us see a different types of people aside from the tourists and the business people we had gotten used to in Manhattan. We got off on Franklin Avenue and phoned Jon to get directions to his place. We had no idea where we were and describing what we could see didn't help Jon much since he's not that familiar with the area yet either. Eventually he came and met us on the street after we walked down Franklin, past Lincoln and St. John's.
Jon and Toscha gave us a tour of their place which is the top level of a brownstone house in Brooklyn. It's pretty neat and reasonable (for New York) they get it for about $1600/month. It was bigger than I thought it would be and if the rest of it gets finished like the floor and bathroom it'll be really nice. Jon and Toscha are in the process of moving in so hopefully they get all that straightened pretty quick.
We went to a place called Saje for lunch. Sundays they have a jazz trio playing there so we felt pretty bohemian sitting in a cafe eating lunch, listening to some live jazz. Sophie enjoyed her bagel with jelly and I had a delicious turkey & brie sandwich. Heidi had some banana pancakes. This was probably the cheapest meal we've had here, and Toscha said it was pretty expensive for the area. I think we've been eating in too many tourist areas. :)
On the walk to the Brooklyn children's museum, Toscha and Jon explained about their living arrangements - they are renting from someone who is renovating the brownstone, and the neighbour who they first stayed with (Krista) also owns her brownstone and is improving it for rental. Toscha gave the opinion that the area seems to be gentrifying although my impression was that this gentrification wasn't happening at a fast enough rate to make Heidi feel completely comfortable in the area.
When we got to the Brooklyn children's museum it was closed to the disappointment of all. They shut it September 3 so we missed it only by a few days. They let us go in to use the bathroom and when we were leaving Sophie wanted to go run in some of the tunnels that she could see so I know that she would have had a great time there. Instead we walked back to the Parkway to take the subway to the Brooklyn Museum. On the way we passed a Jewish school that seemed to be in session (today is a Sunday).
Walking down the Parkway we passed a Jewish bride and groom getting their photos taken on the picturesque tree-lined sidewalk that runs adjacent to the parkway. As we passed Sophie said that she could see a princess named Cinderella. I'm not sure if they could hear but to me they seemed to be speaking Hebrew anyway.
Back on the subway for three stops and then into the Brooklyn museum. Sophie's favorite part was the "dancing fountains" which we visited before and after our visit. Inside the museum they had art from all over the world, including African, Egyptian and your more classical (European) art. Upstairs they had some modern pieces which were non-traditional art, such as arrangements of everyday objects. Sophie got in big trouble from a grumpy guard when she touched some plates that were part of some installation.
Jon and Toscha helped us get back onto the correct subway at the museum station. We took the 3 back to Manhattan this time in a nice, new air-conditioned car. Getting off at Times Square I headed back to the hotel while Heidi went to Gap Maternity to get some clothes for herself. After that we went to dinner with Alan, Juli and Malachi at a Japanese restaurant called Ocha. The sushi was fantastic and Heidi got a vegetarian sushi dish which she loved.
I overheard the concierge at the hotel taking (or rather not taking) reservations at the Broadway Inn here...it seems that the lease is up and may not be renewed. They are not taking any reservations past October 15 in case it is not. If that is the case then this hotel may be replaced by condominiums which would be pretty sad.
Just like yesterday, our trip into Brooklyn let us see a different types of people aside from the tourists and the business people we had gotten used to in Manhattan. We got off on Franklin Avenue and phoned Jon to get directions to his place. We had no idea where we were and describing what we could see didn't help Jon much since he's not that familiar with the area yet either. Eventually he came and met us on the street after we walked down Franklin, past Lincoln and St. John's.
Jon and Toscha gave us a tour of their place which is the top level of a brownstone house in Brooklyn. It's pretty neat and reasonable (for New York) they get it for about $1600/month. It was bigger than I thought it would be and if the rest of it gets finished like the floor and bathroom it'll be really nice. Jon and Toscha are in the process of moving in so hopefully they get all that straightened pretty quick.
We went to a place called Saje for lunch. Sundays they have a jazz trio playing there so we felt pretty bohemian sitting in a cafe eating lunch, listening to some live jazz. Sophie enjoyed her bagel with jelly and I had a delicious turkey & brie sandwich. Heidi had some banana pancakes. This was probably the cheapest meal we've had here, and Toscha said it was pretty expensive for the area. I think we've been eating in too many tourist areas. :)
On the walk to the Brooklyn children's museum, Toscha and Jon explained about their living arrangements - they are renting from someone who is renovating the brownstone, and the neighbour who they first stayed with (Krista) also owns her brownstone and is improving it for rental. Toscha gave the opinion that the area seems to be gentrifying although my impression was that this gentrification wasn't happening at a fast enough rate to make Heidi feel completely comfortable in the area.
When we got to the Brooklyn children's museum it was closed to the disappointment of all. They shut it September 3 so we missed it only by a few days. They let us go in to use the bathroom and when we were leaving Sophie wanted to go run in some of the tunnels that she could see so I know that she would have had a great time there. Instead we walked back to the Parkway to take the subway to the Brooklyn Museum. On the way we passed a Jewish school that seemed to be in session (today is a Sunday).
Walking down the Parkway we passed a Jewish bride and groom getting their photos taken on the picturesque tree-lined sidewalk that runs adjacent to the parkway. As we passed Sophie said that she could see a princess named Cinderella. I'm not sure if they could hear but to me they seemed to be speaking Hebrew anyway.
Back on the subway for three stops and then into the Brooklyn museum. Sophie's favorite part was the "dancing fountains" which we visited before and after our visit. Inside the museum they had art from all over the world, including African, Egyptian and your more classical (European) art. Upstairs they had some modern pieces which were non-traditional art, such as arrangements of everyday objects. Sophie got in big trouble from a grumpy guard when she touched some plates that were part of some installation.
Jon and Toscha helped us get back onto the correct subway at the museum station. We took the 3 back to Manhattan this time in a nice, new air-conditioned car. Getting off at Times Square I headed back to the hotel while Heidi went to Gap Maternity to get some clothes for herself. After that we went to dinner with Alan, Juli and Malachi at a Japanese restaurant called Ocha. The sushi was fantastic and Heidi got a vegetarian sushi dish which she loved.
I overheard the concierge at the hotel taking (or rather not taking) reservations at the Broadway Inn here...it seems that the lease is up and may not be renewed. They are not taking any reservations past October 15 in case it is not. If that is the case then this hotel may be replaced by condominiums which would be pretty sad.
Coney Island, Baby
Today we went to Coney Island with Juli, Alan and Malachi. In order to get there we needed to take the subway, so we walked from our hotel to the station for our first trip on New York's subway system. We bought tickets from the automated machine and headed down to the platform level to wait for the D train to Coney Island.
There are many different subway lines (1-9, A,C,D,F etc.) so we had to check carefully to make sure we were getting on the right train. The station itself was quite hot and we were pretty uncomfortable waiting. But the train car itself was air conditioned so we were comfortable. D train is semi-express through Manhattan and then makes regular stops in Brooklyn. It crosses over the Manhattan bridge. We didn't make it very far before Sophie had to pee. With that taken care of, we settled in for the ride to Coney Island, which is the end of the line.
Coney Island was almost deserted. We were surprised considering it was a Saturday. It's definitely showing it's age, although the rides and attractions are in relatively good repair. Some of the vendors/attractions were shuttered and closed. Apparently this is the last year that Astroland will be open. Next year it will be replaced by luxury condominiums. I'm pretty sure that I know what some of our tour guides would think of that.
We ate at the famous Nathan's hot dogs. As usual a famous New York eatery lived up to its reputation as the hot dogs and corn on the cob was delicious. The lineup took us about a half hour to get through.
After lunch we took Sophie for a few kiddie rides while Alan rode the Cyclone in Astroland. In front of a haunted house-type ride we saw one of the most disgusting displays. A mannequin was on hands and knees over a toilet, and was projectile vomiting and had projectile diarrhea (really they were both just water). It was pretty classy. When we passed some bumper cars there was a recorded voice entreating us to come in and "bump our asses off." So that was some cool local character.
Speaking of local character, at Coney Island and in the subway we got to see and meet some New Yorkers from Brooklyn. They weren't as uniformly dressed or as straight-laced as the people in Manhattan. On the subway Sophie made friends with Elizabeth, Shae and Christina. Christina crossed herself as the subway crossed a giant cemetery in Brooklyn. Elizabeth told us that Manhattan is crazy but Brooklyn is mellow. She said that New York is a place for young people, not old people, because of the fast pace.
We returned to our hotel for a quick rest before heading out to the Hershey's store and M&M's store in Times Square. Those are both really touristy. We got some chocolates and headed to ninth avenue (Hell's Kitchen) where there are a bunch of really great, non-chain restaurants. We ate at an Italian place. Sophie had a nap during most of dinner. We sat next to a couple from Ohio. It was delicious.
After dinner Jon and Toscha came over and we got some more Junior's cheesecake. :)
There are many different subway lines (1-9, A,C,D,F etc.) so we had to check carefully to make sure we were getting on the right train. The station itself was quite hot and we were pretty uncomfortable waiting. But the train car itself was air conditioned so we were comfortable. D train is semi-express through Manhattan and then makes regular stops in Brooklyn. It crosses over the Manhattan bridge. We didn't make it very far before Sophie had to pee. With that taken care of, we settled in for the ride to Coney Island, which is the end of the line.
Coney Island was almost deserted. We were surprised considering it was a Saturday. It's definitely showing it's age, although the rides and attractions are in relatively good repair. Some of the vendors/attractions were shuttered and closed. Apparently this is the last year that Astroland will be open. Next year it will be replaced by luxury condominiums. I'm pretty sure that I know what some of our tour guides would think of that.
We ate at the famous Nathan's hot dogs. As usual a famous New York eatery lived up to its reputation as the hot dogs and corn on the cob was delicious. The lineup took us about a half hour to get through.
After lunch we took Sophie for a few kiddie rides while Alan rode the Cyclone in Astroland. In front of a haunted house-type ride we saw one of the most disgusting displays. A mannequin was on hands and knees over a toilet, and was projectile vomiting and had projectile diarrhea (really they were both just water). It was pretty classy. When we passed some bumper cars there was a recorded voice entreating us to come in and "bump our asses off." So that was some cool local character.
Speaking of local character, at Coney Island and in the subway we got to see and meet some New Yorkers from Brooklyn. They weren't as uniformly dressed or as straight-laced as the people in Manhattan. On the subway Sophie made friends with Elizabeth, Shae and Christina. Christina crossed herself as the subway crossed a giant cemetery in Brooklyn. Elizabeth told us that Manhattan is crazy but Brooklyn is mellow. She said that New York is a place for young people, not old people, because of the fast pace.
We returned to our hotel for a quick rest before heading out to the Hershey's store and M&M's store in Times Square. Those are both really touristy. We got some chocolates and headed to ninth avenue (Hell's Kitchen) where there are a bunch of really great, non-chain restaurants. We ate at an Italian place. Sophie had a nap during most of dinner. We sat next to a couple from Ohio. It was delicious.
After dinner Jon and Toscha came over and we got some more Junior's cheesecake. :)
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