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. :)