Coney Island

Coney Island, that old relic of Boardwalk and carnival, sits on the end of a Brooklyn shore. This little piece of real estate has welcomed the huddled tired masses for over a century. In its earliest form, it was the ethereal Luna Park, a wonderland of fantasy and light that reflected the light of the sea and dazzled turn of the century visitors. I wish I had seen it then. The writer Maxim Gorky once said of it:

"With the advent of night a fantastic city of fire suddenly rises from the ocean into the sky. Thousands of ruddy sparks glimmer in the darkness, limning in fine, sensitive outline on the black background of the sky, shapely towers of miraculous castles, palaces and temples. Golden gossamer threads tremble in the air. They intertwine in transparent, flaming patterns, which flutter and melt away in love with their own beauty mirrored in the waters. Fabulous beyond conceiving, ineffably beautiful, is this fiery scintillation."

Interesting origins for a place that's now a bit threadbare and showing its age. However, it's certainly improved from the decrepid place it was in the last few decades. Renewal efforts to restore Coney Island to it's former glory appear to be in the works. It's always worth a visit and today was warm and balmy and without the veil of humidity that sucks the life out of you, so Hollaback Girl and I caught the Q Train and ventured out.
You can't go to Coney Island and not go to Nathans. It's a hallmark of the Park since the early 20th century. The lines are long and honestly, the food is average but the experience is squarely worth it. Hollaback had her dog with peppers and onions; I opted for bacon and cheese. We sat on the boardwalk and watched the parade of people amble along, a slow Sunday promenade not unlike the ones made a century ago on a comparable summer day.

The first objective having been consumed, we ambled down the boardwalk. A sign caught my eye: Shoot the Freak. Hollback was very keen to check this out

Essentially, for a few scheckles, you were given a paint gun and were free to shoot at a hapless "freak" armed in a helmet, a shield and a codpiece. Hollaback Girl anted up her dollars and fired off her shots quickly. She pegged him in the codpiece and he hid behind a fence. Now that's entertainment!


Continuing down the boardwalk, we came across the usual characters that populate such places. Can I be honest? People wearing animal costumes freak the bejesus out of me.




We the hit the midway. There were rides and carnival games to enjoy!



The Wonder Wheel! The Cyclone! Dante's Inferno! Little Devils!...And a rather volatile car on the Tilt-O-Whirl.

After wandering along the boardwalk and midway, we went to the fabled Coney Island freak show which featured such impressive performers as Serpentina, Madam Electra and Insecturia who was a fire eater. She was covered with tattoos (including her face) and looked like a Mori warrior and she freaked me out a bit when she started blowing fire.
After the Freak show, a bit of fresh air was sorely needed. A long walk along a very crowded show availed the opportunity to dip one's feet in a cool and refreshing Atlantic Ocean. It was a crowded shore and I heard Russian and Spanish and every other language under the sun among the collected masses.

Despite the modern element of this fabled place there are still vestiges of its former life around you. At the end of the boardwalk stood a magnificent old edifice which was worn with decades of sea salt and the Atlantic's spray. With its detailed relief of Neptune and the peeling paint, it was a perfect symbol to the lore of this very strange place and a nice way to finish the day.
Next time, a Cyclones game.