A Day At Coney Island in March 2013

Devastating storm Sandy hit Coney Island particularly hard. That was many months ago and the damage is still visible as many establishments are still boarded up. Yet, there's life as I discovered a few days ago.  

Coney Island has changed over the decades, but more rapidly in the last 10 years as more modern-looking buildings, new businesses move in replacing the very old and crusty one. 

I never lived near CI so I don't know what's better. For most of us, CI is a destination a few times a year. Yes, it's nice to see the very old and "traditional" but I don't know what experience the people who live there have. To put it another way, I do find it interesting when, say, visiting remote village somewhere where its inhabitants basically have a daily life unchanged for hundreds of years. I never assume they should play the part or remain as such for the tourists. It should be their choice.

As for Coney Island, there has been an ongoing debate in the last decade as to how to proceed with revitalizing the area. For many decades CI didn't change much.  [Here's a link to CI pictures through the ages]

 

The CI museum and place of odd attractions (it's the blue building with the face on it) has been one of the few old edifices still operational. It's worth the small price of admission to see artifacts and an occasional freak show.

CI is in Brooklyn, which is one of the 5 boroughs that comprise New York City. Yes, NYC isn't just Manhattan, but Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island.

Brighton Beach

About a mile east, it's the Brighton Beach community, where a strong population of Russians, and I suspect many others from the old Soviet Union, have settled. Most of the language heard on the boardwalk and in the adjacent streets is not English. The area under the elevated train looks very similar to other neighborhoods in Queens (that I'm familiar with) like Jackson Heights and Astoria where there is a strong ethnic flavor.

A portion of the boardwalk in Coney Island, looking West.

On a good summer day, especially during holidays and weekends the boardwalk is mobbed by people. It's many miles long and connects CI and BB.

Brooklyn is the westernmost part of Long Island [see map]. I can't say I know this borough well, even though I spent many years of my youth in Queens and the rest of the "island." I intent to revisit some of my old haunts this summer, and venture all the way to the "forks", the easternmost part of LI. It's a different country over there, though it's very familiar to me. Staten Island is the most ..remote borough and the oddity in NYC as it leans Republican.

Luna Park opened for the season a few days ago. Very thin attendance though.

Next to the new Luna Park there are a few old establishments for cheap entertainment

The beach, which is still free and open year round. I expected much more beach erosion. Sandy Hood looms in the distance.

 

Camping and Exploring Cape Cod in the Summer of 2009

<-- At the Marconi site. The beach and and Atlantic Ocean 100 feet below.

One of the things I enjoy of the warmer months is camping. I don't do the primitive camping anymore, that is, in the total isolation of the woods. Nowadays it's some nice national or state park where for a low fee I can enjoy a good site in a campground with toilets and showers.
The fire pit is only for smores and gathering by the fire after dark. Very little cooking is involved, mostly some scrambled eggs on a portable burner. The cooler filled with ice and cold drinks is a must. The rest can be had at the local stores.

My tent is rated for 6+ persons, but the tent makers are very misleading when it comes to this. Always go for a tent that can "accommodate" several more people that your actual needs. In order to fit 6 persons with sleeping bags in my tent, they have to be side by side... if not one otop of another. The latter may be OK on a cold night in the woods. A tent for 5-6 people is good for two adults plus their stuff. I bring along an inflatable queen size bed and an electric pump. Why not? Having a few amenities makes the outing easier on the body. A well-rested person can do 20 miles of biking the next day or not do anything at all. A proper shower--not under a water ..can but in proper facilities with warm water--is always appreciated. And, it's nicer to go to the bathroom where there's a proper toilet. Other than that, I'm roughing it.

Recently I spent one week in Cape Cod--or as they say there, on the Cape. They are peculiar those folks. South is North! You take Rt 6 South to go the "Lower Cape" which is in the North. The GPS and my compass agree. I'm not kidding, the locals have these cardinal points reversed! I didn't bother to ask them about the East-West orientation. As for time, it's a loose concept; like in other places you spend leisure days at; it moves at a slower pace too.

Nickerson State park has hundreds of camping sites and during the last 2 months of the summer it's not easy to find one free for several days. I suppose camping became more appealing to those who can't afford motels nowadays. It's $17/day or $15 for MA residents. I'd recommend this park, however when it's the busiest it's more likely to bump into stupid and obnoxious people there. Such people don't understand that the point of going camping is to be closer to nature, and enjoy the surroundings in peace and quiet.

Get this, for one day/night I had to endure really bad "neighbors." Kids are a problem because of their parents who shouldn't be parents because they don't have the required skills. So, problem number one: unmanageable children with yelling parents. Problem number two: gas-powered generator noise and fumes! Why the need for electricity? Ah, to power the flat screen TV and whatever else these knuckleheads felt they needed to bring to the woods for their convenience! Thankfully, we were able to separate ourselves by getting another site.

Cape Cod has many interesting venues and things to do. I'd recommend using a bicycle--bring one or rent. There is a 25-mile Rail Trail [CCRT] which is mostly flat & paved and it goes through woods, marshes, bogs, ponds, and a few country roads. Some of the beaches are also reachable by bike. Nauset Light and Coast Guard beaches are free to enter by bike and are gorgeous! Both are on the Atlantic Ocean.

The "arm" of the cape is far away from the mainland (MA) so it's possible (and rare on the East Coast) to see the sun setting in the water with all its beautiful colors. I watched some amazing sunsets at Rock Harbor beach. Usually on the East Coast, the sun goes behind a mountain, trees, or tall buildings. That's why Southern Florida, too, has beautiful sunsets.

I've taken many trips to Cape Cod over the years, but every time I discover something new. This time I stayed in the Brewester-Chatham-National Seashore areas. The two ends, Provincetown and Woods Hole are also nice. Hyannis is quaint with shopping and the harbor to the two islands. Martha's Vineyard is the bigger one. The presidential family is vacationing there now. Nantucket is small and can be easily toured on a bicycle in one day. I've cycled on both islands. MV is much harder and can be exhausting in the heat of the summer. I was there on a 4th of July, within a few days when John Kennedy crashed his plane in the sea off the island.

This summer flew by quickly. I did mostly day-long things, but I also had lots of work... not the paid kind, the must-do kind. House-hunting is not easy or quick.




Above & below: sunset and low tide at Rock Harbor Beach.

Chatham, located on the south and easternmost of the cape.
Chatham Light
Below, Coast Guard beach. Cape Cod had one of the very first organized and trained teams to warn ships and rescue sailors.

Sunrise at Sea Gull beach, near Hyannis.
Below, full moon over Provincetown.

Marconi beach. It's the site where Marconi set up his huge towers to establish wireless communications with Europe. There's been lots of erosion, so the structures are long gone. But, it's such a beautiful place. The picture doesn't do justice. The vantage point by the fence is maybe 100 feet above the beach. This is part of the National Seashore. At night, fires are allowed on the beach... just imagine the view from the top.... and the general experience.... mmmm


Someone is getting ready for some smores by the campfire...

The Great American West

I always wanted to go on several cross-country trips. The longest I ever took was from New York to Wisconsin and then down to Oklahoma, returning through Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, etc. The other long trip was from NY all along the Atlantic coast, up through Maine, New Brunswick, to Nova Scotia.

I've also toured Washington state--one of the most beautiful and diversified states in the US. And, from there, down through Oregon, to California & Nevada. If you are to do one long trip, do this one. Take your time, transversing left & right in Washington, Oregon and California, from Seattle to San Fransisco, and back.

This film shows the huge territory of the Louisiana Purchase--that is, when president Jefferson bought this vast, mostly unexplored land, from France for $15 million. The US in the early 1800s, was a much smaller country, mainly a collection of states on the East coast. The lands west of the Mississippi were home to sparse Indian tribes, unchartered, and a true wilderness. The Lewis-Clark expedition, funded by Jefferson was a great feat to accomplish. They reached the Pacific Ocean while they mapped the lands later to become part of this country. [hit the link and watch the PBS wonderful series on the subject]
It's summer, and many of us associate it with travel, time to see parts of this magnificent cosmos, and in particular this beautiful continent. The world is my home; there are no borders in the experience of life and of imagination.