I remember the first time I ever watched the movie “The Warriors”. I think I would have been 14 or 15 and my Dad had rented the video from the store. I cannot believe I have used the word “video” makes me feel prehistoric these days. I remember watching it and just thinking that the streets of New York where basically a gang battlefield. As scary as it seemed there was something so alluring about it at the same time. I would say it was the beginning of my "New York" stage that would stick with me for many years to come and finally lead me here to live.
Yesterday I finally got to Coney Island!!
All these years with this somewhat fascination about the place and finally I was about to be there in the flesh. The night before to get me in the “mood” I watched bits of the movie on you tube. I laughed so much as there were certain scenes that had been so embedded in my brain I could recite them word for word. Regardless it was a funny trip down memory lane.
The train trip there was a long one approximately one hour. Unlike most subway trip we take here in New York this one was out of a subway. This was much to Isabel’s delight as we crossed over on the Manhattan Overpass Bridge with amazing views of the Brooklyn Bridge.
As we approached our station we caught glimpses of the ocean in between what seemed to be apartment buildings. It was at that moment I realized how much I had missed seeing the ocean. It’s been something to be honest I have not really thought about till that moment. Back home in Maroubra it’s just such a part of our life we take it for granted. I often ran down to the beach and along the coastline. It has been 8 months since I saw the ocean so it was a sight for my ocean deprived eyes.
Coney Island was what I expected. It is somewhat run down and very busy! We saw the famous Nathan Hot dogs and the boardwalk. We also walked through the amusement park and finally saw the famous “Cyclone” roller-coaster. We ended up going to the New York Aquarium which was wonderful except this day was very hot. Also without very much cover from the sun it made for a very hot visit.
It’s the one observation that seems to stick out very much here in New York. There is very little cover from the sun. A lot of the children’s playgrounds are without shade cloths like routinely a part of Australian ones. I know they probably don’t have the same skin cancer issues we do however it is very alarming. I also notice that kids generally don’t wear hats in the sun. A few do but unlike back home where the policies at schools/Preschools/childcare centers are “not hat no play”. My girls do and sometimes stand out as the kids with hats on. I wonder if this will change as I do hear a lot of mother’s here quite concerned about sun exposure.
I intend to maintain my "Aussie" standards as I know that sun exposure can lead to so many problems later on in life.
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