"Last Stop! Coney Island!"

To finish off the month of June, we took our first trip down to Coney Island. It is an hour long ride on the subway to the bottom of Brooklyn. We packed our iPods and books, found seats on the benches in the subway car and settled in for the ride. I actually dozed off for a few minutes, but woke up because of the light coming in the windows of the subway car- we had left Manhattan and crossed into Brooklyn where the subway lines run outside rather than underground. Finally we reached the end of the line, the announcer came over the loudspeaker saying, "Last stop! Coney Island!" and we left the subway station to be greeted by a land much different than the bustling city. There were still tons of people, but the atmosphere was much like the State Fair. Coney Island is a historical area that was once "considered the world's largest and premier amusement area during the first half of the 20th Century. It was a beach resort that provided carefree entertainment and thrilling amusement park rides to the millions of residents that lived in New York City."

After leaving the subway station, we stepped out on the boardwalk of Surf Ave- are we back in California?

For all of you that may have caught some of the 94th annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPN on the 4th of July, here is Nathan's were the contest is held. ESPN has an online video in case you missed the action, or want to read up on the final results from local daily news.

As we walked toward the beach, we came across this guy applying sunscreen to his humongous snake. (Note: My roommate Jess is interning at a park for wild animals in Arizona called Out of Africa. She identified the snake to be an amelanistic burmese python. Apparently they have two of them at her park....and I'm sure she plays with them everyday. I'm not jealous, Jess.)

Heeeeeere's the beach!

The waters of the Atlantic as they slosh into the Lower New York Bay. Cold water!

Past all of the kids playing on the beach was a long pier to walk out on.

Behind the sandy beach is the amusement park rides of the classic Coney Island.

Natalie was kind enough to deal with her sand dislike to come down to the water.

Sunglasses and sun on the beach!

Can't beat a sailboat out on the water.
Emily, Nat, and I soakin' up the sun on the beach! (Photo by Natalie)

We only stayed long enough to take a few snapshots at the beach because we had tickets to the Brooklyn Cyclones game. (Brooklyn or Iowa State...Go Cyclones!) As the farm team of the Mets, the Cyclones play at Keyspan Park- down the boardwalk, just off the ocean. We spent the first 6 innings in our seats in the outfield bleachers. I was excited to go to another baseball game, but my mood quickly deteriorated...6 innings of little kids running, jumping, singing, screaming, and squirming + parents with no idea what the definition of the words "discipline" or "control" = me extremely irritated.

Natalie, Emily, and Jessica were on the irritated side as well, but found something to smile about here!

And finally we moved away from the playground to seats on the other side of the stadium. Mona would have never let us be so rude as kids...right, Mom?
(Can you tell that last weekend I was reaching my breaking point? When I finally got to my room Sunday night I knew I was "peopled-out"...not a good thing to be in New York City!)

On our way back to Manhattan, we caught a glimpse of the Brooklyn Bridge all lit up as we crossed the Hudson River.

Another Weekend, Another Island

I've gotten behind on my posts, but that means I've been busy here in the city! We started off last weekend with a stop at Pinkberry around the corner to take advantage of free frozen yogurt to celebrate their new flavors: Coconut and Passion Fruit. I think I'll stick to the original flavor, but hey, you can't beat freebies!

Emily and I waiting in line for free Pinkberry frozen yogurt! (Photo by Natalie)

Natalie, Emily, and I trying out the new Pinkberry flavors. (Photo by Natalie)

Later that evening we wandered down to Washington Square to check out a movie that was playing on a big screen. While the movie wasn't a blockbuster that we were interested in, it was fun to see another park in the city. Clearly we taking our time and enjoying the outside- I decided to make good use of my time and take off my toenail polish as we sat in the park. (Photo by Natalie)

Here comes the E train! (Photo by Natalie)

Saturday we decided it was time to get out of the city. There was finally a day of sunshine so we took a ferry (for free!) to Governors Island- just off the tip of Lower Manhattan.

Looking back at Lower Manhattan from the ferry to Governors Island.

We rented bikes for a couple of hours to ride around Governors Island- no cars, taxi cabs, buses, and less people!

Not miles, only minutes from anywhere on the island: Picnic Point, Pier 101, Fort Jay...

You wouldn't want to miss this sign to the City of Dreams!

As you rode around and came to the backside of the island, or the side opposite of Manhattan, there were chairs on the sidewalk and hammocks in the shade to use for relaxing and taking in the view of the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

Emily, Nat, and I with the Statue of Liberty over our left shoulders.

Em and I with our beach cruisers and Lady Liberty.

"Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like" -Queen

This little girl was our idol :)

I brought a Banana Snapple (yum!) for our picnic on the island. The Snapple factory is behind me, across the river.
The Staten Island Ferry leaving Manhattan.

Is that Captain Jack Sparrow's pirate ship? I thought this was the Hudson, not the Caribbean?

After returning to Manhattan, we went over to the West Side to the High Line park.

They converted an old train line that was propped up above the streets to a beautiful green space in the city.

This simple reminder keeps our feet on the path.

It had rained that day- surprise, surprise! (It was the 2nd wettest June on record; 23 out of 30 days were wet!) But we were rewarded with a rainbow above the skyscrapers.

There is some fascinating architecture around here!

Wildflowers were abundant alongside the path.

Looking over the edge of the High Line park to the east were streets after streets busy with cars, trucks, and taxi cabs.

But to the west of the park was the sun setting over the Hudson River.

The sunset between a couple of buildings.

Older buildings near the High Line park with the Empire State Building towering above in the distance.

Laundry drying out in the city.

At the end of the High Line park looking back east into the city.

This is how they park or rather "stack" their cars in New York City. Not exactly convenient...

These buildings in the residential area on our walk back reminded me of Sesame Street. :)

Emily and I strolling back through the Brownstones. (Photo by Natalie)

I've seen rats down in the subways on several occasions. I am not a fan. Gross.

I liked this "sign" quite a bit more than the rats sign down in the subways. I'm not sure how the person got across the subway tracks to the opposite wall to write those 4 letters, but I'm glad they did.

Broadway Again and BASEBALL!

Who says it needs to be the weekend to see more of this city? It is definitely nice to not have hours of homework and studying to do once the day is done. I have taken full advantage of this "freedom" the past couple of evenings. It is something only summer can bring and what better way to celebrate this season that officially began on Sunday?!

Tuesday evening, one of my suitemates, Jessica, and I took the E train to Times Square to see another Broadway show. Avenue Q was the pick of the night and we were pumped! The show has been celebrated as the 2004 Best Musical at the Tony Awards. I had heard great reviews from friends who had gone to see the show in the past. While the producers caution that it may not be the best show to bring your young children to, simply because of content, it was very well done and absolutely hysterical! Jessica described it best as "a twisted Sesame Street." The show uses a combination of puppets and actors. At first I thought it would bother me to see the actors running around on stage clearly speaking while they moved the puppets' mouths. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the actors animated their puppet's movements- it was so lifelike! I swear the same people from Sesame Street that entertained my brothers and I as kids were on stage Tuesday night- the voices were identical. Even though the characters were not the same, the similarities were obvious. It was easy to say, "Oh, that one is Bert. That one is Ernie. And that one is Cookie Monster!"

Like I said, some of the issues that are poked fun at during the show are not suitable for children, but the cast does such a great job that you can't help but enjoy their display of musical talent! Here's a little excerpt from a song called, I Wish I Could Go Back to College when the characters are displaying their disappointment in their lives soon after graduating college. There were a bunch of students like me sitting in the same seating area. This song had us all laughing so hard because of the truth in it...actually, we were just thankful we haven't LEFT college yet! :)

I wish I could go back to college.
Life was so simple back then.

What would I give to go back and live in
a dorm with a meal plan again!

I wish I could go back to college.
In college you know who you are.

You sit in the quad, and think,
"Oh my! I am totally gonna go far!"

How do I go back to college? I
don't know who I am anymore!

I wanna go back to my room and
find a message in dry-erase pen on the door!
Ohhh...

I wish I could just drop a class...
Or get into a play...
Or change my major...

I need an academic advisor to point the way!

We could be...
Sitting in the computer lab, 4 A.M.
before the final paper is due,
Cursing the world 'cause I didn't start sooner,
And seeing the rest of the class there, too!

I wish I could go back to college!
How do I go back to college?!
AHHHH...

I wish I had taken more pictures.
But if I were to go back to college,
Think what a loser I'd be-
I'd walk through the quad,
And think "Oh my..."
"These kids are so much younger than me."


Wednesday, I could hardly contain my excitement at work. When I left the office for lunch, I was irritated at the fact that it was raining yet AGAIN (I think they said something like it has rained 19 out of the last 24 days...ridiculous!) because we had tickets to the Mets vs. Cardinals game for that night!

I have missed baseball soooo much this summer. Baseball is a staple of the season for me. I am usually able to get my fill of it with 3 brothers, but this growing-up-and-leaving-home thing is really cutting into my yearly dose of the game. I was stoked (yeah, I said it) for the ride the subway out to Flushing, NY in Queens, to wear my new Mets baseball cap, and soak in the atmosphere that defines summer. Luckily the rain quit, Natalie brought a towel to wipe off our wet seats in the upper deck of left field at the brand new Citi Field (replaced Shea Stadium), and to top it all off, the Mets won! Here are several photos from the outing:

The 7 train across Queens is actually outside...not underground. Needless to say, the ride is a little more exciting with something to see!

So excited to be going to a BASEBALL GAME!

Inside the stadium...inspiring words.
And there it is...the baseball diamond. Beautiful.
View from our seats in the upper deck of left field- pretty good!
Natalie and I introduced baseball to Emily, who had never been to a game before. Then she educated us about "Rounders," the British version of baseball. They don't have to hit a ball to run the bases. (What?!) The guy sitting next to us joined the discussion and claimed that he could go pro in Rounders if he didn't have to hit the ball. So could the rest of us, dude.
Natalie finally figured out how my camera can accent certain colors at a time. Reason enough to experiment! Here I'm celebrating the Mets with a little orange accent...
And some blue accenting...Do I look like a real Mets fan? More of a Mets fan than a Yankees fan, that's for sure! (Don't worry Twins, I haven't forgotten you...just need a substitute team for the summer.)
The opposite side of the stadium. Check out the rain clouds coming in.
So naturally we check the weather radar on Natalie's phone. Not looking good...
A few innings later...clouds still looking ominous.
Emily says, "Hm, David "WRIGHT"...I wonder if he's ever WRONG." Ha! Good one, Em!
Of course we stood up to stretch and join in the chorus of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

Nick Evans hit his first Home Run! Natalie was disappointed we couldn't see the huge apple that comes up, spins around, lights up- the whole works.
The guy sitting next to Emily reminded me so much of Reece. It would have been too obvious to take a full picture (because I'm not a creep!), but I did manage to get his feet...Reece always wore black socks and red/white Nike shoes!
"I tell our kids that we’re going to go out and play hard, and we want to win as much as anybody. But when the game is over, we’re going to line up, shake hands, and be gentlemen, knowing that we did the very best we could."
- Ed Thomas
As kids, Mom and Dad would make it a point to hit up a Major League game on vacation in the summer if there was a stadium nearby our campground...Citi Field- check!
We love this game!
Me with Natalie

Congrats, Em, on your first baseball game!
Again with the experimenting...
Me, Emily, and Natalie

One last shot after the game before the security guard told us it was time to go.
Thank you, Citi Field, for finally starting summer for me. :)