We may not have the active social lives we once had. We may not have as much... ok not even close to half as much, money as we had when we were younger. We may be as skinny as we were when we were younger, but...... we're happy. We manage to get by and have a fun while we're at it.
Going to Coney Island reminds me that there is always some place to come back to. No matter how often it changes. No matter how different the people. There is nothing in the world quite like the smell of a breeze in Coney Island. It doesn't matter if it's a warm breeze, a cool breeze or somewhere in between. You always get a mix of salty Brooklyn air, hot dogs, corn dogs, ice cream, cotton candy & popcorn all rolled into one. Really it's like going to Willy Wonka's factory and smelling some new concoction.
You can smell the subway tracks as they sit in the sun & get warmed up. You can hear the squeal of the trains as they make their way around the tracks to & from the stations.
You can hear "bump bump bump your ass off" coming from the Eldorado's Disco Bumper Cars that's so old I don't think anyone truly remembers what year it opened. It's been there as long as I can remember
As soon as you hear people screaming you know the Cyclone has started down a hill and someone is going to get off holding their neck, their back or some other body part and they loved every second of getting it that sore.
Before we left NY, Rob & I always spent a lot of time there. Whether we were just strolling with the dogs, having a few beers with friends, having some raw clams & oysters or just grabbing some hot dogs, we loved going there. In the summers we'd head down to West 33rd Street & Surf Avenue and it was like going from your neighborhood at home to your neighborhood on the beach. Everyone knew each other and everyone had a good time.
Now that we're back in Brooklyn again, it seems that tradition is continuing and it makes me feel good that we get to include our kids in it.
I have such fond memories of going to the amusement parks there when I was a kid. I also remember the smell of the train and the smell of the tar in the summer. I love that smell. It reminds of happy times.
We went to Coney Island the other night for hot dogs & ice cream. I still can't get over how expensive a dinner for 3 is at Nathan's, but there's nothing quite like it. You stand in line, order your dogs & fries and then you walk around to sit on a hard ass bench and pray that you didn't sit in someone else's ketchup. We managed not to sit in anyone's ketchup and we enjoyed our way overpriced hot dogs & fries. Meredith even managed not to stab herself in the eye or anywhere else for that matter, with the little red Satan's fork thing they give with the fries.
Then we went to get soft ice cream from the guy next door at William's Candy Store. Another place that is way overpriced with snotty employees. Yes they charged me $3.00 for M to have the teeniest amount of ice cream in a cone & the ice cream stunk. It was also way to soft. Should've gone to the weird indian guy (he cracks me up) next to the bumper cars. At least they're entertaining there.
Anyway, as we ate our dogs & had our ice cream, I took a deep breath in and thought, "I'm home. My family is home and life is good". I smelled all the smells, good & not so good. Some folks really need to clean out their dumpsters. Rob & I joked.... ok not so jokingly.... that the city planning people really are morons. Who squishes an amusement park into the tiniest place in Coney Island? City officials. That's who. They put the new Luna Park right where the old Astroland was. There are two ginormous lots behind Nathan's that would've better suited the purpose, but oh well.
We went up to the Boardwalk and went for a walk. Meredith saw someone walking their dog & grabbed Rob's finger & yelled "come on!" as she took off after the dog. It was pretty amusing actually. She was so intent on catching that dog.
As we walked we took in the sights and Meredith ran around like a caged animal let loose. When she got tired she looked to one of us to pick her up so she could rest for a minute. Then she wanted to get back down. And she was quick to let you know it too. "Down!" is what she says as she's pushing off to get back down.
We stopped at Deno's. They have a lot of rides for kids. I never thought to go there for the carousel. Duh! This whole time Meredith & I could've been enjoying some time there. We all know how she loves herself a carousel ride. And there are other rides she can go on as well. Sometimes you have an "AHA" type of moment, but it's usually followed by a "What an ass I am" kind of moment. This was one of those moments.
You can see Deno's Wonder Wheel from where ever you are on the boardwalk. That thing scares the bejesus out of me. Way to high & the cars move. Uh Uh. Not for me. Maybe one day Rob will get Meredith on that thing with him. For 6.5 years Rob has been waiting to go on that thing. If he waits for me, he'll never get on.
Meredith started to get tired on our walk back to the car. Her daddy scooped her up & she put her head down on his shoulder. She is her daddy's little girl.
We got home just in time for Meredith's bedtime. It's so nice that she's allowing Rob to be her daddy. She let him give her a bath without a fight. That night she let him brush her choppers before bed.
Someone once said that at around 2 years old she's going to go through a daddy phase. And you know what.....? She is. It's like a vacation for me. Sometimes I feel a little replaced, but she still calls him "mommy". So it balances things out. Mommy is apparently code word for slave. The funniest is when she says "mommy daddy (insert whatever task here). Like she's just making sure someone will do her bidding. We'll take it. She's cute.
I love this post. I love how comfortable you are, where you are in life. There's nowhere else you'd rather be. God bless!
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