04 July 2010

Happy Birthday America

Every year I am surprised by how much red, white, and blue you see on Puerto Rican Day... and how little you see on the 4th of July in New York City. So today determined to see plenty of 4th of July spirit I headed to Coney Island.

First on the agenda: Hot dog eating contest

I arrived in Coney Island right before noon and right into a huge crowd ready to watch. After 50 minutes of spectacle the eaters were off! The whole thing was a bit like a soap opera, especially with Kobayashi trying to rush the stage.

I didn't have the best view, but the big screen gave me a close up to the action
This guy was crazy. The MC and I think he is the chairman of Major League Eating. Here he is saying something like "Eating hot dogs is our Destiny"

Stage show included a Nathan's dance team and dancing hot dogs
Second up: Boardwalk and beach

I don't know how the rest of the US is fairing, but there is a bit of a Northeastern heat wave going on here. I barely survived the boardwalk.

The beach was crowded and full of umbrellas
#3: Luna Park

Luna Park is the new amusement park that opened this year in Coney Island. Luna took over the area that was Astroland. I didn't ride but there were several rides that looked pretty fun.

Fourth stop: Freak Show

Everytime I've been to Coney Island I've been intrigued by the side show, but I've never gone before. Once because I was scared, once it was closed, another time the others in my group weren't interested... well today I wasn't going to let anything hold me back. I bought my ticket and went inside. The show included:
Nail and drill in the nose
Sword swallowing
Fire eating/spitting
Snake dancing
Mouse trap on the tongue (yeah...)
Electric chair girl
Self proclaimed Seal boy
Verdict- I don't know that I needed to see any of that. The nail in the nose was definitely the hardest to watch.

Fifth item: Spot some Red White and Blue

Not as much as I would hope, but I spotted some awesome outfits. No pictures, but my favorite male outfit goes to the man on the Q train wearing a red and white gingham shirt with Chambray shorts and brown topsiders. Favorite female outfit goes to the woman on the times square platform in a very cute dress that was red and white stripe on top and blue on the bottom.

Happy 4th of July everyone!



4 comments:

  1. 1. No freak show pictures?
    2. How many hot dogs did you eat?
    3. What was your 4th of July outfit?

    ReplyDelete
  2. 1. No pictures allowed in the freak show :( check out www.coneyisland.com for the stars of the show.
    2. One
    3. Blue and white striped dress, red necklace and bracelet, and gold sandals

    What did everyone wear for the 4th?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I wore a blue t-shirt dress(more of a t-shirt at this point) over jeans with a red belt.

    ReplyDelete
  4. you were there---We watched the Nathsn's Hot Dog eating contest live on tv. we jokingly were looking for you. The cameras panned the crowd many times. We grilled steaks and had a rainy day. Dave,Dee,Jon,Nancy,Sue and Kristen were are guests. Homemade ice cream too. MOM

    ReplyDelete

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