Thursday, July 05, 2007

"Doney Highland"

No, silly. We didn't go to Scotland last Saturday! We spent the morning at Coney Island, or as Hazel calls it, "Doney Highland." It's about a 15 minute drive from our house so it's easy to get there fast. And we've heard rumors that most of the amusement park features are going to close for good after this year, so we decided to take advantage of our timing and location, and go check it out.It's actually kind of falling apart down there - definitely past its hey-day. But there is a kind of historical charm, and you feel like you should see people in striped bloomers and bobbed hair (but you don't.) Notice the elevated subway train in the left background.
We skipped the "freak shows" (yes, they still call them that!!!!!) and the spook houses (just the facades got Hazel whimpering) and the - ahem - burlesque shows. We hoped Hazel might like some of the kiddie rides, so we bought 3 rides, and after looking at them all, she chose the fire engines. It was as mild as they come - just goes around in a circle. She really liked ringing the bell and sitting in there before it started moving. She even had a happy face on the first time around. But after that she became very anxious and they ended up having to stop the ride to let her off before giving everyone else their money's worth. Good thing we didn't buy a 10-pack of ride tickets! And that also helped us with the decision to not ride the giant ferris wheel as a family.We walked up and down the boardwalk, mostly people watching and sipping fresh lemonade. Hazel just wanted to play in the sand. We hadn't really come prepared for beach time, but we let her play in it a little. People come from all over NYC to spend the day at the beach there - people had coolers, umbrellas, radios, huge tents, baby pools, etc.

We of course got hot dogs for lunch, and while I went to feed Ginger in the car, Ed and Hazel got ice cream cones. I think it was the first time Hazel had strawberry ice cream and she sure loved it. She tried her best to finish it, and came close, but as you can see she just couldn't....quite....do it....
We hope to go back at least one more time this summer , in the evening. They do fireworks every Friday night during the summer, plus the lights on the boardwalk would be cool. And of course Ed and I both want to ride the Cyclone. Anyone want to babysit?

3 comments:

Therese said...

what a great update, kari. so i take it ed didn't have to work on the 4th? great to see the phil & ted's out on the boardwalk...

Unknown said...

Sounds like fun! My boys said we need to go visit so we can go on the rides at Cooney Island too! Ethan always wants to go anywhere we are not currently at!

Jenny said...

Loved the pictures - You got some great shots of the board walk and the charm of coney island. It would be sad if it closed for good, but like you say it is past its hay day. Some rich billionare should come in an revamp it for the rest of us. Wish we were closer we would love to babaysit if we were. Hazel is getting soooo big.

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