Brighton Beach & Coney Island: Battling sunburns & melting ice cream
Sunday, July 06, 2014 |
| The Iconic Cyclone |
Luckily, I still had some friends in town so on Saturday, I was invited to spend the day at Brighton Beach. I haven't been there in ages but I always found Brighton Beach and Coney Island to be highly enjoyable.
We confirmed to meet up at 11am Saturday and as usual I was late as I had to switch from the N to the Q and didn't allocate enough time to get there.
By the time I arrived everyone was stripped down to their swimsuits and lathered in sunscreen. I completely blanked and didn't bring my swimsuit since I thought we were just going to walk around however, it didn't matter since I joked that my black dress can substitute as my 1920s swimsuit.
We alternated going into the water so at least one person would watch our belongings. Erin and I decided to try and make a sandman near the waves that lapped up the shore however, we kept changing direction. It morphed into a fortress but waves were too close and it kept ruining the sculpture. Then we morphed it into a dragon's head however, I positioned his claws incorrectly since his head faced North and his claws were positioned at the right side of the body. Erin then started to sculpt his tail but I said it looked phallic so it morphed into a guitar once I added the guitar head.
Since we positioned ourselves near the waves, the sculpture didn't last long and we grew tired of rebuilding it. We alternated again going into the water with one person either reading or sunbathing.
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| My 1920s "swimsuit" |
We spent at least five hours in the sun, making fun of each other with our obscene tan lines and eventual sunburns. Erin's skin around her thighs and shoulders were beginning to turn bright red as well as Brandon's shoulders. Linh didn't want to get any tanner so she briefly hid under the umbrella.
I was beginning to get hungry and asked if anyone else was and decided to find some Russian food. We opted to move away from the boardwalk since it would be more expensive and walked along Brighton Beach Ave. and decided on Oceanview Cafe. Their menu appealed to everyone's taste and it wasn't too expensive with entrees beginning at $10.
The place was packed but we were lucky and found a table near the doorway that seated five people. Belgium and Costa Rica World Cup quarterfinals were on the TVs so quite a few people looked captivated. While we placed our orders and waited for our food, I had a glimpse of the kitchen and saw a lovely, older woman in the a pink apron and wondered if she was making the meals. It took awhile for our meals to come out but there was white and rye bread to tide us over. Brandon said they were probably cooking my veal but I joked they were picking May - Mei's vegetables from their garden.
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| Veal rack with mashed potatoes at Oceanview Cafe |
Our food eventually arrived and I have to say the mushroom sauce complimented the veal very well! As usual, I had a taste of everyone's dish sampling kebabs, schnitzel, and salad.
After we finished our meal, we were all set to ride the Cyclone and joked that no one better vomit. We walked back to the boardwalk and Brandon told us about the Parachute jump accident which then ventured into conversations about skydiving accidents.
May - Mei still balked at riding the Cyclone and no convincing would have her join us otherwise. She opted to be the bag lady and Erin remained with her. Linh said she needed someone to hold on to during the ride so Brandon joined her. I thought I would have the ride all to myself but there was another young lady who needed a seat so the one of the operators asked if she can join me.
The Cyclone is still an awesome ride and despite its age, it gives you that stomach dropping rush. I screamed during the first drop then felt stupid since I was an adult then I laughed throughout the ride. I felt the $9 was well worth it and we walked around the area and saw the Steeplechase roller coaster which looked like two people mounted on horses without much restraints. We also looked at the Wild River which was the water ride and the Slingshot but we didn't feel like paying another $9 so we opted for ice cream instead.
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| Coney's Cones |
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| Cafe mocha and bipolar bar ice cream |
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