Coney Island Nostalgia & 4th of July

Monday, August 29, 2016

My BFF Roxie came to visit for a week from Austin, TX and her vacation days corresponded with the July 4th weekend.

 I rented a hotel with a view in Long Island City, Queens which would have partial views of the fireworks since I didn't feel like going down to Brooklyn Bridge promenade at 2pm and wait for hours in the heat and be surrounded with a massive crowd.
NYC skyline daytime
NYC skyline from Long Island City, Queens
I asked her what she wanted to do other than make some burgers before the fireworks and Roxie said she wouldn't mind going down to Coney Island and eat some Nathan hot dogs.

 The subway ride was about an hour and forty five minutes which wasn't too bad and the heat wasn't too unbearable.  We walked down the promenade and I explained to her the first time I went to Coney Island in 2008, a lot of the store fronts were closed.

 I subsequently came back in 2014 and there was a gelato shop where my friends and I ended up buying ice cream.  This time around, Coney Island was redeveloped which included the remodeled Luna Park that had several amusement rides and several new restaurants lined the promenade.
Long lines at Nathan's on 4th of July
Roxie passed on riding the Cyclone but we definitely waited in line for a long time to get some hot dogs and cheese fries.


Nathan's Coney Island
Quintessential hot dogs at Coney Island
I opted for the classic hot dog and cheese fries while Roxie ordered bacon cheese fries and cheese dogs.  Surprisingly, we found a table with another couple who was willing to share with us and were able to eat them comfortably.
Nathan's cheese dogs
Bacon cheese fries and cheese dogs
After Nathan's, we continued to walk around Luna Park where we saw several sides.  There were tons of adults participating so it was nice to see tons of people who know how to have fun.



Coney Island spinner

We spent about four hours there before heading back to Queens to check into the hotel.  
Z Hotel received positive reviews based on my research online to see some fireworks.  They also had a promotional rooftop party to view the fireworks.  Luckily, we didn't buy tickets to the event because it ended up raining for a bit.


                                                                    Z hotel room

Check - in was easy and the bucket of ice we requested at the lobby was immediately delivered so we can store our beers.  Roxie found some Shiner Bock and decided we would have a little bit of Texas in NY.

Shiner Bock
The room could have easily fit three people since it was a king size bed and the room had a leather pull out futon.  In my opinion, the views were spectacular especially at night when the skyline was lit up and you can see part of the fireworks.


LIC skyline from Z hotel

Z Hotel view of NYC skyline at night

Roxie ended up making videos of the firework display.  Since I didn't bring a tripod, I couldn't take clear pictures of the synchronize fireworks show nor did I have a wireless remote to capture the shots.

I was glad that Roxie was able to experience NYC with me on 4th of July and eat some Nathan's hot dogs with me and drink some Shiner Bocks.  We couldn't find some lone stars in NYC but I think that's just a TX specialty.








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