New York Lines

Rollercoaster weather (Saturday)

We had ambitious plans for Saturday. E and D both have done Hawaiian-style outrigging on the Hudson and being the boatie-type myself I thought this would be a cool start to the weekend. We were conspired against almost all day though. We both slept through the time we were to meet D and a combination of hangover and lack of sleep (I’ll let you guess who had which) meant we weren’t too disappointed to miss this…. at the time.

Eventually we stepped out into the barmy heat for a spot of brunch. A bagel, schmear and lox and Lonely Planet later and we’d decided on a trip to Coney Island. If anything I was keen to get away from skyscrapers for the day, despite how naff I was warned the environment and peope would be and how dangerous the rollercoasters were.

The subway headed across the river (no talking, we’re going over water) via Brooklyn ready to snake down the coast. E had mentioned a botanical garden on the way and as this was due to close in a couple of hours we decided a detour was in order.

Peace, tranquillity & humidity. Well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad. We admired Japanese torii, drank orange juice, discussed new career ideas.

Meanwhile the humidity rose and it rose until it could rise no more and the vapour was no longer hiding in the air, it was falling monsoon-style. With zero shelter and a finite amount of time together E and I continued walking: we’re no strangers to reservoirs and lakes so a little bit of rain (okay, a lot of rain) held no fear.

Eventually, drenched and dripping we returned to the subway: Coney Island would have to wait til another day. Instead we retired to a rather drier Manhattan, spotted a yakinuki restaurant just a block away from the apartment and returned that evening. The food was as gorgeous as I remember in Japan: the meat platter, though not the special sauce, possibly better. Sacrilege, I know, but at least a third of our 2-person platter was left untouched, uncooked and to the side; now if only I could find one of these places a little closer to home, for visitors, obviously.

posted by Paul Campy @ 8:49 AM