That's How the Cookie Crumbles

This week was my first as a host in New York. I had a lot of things that seemed fun and 'local' planned, and we wound up only doing one of them...a black and white cookie from Cranberry's Bakery in Brooklyn Heights. (and at Cranberry's, the cookie base is chocolate, so even that wasn't very authentic...) But I think (hope) that Mary had a good trip despite the rain and cold and crazy dog. I definitely enjoyed having someone here with me-- the trips on the subway without my iPod and the chance to show someone from home that I actually do live here and this isn't like when I was 'living inside my head' and that I'm not just posting photos from Google every once in a while from the public library in Hazel Green. Does she believe me? Yes. Is she impressed? That is still unclear.
We did some stuff, like the Museum of Moving Pictures and sundaes at Serendipity, but I feel like there's still a lot I can do to become a better tour guide...



Yesterday, after Mary took the train to JFK, I took it to meet Kana and Richard for an afternoon/evening on the Boardwalk at Coney Island. I'd never been but read a book last year called Amusing the Millions and was very excited to see the famous Cyclone and eat a corn dog. Although it was a little chilly and the famous roller coaster was not running (weather related? closed for the season? it's 80 years old and shouldn't still be working?), we had a really nice time walking on the beach and eating carnival food, even if there wasn't an actual carnival going on.
I'm not sure when destruction construction is set to begin on the New Coney Island, but I am glad that we managed to get out there while it's still a far ride from the City and a glimpse into America's past. There's plenty of seedy historical places to snap a picture of in New York (We saw the Chelsea Hotel Friday night, by the way...), but Coney Island is something that can be different than what you expect, even when you think you know what to expect. There are dive-y bars on the beach that serve Coors Lite and play Garth Brooks, a paintball course advertising the chance to 'shoot a carnie', a lady at the bar in a windbreaker with matching pants and a headband, and a photoshoot for a Huskaroos-type catalogue, complete with three girls in leotards and pigtails running and screaming and holding hands. All-in-all it was a great way to say goodbye to summer and snap a few pictures of the beach before it's no longer an oasis from the City but, instead, just another reason Brooklyn is no longer a cheaper alternative to Manhattan.