Straight up & out the door this morning & onto the Q train south. This meant I arrived at Brighton Beach at 11:45. The journey time to the coast is actually less than going into the city.
When I arrived I headed to the furthest point of Manhattan Beach meeting Brighton Beach. I then tinkered west and walked along the beach until it's furthest point. You could see Rockaway beach where I started and the mainland where I finished. I lay out in the sun for a few minutes at this stage.
Turning back I did stop and have a spell in the water that was delightfully cold. Leaving a life guard to look after my belongings. I had partially dried up by the time I reached Coney Island. I looked in a couple of shops & strolled round one of the parks. Nathan's Hot Dogs on the boardwalk was simply too busy. I headed to their original location just off the boardwalk. Still busy this larger operation had express lines for hot dogs & beer. I grabbed a Bacon & Cheese Dog along with a Coney Island lager. After a few minutes I managed to find a table to sit and have my beer in the shade. I was soon joined by a grandmother and her granddaughter who was visiting her from Italy. Her son & grandson were parking the car. I chatted to them while they waited & I finished my beer. Leaving when they had secured their food.
I didn't get far as a bar on the boardwalk had seats in the sun & was belting out some good music. I grabbed a table & a frozen mango margarita. This finished off my time in the sun & at the beach. I would have easily stayed longer but I think I would have been more sunburnt if I had. I jumped on the Q at 8th as I walked passed the Cyclone I had been on four years ago.
I attempted to purchase some supplies from the supermarket but they wudn't take my card despite my explanation that it was a chip & pin.
After a quick shower & change I made my north. Initially I was going to get the bus but when that didn't arrive I made my way via the subway. Which involved going into Manhattan & out to Brooklyn on the L train.
Our first attempted stop was Brooklyn Bowl, however it seemed more of a live music venue that happened to have bowling.
Stefan knew of a nearby place called Gutterball. I'm glad we ended up there. With a old timey bar, that featured a table hockey game of the US team playing the Russians. We grabbed a pitcher of beer which you were able to take through to the alley. Stefan won the first game with a great 143. I took the second game. The hall was full of people who waited for a lane in the bar area. One of the groups had brought in pizza which made me hungry for some. We then went to Vinny's for a pizza slice. This time we took the bus back from McCarran Park where we had played kickball.