Two Southern Folks Go North of the Mason-Dixon: Part Two

To read about the first part of our trip, please see the previous post!

After a disastrous morning in the Hamptons, we headed to Coney Island; After all, we figured it was an iconic New York activity, so we should experience it.  And experience it we did...

We paid $10 for parking - the incredibly nice toll attendant trusted us to park, get cash from an ATM, and then come back and pay her. She was one of the nicest people we met in New York! After paying for parking, we headed up to the Boardwalk and down to the Atlantic Ocean. It was shady. The sketchy kind of shady, but no one else seemed to realize it.  There were people all over in the sand and the water (which was an icky brown, at best). As we were debating whether to stick our feet in, our attention was caught by the dirty diaper laying right at the edge of the water; we decided that we'd rather not catch some terrible disease and hurried back to the Boardwalk.  We each had a slice of pizza as we watched a storm roll in. 

The storm rolling in over Coney Island

While debating whether or not we should try riding one of the cheesy, fair-like rides at the Coney Island amusement park, thunder and lightning started popping up. At that point Davis said, "I don't want to ride anything. I was already anxious about a roller coaster, but the lightning makes it a no-go." We opted for over-priced ice cream, and then we started our walk back to the car.  At this point, everyone else was headed for cover (accompanied with shrieks and running).  Davis and I ignored it all and continued strolling back to the car. Huge raindrops started plopping down (and had the gall to splash in my ice cream cone!) By the time we made it to the parking lot, the sky let loose; once we were halfway across the lot, we were completely soaked, and the lightning was striking quite close.  I'm sure the sight of us sprinting to the truck (me covered in mint-green ice cream literally from head to toe) was amusing.  Thankfully, I thought ahead and brought an extra change of clothes, which I quickly changed into once we made it to the car. I did not relish the thought of driving 4+ hours in wet clothing.

As we sat in traffic for an hour trying to get across the Verrazano Bridge, I prayed that we would make it out of New York alive and without any damage to the truck. I should mention that when we came across the Verrazano Bridge into New York on Thursday, then wanted $12 for the toll. $12!?!?! Needless to say, we did not have that much in cash because we had banked on spending about $4 for the toll.  The booth operator told us to "Just mail it." Hah. Yeah right. But here's the kicker....To get back across the Verrazano Bridge and out of New York, then wanted $13!!! 

Oh, and I loved all the signs that we saw right around the Bridge area.

"Air Action Day is Thursday and Friday: Use Mass Transit!"

"Fireworks are ILLEGAL! To report illegal fireworks, call 311."

"Use of Cameras Prohibited: Strictly Enforced" (Notice how I blatantly disregarded that message. Come on, they asked for it!)

We finished Friday by having dinner with Jenny Z (one of my incredible Sicilian roommates!) near Harrisburg, PA.  And I have to say that it was lovely catching up with her and doing some reminiscing about our adventures around Sicily. (I'm still hoping that all the Sicilian roommates will be able to get together at some point in the next year or two!)

For the rest of our trip home, see the next post!