We had such a nice start to Friday! I didn’t want to eat breakfast at the hotel because while we have been to NYC before, we’ve never been to Brooklyn (aside from walking across the Brooklyn Bridge like a bunch of corny tourists about 7 years ago), and in case you didn’t know, Coney Island is basically Brooklyn (I think). So, before going to bed the night before, Henry and I combed Yelp and Google and settled on a cafe called Milk & Honey. We had to take the train there because Henry was all, “I AM NOT DEALING WITH PARKING” but it was a nice ride, + we got to see Luna Park from above!

Also, this is basically  the end of the line so it was EMPTY when we got on. Love that for us. I don’t mind taking public transportation in other cities, and we usually do 75% of the time, but I still get that sick anxiety if we have to board a packed trolley/train/subway/street car. I just feel like we have TOURIST markers above our heads every time, lol.

(OK, that’s in every situation when traveling — we don’t even try to not look like tourists most of the time.)

After about 30 minutes on the train and then another 5 minutes on foot, we made it to Milk & Honey. Since it was a weekday, it wasn’t crowded AT ALL but they did have “reserved” signs on almost every table so that was cool.

I picked this place because they had a few granola/yogurt type things on the online menu and I really really really wanted to start my day off healthily since we were going to be out in the sun, riding puke-inducing rides, and probably not eating the best out there in the wilds of Luna Park.

“Oh….you brought that stupid camera again. Great.”

A Greek yogurt bowl with granola, berry compote, and honey? Yes, please.

STUPID HENRY AND CHOOCH ATE AT THE HOTEL LIKE LITTLE ASSHOLES AND CONVENIENTLY WEREN’T HUNGRY. I was so mad! I picked this place because it had healthy options for me and also full breakfast shit for those two and then all they got was a chocolate chip cookie each plus Henry got a croissant. And they both got froufrou iced lattes.

I got regular coffee because I actually like coffee unlike those two who only like it when it’s buried under almond milk, sugar, syrup and whipped cream or cold foam. Sissies.

So of course they were just sitting there not eating while I was eating more and more slowly because that yogurt was a THICC BOI and started to feel scooping up quicksand with a thimble. I was actually so full halfway through that Henry had to be a hero and finish it for me.

(Probably thinking, “THAT WAS $15 I’M NOT LETTING EVEN ONE SPECK OF HONEY GO TO WASTE.” Actually, I don’t remember exactly what it cost but I do remember thinking that it was reasonable even though later that Henry, after a full early dinner near Times Square, Henry spat, “BREAKFAST WAS ALMOST AS MUCH AS THIS!!” Um, yeah, welcome to Brooklyn latte economics, my guy! That bill was mostly their coffee milkshakes lattes, not my actual food, BUT NICE TRY.)

(We still react to these things like we’re starving artists sometimes, it’s like ingrained in us at this point.)

I mean, it wasn’t the most memorable cafe experience but it wasn’t BAD. I should have got a fucking smoothie though since I had to sit there looking at them listed on a giant chalkboard above our heads, UGH.

I will say though, on the way back a group of teen boys hopped on with a box of donuts and proceeded to tear into it and it looked IMMENSLEY better than what I had for breakfast. It was a true I’LL HAVE WHAT THEY’RE HAVING moment.

From there, we went STARIGHT to Luna Park to get our wristbands. OFC there were only 2 people currently at the ticket booth but then we got out of line because my Apple card declined the purchase while I was trying to buy it online to save some money, because Apple thought I was buying dark web tickets or something I DON’T KNOW. I was panicking because we were NEXT and I didn’t have the confirmation yet so then two women and their 8 respective kids got in front of us while I was finalizing the purchase, and YES we saved some money it this way but it defeats the purpose when you still have to stand in line to get the wristband and now we were behind these two bitch-moms who were soooo granola and annoyingly using shout-voices like no one else was around. Since they were paying separately, it was two of the most frustrating transactions to witness because they both asked the poor ticket girl a laundry list of questions AND THEN COME TO FIND OUT that the one mom and her kids COME THERE “ALL OF THE TIME.”

Like, they LIVE in New York but were asking questions like tourists on an old person bus tour.

“We’re going to see them ALL DAY now,” Chooch mumbled.

Anyway, we finally got wristbanded and it was OFF TO THE RACES. We confirmed that you could come and go as you please, having a wristband doesn’t marry you to the park, so our plan was to knock out as many of the coasters as possible, go into the city for dinner, and then come back for night rides. It was open until midnight and I just really wanted to be there for the night vibes. You know what’s up.

Unfortunately, we got the top level of the wristband package so that idiot bitch Slingshot thing was included, and that ended up being the first thing we did that morning (yes, morning still!) because a lot of the coasters were still testing. Actually, the ticket booth girl told us that two weren’t even supposed to open that day BUT THEN THEY DID. A birthday miracle!

Of course, I needed to ride Cyclone before it got crowded there, so we made our way there next.

This was the best picture Henry the Purse Holder got of us UGH. I should have just taken my phone up to the station with me and put it in the personal item box, because then at least I could have taken pictures while we waited an ungodly amount of time to get on the damn thing and I say ungodly because it was one train ops and not even a full train of people were waiting in the station. Holy shit, the amount of time it took for the people before us to (slowly) unload, (slowly) pick up their personal items, and then wait for the ride operator to (slowly) allow the train to inch its way forward for our group to board, it was insane.

Also, we didn’t know how this worked so we squeezed by the group of kids wearing matching shirts (and then us realizing, “Wait, is this a camp group? Hopefully the only one…” figuring we could just take the back seat. No one else was congregating back there so I didn’t think anything of it until I realized that the train had stopped with the back row blocked. “Are we able to ride in the back?” I asked the girl who looked like she was 15 with our lives in her hands.

“Yes…but we load front to back,” she said, so even though we didn’t have a full train, we were forced to sit in the middle because when they say front to back, they literally mean, “no skipping rows.”

THEN! We had to sit there and wait for more people to come so they could send a full train! Thankfully, there WERE people coming but there is no way to get to the station except to go through a winding queue that’s really not skippable and these people were really on a Sunday stroll, you guys. Chooch and I were so antsy, like PLEASE SEND THE FUCKING TRAIN.

It was actually not that bad considering its age (built in 1927!) but it gave me a HEADACHE. Well, that’s new. Elder age indicator? I was in no hurry to ride this again but very grateful that I got that one ride in at least!

As soon as we arrived back to the station, we quickly realized that the kids on the train with us had a multitude of counterparts roaming the park—ALONG WITH A MIXED BAG OF ADDITIONAL SUMMER CAMPS FROM AROUND THE CITY. School buses dotted the periphery of the park while clumps of same-shirted kids milled about in different-colored droves.

Chooch and I both groaned, “OH GREAT!”

But you guys! Somehow this did not make the place feel crowded AT ALL. And they were all so well-behaved! Their elder-teen chaperones were doing a good job from what I could see. No line-jumping!

I think what I loved a lot about this place is that, being part of NYC, it was a true melting pot of patrons and it just made it feel more vibrant and festive and also? Less room for Karens and their entitled brat-kids who LOVE to cut a line.

Oh you guys, that is THE pet peeve at amusement parks. I fucking hate a line jumper.

That being said, let’s look at pictures of more rides.

The Tickler was probably the longest line we stood in all day which was a given because these rides always have slow output. But even then, it was probably about 25 minutes tops — 24 of those minutes were spent grilling Chooch about his college life, if he misses us, etc.

Thinking of infuriating responses to my questions. Also, he was proud to announce that he gets all of his t-shirts from the local flea market that happens next to his dorm, but he has learned to wait until the very end when they’re given shit away for free, which is how he wound up with whatever sports shirt he was wearing that day.

I saw some guy do this finger thing on one of the cars before us, while posing for a picture. “I’M GOING TO DO THIS FROM NOW ON” I said to Chooch, who mumbled, “Please don’t.”

But guess who kept slipping  up and doing the finger waggle also??

For some reason, Henry never noticed, or he noticed but just didn’t care to ask us why we were doing that.

OMG there are more kiddie coasters there than anything else and there’s no age limit so Chooch and I rode all of them.

For some reason, Henry took 87 pictures of us riding this.

 

I have so many pictures of Grown Chooch riding kiddie coasters at this point that I could probably make a photobook for him.

This one was a little more “thrilling.”

And then this stupid fucking POS. The only other coaster like this we have ridden is in Canada’s Wonderland and I am here to tell you, if you count coaster credits, just skip these ones. Truly. Ride the kiddie coasters. Go out of your way for the +1 SBF Spinner inside some random family fun center. But these volare flying models are actual torture chambers. THEY PUT YOU IN  CAGE FOR GOD’S SAKE. It is very painful, obnoxiously so. I don’t really have any other words–just that after doing two of these now, I am comfortable going the rest of my life never riding another.

Also, the boarding process IS SO INVASIVE. You have to climb up a little ladder thing, put your chin on a chinrest thing, and then the ride attendant has to decide if you’re standing on the right rung of the step ladder thing in order to have the cage close up and literally go between your legs. Of course, I wasn’t up high enough but I kept skipping a step and going up too high and she was like, “No, there’s another step, you went over it” but I couldn’t look down to see what I was doing because my chin was already jammed down against that fucking rest and meanwhile Chooch was next to me muttering that I was embarrassing him.

What I’m trying to say is that it’s a lot of labor and public humiliation just to willingly put yourself through a car crash simulation.

^^^ Here’s my face when the dissociative amnesia from Canada’s Wonderland started to wear off just enough for me to realize I made a big mistake.

Then when it flipped us upside down the first time, IT WAS ALL COMING BACK TO ME NOW in the key of Celine Dion.

Chooch: “It’s not THAT bad.”

LOL OK! You know what, I take it back—I want everyone reading this to RUN DON’T WALK to your nearest volare model and then let me know what you think after riding it once.

Chooch’s dumbass shirt matched the stupid flying coaster.

Then we rode this idiot bitch ride which took forever to get on even though there were only 4 people in front of us because it’s such low capacity. Also, the maintenance man was called over right before Chooch and I got on because god only knows why, maybe it’s best that I didn’t know, and then he PERSONALLY checked our restraints and then was DOING SOME MECHANICAL BEHIND ME. I made eye contact with Henry who shook his head and mouthed, “You’re fine” except his lips mimed the “your” spelling of it, and I was like, “Oh OK, since Henry went to death trap carnival ride mechanic school online and therefor knows precisely what this man is doing back there, I trust Henry’s judgment and will proceed to ride this in good faith.”

I used this random Hipstamatic filter because I have it and never use it so why not now. Why not.

Oh yeah, also whatever what was going on, they could only load two people on each side instead of 4, so that was not concerning at all.

There was group of some of the camp kids who got in line behind us—they were the same ones we rode Cyclone with. They were stoked to ride this thing but then their chaperone came over and yelled, “WE ONLY HAVE 30 MINUTES LEFT.  DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE REST OF YOUR FRIENDS AND DO SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN ALL TOGETHER, OR DO YOU WANT TO BE

SELFISH

AND SPEND THAT TIME WAITING TO RIDE THIS?!”

They sadly got out of line and joined her and some kids from the group who weren’t even doing anything!? Like, none of them seemed in a hurry to find something to ride.

“I fucking hate her,” Chooch muttered in his calm and collected serial killer tone.

Then the one ride operator was like, “LET’S MAKE A DEAL” or something and basically said if they wanted to ride it, [insert indecipherable bargain] which I think was something about he would run it on a shortened circuit. Actually, I’m pretty sure that’s what was happening because we got to go around like 3 times and then suddenly it was over. I mean, not that I wanted to ride this any longer but it still was irritating that this affected us so I think we should have been a part of that discussion???

J/K it was nice that he did that for those kids.

I guess.

Even if it was during a mysterious maintenance issue.

Oh P.S. this was called “Zenobio” whatever that means.

UGH NOT PICTURED IS US RIDING TONY’S EXPRESS WHOEVER TONY IS!

This was like, my favorite coaster there too because it reminded me of the one in Tivoli Gardens that I screamed JANNA! the whole way through while all the Danes were like, “WTF IS A JANNA.”

Here’s a picture from the website. Curiously, Henry claims that he couldn’t take a picture of us on this because he couldn’t “see” us, and that there was “nowhere to stand to get a picture” but THIS PHOTO PROVES OTHERWISE. He probably fell asleep next to a garbage can or something!

Whatever, it was my favorite coaster there. Chooch thought it was “alright.”

Our last ride of the first session at Luna Park was this actually so much fun shoot-the-chute water ride called Leti’s Treasure that got us unbelievably soaked!

Ugh, you can see the track for Tony’s Express on the left :(

Chooch was so uncomfortable after this that we had to go inside the nearby Brooklyn Beach Shop where he bought new shorts and then proceeded to gush over how comfortable they were for the rest of the day. Literally he was so obsessed to the point where I suggested he go back and get another pair but then it was me who was being ridiculous.

It’s only a good idea when it’s his idea.

It was cool because that brand was doing a collab with Nathan’s so there was a lot of cute hot dog merch there. Also much better Luna Park merch than the actual Luna Park gift shop so I got some magnets and postcards. (Yes, I was a postcard psycho on this trip too. “WE HAVE TO FIND A MAILBOX!”)

As we left the park, there was this food stand with a good variety of Mexican refreshments. Chooch was sad because they didn’t have hibiscus thing that was on the menu and that his host family made every day when he was studying abroad in Mexico. So he opted for the chia lemonade, I got the horchata de fresa and Henry got plain horchata. We all liked it but Henry and Chooch the Economics Podcasters were laying out the cost of all of the ingredients compared to what they were charging per cup. That meant…absolutely nothing to me as someone who not only does NOT go grocery shopping (she says a day after writing on this blog about going grocery shopping with Henry) but also does not understand the value of a dollar. I’m the person who will interrupt to ask, “Oh, so is that a lot then? Or is it cheap?” typically followed by an awkward silence. Usually now I will just check for social cues and make throat sounds similar to everyone else.

We hung out in the hotel room for about an hour so we could charge our phones (and Henry of course immediately fell asleep) before heading back out to Times Square. (I don’t think I knew that Henry picked Times Square as the destination. “IT WAS JUST TO GET US INTO THE CITY AND THEN GO FROM THERE!” he cried, but like, I would have chosen somewhere better—IT’S FINE! WE HAD A GOOD TIME.) Um, getting there alone was probably the most….experience….we had the entire weekend. Yeah. “Experience” is all I can say about that. So, check back for that story lol.

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Gah, Jodie and Tim-Tim, you guys know how long I have wanted to go to Coney Island. I don’t know WHY it took me so long to get my fat ass there but props to Henry and Chooch for, as usual, dropping everything to attend to my Birthday Girl Needs last week.

It worked out so perfectly that we could just swing by Philly and scoop up Chooch after his last class on Thursday (my birthday, bitches!) and that he doesn’t have classes on Fridays. So, no selfish impediment on his college education from Needy Mommy. (He was annoyed though because as usual he forgot the itinerary and had booked a ticket for an advanced screening of Spiderman for that night and had to miss it—if you don’t know this about Chooch, he is a HUGE fan of the Spiderman franchise. Sorry, Chooch! You can see that ANYTIME. Coney Island with MOMMY is once in a lifetime. OK, not really, but you know what I mean!!)

We got in around 7:30PM, checked into a Best Western that was mostly OK but had the WORST bathroom lighting so I felt like I was leaving the hotel looking a freak every time. Google maps said that it was a 30 minute walk to Luna Park from there, or a 26 minute subway ride (??). We decided to just walk and it only took us about 15 minutes past a ridiculous amount of autobody shops.

Our first order of business was eating. There is a very slim window before I turn into an asshole so we chose the first pizza place we saw and look—we are not foodies by any stretch of the imagination and weren’t looking for AN EXPERIENCE or whatever, but Chooch and I knew as soon as we all walked into a completely empty Pizzaria that perhaps this wasn’t going to be the best of the best. So, expectations were low.

I just got a slice of cheese and had immediate remorse when I tried the white pizza that I conned Henry into ordering because it was actually pretty good compared to the below basic slice I was saddled with. I mean, it wasn’t TERRIBLE. There are plenty of school cafeterias in the country churning out way worse pizza. Henry and I ended up splitting each other’s slices but I’m pretty annoyed with myself for not just going back up and getting my own full slice of white.

Still, it was a pleasant experience overall because we were all getting along, there was no attitude, I liked the grungy vibes of the place, and I had Chooch there to take pictures of me where I actually look like myself and not Jay Leno’s daughter. (Henry is terrible at taking pictures of me! I know that this is largely because I’m Queen Ugz but come on bro, use your words and direct me into poses and positions where I look at LEAST homely rather than something dragged out of the holler on a humid July afternoon after a rain storm.)

Oh look at my little Lomography half-frame film camera there! I used up a whole roll and anticipate 99% of it coming back as developed trash.

P.S. I had an eye doctor appointment two weeks ago and the new, young eye doctor who I instantly adored goes to me, “Erin, is your favorite color pink?” and with no hesitation I said YES with my whole chest but this is not actually true!? Purple is my favorite color! Anyway, she asked me that because I was wearing like 5 different shades of pink all the way down to my shoes and now looking at this picture I realize, wow, I actually do wear A LOT of pink A LOT of time.

He apparently still plays Pokemon Go. Not sure if that’s what he was doing here, but 9/10 times I nebbed at his phone screen, he was doing Coney Island Pokemon Go things.

This place definitely had a cool vibe. Just, you know, probably a tourist trap. Two people did come in while we were there to get pizza to go so maybe it was just a slow night? There weren’t a lot of people out in the park or the boardwalk either.

I like that the train runs right over it. Also, perhaps we should have went to Taoxi instead.

We weren’t going to be doing any of the rides until the next day but now I kind of regret not paying $10 to ride this that night when there was no one there. It was a station wait for us the next day but I wanted to ride it again at night and there was somewhat of a line—-not even an outrageous one but after riding it earlier that morning, we got a taste of the slow-AF ops so Chooch said, “No, I refuse to wait in that line, it’ll take hours with the rate they send the train.” Ugh, he’s more of a dad than Henry sometimes.

But yeah, even if you’re not a coaster thoosie like us, you perhaps still might know that Cyclone has a ton of historical relevance in the coaster scene. It’s a legend! One of the main reasons I wanted to get out there sooner rather than later because you just never know. Luna Park I feel like is “on the verge” of closing more often than not. Currently, it seems stable ever since the amusement ride manufacturer Zamperla bought it.

One of the Luna Park entrances! The great thing about this place is that like some other boardwalk parks, you don’t have to pay to enter. So, we were able to stroll around and check it out before coming back to do the actual riding the next day.

OMG Henry was obsessed with that apartment building in the building because there was some guy standing in the top balcony, the one with the light on, and he was dancing or watching whatever local baseball game was being played on the field down there, who even cares. Henry, apparently, because he was trying to use his phone to zoom in to see what the guy was doing and Chooch and I were like, “Get away from us, you creep.” I would NEVER do something so invasive!!!

NEVER!

Come on guys.

OK, maybe I do it less now than I used to. That has to count for something.

I loved the atmosphere so much.

It was the best of both worlds: the beach vs. a big city. I am so much more a “city vacationer” but so enjoy spending SOME time on a beach. I just can’t do the full week slow-living beach vacations. Not for me. I have too much energy and too many things to see and do! So Coney Island is actually perfect for me—I got to walk on a pier, a boardwalk, smell sort-of ocean air, ride a ton of rides, and then take a train into the city for urban stuffs. I was honestly really content and I think it was apparent in the way that NONE OF US ARGUED. And I’m not just talking that evening. I mean the whole long weekend. It was like we were a….happy family.

LOL LOOK HOW HAPPY!

We were on some pier with a bunch of old men fishing right before it started POURING down rain.

We kept goading Henry to get a hot dog from Nathan’s but he never did. Weird.

We decided to go back by subway (bro is it always called the subway or do you call it a train when it’s above ground?!?! It’s all above ground in Coney Island / Brooklyn it seems) because the walk there wasn’t too bad in the daylight but we are tourists and don’t know if it’s safe to be goofing around on foot there at night, you know?

I embarrassed Chooch by making him stop here for a picture lol.

UGH the first evening was so good. I mean, the sleeping part sucked because Hotel Henry somehow snores like 5 Home Henrys combined. Chooch piled pillows on his face in the middle of the night but not even that helped. Ugh.

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Oh shit, we’ve been home for two days now and I am still so fucking cooked. It didn’t help that we also had a show to go to Monday night, and I hurt my back jumping and today I still feel so run down that I asked Henry to make me SOUP for dinner! On an 85 degree day!.

Happy belated birthday to me! 47! And feeling every year of it, LOL!

Anyway, the injuries I collected are as follows:

• slammed BOTH elbows down hard when I got into the seat for Thunderbolt at Luna Park
• sore thighs from being stapled on various rides
• wrecked toes from so much walking around Coney Island and NYC
• bruise on my knee from some weird boat ride thing at Adventureland (Chooch also hit his knee on the same part when he was getting into his boat!)
• kicked a pole really hard with my shin when I swung my leg over the horse on the carousel at Playland
• SEATBELTED MY FINGER on the same carousel because the ride operator ACTUALLY WALKED AROUND MAKING SURE EVERYONE HAD THEIR SEATBELTS ON. Even the adults. On a fucking carousel. Chooch was fuming—we literally sat there for what felt like 10 minutes before the ride actually started because the guy had to slowly walk around checking everyone and not only that but he was SEATBELTING ALL OF THE EMPTY HORSES, TOO.

OK but the injury Chooch got was worse than all of mine, in my opinion anyway. Of course he was trying to downplay it but here is what happened! Picture it:

Chooch and I are happily on board these dumb little rescue boats, fresh from busting our knees while getting inside

So happy! This ride was actually adorable!

After the ride ended, Chooch decided to be a jerk by trying to splash water on me. Except, when he turned around with his hand raised and splash-ready, he ended up smacking it knuckle-side off that metal bar.

It IMMEDIATELY bruised.

Of course, it gave me jelly legs. I can’t stand seeing even the mildest of injuries. I feel it in my legs every time. One time, Barb said this was because I’m an empath. Then, sometime later, I did a callback to that and she was like, “YOU? And EMPATH? Who would give you that idea?”

Bro, YOU did, Barb. YOU did.

God, I fucking miss her. Like, a lot. :(

Anyway, I convinced Chooch to go to first aid and get an ice pack, but every single person we talked to acted like the entire park had been rearranged that morning and we were given so many different directions. The one person at least said it was in the “City Hall” building by by the bumper cars, but she pointed in the complete opposite direction so we were just roaming around like we were on the lamest scavenger hunt ever.

Finally found it! This was actually on the second time Chooch has ever had to visit First Aid at an amusement park, if you a believe it.

(This was the first time, when he was just a little kid!)

He was super stoked to have to talk to the teenage girls manning the First Aid counter, like, “My mommy says I need to put ice on my boo boo.” Lol.

He acted like he didn’t need it but the Mom MD in me says otherwise.

Family portrait on the train, ice pack reppin’!

Well, I think this is all the injuries we sustained. Henry had no injuries because he did nothing but stand around, holding my purse. I’m excited to recap the rest of the trip, but I want to take many naps first.

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Back in Pittsburgh and while I’m sad that the trip is over, I’m relieved to be back here with Penelope because I worry so much every time we leave her, and I’m also not too proud to admit that I have always overdone the itinerary in the past by trying to shove in too much and that three nights was the sweet spot for us to actually get along and not burn out. 

If we’re being honest, even THAT was a bit much since most of it was spent riding pukey thrills rides and janky coasters. Chooch and I were both crying like elders, we were so tired and sore. The only thing Henry rode was Deno’s Wonder Wheel, and then the train, one coaster, and a dark ride at Adventureland. And that was only because he had no choice but to pay to get in. 

Today was just driving back home for the most part. Long Island is only about 90 minutes from Philly, so that was nice! Of course we had to drive around looking for a mail box first so I could mail my idiot post cards aka the bane of Henry’s existence on every trip we take. 

I was just really happy to be together again. I think I am slowly adapting to not seeing Chooch regularly now but I can’t help but feel like everything is back to normal again when we’re all together. I feel like we’re maybe a little less annoying to him now too???

Hands down, the best part of the trip was Coney Island. That whole area was such a vibe. I would definitely go back!! Maybe not to ride the rides, but to just hang out on the boardwalk in Luna Park / Deno’s Wonder Wheel park in general, because both are free to enter and the energy is so good and positive. I have so much to recap and so many pictures, but I need to recharge.

I’m just so happy that we did this and that Henry and Chooch still go along with my dumb ideas when I’m sure they’d be happier doing something more chill and relaxing rather than have me (pantomiming) snapping my fingers and saying, “let’s go! we’re running out of time!”

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Just checking in – we have had very little down time because this is an Erin R Kelly itinerary after all. 

We’ve been having a lot of fun and Chooch even pointed out that we managed to go an entire day yesterday – and we did A LOT yesterday – with actually no arguing which is a first for our family vacations. Maybe we’re growing up??!!

Anyway, I’m leaving this picture here of the first thing we did after getting to Luna Park yesterday. Usually this Slingshot thing is an upcharge so that’s always been my easy out but with the package we bought for just me and Chooch (Henry was being a lame non-rider), it was INCLUDED. It wasn’t even 11am yet and Chooch was like, “oh well I guess we’ll just have to do the Slingshot since it’s right here” because the first coaster we went to was still testing. 

Yeah, I had so many regertz while we were getting strapped in but the ride operators were so sweet so that helped. 

Henry didn’t get a video because he fails as Vacation Mom (I was pissed because I recorded him when he rode this at Wildwood with Chooch!!!) so I had to buy the $15 on ride video which is just me screaming bloody murder, muttering about hating Chooch, saying “ok this isn’t that bad” and then “why are we still up here though” and looking generally listless like a rag doll ready to bypass Goodwill and go straight into the trash. I literally could feel nothing after that launch. 

I have to go. Henry just got beeped at aggressively because I’m not paying attention on his behalf. Ugh. 

ETA: Now with video, LOL:

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Hello from Coney Island! We’re winding down from a long day of driving so here are the pictures I took with my blessed baby Charmeras (I brought both!).

Vacation journal in the car. :)

We were early getting to Philly so we stopped at Madis for matcha and cold brew while Chooch was in class. This matcha was pretty good!

Henry didn’t like his cold brew, but he’s a bitch so who cares.

LOL this was after I went out a different door and he couldn’t find me.

CHOOCH SIGHTING!!

Chooch was embarrassed because I was taking pictures of “nothing special” from traffic, tourist that I am.

He was only smiling because he was laughing at whatever movie he was watching. Yes, he started watching a movie immediately after getting into the car. No, sorry—he devoted a few minutes to bitching about everything wrong in his life first (he lost his right AirPod, he broke his phone cord, etc).

Some bridge. I don’t know if we were still in PA or NJ at this point. Big apologies to my bridge fetishists out there. I’ve let you down.

STORM CLOUDS.

I dunno, I just thought this was cool and retro looking.

If you don’t have legs, you’re fine.

Henry almost wrecked on the bridge right after I took this because he didn’t realize traffic stopped. It was actually terrifying and he burned rubber.

Some gross ship.

I was trying to take a picture of this cute cat outside of our hotel that reminded us of Penelope but then he/she started to jump, lol. Chooch got a normal picture with his phone though:

Walking to Luna Park! We’re actually going there for real tomorrow but we wanted to get something quick to eat and possibly ride the Wonder Wheel at the other park to get that out of the way.

Every time Chooch tried to get out of a picture, I would remind him that it’s my birthday (and so is tomorrow and Saturday).

Bro, I remember when we went to Long Island for Enhypen, we saw Luna Park in the distance and I said, “That’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to it” because I have wanted to come here my whole life!

I can’t wait to ride this!!!

Then we came to some place called Surf City for a quick slice and knew it was going to be mid as soon as we walked in NO ONE WAS THERE but we didn’t care at that point. We were hungry and weren’t trying to be pizza snobs (although I did remind them that I had voted for taking the subway to somewhere better but no one wanted to do that, so…).

It’s amazing how Chooch is able to take normal pictures of me when Henry makes me look like chungus every time.

The mid pizza in question.  

There was some kind of baseball game happening.

Oh yeah, Deno’s Wonder Wheel park closed early because it was about to rain so we’ll have to do all of that stuff tomorrow. 

LOL this is supposed to be the water lapping against the beach, you didn’t know?

 

Then it started pouring so we had to stand under a roof thing for a few minutes.

Took the subway back to the hotel.

 

Well, that’s all for day 1, Charmera-wise!

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