Each stop of the train shows you a different neighborhood; people and buildings and cars and billboards and all the other paraphernalia that is a part of urban life,  and you wonder, "how can they put an amusement park in the middle of all of this?"  And then the train, on it's raised platform high above the streets, rounds a bend, headed for the last stop on the line, and suddenly you see unfold right there in front of your eyes....

The roller coaster is what you see first, followed by the ferris wheel...and you think to yourself, "Man, what a photo that would make at sunset, when the light of the day is fading and the neon lights come on..."  But it's the middle of the day and the sun is shining brightly, glinting off all of the chrome and the glitter below; beckoning you, as the train pulls into the station.

As you exit the subway, the park is right across the street.  As you stand there on the street corner, waiting for the WALK sign to start flashing green, you can already smell the grease and the popcorn, and hear the excited screams from the children on the rides at the kiddie park.  The first time you come here, you need a little while to breathe deeply and take it all in; it's a visual smorgasbord - where do I want to point my camera first?  

But I've been here once before, so this time, it feels like a homecoming, a chance to visit again with some of the things I remembered so fondly from the last visit, and maybe to walk down a different street and see something new and unexpected as well.   And this time Pablo is with me, a native, who sees this park every day, and our conversation as we walk adds so much color and history to this place that so enthralls me.  

I have an ongoing love affair with old amusement parks, you see.  Each sign on the midway, with it's faded and peeling paint, the old rollercoasters, whose cars screech on the wooden tracks as they go around the corners, the old men on the midway, who promise wonderful prizes of teddy bears - two dollars will getcha four chances, don'tcha know - as they beckon you with the same tired lines they've been using for years, yet each day they seem to breathe new life into those challenges and bring in new customers....they fascinate me and keep me coming back again and again.

And when I'm tired and it's time for a break, I walk out to the Boardwalk and look at the ocean...maybe I'll grab an ice cream cone and sit for a minute as I watch the little children throw popcorn to the seagulls on the sand....The pier beckons, but it's a long way off, and I'm tired and a little hungry.  Nathan's is closer, only a little walk away, and the line at the takeout window is not too bad today.  

So we head off in search of hot dogs, as the shadows get longer and the wind picks up....and a little while later, I jump back on a train and head home, my memory card and my head full of wonderful memories of another day at the amusement park...

a day at the amusement park

Sorry Orbit, maybe some colour next time...