Only a 40-minute subway ride from my apartment and a world unto itself, Coney Island is always a new experience and like seaside weather, it’s always different. I stumbled upon this kite festival one grey fall afternoon. Other visits have yielded dance parties on the boardwalk, roller coaster rides, shandies in plastic cups on the beach, a trip to "Little Odessa", and a myriad of interesting characters and experiences.
Within an couple hours' drive of NYC, you can find lots of sleepy seaside towns. Not only can you get your soft ice cream and salt water taffy on, but you can still spot cool, hand-lettered signs and other relics of a past generation's amusements.
NYC's skyline has been drastically changing, and Frank Gehry has added a real masterpiece with 'New York by Gehry at 8 Spruce Street'. It is subdued compared to Gehry's other work, but also elegant, subtle, and delicate. When you stand directly under it the skin of the building can best be described as reptilian.