Day 9
Monday, January 16, 2023
When I was a kid, my grandmother had a jigsaw of the New York subway system. Two places drew my attention. I hit South Ferry a few days earlier on the way to Staten Island. The other is as far from Manhattan as the subway lines run. That was Rockaway Beach.
The Ramones singing about hitching a ride to Roackaway Beach just sealed the deal.
For reference...
Plan A was to spend my first two nights out there. Hotels on the north end were certainly reasonable. But, the on line reviews all seemed to boil down to the same thing. The rooms were nice and the price affordable. But, you'll want to be sure to be back at your room before dark.
There was one place towards the south end on Hotels.com. With all the fees and taxes, it would have run me $300 a night.
Plan B was to get up super early, take the subway out to Rockaway Beach for sunrise. From there, walk south to Fort Tilden. Time permitting, perhaps even a quick visit to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Preserve. Neither of those happened.
Plan C was simply to take the train and see what happened.
I left the room at first light and caught the A-Express towards Queens. This train was headed to the north end of the line. So I caught the local S line at a place called Broad Channel. The wildlife refuge is a half mile from here.
Crossing Jamaica Bay...
Rockaway Park Beach is the end of the line to the south. As I was walking across the platform, I spotted a guy getting off the train with a surfboard. Considering the cold, it seemed a little strange. Even with an insulated wetsuit, I couldn't imagine.
Adjacent to the train station is the Last Stop Gourmet Shop. It's a fancy name for a diner. The breakfast was filling and delicious. Hearing two of the waitresses comparing their success betting on the previous day's football games was a trip.
A few blocks from the diner was the first stop of the day, Tribute Park.
On 9/11, people gathered here and watched the Twin Towers burning, and the lingering smoke after their collapse. They decided to turn this unimproved lot into a small park.
This memorial lists the names of all the firefighters who lost their lives that day.
After leaving the park, I started a rather peasant walk out towards Fort Tilden.
Only then did I check the distance. After doing the mental math and considering how much of the day this would eat up, I went on to Plan D, hitting the beach.
Near the end of the boardwalk, I came across what was once the Hotel del Mar. The hotel opened in 1930, eventually becomming the Chai Home for Adults. It was evacuated for Superstorm Sandy and never reopened. Love the porch. But, imagine the renovation costs. It's not actually on the market. But, the house next door is currently valued at $1.6 million.
To my surprise, there were quite a lot of surfers out. At this end of he beach it seemed to be the more experienced ones and thus less crowded.
The waves did seem a little smaller as I walked onwards.
To get out of the cold and recharge my phone, I ducked into a place called Rockaway Roasters. The staff were definitely Queens natives. No doubt about it. It was the first time I remember being refered to as "Mistah."
Feeling better and full charged, it was time to head back to the beach, now with even more surfers.
At one point, I walked out on one of the stone jettyies. It was simply for a different angle on the waves and surfers. This turned out to be lucky moments.
The just missed it shot of the day... a surfer riding towards shore with the wave creating a prism behind him. Just not fast enough.
For the trip back to Manhattan, I decided to take the new ferry service. While even colder in the wind, it was well worth it.
The ferry brings you back to Manhattan by Wall Street. My first thought was to walk for a while, then catch the subway. I made it as far as Broadway and 14th Street.
Day 10
Tuesday, January 17, 2024
Today was just the trip home. The new Hudson Yards subway stop is a few blocks from the hotel and the terminus for the 7 train.
From there it's an easy ride towards LaGuardia Airport. Hop off at Roosvelt Avenue and transfer to the Q70 bus. Through the train window...
There were three of us with baggage whe the bus pulled up. It clearly said LaGuardia on the side. But, for some reason, not all Q70's go to the actual airport. Yeah, it makes zero sense. We caught the next one and it was fine.
Through the window inside LaGuardia Airport...
The flight itself was less bumpy than the trip up, always a good thing.
David
1/24/2023
PS: Crazy as this sounds, I have nothing booked or planned. Originally, I had three weeks of vacation in April, but didn't want to book anything until it was approved. June was supposed to be my 35th anniversay sabbatical. My supervisor had approved it, but now under the Discovery umbrella, it had to be approved on the corporate level. That was finally approved. Then December happened.
So, plans are fluid at the moment.
