| I left Astoria Queens around 9 am. It took over 2 hours to get to Coney Island, but I had been misinformed about what time everything started, so I was still very early. On the way I lost my shirt (blew off the back of the bike) and in this West Indies neighborhood I was able to go shirtless into a gas station to get coffee and then into an outlet store where I bought 2 shirts for UNDER $4! Amazing! Anyway when I was almost there I noticed this mysterious street ----------------> |  |
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I was there early enough that I was able to just walk in to where the photographers were later having to pay to get in.
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| Wherein there were various Merpeople getting ready for the spectacle. I like getting places early. | ||||||||
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I liked the shark kid. Saw him later on in the parade too. But WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE 2 ON THE RIGHT?? They disappeared and I never saw them again after the very beginning... |  |
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| This guy built a pedal powered boatcycle. He hopes to make it amphibious. A boat-cycle...that would be perfect for Amsterdam wouldn't it? | ||||||||
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Ruth and I caught each others' eye and started talking. When I mentioned I had never ridden on the Cyclone she insisted we go on together. I'll always remember her for popping my Cyclone cherry :) She rides every time she comes to Coney Island. She gave me a flyer for the party she went to after, but I ended up going somewhere else instead. I wonder if I will ever see her again. | |||||||
| Still plenty of mer-people around..and humans, and POLAR BEARS! oh my! | ||||||||
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| I went off in search of friends who had come to do a funeral for Topsy the elephant. Topsy was electricuted by Thomas Edison in an attempt to prove AC current was too dangerous to use. I did not find them. But I did find another pocket of people getting ready a few blocks away. | ||||||||
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| Then....the parade itself started! And I took altogether too many pictures. enjoy: | ||||||||
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yes that's a pregnant mermaid full of roe! -------> |
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| I really liked these a lot ---------> |
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haaha shark bite! ---------> |
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I loved this very sea urchinlike costume. Great! <---------> |
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aww cute! This oven mitt crab was good for a laugh too. ha! ---------> |
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This Terry Gilliam inspired costume ROCKED! ---------> |
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The parade ended as quickly as it began. Actually it moved to the street, where I couldn't get close enough to get pictures, and joined the floats. I was babysitting a bicycle full of gear you see, and I didn't trust it out of my sight even for a minute. Next time I will probably ride in on the subway. | |||||
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However one good thing about being on a bicyle was that I was able to chase down bicycling mermaids and snag some pictures before they escaped! |  |
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| After the parade, plenty of mermaids (not to mention some pirates) remained to grace the boardwalk with their magical presence...*sigh* |  |
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| and of course there were scads of mere Humans around. Since I had so many pictures of mermaids already I just had to involve puny humans, if only for balance. | ||||||||
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Strangely enough, not til the very end did I happen upon anyone I knew. | ||||
| I grabbed some last parting shots on 12th on the way out... |  |
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| It took even longer to return. I discovered I had bounced a couple more things out of my basket, including my book map of all 5 boroughs! shit! I returned to Queens by way of mid town, hoping to catch some people who turned out to be asleep. I got back around 1:30 or 2, after a nice break atop the Queens bridge, drinking water in the summer breeze. | ||||||||
