Day 5: NY Aquarium, Coney Island & Little Island
The morning began with my 12-Steps meeting on Zoom, followed by breakfast at Tick Tock Diner (full details of the dining experience is found in Addendum – Complimentary Dining), and then assembled at 8:30am at the hotel lobby. With Tour Guide Joe was Assistant Langston. While we were rolling into 34th Street–Herald Square station, three members experienced difficulties using their OMNY cards. Despite multiple attempts to scan the cards, a red screen appeared and entry was denied. Joe remedied the issue by scanning his OMNY card to give them access. This issue would extend to more members before the day was through.
The ride took nearly an hour. At some point before the East River, the train line went from underground to an above ground. Thereafter, the line remained above ground until we alighted at the West Eighth Street–New York Aquarium station in Brooklyn. Not only was this my first time at the New York Aquarium, but it was also my first time in Brooklyn. Brooklyn's buildings were significantly shorter in height than Manhattan's. Its traffic appeared significantly less congested as well. During the crossing of the East River, we caught a view of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The last great aquarium that I visited was Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA. That was over 20 years ago. I remember an entire section devoted to jellyfishes – at least 8 tanks of them – by far the largest collection of such I have ever seen. I have been to a few other aquariums in the United States since – one of them being Downtown Aquarium in Houston, TX in 2013 – but they but they were much smaller and could not compare with the size and volume of the Aquarium of the Pacific. When every member of the group received an admission ticket, we were ready to enter.
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We started at Glover's Reef and slowly moved through Conservation Hall. By "we", I meant me. I moved very slowly because I was trying to take pictures and people kept walking into my shots. That meant waiting and more waiting, but it was worth it. Below are photos from Conservation Hall. (If you're interested, Astrotom3000 at ZooChat has posted an extensive list of species for Glover's Reef and Conservation Hall.)
From Conservation Hall, I exited to an outdoor area known as Sea Cliff. This area housed the otters, sea lions and penguins. I took two panoramic shots.
More on Sea Cliff later. I approached the Ocean Wonders: Sharks! building, went in, and was immediately greeted by the wonderful underwater glass tunnel. "Breathtaking" does not begin to describe the feeling of beholding the multitudes of marine creatures swimming over my head with every step I took. In August 2015, I saw a similar underwater glass tunnel at an oceanarium in Krypton. Although the New York Aquarium's version wasn't anything new, experiencing it firsthand was just as breathtaking.
The rest of Ocean Wonders was all about sharks. Mostly. There were rays, turtles and other fishes too. This was easily the most impressive gallery in the aquarium. (Astrotom3000 has a full list of species for Ocean Wonders: Sharks!)
Next was the Spineless and PlayQuarium building. Before heading there, another panoramic view was in order.
The Spineless gallery was not impressive. Astrotom3000 probably went on a good day because we saw very little. The only stand-outs were the spider crabs and the octopus. No sturgeons. The collection of fishes wasn't as impressive as Ocean Wonders or Conservation Hall. We bypassed the PlayQuarium and into the gift shop.
The New York Aquarium was worth the visit in large part because the tickets were covered by the program. The ticket price was the same as that of the American Museum of Natural History, which we visited the day before. The museum was far better value for money than the aquarium. I'm also leaning towards Aquarium of the Pacific as the better aquarium but I'll have to visit it again in the near future to make an accurate comparison. Last but not least, the sea lions. So adorable.
While waiting for rest of the group, I received a text from John P. of Concierge Club to inform me about our driver – name (Jesus), phone number, car and identification number – and to call him after I landed. It was the text John was supposed to send the day before Day 1. I asked him if Jesus would be the driver taking us to the airport the next day. John replied in the affirmative.
When all members of the group were accounted for, we were each given a wristband for access to Luna Park. Then we proceeded to the Riegelmann Boardwalk. It was a long boardwalk on both ends as far the eye could see. We arrived in front of Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, which Joe had been raving about since the beginning of the program. To our right was an entrance to Luna Park, and next to it an exit leading to W 12th St. Per Joe's instructions, we were to get our own lunch and meet at this exit at 3pm.
Where should we proceed? Joe claimed that there was another Nathan's Famous location further down the boardwalk. We continued on hoping to find it. After 30 minutes of walking, we failed to locate it and headed back. We decided to find out what made Nathan's Famous so famous.
On the way, I took note of the line to a school graduation ceremony. I did not find out the name of the school, but it was the first time I saw white-colored gowns and caps in use. The line appeared to lead into the Boardwalk Community Garden and presumably into the Amphitheater. Look at the long line of guests.
Wife and Son each had one original dog, and I had a chili dog. For drinks, Wife had regular lemonade, Son had regular Coke, and I had small Coke. I was glad that breakfast was heavy so that we spent less money on lunch. Still, the total was $42.39: original dog $5.99, chili dog $6.99 each, large fries $5.99, regular drink $4.99 each and small drink $3.99. You can get three hamburgers at McDonald's for the price of a regular drink at Nathan's Famous.
As we ate, I wondered what the big deal was about Nathan's Famous. "Hot dog is hot dog," I kept thinking. This was no exception. Wife said that hers tasted like her own homemade ones. Mine tasted no different from the ones I got every month at my home church. Now you know that Nathan's Famous wasn't anything special or better.
Where next? We decided to walk – i.e. stroll – in the opposite direction. From a far distance, we barely made out the Marine Parkway Bridge linking Brooklyn and Queens. Passing the big "New York Aquarium" wall sign, we looked at the high-rise residential buildings behind Toshio Sasaki's impressive wall sculpture "The First Symphony of the Sea". Take the two tall buildings on the left, known as Brightwater Towers Condominiums, How much would living there cost? A 3-bedroom unit costs more than three time the amount I paid for my townhouse. My townhouse has a similar floorplan, but it has two stories and at least 33% more space. Rent for a listed 2-bedroom on the 21st floor was just under $4k/month, less than what Assistant Jeff and his roomies were paying for their place located two blocks from the United Nations in Manhattan. Location is everything.
After about 45 minutes, we rested for a bit and decided to check out Luna Park – we were still wearing our wristbands. It turned out the wristbands weren't for entry, but for the rides and games. We had no interest in trying any of them so we just strolled on through. Beneath the rides and games seen from the boardwalk, a lower level boasted more rides and games as well as gift shops, stretching all the way to Surf Avenue. This map showed the expanse of the amusement park.
We found some benches behind the exit where we were to meet. Other members of the group had the same idea and were already waiting there. When all were accounted for, we proceeded towards the Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue station. Guess what we saw on the way there? The true location of the other Nathan's Famous – the original one – at the corner of Surf Ave and Stillwell Ave. It wasn't along Riegelmann Boardwalk after all.
Below right is the slideshow of Coney Island, which includes photos not already shown.
More members were having the same issue as this morning with their OMNY cards. Neither Wife, Son nor mine had that issue. We suspected that there was no money left on their cards. Joe got them through using his OMNY card. We arrived at the hotel with an hour to spare before meeting at the lobby at 5:30pm for dinner at SIMÒ PIZZA. (Full details of the dining experience is found in Addendum – Complimentary Dining.) When we gathered, Assistant Joe joined the group while Langston left for the day. The closest SIMÒ location to Little Island is the one in the Meatpacking District. We alighted at 14th Street/Eighth Avenue station and walked 10 minutes... in the rain. (We had left our umbrella at the hotel, thinking it wouldn't rain.)
The rain stopped when we got out of SIMÒ PIZZA and on to Little Island. (For the map shown above left, a letter in parenthesis shows where I was when the picture was taken. The direction of the arrow shows what I took: straight arrow means standard photo, and curved arrow means panorama.)
After we crossed the street to Empire State Trail, it was nothing but amazing sceneries: stone-tiled flooring, elevated structure of man-made land that looked like a sculpture from a distance, Meatpacking and Chelsea skylines on the right, and view of the piers, sea and distant city skylines on the left.
We entered Little Island from the south bridge and – following Joe's lead – went up the stairs and then the upward incline to the southern outlook. It felt almost like trekking up a hill but we made it. The view to the south was splendid. Piers, and skylines of three cities as far as the eye could see.
The Little Island Amphitheater is to the north. Despite the brevity of time at Little Island, I enjoyed this place more than Riegelmann Boardwalk and Luna Park. I would love to come back to Little Island. Can't say the same for Riegelmann Boardwalk and Luna Park.
From here, it was downwards, around the Amphitheater, past the playground, out through the north bridge, across the traffic light, past the W 14 St/Washington St bus stop, and back to the subway station for the train to the hotel. But the day was not yet over. On the way to the hotel, I saw how the Empire State Building and Madison Square Garden looked as night time approached.
The final full-day of the program has concluded. Five days of tired feet, excessive perspiration and sights to see, but plenty of wonderful memories to treasure thanks to my cameras... both of them. Health app tally: 19,361 steps, 7.2 miles, 12 floors, 397 calories.
Ranking (from best to least)
1. New York Aquarium
One of the better aquariums I've seen. Most impressed with Ocean Wonders: Sharks! –especially the underwater glass tunnel – with Conservation Hall second. Unimpressed with the Spineless gallery but liked the octopus. Insufficient time for Aquatheater and 4-D Theater.
2. Little Island
Despite the brief time spent here, impressed with views of the harbor and the city from the southwest overlook, as well as the Island's architecture and decor. Equally impressed with view of the city from Empire State Trail. Definitely worth coming back.
3. Riegelmann Boardwalk & Luna Park
Good for first time visit. Tried Nathan's Famous. Other eateries likely as pricey. Worth it for those interested in amusement parks and beach. Otherwise not worth a return visit.
("Return to The Big Apple" continues in Part 6.)
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