Escape to the Beach (Part I)

In the summer, New York is hot. The air is sticky, the sun blazes through the haze, and plumes of steam rise up through the subway vents at all hours. Four months out of the year, the heat is a constant presence– like taxis or crowds.

Even when the skies darken with the evening hours or occasional thunderstorms, the heat remains. Eventually, the barometric pressure isn’t the only pressure to rise and New Yorkers must escape to the beach. While we live on an island, it’s not enough to be surrounded by the East and the Hudson – we must feel the wild, invigorating breeze of the Atlantic. We must feel the sand beneath our feet before it becomes concrete.

Cheap New Yorkers looking for a quick beach fix head to Coney Island. For the price of a Metro Card, you can travel back in time on the D. An hour from midtown gets you to the retro styling of Luna Park, Nathans, and fireworks every Friday.

I’ve been to Coney Island twice this summer. The first was to go to the Sirens Musical Festival. New York doesn’t have a lot of music festivals – quite a bit fewer than Washington – so Sirens is a rather big deal. The two stages and 20+ bands attract tattooed hipsters who trade their skinny jeans for bathing suits and head to Coney Island for some music. I had a few co-workers claim they would show up, but ended up bailing, so I went to Sirens alone.

I got there around 2:00 and the crowd was manageable. Perhaps it was the Sahara temperatures that kept people away, but I was able to get close to the stage without too much trouble. After the first set however, I was parched. I made my way over to the beer tent and purchased two tickets (2 beers) for $7. It was money well spent.

On this particular day, I had on a skirt and a KEXP tank over my black bathing suit. When Jesse, the beer man, saw my shirt, he immediately commented on the sheer joy that is KEXP and proclaimed “a free beer” to KEXP listeners. “Not only a listener, a member,” I said slyly. He agreed that this indeed warranted two free beers.

The three twenty-somethings pouring beer were jovial despite the heat. We ended up talking about music, beer, Seattle, and music a little more. I told them I was alone and they immediately adopted me into their “beer family.” I was having so much fun that when a co-worker I was just getting to know texted me that she had arrived at the event a few hours later, I didn’t tell her where I was. Would she pour me free beer? I think not.

I saw a total of five bands that day, but I did not lay eyes on the ocean. They had set the stages back from the beach, and I didn’t know my surroundings enough to navigate to the shore. Instead, after six hours and likely as many beers, I made my way back to the subway. I had spent a day at Coney Island with blazing music and sunshine and limitless free beers. I was exhausted and in bed by 10:00.