Morning guys
While you were all sleeping last night - we made ( well I made ) my final Warriors journey.
One of the ultimate locations to stand in from the movie - Coney Island, which is actually in Brooklyn, a subway ride of around 25 stops and 45 minutes in length from Mid Manhattan.
Today the subway cars were MUCH lighter in 'people traffic' on the way there , and Coney Island is a 'turn-around' station - the end of a line, so people got less and less as we approached our destination.
Again , for warriors fans, the train station that you go to is Stillwell Ave - it is seen at the VERY beginning of the movie with the train coming around the bend on approach to the station with the famous Wonder Wheel in the background. It is seen again at the end of the movie when The Warriors get home and get off the train at Stillwell Ave Station just before the well known " 3 bottles scene " starts and the final scenes on the beach.
Today - we touched sand - and were overjoyed
With less than 18,000 people per carriage I was able to take some photo's to hopefully give you an idea of what the trains are like.
If you get on a train and THINK you mat have boarded the wrong train - it's EASY to work out very quickly as they all have these digital sign boards that show you the LAST stop and the other stations change along the way. On top of that they pre-announce all next stops on approach - it REALLY helps.
My plan today was to visit Coney and then go back and walk across The Brooklyn Bridge - another lifelong memory Kayla and I could share.
Well guess what - the frickin thing is ................you guessed it....................COVERED UP !
WTF is with covering EVERYTHING I wanted to see in this place FFS
We just laughed about it.
Here is one of the more scenic rail stations along the way - yes folks this IS a platform.
And the locals get to live nice and close to the tracks - how AWESOME would this be !
Nearly there babe - dont fret ..........
In the meantime I decided to be just like a local
And can you believe it - this is on a subway car on the NY subway system !
FINALLY, FINALLY nobody else around and just a little bit of peace
Anyway Warriors Fans........we soon rounded that bend from the opening scenes in the film , on approach to Stillwell Ave Station
And I was finally here - it probably seems truly pathetic to come all this way and part of it to see this ( basic and bland stuff ) but if you are hooked by the movie , then you wouldnt think so........the locals here STILL talk about it quite a bit and ALL knew about it when I asked them.
As soon as you exit the station you see the World Famous Nathans Hot Dogs - this is where they hold the annual hot dog eating contest on the 4th July - we do get coverage of that on our Aussie news stations normally.
MOST of the streets around Coney Island look like this
The area IS FAR from attractive
But here I was - with The Wonder Wheel
Kayla even got in a shot with the damn thing
We hit the beach and touched the sand and felt MILES away from the insanity that is Mid town Manhattan.
I did my best hispanic homey impersonation, if only I had a hairnet hey !
And got arrested !
Meanwhile Kayla just lost it mentally
Coney Island does have a WHOLE history of its own, the Warriors is a VERY VERY small part of it.
I have to say that despite what the area 'looks like' - the people here were FANTASTIC and friendly, very much like the West Coast US citizens I have encountered and nothing like the Manhattan residents - they made us feel welcome and actually SPOKE to us.
We had lunch in Toms Diner ( different to Seinfeld - just the same name ) and we sat at the counter , very US style. The guy in there Joe handed me a book on the history of Coney Island and then proceeded to tell us all about the history of the entire area , even down to he indian tribes there in 1492 and LOADS of other stuff, he was a VERY decent man and I enjoyed talking to him, his name was Joe if ANYONE ever comes here , he knew loads about The Warriors and was able to point out to me where some 'cut scenes' that I knew about were filmed on the boardwalk.
REALLY enjoyed it.
On the way back the subway was again PACKED - then this frickin bad lookin dude gets on and stands RIGHT in front of me ( we were seated ), he has his I-Phone blasting music about how the nigger rules ( excuse that BUT thats what it was saying ) and he himself is bopping and singing LOUD and it was that close to me my knees were touching his legs - it was pretty nasty and I asked Kayla if she wanted to change cars at the next stop, she said yes......and guess what ( remembering our great time thus far )..............the train DIDNT STOP for the next 3 or 4 stations , the ONLY stations that got skipped the ENTIRE 45 minute trip - of course
