Sunburnt on the 4th of July

As you can tell from my title, I currently have a sunburn. And yes it hurts. A lot. But the pain is well worth the fun I had today.

Sonya Thomas during the competition

The Waiting

The Liftoff

Midair

Coming Back Down

To start my day, I awoke a little earlier than most people to venture to Coney Island. Today being the 4^th of July, the beach and boardwalk was packed. Especially since Coney Island holds a very special event there every year; the National Hot Dog Eating Contest. So to begin our adventure, we ate at the Original Nathan’s Hot Dogs. After taking my first bite, I know now why people hold such high regards to the hot dog stand. Once we finished our meal, we wandered around the park, looking at various rides. What caught our eyes- mainly Morvarid’s and mines- was the Sling Shot ride. Two people are sitting a ball shaped contraption where they are pulled down to the ground and are let go to ricochet back into the air. Since we arrived early, the workers saw us staring at the ride in amazement and gave us a deal. Considering that we had just ate, and we preferred not to have vomit on ourselves, we left with a promise to ride before leaving Coney Island. We then went to watch the beginning of the Women’s Hot Dog Eating Contest; and the winner was former champion Sonya Thomas, who ate forty-five hot dogs in ten minutes! Since the men’s division did not start for another hour, we decided to go to the beach and enjoy the sunny day. Unfortunately for us we did not bring an extra change of clothes and made due with our attire for the day. At least the hot day dried us fairly quick. Finally we fulfilled our promise to ride Sling Shot and it was probably one of the best feelings I have ever had before. Or that feeling might be due to status as an adrenaline addict. Ms L. even said Morvarid and I definitely one upped the guys in trying the ride while at Coney Island.

Sadly our day of fun had to end and we traveled back to Columbia University. After hastily doing my laundry and showering, I met with a group of Columbia students to watch the fireworks at Riverside Park. After grabbing a quick meal at Westside Market, we took the subway to the park and luckily got a great place to relax on the grass. We talked and played “Charades” to pass the time until fireworks began. The fireworks were by the Hudson River and the beautiful colors reflected on the water and night sky.

After the show ended the worst part of the night began; the mass rush of people trying to leave the park. New York Police Department had to direct people to keep the flow of traffic moving. Fearing the traffic and packed subway stations, we ran to the station to make curfew. Luckily for us, we made it by a good twenty minutes which gave me time to obtain my laundry in the basement of Carman. Now to attend to my charred skin and unfolded laundry...