Low Tide By Nicole Gordon (Image Courtesy of the Corey Helford Gallery)
Disneyland’s Mad Tea Party attraction, commonly known as the Tea Cups, is not generally considered to be one of the park’s more terrifying rides. But…say there where menacing sharks lurking inside each brightly-painted, whirling cup — what then? Now that would be very scary! Continue reading Shark Attack Tea Cups Ride!
Hey, did you know that ’90s British Alt-Rock sensation Ride has reunited with all four of the original members? This actually happened a few years ago, but I am not exactly in the loop of the hipster music nerds when it comes to ‘what’s going on’ with bands from back-in-the day, so I just found out when I got the rad link to a new Ride video called “Charm Assault.” It may have been a long time coming but, trust me, this one was worth waiting for.
Continue reading Video Clip of The Week: Ride, “Charm Assault”
All Photos By Gail
The Parachute Jump is a defunct amusement ride in Coney Island, whose iconic open-frame steel structure remains a Brooklyn landmark. Standing 250 feet tall and weighing 170 tons, it has been called the Eiffel Tower of Brooklyn. Well, I’ve never called it that, but apparently some people have.
Parachute Jump in the Shadow of the Thunderbolt Roller-Coaster
If you Google “Photos of Coney Island” you will see that it is arguably the single most photographed landmark near the Boardwalk. Originally built for the 1939 New York World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, the tower was moved to its current site, then part of the Steeplechase Park amusement park, in 1941.
Seen from Inside a Burger Joint on The Boardwalk
It is the only portion of Steeplechase Park still standing today. The ride ceased operations in 1964, when that park shut down for good. How old were you in 1964? I was 3.
The ride was based on functional parachutes which were held open by metal rings throughout the ascent and descent. Twelve cantilevered steel arms sprout from the top of the tower, each of which supported a parachute attached to a lift rope and a set of surrounding guide cables.
Riders were belted into a two-person canvas seat hanging below the closed chute, then hoisted to the top, where a release mechanism would drop them, the descent slowed only by the parachute. Shock absorbers at the bottom, consisting of pole-mounted springs, cushioned the landing. Each parachute required three cable operators, keeping labor expenses high.
The tower lights up at night, and colorful the patterns change constantly. It is quite mesmerizing to view.
I love how my hair looks in this photo. I cropped Geoffrey out, because he said he looked fat. Which, not true. But whatever.
We had fun. We always do.
Photo By Gail
I passed this little guy while walking on Broadway near the Flushing Avenue J Train stop in the Bushwick section Brooklyn. I am not sure how much it costs to ride, but Spiderman gets to ride shotgun.
All Photos and Video By Gail
If you are looking for cool stuff to do and see in NYC, head down to Battery Park and ride the Seaglass Carousel! I have been obsessed with riding this carousel since it opened in August, and I finally got down there this past weekend. It was worth the wait.
Continue reading Sea Glass Carousel at Battery Park