The Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest

It was a hot and steamy forth of July holiday here in New York City, and my husband and I decided to take the subway, which runs above ground in some locations in Brooklyn, over to Coney Island.

(All photos will enlarge when clicked on once, and then clicked again when they reopen)

 

There, between Surf Avenue and Stillwell Avenues, we decided to join the crowd to watch the famous Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest!  Nathan’s Famous was founded by a Polish immigrant, Nathan Handwerker. He started his business with a small hot dog stand and sold hot dogs that were manufactured based on a recipe developed by his wife, Ida.

Nathan's has been an institution in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York since 1916 and they are now located in all 50 states. Every year they sell over 425 million Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs!  According to legend, on July 4, 1916, four immigrants had a hot dog eating contest at Nathan's Famous stand on Coney Island to settle an argument about who was the most patriotic. The contest has been held at the site nearly every year since, resuming in 1972, in conjunction with Independence Day.

When we arrived the crowd was already in the tens of thousands! This was as close as we could get to the stage area where the contest was to take place.

 

Everyone was anticipating watching the rivals compete in this famous eating event!

An overhead blimp took the photo below of the crowd which was shown on the giant TV screen.

We were standing in the crowd near the white truck on the right, where the TV screen was located.  Can you see us? Last year the crowd was 40,000 strong -- I wonder if we helped break a record this year?

 

There was music and festivities going on while we waited for the event to begin.

Finally, at 11:30 AM the announcer, George Shea, from Major League Eating, was raised into the air in a cherry picker to announce the beginning of the women's hot dog eating contest.  This was the first year there was a separate woman's competition.

The women and judges in position before the competition began as seen on the big screen.  I was surprised to see during their introductions that many of the women contestants were petite and weighed only 100 pounds! How do they manage to eat so many hot dogs?

It was then amazing to see how many full hot dogs and buns they were able to consume in the ten minutes allotted time! The winner was the woman on the right in the photo above, Sonya Thomas, of Alexandria, Virginia, who ate 40 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes.

In between the women and men's competition we were entertained by aerial acrobats.

 

 Next, at twelve noon, the men's hot dog eating contest began. There were competitive eaters from China, Denmark, Canada and all around the USA entered into the contest. The favorite to win was Joey Chestnut, a California native who was the defending champion four times from 2007-10,

He did it again!  Chestnut devoured 62 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes!

You can watch this Youtube video of the men's competition.

Every year Nathan's donates 100,000 hot dogs to the New York Food Bank as part of the festivities.

After watching the event many in the crowd got on the Nathan's lines to purchase a few hot dogs for themselves. 

We were no exception!

Then we took a long walk along the boardwalk.

Since it was a holiday, and the weather was hot, the beach and ocean were very crowded. This view shows some of the amusement rides in the background, including the famous Wonder Wheel.  If you missed my post about my exciting ride on the Wonder Wheel you can read it at this link!

I love this close up photo I took of all the colorful umbrellas. Even a spot on the beach is prime real estate in New York City!

 

There was a steamy haze over the ocean but the water was cool and many were enjoying a swim or a sail.

Watching a hot dog eating contest, a couple of hot dogs, walk on the board walk, a few rides and a quick dip in the ocean ....all in all, it was a fun way to spend a 4th of July!

I'm linking to Outdoor Wednesday event on Susan's blog A Southern Dreamer and Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday event for the letter "L" for "Lots of hot dogs!"

Riding the Wonder Wheel!

As promised in my prior post about my visit to Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York last weekend, I'm going to take you along on a photographic ride in one of the swinging cars on Deno's Wonder Wheel, located at 3059 West 12th Street. Actually, it will be my husband's photos that you'll see once the ride begins, as I'm a big chicken and couldn't open my eyes for most of the ride.

This painted informational poster was on the wall next to the line entrance.  It presently costs $6 for one ride on the Wonder Wheel and you can choose to ride in either a stationary car or swinging car.

All of the white cars are stationary, and probably have the best view from the top as they stay on the outside track and do not swing.  I wanted to take one of these cars but my husband, who is the daring one and loves all amusement rides, talked me into going on the swinging car.  In the photo above we were just closed into our red car.  There are two benches in the car, both facing forward, and it can easily hold four adults. 

The line of people waiting to board.

We're going up!  We already started swinging into the inside track so I handed my camera to my husband as I was scared and wanted to close my eyes.

We're approaching the top of the wheel.

A view of some of the three miles of Coney Island beaches as we approach the top of the wheel.

The car ahead of us is beginning to descend on the track on the top...we're next!

Our turn!  Do you see the curved railing on each side?  The car we are riding in will roll onto those railings and swing forward...

Here we go!

The whole car swings forward and for a second you almost feel like it is going to fall off the track! My husband did a great job of keeping the camera steady for this shot.  I'm still covering my eyes and screaming.

Another view of the Coney Island amusements, beach, and the Atlantic Ocean as we swing on the Wonder Wheel!

On our way down again. You can also see some of the boardwalk in this photo. I was finally able to open my eyes for the second revolution of the ride.

The Wonder Wheel ride is really not a terrifying ride by today's standards and it was lots of fun.  If you visit Coney Island it's worth a ride just to say you were part of its 90 year history!

photo source:Vintage Brooklyn

I received quite a few comments about how crowded the Coney Island beach appeared in my prior post so I thought you might enjoy seeing this vintage Coney Island photo from 1931.  Brooklyn has always been a very populous borough of the city of New York, and presently there are over two and a half million people living here!  The Coney Island beaches are owned and maintained by the city, there is no charge for their use, and they are easily accessible by train. The Coney Island beaches have always been a popular destination for New Yorkers on a hot summer day!

Because there is some yellow in the Wonder Wheel and some of the other Coney Island sights in this post I am adding this post to Alphabe Thursday's Rainbow Summer School event on Jenny Matlock's blog "Off On My Tangent" Today the color is yellow!   Please visit Jenny and see the color yellow on hers, and all her participants' blogs!

Coney Island

I can not allow a summer to pass without a visit to the Coney Island amusement area, beach and boardwalk, located in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.  This past Saturday was another hot day that brought many visitors to the area, as you can see by the photo above -- all photos can be enlarged by clicking on them once, and then once again when they open on a new page.

The three miles of Coney Island beaches are just a short subway ride away for people who live in Brooklyn, and they remain very popular as you can see by how crowded they are on a Saturday in August.

The Coney Island Riegelmann Boardwalk length is 2.7 miles, from W. 37th Street to Corbin Place, and links the excitement of Coney's colorful amusements and the beach and ocean. It was named for the 1918 - 1924 Brooklyn Borough President Riegelmann, who took charge of beautifying Coney Island and ensuring public access to the beach and shore. It has been rebuilt and repaired numerous times over the years. Presently there is a controversial plan to replace some of the wood with concrete to see if it holds up to the elements longer.

There are always varied sights sounds and delicious scents as you walk along the boardwalk. There is usually music, dancing, cafes and fast food vendors all along the boardwalk, and all kinds of people to people watch.

Look at the pretty shapes this vendor has cut her mangoes and placed them on a stick for easy eating.

The beaches are clean and there are lifeguards on duty. The Atlantic Ocean waves are rather mild in this area and I find that the ocean undertow is not as bad as in the Rockaways in Queens.

We were surprised to see this bride and groom that obviously came to the boardwalk to have some of their wedding album photos made!  I wonder if they meet in Coney Island or had their first date there?

My husband and I decided to visit the new "Luna Park" amusement ride section that opened in Coney Island this year at 1000 Surf Avenue.

It's name and entrance design is a nostalgic recognition of the famous Luna Park of 1903 - 1942 that once stood on these grounds and that was totally destroyed by a dramatic fire.  Astroland replaced that park in 1962 and closed in 2008 when their lease expired.

The new Luna Park is filled with lots of colorful games of chance and skill.....

....and ride for all ages!

This ride called Air Race was unique in that the ride can soar and barrel roll in flight.  If you click on the link you can watch a video of it in action.

There are still some original rides in Coney Island and The Cyclone Roller Coaster is perhaps the most famous.  Built in 1927, it is one of the nation's oldest wooden coasters still in operation.  A favorite of some coaster aficionados, the Cyclone includes an 85-foot, 60 degree drop.

It was declared an official New York City Landmark on July 12, 1988, and was listed in the New York State Register of Historic Places on June 31, 1991. National Historic Landmark status followed, on June 26, 1991.

Nearby is Dino's Wonder Wheel! Built in 1920, is a 150-foot tall Ferris wheel with both stationary and rocking cars that hold up to 144 people at once! It was named an official NYC landmark in 1989.  My husband talked me into going on the swing car again this summer and he took some fun photos as we circled around that I'll show in my next blog post. 

Of course no visit to Cony Island is complete without a visit to The Original Nathan's Famous on the corner of Stillwell and Surf Avenues.  This famous food stand has been here since 1916.  Nathan’s Famous was founded by a Polish immigrant, Nathan Handwerker.  He started his business with a small hot dog stand and sold hot dogs that were manufactured based on a recipe developed by his wife, Ida. Last year Nathan’s sold over 360 million of its World Famous Beef Hot Dogs worldwide!

Their new motto is "More than just the best hot dog," so my husband and I decided to split a lobster roll and fried frog legs along with a hot dog.  Verdict?  The hot dog and fries were as delicious as always and the quintessential taste of summer in Coney Island.  The lobster roll served on a hamburger bun was surprisingly good, and the fried frog legs were unusual, to say the least.  We are adventuresome eaters and will try most things at least once but I don't think we will order the frog legs again, as one taste was sufficient.

I have been coming to Coney Island since I was a child and the old Steeplechase Park that was there, until it closed 1964, will forever shine as one of my childhood summer's cherished memories. There was a fun house to walk through that had a maze of mirrors, a rolling barrel to walk through, and random air vents that blow up your skirt al la Marilyn Monroe when you walked over them.  At the fun house exit a clown would chase everyone and pretended to hit you with his slapstick as you tried to run outside.  It might sound a little bizarre now, but it was all great fun.

The main attraction in the Steeplechase Park was the simulated Steeplechase Horses.  It featured an 1100-foot curved metal racetrack with double-saddled wooden horses on wheels and it operated on gravity. The rider's horses, were drawn up a cable to an elevation of 22 feet at the start of the race, and then suddenly dropped downward along a 15% grade wooden track to gain speed. The riders then plunged across a miniature lake, while their momentum carried them upwards again to a height of 16 feet beyond the beach. The riders would descended through a tunnel and race upwards over a series of dips representing hurdles until they reached the finish line far ahead.  A original Steeplechase horse on display in the Coney Island History Project display located under the Cyclone. 

Sadly the only remnant left of Steeplechase Park is the defunct Parachute Jump ride.

The Parachute Jump was originally called the "Life Savers Parachute Jump" at the 1939 New York World's Fair and moved to its current site, then part of the Steeplechase Park amusement park, in 1941. It was the first ride of its kind. Patrons were hoisted 190 feet in the air before being allowed to drop using guy-wired parachutes.  Although the ride has been closed since 1968, it remains a Coney Island landmark and is sometimes referred to as "Brooklyn's Eiffel Tower." In 1980, the Parachute Jump was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1989, New York once again recognized it as a city landmark.

As the sun lowered in the sky we headed back on the boardwalk to retrieve our car in the parking lot at MCU Stadium where the Brooklyn Cyclones minor league baseball team plays.  It was a perfect summer day and we felt as tired as children after a day of sunshine and fun. Please come back later this week and see photos our ride on the Wonder Wheel!


I'm linking to Mary's "Ruby Tuesday" on Work of the Poet. "Outdoor Wednesday," on Susan's blog A Southern Daydreamer and "Rednesday" on Sue's blog It's a Very Cherry World. Please visit their blogs and join in all the fun!
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