Last Day, Free Day

By Perry Lutz and Adam Shepley

On day 5 the photographers were given some extra time in the morning but it wasn’t extra sleep time, preparing for checkout was the first business of the day and prepare for a so called free day which was to be filled with plenty of activities. The activities for the largest group of students were to be chosen depending on the forecast, no rain and we would go to Coney Island, rain and the museums would be the choice…Coney Island won out as the weather was forecast to be ideal. 

Some of the class ventured out on their own, with some attempting to make it into a television show taping, some to an "oddities store" and one to a unique "cat cafe."  Our final day was a chance to see some unique sites, while exploring.

The trip to Coney Island was a long subway ride, some underground, some above ground. The view of Manhattan was ideal as we surfaced out of the subway tunnel and traveled south across the Manhattan Bridge.

Arriving at Coney Island the group split up and separately explored the area. The Boardwalk and pier were the main places of interest. There were no tourist crowds however many locals were out and about enjoying the serenity of the ocean and the freedom from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Runners and walkers traveled along the boardwalk, men fishing out on the pier, elementary school students on excursion, the atmosphere was truly relaxing. 

The visit concluded with lunch at Nathans, one of the oldest restaurants on Coney Island, started in 1916 and claiming to have the most famous hotdog in the world. Here Tanis put on a seagull feeding exhibition, feeding the hovering seagulls out of her hands.

The subway was taken back to Manhattan where the group exited at the Canal street exit. This was a good location to explore the street, observe street vendors and just people watch. Canal street concluded with a stop at the Paris Baguette sweet shop where the group enjoyed mouth watering baked sweets.

Well, it was time to catch the subway back to the hotel and didn’t we overshoot our stop. This created some anxiety however it was short lived as we quickly changed trains and remedied the mistake arriving back at the hotel on schedule. At the hotel the full group reformed… all good and all accounted for and ready for the airport and the flight home.

What a fantastic, event filled Lambton College PHTD trip to NYC. All of us would like to give a special thanks to Dave Chidley and Richard Beland for their patience, understanding and relentless crowd control (a crowd of seventeen). The trip was extremely well planned and well executed, thank you both.

The view from our Subway as we cross the Manhattan Bridge, Oct. 12, 2017

The quiet, peaceful scene on the Coney Island Boardwalk.  Oct. 12, 2017

Fisherman right in NYC off the Coney Island pier,  Oct. 12, 2017

From the hustle and bustle of the big city to a relaxing walk along the ocean,  just one subway line away.  Oct. 12, 2017

A local relaxes along the colourful Coney Island boardwalk.  Oct. 12, 2017

The group who made the trek to Coney Island wait for the train back to Manhattan. Oct. 12, 2017

Art on the building along Canal St.  Oct. 12, 2017

Paris Baguette sweet shop, a great "coffee and sweets" stop.  on Canal St. Oct. 12, 2017

Obscura, an interesting shop selling odd relics and antiques,
Oct. 12, 2017