Sun, Sand and Hot Dogs

Well, Dan and I took our first trip to Coney Island. The weather was gorgeous and we knew we needed to do something outside, so we headed to Brooklyn. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think was expecting a touristy area bigger than what we saw. We walked down the board walk for awhile and then walked through the amusement park rides area. After walking around for a bit, we got a hot dog from the famous Nathan's Hot Dogs -- where the annual hot dog eating contest is held every fourth of July. I must say the hot dog was pretty good but I can't imagine eating 50 - 60+ hot dogs like those competitors in the contest do! Heres some interesting facts on Nathan's I found on Wikipedia: "Nathan's began as a nickel hot dog stand in Coney Island in 1916 and bears the name of founder Nathan Handwerker. Handwerker, an employee of Feltman's hot dog stand, was encouraged by celebrity clients Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante to go into business in competition with his former employer. Handwerker undercut Feltman's by charging five cents for a hot dog when his former employer was charging ten. At a time when food regulation was in its infancy, and the pedigree of the hot dog particularly suspect, Handwerker made sure that men wearing surgeon's smocks were seen eating at his stand to reassure potential customers. The business proved immensely popular." What a great marketing idea -- if doctors (or people dressed like doctors) will eat the hotdogs they must be okay! While we walked around and walked out on a pier that stretched out in the Atlantic Ocean, it was hard to believe that we were still technically in NYC.


Coney Island Pictures