My Town Monday: Rye Playland

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818123252981343255.post-70796047411074018142008-05-12T00:00:00.002-04:002008-05-11T20:19:46.864-04:00My Town Monday: Rye Playland<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeMx4csMbI/AAAAAAAAAP8/0SB3B12B3Vo/s1600-h/nnyzq2lxf79n6i4y_xlg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeMx4csMbI/AAAAAAAAAP8/0SB3B12B3Vo/s320/nnyzq2lxf79n6i4y_xlg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199279083416727986" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeDpYcsMYI/AAAAAAAAAPk/AtFOduBZfvU/s1600-h/IMG_0266.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 302px; height: 226px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeDpYcsMYI/AAAAAAAAAPk/AtFOduBZfvU/s320/IMG_0266.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199269041783189890" border="0" /></a>Nan handled our MT Novel Monday <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.womenofmystery.net/2008/05/home-in-rockies-my-town-monday-with.html">last week</a>, so we're doing a regular-old one. While the park's ice rink and some arcades are open year-round, the first official day of <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://ryeplayland.org/">Rye Playland's</a> summer season was this Saturday. On Sunday, though there were a few attractions not yet in full swing, we finally got to see the whole park with people and music and leafy trees. Lovely. Playland in Rye, New York is about 40 minutes north of Manhattan on Long Island Sound (10 minutes from my house) and is the only facility of this type owned and operated by the U.S. National Park Service. Being open since 1928, it is the prototypical amusement park. Fortunately, it's been well looked after. The buildings maintain their original art deco style with fresh coats of paint and lots of neat gardens. There's a treelined green midway between twin promenades of arcade games and rides as well as food vendors. My inaugural funnel cake of the year was delectable! (click any picture to enlarge. gray day, though, sorry.) In addition to wonderful kiddie rides, there are full-thrill roller coasters, including The Dragon, which is also one of several rides dating from the inception of Playland. Its age also means certain things are as they are, like the car dimensions. More 18th century than 21st. Read the warning above. Awesome. There's also a year-round ice rink and an outdoor mini golf course. But Playland isn't just carnival-style fun. There's a wide strolling boardwalk with telescopes and benches and an enormous outdoor pool, as well as a sandy beach for bathing. There's a lake at the park's north end for short rented cruises or paddle boat rentals. Another terrific thing: since this is a public park, admission is free. There's local bus and train shuttle service available, but you'll pay between $5 and $7 for car parking. Most rides require buying ticket cards, and you'll have to purchase your own food-on-a-stick (beer, too), but access is open to all locations and to he beach and pool. The prices for boat rentals are around $10 and mini golf is $4. The prices are very reasonable for such fun, and I was happily stuffing quarters into the SkeeBall and Galaga games next to the shooting gallery. We earned enough coupons for happy-face stickers, a Chinese finger trap, and a yellow plastic duck that clicks. Cool! Bonus Trivia: This <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094737/trivia">1988 movie</a> used an old fashioned fortune telling machine at Playland in an integral role. See MTM innovator<a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://traviserwin.blogspot.com/2008/05/bone-pickers-my-town-monday-book-review.html"> Travis Erwin</a> for links to more towns, books, and Mondays. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeA2IcsMWI/AAAAAAAAAPU/dWo-T9Ruax8/s1600-h/IMG_0255.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeA2IcsMWI/AAAAAAAAAPU/dWo-T9Ruax8/s320/IMG_0255.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199265962291638626" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeA-YcsMXI/AAAAAAAAAPc/HBdTUX3evI4/s1600-h/IMG_0262.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 219px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeA-YcsMXI/AAAAAAAAAPc/HBdTUX3evI4/s320/IMG_0262.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199266104025559410" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeAr4csMUI/AAAAAAAAAPE/FYqfp1vTzbA/s1600-h/IMG_0245.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeAr4csMUI/AAAAAAAAAPE/FYqfp1vTzbA/s320/IMG_0245.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199265786197979458" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeAw4csMVI/AAAAAAAAAPM/nBo2AL9It20/s1600-h/IMG_0247.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 212px;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeAw4csMVI/AAAAAAAAAPM/nBo2AL9It20/s320/IMG_0247.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199265872097325394" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeAb4csMTI/AAAAAAAAAO8/f5cpee8OOAg/s1600-h/IMG_0260.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 295px; height: 222px;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeAb4csMTI/AAAAAAAAAO8/f5cpee8OOAg/s320/IMG_0260.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199265511320072498" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeAIYcsMSI/AAAAAAAAAO0/VnIvd7jcu-A/s1600-h/IMG_0264.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 318px; height: 238px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeAIYcsMSI/AAAAAAAAAO0/VnIvd7jcu-A/s320/IMG_0264.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199265176312623394" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeACYcsMRI/AAAAAAAAAOs/I9x_85zj5Ts/s1600-h/IMG_0244.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 282px; height: 211px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCeACYcsMRI/AAAAAAAAAOs/I9x_85zj5Ts/s320/IMG_0244.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199265073233408274" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCd_8YcsMQI/AAAAAAAAAOk/XoZ1evlGY9Q/s1600-h/IMG_0241.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_nSRnZEam3No/SCd_8YcsMQI/AAAAAAAAAOk/XoZ1evlGY9Q/s320/IMG_0241.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199264970154193154" border="0" /></a>Clare2ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06105229820107294986noreply@blogger.com