Look at this Stuff. Isn't It Neat.

In the last two weeks I’ve come to realize just how little I know about summer fun in New York. Were it not for Mark Satlof’s vintage Mermaid Parade shirt, I still wouldn’t know how great hotdogs and mermaid-fins go together. On his recommendation, my friend and I took the F train down to Coney Island for the annual Mermaid Parade.

By the time we got there, the vintage car portion of the parade had started. As much as I love the ’62 Ford Thunderbird, I was there to see costumes and peculiar people channeling Disney’s favorite mermaid princess. Luckily we were able to catch the tail (or shall I say, fin) end of the mermaid march. I enjoyed the geisha mermaids and the gigantic seahorse.

Here's my friend Sarah with the parade right behind her.

The weather was great, the Cyclone stood tall, and the water was picturesque. If your only exposure to Coney Island is scenes from The Warriors, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to know that I did not encounter a single shard of glass in the sand (thanks to the huge renovation that’s set to begin on the island this year).

Honestly, I couldn’t have come up with a better way to start my summer. The Mermaid Parade is just one of many fun summer events on Coney Island so be sure to check out what else is going on and get over there before the construction begins!

Me and Sarah on the beach.