adventures in long island city

It was 5:30 at night. I had just woken up from two separate naps – the one before picking up my absolutely-favorite-and-now-resoled shoes from the cobbler, and the one after. Still groggy, I reached for the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey," croaked a voice on the other end of the line, sniffling, "what are you doing?"

"Hey Thea, I just woke up. What are you doing?"

"Well, it's Saturday and it's summer, and I think we should take advantage of that," she said, and broke off into a hacking cough. "Sorry."

"No, I totally agree." And having just woken up after sleeping for four hours, I did totally agree, despite having the same exact plague as Thea's.

The plan was simple. We'd get dressed, and head to P.S. 1 for their courtyard dance party, and then afterwards head to the Water Taxi Beach, where neither of us had ever been before. Dancing, dancing, and beach. What else could be better?

"Meet you at 7:30," I said, and dragged my lazy bones into the shower.

I might have a little optimistic about 7:30. Realistically there was no way I could get showered, dressed and get from Brooklyn to LIC in two hours – especially not on a Saturday. I was determined to try, however.

I set off towards the F train, mercifully catching a bus along the way. Once I passed Bergen Street, though, I realized I had run out of stops where I could switch from the F to the G train, so I figured I'd take the F to the V. I got off at 42nd Street to change to the V, but only then realized that the V doesn't run on the weekend. Great. Horace, God of the MTA, was smiling on me that night – the 7 train stops at 42nd Street, and I took that out to Queens. I was only seven minutes late. (Thanks, Horace. I'll burn your offering this weekend.)

Thea, on the other hand, despite living on the 7 train, had a much harder time getting there. Suffice it to say there was a little confusion as to which stop to get off, and we ended up going straight to the beach.

And of course, when I say beach, I really mean "beach." It's a pier, right next to where the water taxi docks, that somebody (the owner?) has covered with sand and picnic tables and a little shanty-like bar and hotdog stand. There are porta-potties and a dance floor (plywood under a tent), and one spectacular view of Manhattan.

And tons of people. Who were all a little random. There were the artistic-types (Thea was briefly besotted by a guy she called "Graffiti Pants"), the financial types (two guys we chatted with both worked with lots and lots of money), the clubby types (ah, dear sweet White Shirt Guy, why didn't you talk to me?? I console myself with thoughts that you were dumb…) and the pot-smoking types (they were everywhere, because nobody else was out in the middle of nowhere to tell them not to).

Now, I love walking on the beach, especially at night. So if Thea and I had been the only ones out there, that would have been fine with me. Well, a little odd, lonely and dangerous perhaps, but you get my point. So to add tasty (albeit absurdly expensive) drinks, cute guys, dancing and perfect weather to the mix… awesome.

A highlight? Mike the Brit.

At one point, Thea and I were dancing and this guy came on the dance floor looking a bit like a chicken on fire. Now, I'm no Martha Graham, but he was super-flailey, super-sweaty and tons of fun! Thea new instantaneously that he was British (she has a sensor for those things) and I only found out after we started playing a game: Who Can Make Dancing with Your [insert body part] Look Best? Let's just say no one, British or American, male or female, looks good dancing with an elbow.

The night wore on, our decongestants wore off and we packed it in. (But not before a guy said to Thea, "Hey, you're GORGEOUS!" Her response? "And I rock the Casbah!" Sadly, he didn't get it.) Instead of a reversal of the trip I had taken that afternoon, I crashed at Thea's house (a mere twenty minutes away), and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was drowning in my own snot. I relocated to the couch and a 45 degree angle, only to scare the shit out of Thea by going missing.

"I felt like a guy whose lady has up and left him in the night." (Direct quote)

All in all, a repeat-worthy adventure!