Growing up in the Bronx our nearest amusement park was Rye Playland, located on Long Island Sound north of the city in Westchester County.
As a kid I was often taken there by my parents, but my memories of those childhood trips are vague. As a teenager however, I remember Rye as a favorite summer destination.
On balmy nights the guys in our crowd who’d recently gotten their licenses and had been entrusted with the keys to the family car, would drive us up there – usually with a little hanky-panky going on in the back seat.
We felt we were much too old and sophisticated for most of the rides and amusements, but I remember we still rode the bumper cars. And I remember how the guys vied to impress us with their skill knocking over rows of wooden ducks to win tacky prizes we girls proudly took home.
And I remember how we walked around the park on those magical summer nights, eating greasy hot dogs and sticky cotton candy, and with our teenage bravado I remember how invincible we felt.
– Dana Susan Lehrman
Sticky cotton candy, greasy hot dogs, & head-on slamming bumper cars–surely a dentist’s dream activities for young people. 😉
True Mike, but remember – we were invincible!