"Welcome to America. Love from The Jelly Fish xxxx"

Wednesday 1st August - Coney Island

95 degrees+ !!! We were both pretty tired after one day (and a bit, if you count the going back 5 hours) of travelling and another of wandering round Manhattan, so we headed for Coney Island and the beaches - this city really has it all. It had the slightly run-down feel of a lot of beach resorts, crammed with souvenir stores and fast food vendors, but the view over the sea was stunning. After a very generous helping of mint ice cream we set our stall out on the sand and let the world pass us by for a while. The sand was scorching, so we had to keep our feet (and bums) to the towel. Eventually, the temptation to run into the sea, along with every other holiday maker on Coney Island, became too strong and we headed for a paddle. We then walked, hand in hand, towards deeper waters. "How romantic?", I thought, but someone, somewhere clearly wanted to destroy the moment because, after 10 minutes of splashing around and cooling down, a jelly fish decided to pay me a visit and deliver a sharp sting to my back. We left the water and Cody, being the gem that he is, ran over to life guard to ask for advice. We, naturally, followed the advice given (after all, these people surely have to deal with such things all the time) and splashed fresh water on the sting but this only seemed to exacerbate the symptoms. When later visiting the New York Aquarium we came upon an "Alien Stingers" exhibit where we saw an information board stating, "If stung by a jelly fish do not, under any circumstances, pour fresh water on the affected area as this will cause further stinging cells to be activated. Treat with vinegar instead." Anyway, my back had recovered nicely and the aquarium was extremely enjoyable. We were treated to some sea lion acrobatics in the outdoor theatre but it was refreshing to spend time indoors for the remainder of the visit...