Welcome.

My husband Stewart Carroll and I are opening a school on 108th street and Rockaway Beach Drive (near Boardwalk Bagel) called Team Renzo Gracie Rockaway Jiu Jitsu Academy.

Stewart will be teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, kettlebell training and yoga and I will be starting a kids program that will include yoga, kids movement, story time and open play. Our kids program will be geared towards kids ages infant to 7 years old.

We have two little ones and I have found that we need more fun stuff for the kids to do-especially in the winter. We will also be open for kids parties. If you have any questions or class suggestions please contact me directly at laurel@ancientcurrent.com.

Just having fun with my wide angle and trying to tell a story with an image…

Beach kitty lives at Rockaway Beach.  As a tortoiseshell she perfectly blends in with the multicolored rocks of the seawall.  A little unsure, I often see her glowing eyes peaking from within a crevice in the rocks. The other night I smiled at her…Do you know how to smile at a kitty? Just squint your eyes. They might squint back at you Well a smile was all it took. She decided to be my friend with incessant rubbing and talking. As you can see here though, she was a little unsure of the mom and child down the path. Maybe they don’t know how to smile at a kitty

Have a great weekend

A mile-long spit of land that surfaced off the coast of the Rockaways in the mid-1800s, Hog Island eventually became a popular summertime seaside resort along the lines of Rockaway Beach and Brighton Beach.

This favorite vacation destination for Tammany Hall politicians featured the usual late-19th century bathing facilities, pavilions, restaurants, and regular ferries. 

This print depicts neighboring resort Rockaway Beach. Hog Island probably looked similar.

So what happened to this modern-day Atlantis? First, it was battered by the Hurricane of 1893. While this category-2 storm reportedly triggered 30-foot sea swells off Coney Island on the night of August 23, it decimated the buildings on Hog Island.

A few more brutal storms in the 1890s sealed its fate; the sea swallowed it back up in 1902.

What’s up, folks. Hope you’re having a nice Saturday. I’m waiting for the second half of the Mexico vs. El Salvador World Cup qualifier to begin. Mexico’s leading 1-0 after an auto-goal. Should they win (and they’re expected to since they’re playing at home in Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca) they’ll have earned enough points to qualify for the Cup. I’m sitting on my couch listening to the snores of my passed out pup Andiamo:

Andi three hours earlier:

Today we hopped on the Q53 at Woodside-61st St and took it to the far far reaches of Far Rockaway.

I decided to head to the beach today for several reasons. Seeing as it’s Open House around town and the subways are a mess, it seemed like the perfect time to get away. In a city of eight million, sometimes a girl craves some solitude, you know? Plus, I just love the ocean. (Though oddly, I never seem to make it to the beach during the summertime. Go figure.)

Andiamo loves to be out and about (hence his name) but he really isn’t a big beach fan (hence the grimace). I brought him along because dogs are allowed on city beaches after Oct. 1. He mellowed out somewhat once we got off the actual beach at sat at a boardwalk bench. I think it must be irksome to him to have the wind blow sand in his face.

But we’re back home now. He’s still sleeping and I’m watching Mexico celebrate its newly-won World Cup qualification upon defeating El Salvador 4-1. How sweet it must be to earn a World Cup spot at home in the Azteca, the mecca of Mexican futbol. So the Mexicans are off to South Africa in 2010. With their official qualification, I now officially have a team to root for. =)

Yep, today’s a good day.

My husband and I and our two toddlers went to Rockaway Taco for breakfast this past weekend. I don’t know why I waited until the last day they were open to try their delicious food? With the crisp weather setting in I felt compelled to get one last taste of the rockaway summers that I have grown to adore.

We sat in the shady outdoors listening to some poignant music munching on our chilaquiles with a fried egg  drinking Jack’s cold-brewed coffee and a pineapple fennel juice (the kids loved that!).

The whole experience reminded me simultaneously of some bleak suburb of Philly mixed with the three sisters area of outback Baja.   I loved it.

Thanks for doing it right.

It is funny how I happened into Miss Elaine’s School of Dance over the liquer store on 116th street (near Rockaway Beach Surf Shop). We actually wanted to rent her space for a yoga studio but turns out they were doing so well after opening their doors in September that they needed to expand into the 1600 sq foot space.

The couple that owns the dance school are incredibly nice and the tweens that I saw bopping around looked sweaty and exhilirated. The offer a ton of classes including pee-wee, tiny tots and kinders, ballet, hip hop and jazz and tap.

Call Miss Elaine at 718-318-1021

Wednesday, August 26th

I was in need of some extra walking today, so I made the trek up over the Linda Mar headlands over to Rockaway Beach. My goodness, it was well worth it!! The south break at Rockaway was perfect, as the handful of longboarders tearing it up demonstrated. Head high waves with ample time in between made for a delightful session, I’m sure. Being on foot, I could not join in, but watching great surfers is almost as fun!

Getting a good wave at Rockaway

I usually stick to Linda Mar and tend to not surf Rockaway, as it’s more for experienced locals. Heavy currents and big egos can make it challenging for the average surfer. I guess word had gotten out about it going off, as the line up began to fill up within a half an hour.

Busy line up at Rockaway

Not only were the surfers rippin’ it up, the humpback whales and dolphins were just about 50 yards behind the surfers feasting on bait fish, anchovies and such, that were schooling around in the cove. Two times I actually saw a giant mouth come out of the ocean, gulp up about 10 bath tubs full of water and plunge back into the ocean with a mighty crash! I think it could have scooped up and swallowed about 2 surfers, longboards and all! What a sight! You can see him surfacing in the top left corner of this picture. The surfers were watching the show too!

Whale in the line up?? He would get his pick of the waves!

Rode 20 miles to see what “epic” surf conditions look like at Rockaway Beach; while there were hundreds of surfers in the water, the action had fizzled somewhat by the time I got there. So I took a few photos and headed to Rockaway Taco for some epic fish tacos. Highly recommended.

“It’ll be a swell so big and strong it will wipe clean everything that went before it.’’

So spoke the big kahuna known as “the Bear” in the 1978 surf movie, “Big Wednesday.”

Nobody is quite ready to say his words will hold for the swell currently marching our way courtesy of Hurricane Bill, but they could come close: Sunday is expected to be an East Coast surf day for the ages — the biggest of the summer so far, and perhaps the biggest of the past few years.

Bill is expected to stay well clear of the East Coast, but officials are warning swimmers to stay out of the water — New York City’s ocean beaches, including the Rockaways and Coney Island, have already been closed. Shorefront homeowners are bracing for beach erosion in the aftermath. But for surfers, these are the types of days that put East Coast surfing on the national map. This giddy excitement among surfers in the region has extended to other parts, promising to draw wave riders to our humble corner of the ocean from across the country.

“This is what you live for, it’s better than Christmas,’’ said Tom Reynolds, the deputy director of public affairs at the federal Department of Energy and a committed surfer who is planning to beat a hasty exit late Friday to his home away from home for surfing in Wildwood, N.J., from his actual home in Washington.

Mr. Reynolds has a job that keeps him on call even on weekends. But, he said, some things — like waves that are the stuff of legend — have to take priority over even the people’s business. “I will make it known that I will be out of pocket,” he said. “And if the swell holds over to Monday, there might be a sick day in my future.”

Mike Machemer, the manager of Mollusk surf shop in Brooklyn, said friends were calling him from as far away as California to ask whether a trip out East would be worth it this weekend (answer: um, you have to ask?).

“It’s been madness — people are buying boards, buying leashes, coming in to pick our brains about what we feel is going to be the best spot,” he said. “People are just really amped up and anxious, calling or coming in to talk about the waves.”

Adding to the excitement is the budding industry of surf-related Web sites that are lighting up like Las Vegas slot machines.

Surfline’s report for our local waters this Sunday sums it up with one word, “EPIC,” in bright red lettering above a glorious report:

SURF: 8-12 ft. – 3 ft. overhead to double overhead + occasionally 15 ft. and epic conditions. Solid SE/SSE swell from Bill for eastern LI at the spots that can handle it, notch smaller but still solid for WLI; dropping in PM.

In an e-mail exchange, Mike Watson, the Surfline East Coast manager and forecaster, said that if his peak wave predictions are correct — and he obviously believes they are — the swell could be among the top five or 10 biggest that he has ever recorded in our area. It is definitely the largest swell he has seen heading toward these parts, he said, since Hurricane Fabian pumped out waves resembling moving buildings back in 2003.

In an online video presentation tracking how the swell may hit different parts of the coast, Mr. Watson predicted the New York-New Jersey area would receive the best Hurricane Bill has to give, because of the contours of its ocean bottom and the geographical angles of its beaches.

Mr. Watson, who is based in Florida, was good enough to ask members of his national audience who are likely to make the trek to surf here this weekend to “please respect them in the Northeast region, as they wait a long time for a good swell like this.”

Indeed.

As the Bear said in “Big Wednesday,’’ the really big days are when the stars of local breaks “can distinguish themselves.”

But Mr. Watson also offered some sage advice. “Maybe it’s time to push your limits and get out there, that’s what surfing’s all about — pushing your limits,’’ he said, “but also knowing what your limits are, as well.”

The bigger sets are expected to start coming in late Saturday, with a peak early Sunday before they quickly diminish, Mr. Watson said.

Waves is an occasional City Room feature chronicling surfing in and around New York City, and the issues important to local surfers. Its author, Jim Rutenberg, is a Washington correspondent who grew up surfing in New Jersey and continues to surf regularly on eastern Long Island. Ideas and comments are welcome at Wavesnyt@gmail.com.

By Jim Rutenberg
New York Times

 Powerful waves. A shifting sand bar. Deadly rip currents. The Rockaways have them all – making its waters the most treacherous in the city, experts say.

“It’s completely open to the Atlantic Ocean, and it has very strong rip currents,” said veteran lifeguard Janet Fash, 49, who has worked the Rockaways for some 30 years. “It’s the type of area where nonswimmers and swimmers alike get in trouble.”

The notorious Queens beach, stretching from Breezy Point to the East Rockaway Inlet, has claimed the lives of six swimmers this summer.

As the latest drowning victim was mourned yesterday, experts revealed what makes the Rockaways the city’s deadliest beach.

The reasons are many.

Unlike at popular Coney Island – or at any other city beach – there’s nothing separating the Rockaways from the open sea. That makes it more susceptible to crushing waves, which regularly pound the sand bar that extends along the shore roughly 300 yards from the beach.

“In certain weather conditions, particularly with a lot of south wind, the waves can create an opening in the bar,” said Kevin Jeffrey, the Parks Department’s deputy commissioner of public programs.

“When that happens, it’s like turning over a 5-gallon water cooler bottle and ripping the lid open – all the water comes rushing out.

“If you’re there at that location, when that breach occurs, you get sucked out.”

The deadly currents – known as riptides – are also caused by a glut of jetties and groins, underwater structures that protect the coast.

After an especially strong wave pounds the shoreline, a stream of water rushes parallel to the beach as it searches for a route back out. The swift-moving current rips out to sea when it reaches a channel – often caused by another break in the sand bar – or hits a jetty or groin.

“These riptides appear and disappear across the beach,” said Henry Bokuniewicz, professor of oceanography at the Stony Brook School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences on Long Island.

“It’s almost impossible to predict where they’re going to form.”

Experts say another reason so many people die at the Rockaways has nothing to do with geography.

With easy access near a subway line, the Rockaways draw sunseekers from across the city – some of whom are not strong swimmers and still venture into the water when lifeguards are not around.

Large red signs appear along the beach at every block, warning swimmers in English and Spanish of the dangers of “strong currents and sudden dropoffs.”

Lifeguards watch the waters from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the summer.

Jose-Luis Olivares, 36, drowned in the waters off Jacob Riis Park on Friday after he pulled his 8-year-old daughter out of the surf and then went back to rescue his wife.

“He knows he died doing a good thing,” Olivares’ sister-in-law Guillermina Arreola said yesterday at a private vigil inside Grace Funeral Chapels in Brooklyn. “He’s a hero.”

Olivares’ wife, Elfega (Elvia) Arreola, appeared overcome with grief, sobbing as she stood before her husband’s gray coffin.

Frustrated Rockaway residents said more needs to be done to stop drownings.

“Something is either happening in the water or to our common sense,” said City Councilman James Sanders, who held a community “brainstorming” session this week. “Everyone needs to take these waters seriously.”

Sanders suggested a local beach watch could hand out information to swimmers who may be unaware of the lurking danger.

“Kids think it’s just a big bathtub,” said Queens resident Denean Ferguson.

Some residents said the warning signs may not be that effective. “Not everyone enters the beach at those places,” said Jackie Bascon, a 37-year resident of Rockaway.

Olivares’ nephew Jamie Mendoza said the family was still shocked the Rockaways swallowed his uncle, who was an experienced swimmer.

“My uncle was a very good swimmer,” Mendoza, 34, said. “Those waters had to be more treacherous than usual to overpower him.”
BY Edgar Sandoval, Oren Yaniv, Lisa Colangelo and Rich Schapiro
DAILY NEWS

We just got back from our first stay in Oregon. It was gorgeous and green, and most importantly, it was many degrees cooler than Phoenix! We had a great time playing with my extended family and exploring Rockaway Beach and some surrounding sights. Here are some shots of my sisters–they are amazing and beautiful. I look forward to hanging out with them again in the future.

Rockaway

Esmaspäev oli töölt vaba – ja mõnus päikseline. Ma juba pikemat aega unistan randa minekust, niisiis läksingi, kaugele Brooklynisse Rockaway’le. Meenus see, kuidas me seal umbes 8 aastat tagasi emaga käisime – siis oli oktoober ja rand täitsa tühi, mäletan, kuidas sõime banaanimuffinit seal tookord kahekesi… Ma ei teagi, kas ma sattusin seekord täpselt samasse kohta, igal juhul sõitsin A-traini lõpppeatusesse ja sealt veel Shuttle-rongiga kõige viimasesse rannapeatusse. Minu viimased rannad olid Miamis ja Havail, seega see rand mulle küll eriti ei meeldinud – paksult rahvast täis, põhiliselt hispanic’ud ja mustad. Vesi oli mõnus jahe, aga liiga liivane. Aga tore ikkagi, päevitus on päevitus. Suvi ilma päevituseta on ikka üsna mage, isegi New Yorgis.

A train views

And so starts another month…

I believe this is my first PB&J of the year.

In traffic on the way to the beach.  Boylan is better than Coke or Pepsi.

Rock, Rock, Rockaway Beach

Macallan at Bruce’s

Tacis Beyti

Just like being in Istanbul.  Simple, excellent food with wonderful service.

Can a band take in a group vacation and a battle of the bands at the same time? For $75, the answer is yes.

It’s a Monday in the middle of summer, and we’re all back at work, merrily (or not so much) plugging away at routine blah-diddy-blah-blah… let’s talk about going to the lake, shall we? There seems to be a renewed interest in the concept of battles of the bands lately. (We’re getting to the “lake” part. Honest.) There’s a pretty good one coming up next week, and we periodically receive word of others in the works. The latest comes from Rockaway Beach, long the more chilled-out spot in the tri-lakes area next to Lake Taneycomo, which has set up a multi-day competition for the end of August. That’s right: Music competition at the height of lake season. When your band is done playing its set, it’s time for fun in the sun! Get more details after the break.

The Battle of the Beach, as the event is called, is the first annual and is scheduled for August 27-30. The event will have two initial rounds, one each on Thursday and Friday, where audience voting will pare the number of bands down to 12. From there the judged semifinal round Saturday whittles the list down to a final four, all of whom will compete Sunday to determine the winner. 

The grand prize, according to the event’s website, is a multi-faceted package of eight hours of studio recording time, record deal, booking agent and photo shoot. Area hotels are offering discount rates for event competitors, though there is an event signup fee of $75 per artist that will eat into that savings. Think of it as a downpayment on a weekend getaway with a free band competition thrown in for good measure. If you want to find out more, you can call 417-464-8735.

In 1903, when his photo was taken, Rockaway Beach was earning a rep as “New York’s Playground.” Rockaway Playland amusement park had just been built in 1901, and thousands of city residents regularly crowded the boardwalk and beach.

Like so many other city neighborhoods, Rockaway Beach began its decline after World War II. It’s still hanging in there, just an A train ride away, luring day trippers and surfers in search of New York’s best waves.

Ha ha ha ha ha! Drum roll please……… lets bring on NY disaster date number two. 

I met Stephen on the front of the NY Library steps after work. Thedate was already a little strange  to start with – I couldn’treally be bothered withthe date itself and I really just wanted to go out with the girls and get trashed. Never one to cancel plans though I went along anyway. Stephen was as I remembered – cute and well dressed. We kept to the plan and headed for Happy Hour drinks at The Hooker just around the corner from my work. Conversation flowed well and I actually started to enjoy myself. He was born in Boston, works in sales, pretty much makes his own hours, longs for the simple life and is in a band (who isn’t that I date? I’m admitting defeat and officially give up trying to go with anyone who is not). 

Hunger soon found me tho and we headed towards Times Square (never my favourite area) to a Japanese restaurant Stephen had been recommended. The wait to eat is a stupid amount of time so I suggest we try and find a place Tara had been the night before with Sean – The Frying Pan. We head over to the Hudson River and its easy to find. The place consists of two boats permanently docked in the river around 26th Street. The place is packed but has an euphoric vibe that outdoor drinking always brings. The night is warm and the smell from the ships grill makes me hungry instantly. We order and grab a bucket of Coronas and find a table.

The place is amazing – a dance floor, DJ and loads of different decks which can only be reached by hoisting your bucket of beers and drunken self up the rigging and steps. As the boat rocks against the dock I realise that I’m not as sober as I thought I was. I lookaround and make comment of “This place is amazing – I’m having the best time” which is greeted with “Really? You like this – its horrible, I’d rather just sit in a dive bar” wtf? 

The conversation diverts to drug usage and swapping funny stories of ’shrooms, k-holes and general debauchery. As I finish one of my finer stories -  I notice Stephen is looking a bit horrified…. (I’ve had real trouble writing the following, hesitating for the last 10 mins, its really disgusting but I’m gonaput it in for effect) …..this is a guy that tells me he got caught by friends “orally tending” to a girl who was at that time of the month. Lovely. He turns to me and says “You have a really big problem don’t you” – I think hes joking (he’s not) “Have you ever done heroin?” !!!!!! errrr no I have not! and what a better way question to follow that question “Have you ever been pregnant? You have haven’tyou???” Least to say the rest of the evening was riddled with an uncomfortable atmosphere.

As part of a an escape plan I suggest heading down to Bleeker Street so I can sneak off to the PATH and go meet Coral in Hoboken. Three is my magic number and I give the lad one last try – he doesn’t know the area (?! come on its Bleeker Street and he’s lived in the city longer then me!) so I take him to Wicked Willys- nothing like cheap beer and beer pong for a fun night. But no….. this is boring for him too, so I down my drink and head for the door. To my utter relief I stumble into Olivia, Donna and Treens on the way out – I have never been so happy to see them! I say a quick goodbye to Steven -  the fact the girls are still stood there means I don’t have to do the awkward kiss or no kiss thing. Yes I’m saved!! Or so I think….

After drinking with the girls I decide to head home. I’m quite drunk and I forgot my keys so don’t want to be waking everyone up to late. As I walk to the PATH station along the busy Christopher Street my heel catches in a pavement crack and I fly forward onto my hand and knees, handbag spilling everywhere and only myself to chuckle with and laugh it off (Cringe!). I’ve ripped open my knee and put a massive hole in my tights. I feel about 5 years old.

I eventually get on the train and I’m safe again…… nope, no such luck. The train arrives in Hoboken and I sit in a vacant seat next to a HUGE fat man (he looks like hes melting), my ipod is on and I’m in my own happy drunken world, laughing inside at my disaster evening. A rather large, butch looking, black woman sits on the other seat next to me so I’m totally lodged looking a bit skew-wiff, arms and legs squashed together. The woman take out my ipod earphone and asks  me what I’m listening to and places my earphone in her ear as I cringe desperately – I have Kanye West “Gold Digger” playing. She immediately starts rapping along to the whole train – its quite funny. She turns back to me commenting on my hair and how pretty it is… this is then followed my asking where my boyfriend is… (damn why don’t I have one for moments like this – or why am I not quicker at lying?) and then when my girlfriend is, my lover! I have never ran home quite so fast in my life. What a night: a disaster date, poorly leg and chatted up by a fat, butch lesbian. At least I have options.

On Saturday the weather is nice and Tara and I decide to head to Coney Islandfor Nathan’s hot dogs (only the best) and some sun. By the time we arrive the sun is in and the fatties are out. When Claire came to stay she likened it to Blackpool – its worse! Just as Southport is where old people go to die, it seems the scum of all New York’s boroughs head to Coney Island to be fat and act like trash. We head home feeling cold and violated.

The fitties of Coney Island (pic. by T.Ratcliffe)

Sunday is a much better beach experience – Rockaway Beach. Just as The Ramones sang: its not far or hard to reach, only 40 mins from Manhattan the express A train takes you straight there and the beach is clean, normal people are laid out on it and the water is ok (not really clean but okfor paddling). Pattie met up with Tara and I and we spent the day lazing in the sun, munching food, listening to ipods, general shit chatting and some good old paddling. Was nice to finally rock out my new bikini after the disappointment of the “pool party”. It wouldn’t be a day in America without a little strangeness though. As we lay on the beach an aeroplane flys up and down with different adverts attached: hotels… gyms… abortions… bars – hang on, abortions? ha ha. I look around to see if I can see anyone quickly reaching for pen and paper. No such luck.

Rockaway Beach