Clearing the Backlog of Pics - 4th of July Coney Style

So I'm a little behind in getting some 4th of July pics up, but better late than never. Hers and I headed out to celebrate the 4th on Coney Island. The highlight, of course, was the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating World Championship. As the carnival-style barker made clear to all, it was here, in front of the original Nathan's Hot Dogs, where God and Satan would meet in the ultimate battle between Good and Evil. But until the competition began, we had an Uncle Sam on stilts to keep us amused.

And watching over Unlce Sam are some of New York City's finest perched atop Nathan's Hot Dogs.

Before we knew it, the competition had begun. We all knew it was going to come down to two competitors, Kobayashi and last year's Champ, Joey Chestnut.

Being an American on the 4th of July met we pretty much had to cheer for Chestnut against Kobayashi, who hails from Japan. Chestnut jumped out to an early lead only to see Kobayashi come back and take a slim lead heading into the final minute. Chestnut somehow made an incredible come back in the last minute, however, and the two ended in a tie. 59 hot dogs and buns each.


They decided on an eat-off to crown this year's champion. Whoever could down 5 hot dogs first would win. Somehow, Chestnut was able to pull through. His perserverance in the face of overwhelming odds made us all proud to be an American. Or so the barker said.

As the competition broke up, Hers and I went to grab some corndogs and headed off to ride the coasters. Ah, Independence Day in NYC.