Please note that this post focuses heavily on public transit and the general monotony of commuter life so if you're looking for more action/adventure reading come back tomorrow!

I guess I just wasn’t fully ready to jump in. My first day living “in the Rockaways” was successful in highlighting the distance this area is from Midtown Manhattan as well as how much reading can be done on a subway train (especially when you have a seat). My day was mainly spent in Manhattan starting with an 8:00 breakfast meeting near Union Square.

The train left at 6:40AM. Generally accustomed to biking everywhere in Brooklyn I arrived 15 minutes early to buy a metro card and await the A train express from 98th Street. The express train was important – otherwise going from 98th Street requires a Shuttle train and then a transfer to the A train at Broad Channel. The express, which only runs at rush hour (see dotted line), would bypass the need for a shuttle, getting me to 14th Street in record time about a little over an hour.

After a day in Manhattan the train ride back required the shuttle from Broad Channel.

I got back to my room at 10:00PM so today's explorations mainly focused on access and the public transit system. Tomorrow to the ocean.

Quick notes on public transit to Rockaway Beach:

The A train to Far Rockaway will take you straight out to the north end of the peninsula (for beach goers and surfers that means Beach 67th Street Stop)
To get to the southern section of Rockaway you still take the A train to Far Rockaway and then need to switch trains at Broad Channel and take the "S Shuttle."