The Long Trek Home

The road home from the big apple was rather serene until we arrived back on Canadian soil. As we traveled through New Jersey the setting sun helped create a reflective backdrop to us as we all were lost in memory of the various highlights of the weekend. As our thoughts turned to the tasty foot long hotdog smothered with cheese and kraut we all had at Shea (the best ballpark dog I’ve ever had; so good in fact I had two) our stomach’s broke the calm by reminding us all that the last bit of nourishment we ate that day was that tasty hotdog at the game.

After finding our intended place for dining, Perkins, and filling our gullets we continued our drive through Pennsylvania in darkness. At least it was late enough for the evening sports to be on and we landed on WGN radio and the Cubs game. The innings past by in the game and each mile got us closer to New York State and more importantly, Carlos Zambrano inched closer to the Cubs first no hitter in 36 years. As the announcers found every possible way of letting us know the predicament without actually saying “no hitter” our attention to the game intensified and peaked in the ninth when the rare feat was accomplished.

That was the peak of our enjoyment on the road too (except for the brief stop at duty free when we got to buy alcohol for cheap). Not too long after the game ended we started looking for a place to sleep. As the wind picked up outside we were growing restless in the car. Relying on a GPS unit we took a cutoff in hopes of finding a hotel/motel but instead of finding one we spent half an hour driving in circles before getting back on the interstate. As an aside: all trip long we had a discussion going about old school maps and the new fangled GPS units. I defended the use of maps while my traveling mates held the GPS unit in high regard. In this instance neither helped.

We finally found shelter not long before the remnants of Ike unleashed in the area. The next day we saw the outcome of the storm’s wrath as we dodged tree limbs on the interstate. After a short stop at the duty free, we were finally back in Canada but our troubles were far from over. Unbeknownst to us, somewhere along the way one of our tires picked up an unwanted passenger that caused what began as a slow leak and progressed to a more pronounced leak. We made several stops to add air to the tire before arriving in my driveway and called CAA. The trip, which was great until this side of the border, was over for me. Half an hour or so later, will full bellies, my dad and sister were on their own home stretch.

A Tale of Two Stadiums

We are up to the main reason for my recent trip to New York City, visiting the two ballparks that will be replaced for the 2009 season. Apparently, New York is really where the money is these days since both the storied Yankee Stadium and the ugly sister called Shea are both being taken out of commission at the end of this baseball season.

Although both stadiums have witnessed some ‘amazing’ baseball (even if the one more so than the other) there is definitely no telling which one is in the hearts of the city folk. That is evident by the name assigned to each of the new stadiums; Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. Yankee Stadium can be seen as being modernized (i.e. more comfortable seating and more expensive luxury suites) since the name remains the same while Shea is flat out being replaced (and it is obvious why it’s needed). The Yankees fans seem to be saddened by the replacement of the House That Ruth Built and its 85 years of mostly fond memories even though the new park is supposedly going to a replica of the old but over in Queens it’s a different story. Even with the memory of the Miracle Mets of 1969 and the infamous Bill Buckner blunder in game 6 of the 1986 World Series, most Mets fans are more than happy to be getting a new field. The replacement of Shea does not seem to be talked about outside of Queens whereas the closing of Yankee Stadium is talked about everywhere (at least everywhere in North America).

Despite the dilapidated look of Shea and the narrow stairs, walkways and concourse of Yankee Stadium, both ballparks are still fun to watch games at. A lot of that enjoyment likely has to do with the relaxed and fun atmosphere created by the stadium’s personnel rather than the actual buildings. At Yankee Stadium one of New York’s finest seemed to be right at home in the stands. He was seen sending text messages, eating peanuts, chatting with fans and posing for pictures (perhaps even taking some for others as well). At Shea, we had an usher that was authentically friendly and seemed like he would like nothing better than to grab a seat beside us and talk about the history of the Mets or the stadium or anything else we wanted to talk about.

In the end, I’m glad I went to Yankee Stadium before they sell off every urinal and toilet seat to help recover the costs of constructing the new stadium but I prefer comfort over nostalgia at sporting events and think a new stadium is needed. Once the Yankees start winning in the new building the old stadium will be locked into the history books. As for Shea, I feel for the Mets fans that had to sit in that building the past several years when it was way past decent. The new stadium should give more life to the fans and hopefully the team as they continue on another September fall from grace. Cherish the memories of old but enjoy all the comforts afforded by the modern day.

From Tourists to Subway Pros

While in New York City, we did not do much of the normal stuff, you know check out the view from the top of the Empire State building, shop, or check out the club or bar scene but we did find our way to Times Square. We stayed out in Queens, a few blocks from the Mets home, so we had to rely on the subway to get to Manhattan and our main destination, Yankee Stadium.

Getting to Manhattan and Times Square was not difficult for us at all. We got on the 7 train at the beginning and got off at the end in the middle of Times Square. Since our time was short there, we wandered aimlessly along the streets, stopping for Starbucks and the Yankees clubhouse before jumping back on the subway to head to the Bronx. We made the switch at Grand Central Station to the northbound train into the Bronx a lot more complicated than it had to be but we ended up at Yankee Stadium anyhow.

We returned to Times Square for dinner and had no difficulty on the subway this time. We did get off at Grand Central Station and walk to Times Square so we missed the switch but we would have had no trouble the second time. Getting back to Queens and our hotel left us feeling like pros on the subway as we had no difficulty at all. To us, it seemed like we started our day as tourists but ended the day as seasoned pros on the subway.

Tommy Boy Moment En Route to the Big Apple

One week ago today I was in a car in Pennsylvania heading south to New York City. Right now I am so wishing I could go back in time…or maybe even forward in time so I would not be at work anymore. Anyhow, despite the long drive it was a fun trip. We went to both MLB stadiums and wandered the streets of Manhattan for a short time all while mastering the expansive subway system. The fun was not limited to our adventures in the big city; it started somewhere near the Pocono’s and had me looking as stupid as David Spade’s character in Tommy Boy at the gas station (the scene where David’s character is looking for a town using the wrong map).

We got the Triptych from CAA to guide us to New York. It is useful as it shows construction zones and the location of food, gas, lodgings and points of interest. We also had the New York Tour Book that gives more information on the points of interest, lodgings, etc. As my dad fiddled around with his new GPS unit, I followed along with the old school maps and my triptych. I was checking out the points of interest to see if any of them interested us. As we neared the Pocono area I noticed a point of interest near Mount Pocono and began searching the tour book for what the point of interest was but I could not locate the town in the Tour Book. Five minutes of searching, likely cursing under my breath all the while, I finally realized something…I would never find Mount Pocono in the Tour Book I had. Mount Pocono happens to be in Pennsylvania not New York, the state for which the Tour Book contained information.

It turned out I needed a new Tour Book not a new map as the gas attendant so bluntly put it in Tommy Boy. And that was my first thought after I realized the mistake I made and started laughing in the back seat. My sister got just as big a laugh out of that occurrence as I did when I told her the reason of my seemingly unprompted laughter.

Great Success!

My son’s first road trip was a great success. For the most part, he seemed to enjoy himself and did not give us much trouble. Friday night during the game he did cry a bit when the Bandits scored and everyone was cheering but he settled himself with the rest of the crowd. By the fourth quarter of the game though, my son was likely getting tired and would not settle so my wife had to take him to a quiet sanctuary. Luckily, she could still see most of the action from her new vantage point so she did not miss much (not that she would have anyhow, the Bandits didn’t play well).

After the game, we drove to Rochester for the night. My son woke while we put his sleeper on and cried for about an hour after before falling back to sleep. That was the only real trouble we had with him and it was our own fault. Once he fell back asleep, he did not bother us until the next morning.

Saturday started off as a lazy day for us, after all there is not much to do in Rochester. We went for breakfast and then took our time getting the day started (lucky for us checkout wasn’t until noon). After lunch, we ventured out to find something to do to waste the day away until the lacrosse game. We took a wrong turn so we missed the zoo but we did stumble across a baseball game. The Minnesota Twins AAA baseball team plays out of Rochester and just happened to be playing that day. My son let us enjoy the game as he slept through several innings. A great way to waste the day in my opinion!

My son was equally as good at the lacrosse game that night as he slept through a quarter. The game was even worse than the Friday night affair so we left early to start our 3+ hour cruise…sorry that is something else, it was a 3+ hour drive. Halfway between Rochester and Buffalo we stopped at a service centre and coincidentally ran into Jay Dee, who was returning from a day trip to Syracuse. My son really enjoyed that chance encounter though as he was all giggles. The rest of the drive was uneventful and my son eventually slept the night away.