Yankee Baseball

The idea for our NYC/Boston trip was mine, and the entire motivation for going was baseball. For a long time now, I've really liked the idea of trying to see a baseball game in every Major League park. However, I've never really put much effort into doing this. Until this summer, my grand total of stadiums was...two. Jacob's Field in Cleveland and Coors Field in Colorado. I used to have Pittsburgh on my list, but they tore down Three Rivers Stadium and I haven't been back to Pittsburgh since.

2008 is the final year for Yankee Stadium. I really wanted to be able to say that I had been to that park, where so many amazing people had played and where so many historic events had happened. So that's why we did our trip this year. Since Jarid is a huge Yankees fan but had also never been to the stadium, he and Sarah jumped at the chance to come with us.

Bright and early on Sunday, June 22nd, we hopped on the B-line and got off at 162nd St/Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. We got there before the gates opened, so we had plenty of time to wander around and watch batting practice. I have to say...Yankee Stadium is ugly. No offense to any Yankees fans. It's just what happens when the last major remodel to the stadium is in the 1970s. The inside looks a lot better.

In the middle of the game, there was a 56 minute rain delay. It was actually rather entertaining to watch the grounds crew struggle with the tarp since the wind was blowing it so much. Fortunately, our seats were under the overhang for the upper deck, so we stayed dry even though people 3 rows ahead of us were soaked.

After the rain, the sun came out and the game resumed. We were able to see Ken Griffey Jr. hit home run #601, which was nice to see. I was also pleasantly surprised by the Yankees fans. They were really into the game from the first pitch. They were cheering for a Reds' out in the first inning like it was an out in the 9th. The Yankees ended up winning, 4-1. And I'll admit...I didn't even mind that they won. :)

On Monday, we went back to the stadium for the tour. We were able to go into the press box, and we spent some time in Monument Park. There are plaques and monuments to lots of great, old Yankees players, and there are even plaques for each of the 3 popes who have said Mass in Yankee Stadium.

After Monument Park, we were allowed to walk around the warning track to the Yankees dugout. I was surprised that they let us sit in there! We don't have any pictures of it, though, since Shawn's camera died while I was taking pictures in Monument Park. I'm sure Jarid and Sarah took enough pictures for all of us, though! :)

Battery Park and the Brooklyn Bridge

After visiting Ground Zero, we headed down to Battery Park. We had already decided not to visit the Statue of Liberty since we'd all seen it up close before. When we got to the park, the line for the ferry was huge! It must've been at least an hour or two long, just to get on the boat. That's especially amazing since we heard that the statue itself was closed that day! But we could see both the statue and Ellis Island from where we were.

After getting lunch in a shady "Beer Garden," we began the walk back up towards the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked through the South Street Seaport, which was nice, but I would've been more impressed if the stores had been local shops as opposed to national chain stores. We also stumbled across a free show of old police cars, which was interesting.

Sarah's one main request for the trip was walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, since her great-grandfather (?) helped to build it. I would've enjoyed the walk much better if it weren't so hot out that day...no shade on the bridge. :) (This is a picture of Jarid and Sarah on the bridge.)

Once on the other side, our goal was to find an ice cream shop that Sarah's dad had told her about. Apparently, the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is a popular place! The line was way out the door, but we were all able to get a scoop of ice cream. While we ate, we had great views of the city. This particular pier is apparently a popular location for the views, too, as I counted no fewer than 7 bridal parties stopping here for pictures!

Visiting Ground Zero

On our second day in NYC, we all decided to spend most of our time in the lower part of the island. We took the subway to Chinatown (accidentally) and wandered until we found Little Italy. We stopped at a cafe at 10:00am for coffee and canolis...it was great!

Our next stop was Ground Zero. We were almost to the site, when we happened to walk past a church. Something caught my attention, and once I realized what it was, I called everyone back to see. Tucked away on a small street on the side of an unassuming church is the steel cross that was found amid the wreckage of the Twin Towers. Apparently it will stay at this location until the WTC Memorial is completed, and then it will be moved there.

We walked around 3 sides of Ground Zero. They've done a lot to try to make sure that visitors can see the site without turning it into a circus.

On the south end, there is a Fire Station with a bronze plaque on the side of the building, honoring those who lost their lives on September 11th. Next to the fire station is a small WTC museum and gift shop. The shop sells things like WTC wristbands, children's books about the day, books, and tribute photos. All the proceeds of the shop and the museum goes to the September 11th families fund.

It's still a little sobering to see Ground Zero, but I'm glad to see that they're rebuilding. It also seems that the city is doing a lot to make sure that the victims and heroes of September 11th will always be remembered and honored.

The Met - sort of

Last week, Shawn and I flew with our friends to New York City. We took a red eye flight, so we arrived at our hotel by 8:30 on Friday morning. We left our bags at the hotel, got some breakfast, and started walking. We started on W 32nd St in Manhattan, and we walked all the way up 5th Ave to Central Park. After wandering through the park, we hit the one place Sarah and I really wanted to go to...The Metropolitan Museum of Art, aka - The Met. Sarah and I both really like Impressionist Art, so most of our time there was spent in the European paintings rooms. It was wonderful! I could spend all day staring at one or two Monets or Van Goghs, and here I was able to see painting after painting.

After we had lunch in the museum's cafeteria, we went up to the roof, which I hadn't been up to before. Right now, there is an exhibit called "Jeff Koons on the Roof." So we were able to see a few interesting sculptures, and we were also able to get a great view of Central Park and Manhattan.

The sculptures were definitely different. This picture is basically the view of Central Park and a sculpture called "Sacred Heart" (I think).

My favorite up here is the "balloon dog." I have no idea what the sculpture's actual name is, but it really looks like a gigantic, shiny balloon dog. In the second picture, you can see Shawn taking a picture of himself in the reflection of the dog.

More Travel!

I was really bummed tonight to learn that Shawn missed his originally scheduled flight home from Seattle, which would've given him an 8:10 arrival. Instead, he'll be arriving around midnight.

Instead of sitting around moping, I decided to do a little research for our next big trip! In June, we'll be heading out East with Jarid and Sarah. The plan is to spend a few days in NYC and a few days in Boston. We currently have 4 tickets to a game at Yankee Stadium (had to do it this year, since this is the final season there!); Shawn and I are also planning on getting tickets to a game at Fenway.

Tonight, I was mainly checking out transportation options. We're trying to spend as little as possible on transportation, which I'm discovering is a bit difficult, considering our destinations! We had thought it would be fun to take a train from NYC to Boston, and then just rent a car in Beantown. However, that's looking like it's much more expensive than we had thought it would be. Fortunately, there's a Thrifty (actually, two of them) in Manhattan, so we'll probably just rent a car there and drive to Boston.

Once we get the details down about how we're getting where at what times, then it'll be time to decide what we'll do while we're there! That might prove to be the truly tricky part...getting 4 people to agree on what to do when! At least we have the baseball games decided on (and a tour of Yankee Stadium), and I know that both Sarah and I really want to go to the Met. We're both big fans of Impressionist paintings, and she's never been there.

If anyone has any suggestions for things we should do or see in either city, let me know!