The guys and I renewed our summer baseball ritual from the 80's and 90's, only this time instead of watching the Reds play in Cincinnati, we followed them to Yankee Stadium, my first trip to the Big Apple.The crowds took some adjustment, as did the reek of sewage, high humidity, teeth-jarring subway trains, and cramped airport (Laguardia was like a rabbit farm on the way out of town, as cancelled flights caused people to pile up in the terminal with fewer exiting than arriving.) But let no one tell you that folks out east are rude - I encountered some awesome folks during the trip (the girl from Australia, the bartender from Ireland...) Seriously, except for the jerk bartender in "Charley O's" bar (avoid that Sunday afternoon shift at the bar on Broadway), everyone was great.The memory I will most take away from this trip is Brad's jumping on the wrong subway train for south Manhattan, the door closing, and him being rushed away while the rest of us stood there and watched. We connected later, but watching him be helplessly carried away was a chuckle. Since our phones were working only sporadically underground, I sent my first text message ever, in desperation to find our lost friend. It said, "beers @ eamonns, murray @ church - come find us." We watched four innings on the big screen before he arrived.
Of course traveling means eating non-stop. We covered "Mickey Mantle's" along Central Park, Moxie's Deli for a multiple-pound Pastrami, the "Brooklyn Diner" for awesome thin crust pizza, and a great little Irish pub or two, our favorite being "Eamonn's" in central Manhattan.
I also saw my first Broadway play, "November", starring Nathan Lane. Very talented man, and great entertainment for anyone, but especially if you love a little twist on your politics (is there such as thing as 'untwisted politics?') Best quote from the play: "There are no solutions. Only rearranging of problems." I recommend it, although it's closing in July. Best part of Broadway? The blonde aussie I met in the ticket line who gave me her reviews of all the shows she'd seen in a week.
Finally, I did a little 'tourist' round of visiting the Ground Zero site and memorial, and walking down to the park to see Lady Liberty from a distance. We also played catch in Central Park one afternoon.
I came home with a $3 T-Shirt from a street peddler, and a lot of great memories (and only about 15 hours of sleep in 3 days.)
Click here for photos from the trip.
- Jason
