After yesterday I thought that there was no way that today could be as good. I was right; it was BETTER! As hard as that may seem to believe, its true. You might ask: "How could a day possibly be better than going to New York by train, going to the Museum of Natural History, seeing live snakes and lizards there, seeing Bodies: The Exhibition, and then eating real, authentic New York pizza at the place where pizza was INVENTED?" Well, I'll tell you right now!
My father and I woke up at about 9:30 am. Needless to say we had a fantastic sleep in the heavenly beds of the Hotel Giraffe. We showered and ate the delicious continental breakfast in the hotel lobby.
My father and I always take a special father-son trip to New York in early September or late August to see a sports event. The first year we did this was two years ago, when we went to the US Open. Last year we went to a Mets vs. Nationals game at Shea Stadium. (I was, of course, rooting for my home Nats!) This year was not going to end that streak. Since we couldn't go to the US Open, we decided to head down to Yankee Stadium and try to scalp tickets for the Yankees vs. Twins game! I have never been to a Yankees game or Yankee Stadium, so what a thrill that would be. I knew I had to sooner or later, because I am a partial Yankee fan, soon to be a full time Yankee fan when I live in New York! Also, the weather outside was beautiful, with barely a cloud in the sky, so it would be a perfect day for baseball.
Since it was so early, we decided to walk for a while. We started walking up Park Avenue, but somewhere in the 30s we walked over to Madison Avenue and started walking up that, because it is more interesting than Park. A lot of tourists say that their favorite area is Times Square. I love Times Square a lot, but my favorite part of New York is 5th and Madison Avs, where all the real New Yorkers hang out. Times Square is mostly tourists. In fact, Barney's on Madison Av is the ONLY store that I actually LIKE to shop for clothes! Normally I hate shopping for clothes, but not at Barney's. Don't ask me why; must be a New York thing. Anyway, we planned to walk up Madison to 50th St, then walk over to 6th Av and take the (D) to Yankee Stadium. However, when we got to 50th, there was still some time, so we then decided to keep walking. We looked around the Sony store, which is a great store. At 59th St, we realized that we should get going, so we walked over to Lexington Av and into the Lexington Av-59th st station. We had entered on the downtown side, so we had to use the underpass to the uptown side, and while we were crossing under we missed an uptown (4) train. We had to wait a LOOONG time for the next one, about 10 minutes, maybe a little more. A (6) train passed by while we were waiting. I didn't expect to wait so long for a (4) train, which has short headways and seemed to have especially short ones this weekend for whatever reason. The platform was getting very crowded with Yankee fans. An interesting note: For a strange reason, the (4) trains were so much more crowded than the (6) trains that weekend! I couldn't figure out why. This was on both days. The (4) trains I saw were all jam packed like sardines in a can and all the (6) trains I saw were relatively empty. Odd indeed. Anyway, when the (4) train came, an R142 consist, it was pretty crowded but once everyone at 59th St got on the train, it was so crowded that it was hard to breathe. I didn't care because I was too excited. The ride seemed long, perhaps because it made all local stops. I would have liked to ride an express train to The House that Ruth Built to put icing on the cake. Oh well, I'm not complaining. We had to wait for a (5) train across the platform to leave at 125th St before we could go. The run between 116th St and 161st is very slow. But once we got outside and passed by the majestic stadium, my mouth dropped and I was stunned at how gorgeous it was. On the subway platform a gentlemen was selling tickets for the Tier Box MVP Section 16, and we took them.
We were so excited. Let me tell you that when you leave the subway station it's like stepping into another city. The streets are lined with Yankee Stores and Yankee-themed bars and restaurants. The atmosphere is incredible! And the stadium is incredible! The seats were nearly perfect--the only problem I had was that I could not see the edge of left field. But that was such a minor problem that I feel guilty about mentioning it. Let me tell you: You have NOT been to a baseball game until you've been to one at Yankee Stadium!
It is such a shame that they're going to tear it down and build a new one. Why would they do that? The stadium is still in great shape. Why waste money while destroying the greatest and most historical landmark in the history of sports? Well, New Yorkers, I tell you to NOT LET THEM DO IT! Protest. Hold up signs. Start riots. Burn down the headquarters of the construction company. Do whatever you can to prevent those evil construction workers from tearing down your beloved Yankee Stadium that has treated you so well over the years. Remember the Curse of the Bambino? Well, if you let them destroy Yankee Stadium, I bet the Yankees will be cursed, too. Fight the power, New Yorkers! LONG LIVE YANKEE STADIUM!
The game was terrific. The Yankees won 10-1. We sat next to another father and son who live in New York, who scalped their tickets from the same guy that we scalped ours from. The son was a huge Yankees fan who new all the players, while the father seemed new to the game. We wanted to catch the 6:05 Regional Amtrak train back to New Carrollton, so we left the game in the bottom of the 8th inning. Had the game been closer, we would have stayed for the whole game. I felt so happy for A-Rod, who temporarily broke his slump by hitting two home runs and recording five RBIs. He was the MVP of the game for sure. Bobby Abreu was great, too, with three doubles and an RBI.
Our downtown (4) train, an R142A consist, arrived as soon as we got to the platform. It was close to empty, but everyone on the platform boarded it to make it quite crowded. The trip was a very sad one, because we had just had the best weekend of our entire lives and it was about to end. We got off at 28th St and walked back to the hotel to get our bags, and then walked back up to 28th St to ride the subway for the last time this trip, and for me, this year.
The train came shortly, a (6) train of R142As that was not crowded at all. We took it to 51st St to transfer to the (E) train. The (E) train came in about 6-7 minutes, not too bad at all. It was an R32 consist, and it was also not crowded at all. The trip was very quick and sad.
Our Regional Train #135 left on time, but for no apparent reason it was very slow running at times and arrived late at New Carrollton. The ride seemed endless. I was on the verge of crying, I was so sad. But later, I realized that's a good thing. It showed not only how much I enjoyed the trip, but how much I enjoyed spending rare quality time with my father. It was on the train home when I truly realized how much I love my father, and how lucky I am that God chose him to be mine when he could have just as easily chosen anybody else. When I become an adult and have kids, I will most definitely take them on trips like my father did for me.
My father and I woke up at about 9:30 am. Needless to say we had a fantastic sleep in the heavenly beds of the Hotel Giraffe. We showered and ate the delicious continental breakfast in the hotel lobby.
My father and I always take a special father-son trip to New York in early September or late August to see a sports event. The first year we did this was two years ago, when we went to the US Open. Last year we went to a Mets vs. Nationals game at Shea Stadium. (I was, of course, rooting for my home Nats!) This year was not going to end that streak. Since we couldn't go to the US Open, we decided to head down to Yankee Stadium and try to scalp tickets for the Yankees vs. Twins game! I have never been to a Yankees game or Yankee Stadium, so what a thrill that would be. I knew I had to sooner or later, because I am a partial Yankee fan, soon to be a full time Yankee fan when I live in New York! Also, the weather outside was beautiful, with barely a cloud in the sky, so it would be a perfect day for baseball.
Since it was so early, we decided to walk for a while. We started walking up Park Avenue, but somewhere in the 30s we walked over to Madison Avenue and started walking up that, because it is more interesting than Park. A lot of tourists say that their favorite area is Times Square. I love Times Square a lot, but my favorite part of New York is 5th and Madison Avs, where all the real New Yorkers hang out. Times Square is mostly tourists. In fact, Barney's on Madison Av is the ONLY store that I actually LIKE to shop for clothes! Normally I hate shopping for clothes, but not at Barney's. Don't ask me why; must be a New York thing. Anyway, we planned to walk up Madison to 50th St, then walk over to 6th Av and take the (D) to Yankee Stadium. However, when we got to 50th, there was still some time, so we then decided to keep walking. We looked around the Sony store, which is a great store. At 59th St, we realized that we should get going, so we walked over to Lexington Av and into the Lexington Av-59th st station. We had entered on the downtown side, so we had to use the underpass to the uptown side, and while we were crossing under we missed an uptown (4) train. We had to wait a LOOONG time for the next one, about 10 minutes, maybe a little more. A (6) train passed by while we were waiting. I didn't expect to wait so long for a (4) train, which has short headways and seemed to have especially short ones this weekend for whatever reason. The platform was getting very crowded with Yankee fans. An interesting note: For a strange reason, the (4) trains were so much more crowded than the (6) trains that weekend! I couldn't figure out why. This was on both days. The (4) trains I saw were all jam packed like sardines in a can and all the (6) trains I saw were relatively empty. Odd indeed. Anyway, when the (4) train came, an R142 consist, it was pretty crowded but once everyone at 59th St got on the train, it was so crowded that it was hard to breathe. I didn't care because I was too excited. The ride seemed long, perhaps because it made all local stops. I would have liked to ride an express train to The House that Ruth Built to put icing on the cake. Oh well, I'm not complaining. We had to wait for a (5) train across the platform to leave at 125th St before we could go. The run between 116th St and 161st is very slow. But once we got outside and passed by the majestic stadium, my mouth dropped and I was stunned at how gorgeous it was. On the subway platform a gentlemen was selling tickets for the Tier Box MVP Section 16, and we took them.
We were so excited. Let me tell you that when you leave the subway station it's like stepping into another city. The streets are lined with Yankee Stores and Yankee-themed bars and restaurants. The atmosphere is incredible! And the stadium is incredible! The seats were nearly perfect--the only problem I had was that I could not see the edge of left field. But that was such a minor problem that I feel guilty about mentioning it. Let me tell you: You have NOT been to a baseball game until you've been to one at Yankee Stadium!
It is such a shame that they're going to tear it down and build a new one. Why would they do that? The stadium is still in great shape. Why waste money while destroying the greatest and most historical landmark in the history of sports? Well, New Yorkers, I tell you to NOT LET THEM DO IT! Protest. Hold up signs. Start riots. Burn down the headquarters of the construction company. Do whatever you can to prevent those evil construction workers from tearing down your beloved Yankee Stadium that has treated you so well over the years. Remember the Curse of the Bambino? Well, if you let them destroy Yankee Stadium, I bet the Yankees will be cursed, too. Fight the power, New Yorkers! LONG LIVE YANKEE STADIUM!
The game was terrific. The Yankees won 10-1. We sat next to another father and son who live in New York, who scalped their tickets from the same guy that we scalped ours from. The son was a huge Yankees fan who new all the players, while the father seemed new to the game. We wanted to catch the 6:05 Regional Amtrak train back to New Carrollton, so we left the game in the bottom of the 8th inning. Had the game been closer, we would have stayed for the whole game. I felt so happy for A-Rod, who temporarily broke his slump by hitting two home runs and recording five RBIs. He was the MVP of the game for sure. Bobby Abreu was great, too, with three doubles and an RBI.
Our downtown (4) train, an R142A consist, arrived as soon as we got to the platform. It was close to empty, but everyone on the platform boarded it to make it quite crowded. The trip was a very sad one, because we had just had the best weekend of our entire lives and it was about to end. We got off at 28th St and walked back to the hotel to get our bags, and then walked back up to 28th St to ride the subway for the last time this trip, and for me, this year.
The train came shortly, a (6) train of R142As that was not crowded at all. We took it to 51st St to transfer to the (E) train. The (E) train came in about 6-7 minutes, not too bad at all. It was an R32 consist, and it was also not crowded at all. The trip was very quick and sad.
Our Regional Train #135 left on time, but for no apparent reason it was very slow running at times and arrived late at New Carrollton. The ride seemed endless. I was on the verge of crying, I was so sad. But later, I realized that's a good thing. It showed not only how much I enjoyed the trip, but how much I enjoyed spending rare quality time with my father. It was on the train home when I truly realized how much I love my father, and how lucky I am that God chose him to be mine when he could have just as easily chosen anybody else. When I become an adult and have kids, I will most definitely take them on trips like my father did for me.
