Well our first full day in New York City was an eventful one, as you would expect.
I got up at about 6 a.m. and quiet as a mouse, got dressed, grabbed my laptop, and headed out to Starbucks on Broadway and 47th Street for a lovely Venti Flat White Coffee with Two Splenders, and a bit of peace to write my email. I didn't write a blog post because most of the day was spent in an airplane doing not much at all. ("Bugger All" some would say.) I mentioned in the email that we had to get up at 5:30 a.m. to get ready for the shuttle bus to pick us up to take us to the airport at 6:30 a.m. This was cruel and unusual punishment for Ross, although " de riguer pour moi" .
After my July 9th early morning email to Family and Friends Group, I walked back to the hotel, got through the shower shaved and got clean clothes on, then waited for Ross to slowly emerge from hibernation. He finally started shaking the cobwebs off and the moss that had gathered on well you know. We eventually headed out for breakfast and thence to Staples and thence to the Subway up to 161st Street in the Bronx, i.e., Yankee Stadium, where the Big Dogs play. We had tickets to watch the Oakland A's beat the New York Yankees, and I was wearing my lovely new Oakland A's uniform cap that I had bought in San Francisco, when we went to Oakland to see the A's beat the Seattle Mariners at O.Co. Colliseum.
Brunch at Pigalle Cafe at around 10:30 a.m. Decadent late start.
We could easily have got lost getting to Yankee Stadium on the Subway (we bought a week-long subway pass for about $30) but a couple of kind New Yorkers took pity on us and directed us to the correct subway train. Then it started to fill with people who all wore New York Yankees Uniforms, so we just followed them from that point onwards. For those who don't know, both New York baseball teams, the Yankees and the Mets, built brand new stadiums, at the same time, right beside the old ones and demolished the old ones about three years ago. (2 1/2 BILLION DOLLARS!!!)
In front of the new Yankees Stadium in the Bronx at 161st Street Subway exit.
Our seats were very nice; about over the top of the visitors dugout on the third base side but on the second level and one row back from the balcony edge, that the fellow in front taking photos is leaning on.The day was overcast and a very comfortable temperature. Perfect for a daytime game.
Yankee Stadium a few minutes before the game started. The final Official attendance was just over 40,000. The Stadium was about 3/4 full.
It was an exciting and close game to start, with the A's leading 2-1 for a few innings. Eventually The Evil Empire Struck Back, however, and the Yankees ran way with it and finally won 6-2. Damn Yankees!
We had a lovely time, nonetheless, and Ross, is now an expert on Baseball after watching two (count 'em, two!) full, nine inning baseball games in a week's time. He knows all the finer points of pick-off moves, double plays, balks and illegal substitutions, fielding errors and ground rule doubles. He could hold a clinic.
Bunts, run downs, force plays squeese plays, he's got 'em all down pat. Good on ya Rosso!
A Cotton Candy vendor, purveying his wares. NO! we didn't get any. We didn't even get the official Yankees Hot Dogs, all we got was a very large Diet Coke that Ross went and got in big plastic souvenir cups. I'll be bringing mine home in my suitcase, don't you worry about that, although Ross left his in the cup holder in the front of his seat. Oh well.
My favorite Yankee, former Red Sox centerfielder, Jacoby Ellsbury, running around second and heading to slide into third base under the direction of his third base coach (number 54). This was in the inning where the Yankees took the lead for good and went on to cruise in for the victory.
The big Screen Jumbotron that gave replays and all the stats. Mark Texeira, Not one of my favorite players, had a amazing night the night before where he hit two home runs and drove in 3 runs all by himself together with at least three amazingly outstanding defensive fielding plays.
Well, the game turned out great for 99% of the attendees. Yanks won 6-2! Yay!! People made fun of me as we exited, me with my Oakland A's cap on, and left on the subway. " How about those Oakland A's, hey??" chortle, chortle. Lucky all these people seemed really big and tough, including the 13 year old.(And his decrepit mother.)
Ross decided that we needed to travel way down to past Greenwich Village to Bleeker Street, near the Broadway and 4th Street Subway exit. He remembered a great book store on Bleeker St. that we had to check out. Loving books and bookstores, I was easily convinced.
We walked East when we shoulda walked west and the only good thing is that my LifeTrak fitness watch says I walked 11,194 steps today. The bookstores were not findable in their current imagined condition. We found one, but it had less than 1/4 of the number of mystery and science fiction fantasy in my own home library at 28 Ware Drive, Currumbin Waters, Queensland, Australia. Oh well. we did see a part of NYC that I had never crossed paths with. Quite interesting except for the miles long walk.
Angelique Cafe , a French Cafe in Bleeker Street, that might be classified as being in the Greenwich Village Neighborhood. We had lovely coffee and lovely sanwiches from a lovely French lady. So good. Then we walked the full length of Bleeker Street Eats to West, and then back onto the subway from 8th Ave and 14th Street up to 8th Ave and 50th Street where we walked the short distance back to our home away from home, The Belvedere Hotel on 48th Avenue between 8th and 9th Avenues.
The Belvedere Hotel in all, it's glory. We are in 1417 on, of course, the 14th floor. We have a so-so view with some gardens and some tall buildings in view but not the Empire State Building or the Chrysler building, which are not in view.
Well, we finally got home and I have had a meal of chocolate covered peanuts and Samuel Adams Summer Ale. Not my best ever meal, but satisfactory. Time for a nap. maybe 8 hours or so. It is 10:30 p.m. here after a day which started at 6 a.m. and involved 11,194 steps and frantic crushed and cramped full subway train journeys. Ross has just had a little nap but who knows, he might get up and go out to the wee hours. Hope he doesn't wake me up as he comes back into the room.
Bye for now,
Having fun,
Lance and Ross, Bloggers.
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