NYC Trip '08

Well, we just got back to Cali from the Big Apple and we had a blast! I hated to come back. It was the best trip we have ever taken, in my opinion. We went to Ground Zero on 9/11, saw all of the sites (Empire State Bldg, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Times Square, etc...), not to mention going to a couple of ball games (one at Shea and the other at Yankee Stadium). I have never felt more American than I did on that trip. We stayed in Queens, not too far from Shea and would take the buses and trains everywhere. We even had an extended stay on 125th Street (Harlem) when the 4 was evacuated due to a sick passenger, and had to wait about 40 minutes for another train to come. We became very familiar with the 7 train and the Q48 bus during our week long stay. The cops in NYC are actually friendly when you ask them for directions. 

The timing of our trip was perfect...we went to Little Italy and the San Gennaro Feast was going on. Talk about feeling a huge appreciation for my Italian American pride and the Italian American community of NYC. The pizza, baked ziti and cannolis were the best that we had ever tasted!

We got to see monument park during our behind the scenes tour of the Stadium. Talk about an amazing and historical place. 

The new stadium was almost complete right next door to the House that Ruth Built. Same for Citi Field was almost done next to Shea. Both of these will open for use next season, and the old stadiums sadly would be torn down. 

We had really pimp seats at Yankee Stadium...we were right behind the Yankees dugout, 5 rows from the field. 

We got to see Jeter tie Gehrig's all-time Yankee Stadium hit record, A-Rod hit a grand slam, Giambi hit a homer, and Mariano Rivera came into the game with Enter Sandman blaring over the house PA system to close the came out. The Yanks beat TB 8-4.

We can't wait to go back again next year to see the new stadiums!