Month: September 2016

Like many other baseball fans I have decided to try to attend games in all 30 Major League Baseball parks.  So far I have made it to 8 and tonight we made it to #9.   You might be saying how did I get Patrice to agree to this folly.   Well let me tell you this, Patrice is very excited about this little adventure.  Just look at her about 5 minutes before we left for the game.

We are staying at the Marriott Marquis in San Diego which is just a short walk to the stadium.   The hotel is fantastic.  Nice large room with a great view of the bay.  This morning we took a trolley tour of the town with a stop at the marina to visit the Maritime Museum.  This was a small price for me to pay to get Patrice on board to pursue my baseball passion.

The Padres play in Petco Park.  We were told that each season there is one game in which fans are allowed to bring their pets.  I was very grateful that tonight was not that game.   The park is beautiful with lots of excellent choices for food.  This was a much nicer atmosphere than Dodger stadium.  Many fans walked to the park (including us) and many others arrived by train.  Also I didn’t see one beach ball and there wasn’t a mass exodus of fans leaving the ballpark after the 7th inning.

The game was exciting with lots of scoring.  Patrice and I took in every minute.

Tonight was a lot of fun and we are looking forward to seeing the remaining 21 MLB ballparks.  Suggestions would be welcomed on how I should convince Patrice that we would enjoy taking trips to Cincinnati, Minneapolis and Detroit.

 

 

 

So sorry if you think it is obnoxious for me to post from the airplane but I just love playing with technology.  Try to remember that I am old enough to remember party lines (it was a telephone thing), black and white TV, rotary dial phones, etc., etc., etc.  So if I like to indulge myself a bit please cut me some slack.

The wedding was wonderful as I previously posted and today is get-away day.  Of course we couldn’t leave town without one more taste of the “City That Never Sleeps”.  This morning we headed uptown to have breakfast at the Barney Greengrass delicatessen.  This is one of those city icons that serves quality, but overpriced, food in an overcrowded sitting area as the waiters yell at the customers almost as much as they yell at each other.  When we arrived there was a 20 minute wait for a table but we got lucky to find 2 seats at the counter (which only seats 4).  It was obvious we were seated next to some locals so I asked for their recommendations.  After we decided on sharing the Sturgeon Sandwich and Eggs and Onions with Nova Scotia Salmon our conversation progressed and it turns out that the guy attended USC.  Imagine that, 2,500 miles from home and I find a New Yorker (yes a native) who went to USC.  After breakfast it was time to head for JFK.

So as I relax here on our flight home thoughts and questions float through my mind about the Big Apple.  For example why do they ask people not to stand but keep moving.

So this had me confused but then I saw this:

One thing we learned quickly is that the subway is much better than the taxicabs.  Here is a picture taken from a street near our hotel.

Five minutes later here was the view from the same spot.

The other thing I don’t understand is how anyone can afford a car in this town.  Our hotel charges $90 per day for car parking (yes $90, not a misprint).    Of course you can find some cheaper places to park like this.

And hopefully you don’t need your car in a hurry because this is where they are keeping it.

One other question, why does Sephora cosmetics needs these guys?

I asked a New Yorker why Sephora would need police with assault rifles protecting the store.  He said possibly because it is an Israeli company.  That made a lot sense except Sephora is from France.

Just a couple of more questions.

 

And finally, I still don’t have the answer that I previous asked: Why do people keep putting chewing gum in urinals (saw it twice on this trip)?  But it is good to see that I am not the only person who is upset by this activity (see below).

Today was the big day.   Gary’s son, Kevin, was to be married to Jenya.  To the best of my recollection I’ve never met Kevin and I know for sure this is the first time meeting Jenya.  Gary is a good friend and after all who needs an excuse to go to New York.

Prior the the wedding we planned to get an early start and head downtown to the One World Observatory. At about 11:30 we finally got our act together.  The attraction was not cheap ($37 for adults $35 for seniors) but the long line to get in played to our advantage.  It gave Patrice time to get tickets on Tripadvisor and save us $5 each.  Not a huge savings but if we had done this in advance we would have not needed to wait on the long line.

Although overpriced the Observatory was definitely enjoyable.  There were a variety of videos and visual effects leading up to the big moment at the viewing deck.  At the top you get a 360 degree view of New York City (you can see also New Jersey).

Next it was off to the wedding.  The ceremony was in a park located very close to the United Nations.  It was a lovely venue.  They had a cellist and violinist playing.  The brother and sister of the groom officiated at the wedding and friends read a tribute and poetry.  Then the bride and groom read their vows to each other.  Like I said I hardly know the two but I was teary eyed.

In addition to the guests the wedding was also observed by the park’s pigeons.  Unfortunately these were not the type of pigeons who hang out on the park grounds looking for food scraps.  No these were the type of pigeons that hang out in the trees and deposit their feces below.  They managed to hit at least 6 of the  wedding guests including Patrice (her phone and dress) and me (major attack on my right arm).

We then were bussed to the reception at a nearby restaurant.  Upon arrival we received our table assignments.  Patrice and I had separate cards because the groom had written personal notes to each of us on the cards.  I saw his father read his card and it brought the relatively stoic Gary to tears.  This is one special kid.  We had a great time at their wedding and wish them many happy years to come.  I had planned to write some sarcastic wedding and marriage comments today but this wedding was much too special for me to do that.

 

So sorry that I didn’t post last night.  We had a very busy day and didn’t get to bed until 1:30 am, about 10:30 pm Los Angeles time.  For those of you who know us well, you are aware that is almost 2 hours past our bedtime (We are couple of “wild and crazy guys”).

Yesterday we headed to the Neue Gallery which houses “Woman in Gold” by Gustav Klimt.  If you have seen the film of the same name you know the story of this painting.  It was stolen by the Nazis from its owner and finally reclaimed, after a long legal struggle, by the owner’s heirs in 2005.  After an amazing breakfast at the museum’s Café Sabarsky) we went to see the painting.  Unfortunately visitors are not allowed to take photos of the masterpiece but you know I am not one for following rules and got my shot (see below).

After the Neue Gallery we headed downtown to the One World Observatory.  We arrived via subway and our arrival station was a sight in itself.  They call it the Oculus or the Westfield World Trade Center Mall (see below).  Here is a link since  my picture [https://www.westfield.com/westfieldworldtradecenter] does not do it justice.

A short walk later we made it to the observatory and found out that for $37 (yikes!) we could get a ride to the top.   Not a problem, the line is short (see below).

We started to get on line and were told the the line actually begins outside (see below).

Since we were running short of time we decided to leave this for another day.

Our night was a blast.  We met up with my friend Gary and his girlfriend, Sharon, and two of Gary’s friends, Gary (that made it easy) and Rose.  We had a lovely dinner at Avra Estiatorio followed by seeing the Broadway show “Waitress”.  This was originally a movie (which I thought was awful) but it worked much better as a musical.  After the show we hung out with “The Garys” and their mates at our hotel until very late and then it was off to bed.

That’s enough for now.  I better get going or today’s post will be just that I wrote a blog post.

A few months ago my friend Gary was visiting us when he casually asked, “Would you like to go to my son’s wedding?  It’s in New York.”  My reply……. “Hell yes!”.  What excuse do I need to go to the Big Apple ………….None!   Moments later (much to Gary’s surprise) I already made reservations at our favorite New York hotel, the Marriott Marquis at Times Square.  I just love playing with their elevator buttons (more about that in a later post).

Today is our day of departure and I am incredibly excited.  No, it isn’t the fact that we got upgraded and are enjoying a wonderful breakfast at the American Airlines lounge.  No it isn’t the thought that soon we will be pampered at the Marriott Marquis.  No it isn’t that we will be enjoying Broadway and going to a couple of shows.  No it isn’t the thought of eating a corned beef on rye sandwich that is sooooooo much better in NYC than anything you can find in Los Angeles (I wouldn’t dare mention Hermosa Beach in the same sentence as a corned beef sandwich).  No it isn’t that we will be seeing Gary’s son enter into holy matrimony (more about that later too).

So what is the cause of all my excitement?

I am about to place a 149 point word down in my Words With Friends game with my friend Joe.  Life just doesn’t get any better.

Posted from 35,000 feet over Wichita, Kansas.  I just love technology.