Month: June 2026

One More Stadium, Day #2. “A Visit to the Past, Plus Some Comedy”

by reissmd, posted in New York City

This entry most likely will be boring unless you are my sister.  Feel free to stop reading now.  How’s that for a enticing teaser?

We had tickets to a show Monday night and not much planned for the morning.  Patrice asked what I would like to do and I said, “Explore my roots”.  Being the good sport that she is she said “Sure!” and we were on our way.

Thanks to our experience yesterday with our daughter-in-law, Robyn, we felt very confident taking the subway to Queens.  That was our home when we last lived in NYC.  We took the train to Rego Park, Queens and walked a short distance to 99-60 63rd Road.  It was somewhat surprising but I recognized the building as we approached it. We met a current tenant who told us the building was now a co-op (no renters) and she purchased her 1 bedroom unit 2 years ago for $250.000.  We didn’t talk about the cost of a home in Los Angeles

99-60 63rd Road, in Rego Park, Queens. Childhood home of a famous blogger.

We said goodbye to my former residence and then took a short walk to Stephen Halsey Junior High School where my brother attended.  Amazingly I directed us to the school from memory.  I recall “almost dying” there playing stick ball (I got hit in the stomach with a liner that knocked the wind out of me, very scary for a 7 year old).  

Then we headed to Forest Hills HS.  It was also a relatively short walk and nothing looked familiar.  We were both impressed about the beauty of the homes leading up to the school.  I didn’t have any memory of ever being there before.  We introduced ourselves to the security guards who were very welcoming.  Patrice told them that my sister attended the school a few years ago.  I told them 69 years ago to be exact.  I informed them that she was in the class one year ahead of Simon and Garfunkel.  They were not impressed but one of the guards was kind enough to take our picture but more importantly they let Patrice use the bathroom. 

Possibly the first, and most likely the last, time I will be at Forest Hills High School.

Then it was off to PS 206 where I went to school until I finished 2nd grade.  Zero memory of my days there and the staff we met didn’t seem to care that a former student was now a famous travel blogger . 

We then took the train back to Grand Central Terminal.  We had lobster rolls in the station dining area where I received an email informing us that our show for the night was cancelled.  Ugh

Pretty much everything on Broadway is closed on Mondays.  This might be the “City that never sleeps “ but apparently they do take a nap on Monday (well at least Broadway does).  Lucky for us Robyn and her brother Corey had lots of recommendations.  

At their suggestion we went to the  New York Comedy Club (https://newyorkcomedyclub.com). The club has three venues and we went to the one on the upper west side.  This location was very small and had an intimate environment.  We saw 7 or 8 comics and had a wonderful time.  It was a great way to end a wonderful trip.  

Moments before the show from our great front row seats.

We are done traveling until August. If you want to hear from us please provide a like or a comment.  I need to know people are out there because I don’t like talking to myself (Patrice here: He doesn’t like talking himself?  Does he actually think I am listening to him every night?)

Ciao

Let’s Add Another Stadium Day #1 “New York, New York”

by reissmd, posted in New York City

We are in NYC to add one more stadium to our growing list.  After seeing the Braves play the Mets today we can add Citi Field to our total which is now 27.  Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Cincinnati are the only stadiums remaining for us to visit.  

Lucky for us, our daughter in law, Robyn is here with her youngest son, Julian (yes, the Julian from our Carnegie Hall visit).  Robyn’s brother, Corey, and his two children were also with us. We had a hot time at the game and I do mean hot.  The temperature was in the high 80s and it was very humid.  It was still a great day (how could going to abaseball game not be a great day?). 

Getting ready for some baseball

If you don’t recognize the statue behind us it is a rendition of Met legend (and former USC Trojan) Tom Seaver.  Years ago Patrice and her friends saw Mr. Seaver. This was many years after the 12 time all star, 3 time Cy Young Award winner had last played the game.

Left to Right: Patrice, Marlene, Tom Seaver, and Lynn in 2019.

Little did “Tom Terrific” know what a big baseball fan his was talking to when he met my wife. Here is a picture of Patrice with our grandson, Julian, during today’s game.

Patrice and Julian tuned into the action of today’s game.

The city is really hopping.  As you might know the NY Knicks won the NBA championship last night. It was their 3rd title and first since 1973.  At the baseball game, there were a lot of references to the Knicks win last night.  It’s been less than 24 hours since the Knicks’ victory and I’m already sick of hearing about it.  A sobering fact is that they  need 14 more championships to catch the Lakers and 15 to tie the Celtics, but whose counting?  I’m just glad they didn’t burn down the city which seems to be the tradition across the country when the home town team wins a title .  

After the game we had a wonderful dinner at Becco (355 W. 46th Street, NY 10036 Phone: 212-397-7597).  The meal and service were spectacular. Their specialty consists of 3 unique pastas and a salad (Caesar salad or Antipasto).  The pasta is an “all you can eat” style which for me is very dangerous.  

Tomorrow we are planning as exploration of my childhood.  Sounds scary to me.  Maybe I will take a nap instead. 

Ciao