Baseball Road Trip 2008

Originally, I was going to title this post, “To India and Back”, due to the long hours I put in taking the train to NY and back. It was especially bad on the way there, as I departed Fallowfield Via Rail at a ripe 6:12 am and did not reach our hotel that night until past midnight. However, the way back was just as weird, as I somehow sustained myself 12 plus hours on a 20 oz bottle of lemon-lime Gatorade and one bathroom visit. Both trips had us stop at the border for a ridiculous amount of time – 1.5 hours there, and 2 hours on the way back. I feel sorry for all the people who underwent invasive cavity searches. Oh well.


First night


J-biz did not fare much better on his arrival, as he was there a mere 15 mins before me. I was happy though when I came into the room and did not find him sprawled out on the kitchen floor, with the Mini-Bar door jarred open. That would have set us back some $. We immediately went to McDonald’s and recounted our tales of travel. We laughed some and then went to bed late.


Day 1


We got up and started the day off early, but found the breakfast they promised us rather pathetic. Don’t call it breakfast if it is just croissants and coffee – that is just coffee and croissants. No juice, milk, yogourt or cereal: I was already off to a dreadful start to the day! I can’t remember if I visited Dunkin Donuts on that day to make up for it, but I assure you that I went many many times during the course of the trip, much to the dismay of JB, who took an active interest in my health. We bantered back and forth about Dunkin Donuts being no worse than McDonalds. The first day we headed out and took the city by storm. We hit up China Town (saw a woman getting an ass/hip massage from a automatic swivelling machine and a Chinese guy getting his big truck stuck for 5 min trying to turn a tight corner, and then beeping at an unoccupied vehicle), Little Italy and Times Square. We also walked around in Central Park and it was beautiful. Some Latinos were passionately involved in a softball game so we watched. Riding the subway was all in all great, although it is kind of bumpy. The evening ended with our first ball game at Shea Stadium. They beat the Marlins 8-6 I believe. I got ripped off at the concession stand and I went hungry until 1 am, when I bought a stale Calzone. We certainly didn’t eat like Kings during our trip, but that wasn’t the point of going, now was it.


Day 2


The next day we were off to Philly and I indulged in Dunkin Donuts in the morning. I had a bottle of whole milk to wash down a Strawberry frosted and Bavarian Cream. We got the train to Philly and it was a very fast trip at only 1.5 h. However as we approached 30th Street Station in Philly, I started panicking as I had lost the train ticket package. Only at the end, after searching frantically did I find them in the seat. From that point on, J-Biz made it his Biz to hold onto the tickets. I did not protest at all as I felt relieved. We deposited our luggage at the hotel (since we couldn’t check in early) and headed off to Subway restaurant. At that point, it started pouring hard; not good since the game was set to start at 1:35 in Philly that day. We took the subway to the game, all the while it continued to rain hard. We took some photos in the rain as JB warned me frantically about water droplets getting into the lens. I cast his worries aside and took photos with reckless abandon. It was interesting in Philly how all major 3 stadiums are located on the same piece of land. This must make it efficient for sharing parking for games of the 4 major sports. Citizen’s Bank Park was the most beautiful of the trip and very spacious. The game started 1.5 hours late and I was able to observe the locals in their natural habitat. I talked to one older man for a lengthy time and JB also got involved at times. The game was alright and I was thankful that the rain held off. Phillies took it 6-3 against the Pirates. On the way back from the game, we got caught in rain again. After recuperating briefly at the hotel, we ventured out to get our dinner. Eyeing all the expensive restaurants around, we walked to Papa John’s and picked up a pizza, which was without a doubt, one of the worst pizzas ever. It was greasy, artificial and thin. In short, it was tacky and I hated it (quote from School of Rock). JB didn’t seem to mind and he reminded me of Kramer with the Kenny Rogers chicken as I saw him on the bed sort of lying down, rocking back and forth and eating the pizza from the box and licking his chops every once in a while. I am pretty sure he wiped his greasy hands on the sheets like Kramer did but I can’t be certain. We watched School of Rock while we ate and enjoyed the pitter-patter of the rain outside. Quaint would aptly describe the scene. We then turned on Eurotrip on his laptop and laughed our heads off for a bit. A fine flick if I say so myself. The night ended after a brief contest which saw us debate whether the air should be turned on/off and whether we should sleep with the blinds closed. I won with the blinds open (to see the Subway across the street and the Glaxo Smith Kline building) but lost with the cold a/c bearing down on my skin. This would lead to a headache and muscle ache the next day I suspect.


Day 3


We slept in that morning (much needed) and missed the complimentary breakfast. We left the place at around 11 and started on our day. It was bright and sunny, a strong contrast to the weather the day before. First stop was Dunkin where I splurged and ate 3 donuts in the store while drinking a bottle of whole milk. This time, the lemon jelly from the donut spilled out onto my pants, giving rise to the acclaimed, “donut encrusted pants,” which I would refer to often. There was also the powder all over my pants and my facial hair. We then got onto some sweet tourist sights such as Liberty Bell. We walked around, visited the Reading Terminal Market (quite impressive) and then saw the Franklin Institute Museum, where my headache started to set in. At this point, I was also quite famished and needed sustenance. I wilted out of the museum and then we determined that it was too far to walk all the way back to Independence Hall (where we were going to get the open house tour). So we hopped on the city bus and rode like Philadelphians to our destination of 6th and Market St. By the end of it all, I was tired, sick and hungry. We got back to our hotel, I popped two Tylenol x-strength and went to bed (a/c turned off). JB surfed the net for the next two hours while I slept through traffic noises. At 9:30 I awoke in a jolly demeanor and went for my bottle of fruit punch Gatorade (unopened). I was counting on this Gatorade and two pieces of leftover pizza to hold me over to a huge breakfast the next morning. Amazingly enough, it did. JB had other intentions and went to get something at Subway before they closed. Unfortunately, they had just closed (10 minutes before 10) and JB came back empty-handed. His next idea was to go to Papa-John’s for another pizza pie. I laughed at this notion and then we laughed together at how JB looked like a crackhead walking the streets. His hair was unruly, he had a 3 day stubble and he sported trackpants and a black Sleeman shirt. He jested that all he needed was some powder from the donuts I ate earlier that morning to sprinkle around his mouth for the full effect of crackhead. Much to the hilarity for both of us, JB returned empty-handed yet again. Apparently Papa-Johns also closed at 10. He did eat some pathetic microwaveable meal that he picked up from 7-11. I set the alarm that night to hit the breakfast hard with authority. We were scheduled to depart the next morning for Boston at 11:18. I should say that Me and JB both felt that my city should be Philadelphia. If I ever moved there, I could have the city in the palm of my hands within a few months. I would be mayor in a year.


Day 4


I woke up with one mission in mind: feed myself like never before. I did exactly that at breakfast with juice, one bagel, a banana, a yogourt, two bowls of cereal and a pastry. I took a muffin along with me for the 6 hr train ride. We decided that we didn’t need to take the subway from our hotel to 30th street station. Luckily for us, the 30th street station was a lot closer than we thought it would be, because our luggage felt very heavy after a while walking. We arrived with plenty of time and boarded the train. At J-Biz’s insistence, we sat separately but on the same row. I told him that the train would probably be crowded so we might as well sit together. In a sweet twist of irony, he then got boxed in by a woman with a walker who made numerous calls on her cell phone and was quite a handful. “Dr. Norma Hart, H-A-R-T,” she would exclaim to the poor souls on the other end of the line. She had many issues, the least of which was that she didn’t know if a psychology conference was cancelled in NY; or how a disabled person was going to get assistance at the Boston South Station; or that the Air conditioning was freezing. Let me say that the Amtrak train was indeed freezing. But back to the elderly lady, my heart skipped a beat each time she got up to get something from her bag, as she almost fell over twice. Then when the train went on a sharp curve, the walker rolled out of the storage area and we had to catch it. I laughed most of the trip at all these events and JB actually entered into an engaging conversation with her. We arrived in Boston and then took the T-train with our Charlie tickets. At the last stop, Braintree, I called our Sheraton hotel and asked them to send the free shuttle that had been promised. The woman on the other end informed me that we need to be at the Quincy-Adams stop to get the shuttle (the stop before). So another $2 and back on the subway for one stop. I made the call again and was told that it wouldn’t be long. This was inaccurate as it actually took 45 min to arrive. It was only 6 min away from the hotel so we figured out their scheme was to only come once an hour or so to let people build up. I was pretty hungry but JB wanted to get a shower. So at 9 we went down to the restaurant nearby, TGI Friday’s. It was pretty decent I guess, with me getting the ribs and JB grabbing some pasta. We then took a walk to discover a nearby shopping mall and AMC theatre (which was in the middle of nowhere). We missed all the movies that night. We hit the gas station nearby and got some candy. Me I picked up some M and M’s and milk. Back at the lobby, we asked the front desk if it was ok to remove the air freshener which was making us sick with its noxious fumes. They sent Ricky, a short-statured east-indian guy with us to remove it. It was pretty embarrassing hearing the concierge explain the problem to him and I could tell that Ricky was annoyed that he was being called upon for this task. Me and JB laughed a bit after and then hit the hay. I thought that I had properly set the alarm, but I was in for a surprise the next morning.


Day 5


So we awake around 9:30 and obviously can’t make it to the breakfast. Well, not true, but I always like to shower before heading down in the morning. Regardless, one glance at the prices on the Sheraton breakfast menu in our hotel was enough to turn me off. $15 for some juice and a bowl of Mini-Wheats – No thanks! I’ll be it, that price included delivery to your door. So we awoke hungry and decided to get something once in town. We waited around for the shuttle and left at 12. Our driver looked like Manny Ramirez (guess he never left town after all). We took the subway into the downtown area/financial district and I immediately hit up Dunkin. We then walked around and found JB a nice new green Bosox hat. I was mildly envious and was thinking of getting one but we came to agree that my hat of the future is an Oakland Athletics green away hat, with the yellow A in the middle. We then went about town through the 2.5 mile Freedom Trail, which took us to some important historic sites, including: Old South House, Paul Revere House, and U.S.S Constitution ship. Unfortunately we neglected the last stop which was supposed to be cool – Bunker Hill Monument. At that time, we were all walked out and needed to get to Kenmore area for our game at Fenway Park!! We made it there with time to spare and that is when I saw the McDonalds calling out my name. I was surprised that it wasn’t completlely overrun with people heading to the game and pigged out completely with chicken nuggets, fries, a drink and a cheeseburger. I refilled my soda on the way out and shared it with JB. We walked slowly to Lansdowne Avenue, the site of Fenway and proceeded to take pics. We then went inside and got pretty close to the bullpen warm-up session that Jon Lester was throwing. Varitek was catching him and gazed into the stands a couple times. Probably because he was worried that some drunk idiot would come tackle him. Our seats for that game were neat – right field outfield but close to field level. The Sox took it 8-4 I think as the Rangers almost mounted a comeback. The atmosphere was amazing at Fenway (with everyone singing Sweet Caroline in the 8th) and I would say that it was the coolest looking park of the four we visited. Afterwards, we saw some police officers securing a railing which was surrounded by fans. This was where the players would exit with their vehicles! A bunch of cars left but most had tinted windows. The players that we did see clearly were Kevin Youkilis, Varitek and Pedroia, the last two of which bothered to acknowledge the crowd (classy move). Then their vehicles just cruised down the street to wait at a red light, where I can only presume they were robbed, car-jacked and left to die. The night ended with us returning by shuttle to the Sheraton Braintree and calling it an early night.


Day 6

We awoke late again and started out the day the same as last. Went into town by subway but this time, we stopped at a subway station that featured an underground Dunkin. I had the egg, cheese, and bacon on a bagel and an orange juice….and then a milk and two donuts. Today we did a tour of the famous and prestigious Harvard campus in Cambridge. Before the tour, however, we visited the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Harvard has a beautiful, open, campus. Took plenty of pictures here. We then took the subway to Back Bay Area and explored Copley Square. We entered the Boston Public Library and looked around. Our search for Cheers bar was fruitless as the girl I asked may have misdirected us. We then went into Wendy’s where Jb indulged on a rare occasion. I know I did, even finishing my meal up with a Frosty; due to time constraints, however, it ended up melting on me as we never had a chance to sit down. I thought it would be frowned upon to eat it on the subway. We headed back to the hotel and hit the hay since we had to catch a train at 9:35 the next morning. It was back to NYC.


Day 7


We got to South Station in time and I crossed the street to find Dunkin. I had to ask a man giving out Metro Newspapers but he was happy to point me in the direction of the Grim Reaper. I had my patented breakfast bagel again. The train ride was 4.5 hours to NYC and it felt like déjà vu heading back. Upon arrival at Penn Station, me and J-Biz scurried around looking for a washroom. We hit Pizza Hut and Nathan’s for lunch/dinner. Then we figured out our route and assumed that getting off Smith St. subway station would be sufficient to reach our destination of 85 Smith St. (the NU hotel). It turns out that Smith was a long street that wrapped around and we had to lug our stuff 25 minutes in the heat. After arriving we were beat, with JB not feeling so well. He did somehow manage to buy some new athletic shorts while I was watching Olympic baseball in the hotel lobby. Regardless he showered right away while I was totally focused on the prospects of getting to Yankee Stadium for the fri night game. He was questioning whether it would be worth it – pay upwards of $200 for possibly counterfeit tickets. I said it was a calculated risk and would be worth it to get inside the house that Ruth built. He doubted it all and in the end we parted ways. We agreed that he would wait until 8:45 until heading out that night, to allow me enough time to subway back to Brooklyn (from the Bronx – 1 hr ride) in case I didn’t get in and the night wouldn’t be lost. Well I found my subway route and went underground for at least 40 minutes before resurfacing in the Bronx to a rain filled sky. “When did this happen?”, I mused to myself. So it was pouring and I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. No ticket, All alone, not sure if the game would even start. I was suddenly happy, because this meant that ticket holders would be trying to unload their tickets due to the poor weather. The result: lower ticket price as well as a greater chance of buying a real ticket off a scalper. So there I was, pacing around Yankee Stadium concourse in cold dripping rain, knowing that if the game did somehow start, and if I did somehow get a ticket, that it would all be worth it. It occurred to me that people probably thought I was a scalper, pacing back and forth, with my facial hair and slick white button up shirt. Then I heard it, “Oh say can you see…”, it was the national anthem playing; it was at that point I knew that I needed to find a scalper. And there he was, a crackhead looking fella walking around the concourse saying “tickets”. He told me $100 and I said ok but you have to walk me to the gate to make sure the ticket is real. Surprisingly he had no problem with this, and I slipped him 5 Edward Jackson’s (?) once my ticket got scanned in. I will never forget the sound of the machine approving the ticket and that whole interaction. I knew the game had started and I was almost running to my seat. Well, I walked briskly on the main level, but when I got to the ramps, I started running up them. Then when I got to my seat, I almost stumbled over people in my haste to sit down. The atmosphere in Yankee Stadium did not disappoint. It was the best! People dissecting the team, its players and the game’s events, the smell of sausages, peanuts, popcorn! mmmm. I didn’t even need to get any of it for myself. I just absorbed the smells vicariously. The game itself was fun to watch and my seat was good, right field up a little bit. It was the best 100$ I ever spent. The Yankees lost 4-3, despite bringing in closer Mariano Rivera in the top of 9th to the tune of Enter Sandman, by Metallica. The place erupted as the music played. Since there was a rain delay, I didn’t leave the stadium until after midnight and then there was the slight problem of getting home with 30 000 people (some had left throughout the night) all around. I made it back to the hotel after 2 am (after getting myself lost in the neighbourhood), which all in all was an 8.5 hour shift I put in (left the hotel at 5:30). Too bad no one paid me for the shift I put in. I stumbled in and put my head to rest, happy that I had seen the most historic franchise in baseball and sad for my friend Joshua, that he did not.


Day 8


The next morning J-Biz asked me some quick questions about ticket price and where I sat. I felt bad that he didn’t get a chance to see them so I didn’t go into too much detail or sound too excited. But he had a change of heart and wanted to go see them. I was happy and encouraged it and got on with my own plans. I walked the impressive Brooklyn Bridge (1.25 mile) and took in the sights and strong sun. It got pretty crowded as it got closer to noon, with the cyclists battling the walkers for space. I then took the Subway to Battery Park where I enjoyed the sights of people and food and spectacles. I also took a boat ride where we got close to Statue of Libery (but didn’t stop there). I heard conflicting stupid reports about the Statue being closed and it being open (to go up). I really am frustrated that I didn’t get to go if that is true. I figure the only way to settle this is to check answers.yahoo.com which is pretty much considered a fact if enough people agree on something. Afterwards I almost got ripped off by a hot-dog vendor and then sat down and listened to people’s conversations and such and relaxed on benches. I also tipped a guy $1 playing a saxophone to the tune of John Williams Jurassic Park song. Pretty much my favourite song ever, after Chariots of Fire. I then met JB back at the hotel where we went to a Broadway show. Actually, he wasn’t home from the game when I had gotten back so I crashed hard for 2 hours. We left the hotel at 6:30, got some dinner and took the subway to Times Square area for our show. We saw 39 steps and it was a good play. I am happy I saw a play and not a musical. We actually had to run to the show as we were almost late. I felt like Blink 182 running down the street to What’s my Age Again, except that we weren’t naked. After the show, me and J-Biz rehashed an excellent trip and said our proper goodbyes at night (Independence handshake) since I was leaving early morning.


And such, is the best trip I have ever gone on and I am happy I went alongside a good friend.

Thank you for reading and god speed, blog readers.

Played ball again on Sat with andy and andj. Was fun, and andy was hitting them over with reckless abandon. But it was amazing that we find them all the time after they disappear into the trees. We haven't lost one in the high shrubbery. I have 3 pro balls and 2 of the imitation ones to play with now on Monday with Mark and Francois. I am getting ready for a busy week with a 2 day session downtown and an early departure on Fri to New york.
Last night, Heidi and mark had me over and I was treated to Mark's excellent ribs. I really enjoyed them but it is a challenge to extract the lower layer of meat from the bone. That is all bloggers, I will talk to you after my trip.