The Bronx is Up and the Battery's Down...

It's been several years since I was able to go to Yankee Stadium, and I've NEVER been to the one I was in last week. Jacob and I both wanted to see it, so I took the week off and we drove up to New York City (New York City?). Believe me, the new Stadium is MUCH nicer than the old one, and much nicer than I figured it would be.

Though it evokes memories of the old, old Stadium (before it was renovated in the mid-70s), this new one is every bit as modern as any of the other new stadiums to which I've been (Camden Yards, Nationals Stadium, Citizen's Bank Park, etc). It has all of the amenities, such as a Hall of Fame, the Great Hall, lots of places to buy food and souvenirs, and the gingerbread going around the top of the stadium. It looks A LOT like the ballpark I remember from my youth.

Jacob and I sat in Section 203 with the Bleacher Creatures. Let me tell you, they are TRUE New Yorkers. Every other word out of their mouths was one I can't print here, and they got on Red Sox fans mercilessly. We helped do the roll call, first with Jacoby Ellsbury, then with Brett Gardner, then to Ichiro and then around the infield. It was something neither one of us had ever done before, and it was an experience. I LOVED it. It was also Derek Jeter figurine day, and we got our share (as you can see from the picture to the right).

The Yankees lost, unfortunately (something they've been doing too much of lately), but we enjoyed the heck out of it anyway. After getting out of the parking lot (which cost us $35!), we drove on out to Kenvil, New Jersey, where for five years I spent some of the happiest days of my life.

We stayed the night in a Marriott hotel, and got up the next morning and went over to my old neighborhood. It was pretty much as I remembered. There were Lincoln and Jefferson schools. There was John Gonzalez' old house. There was Alan Ruddy's old house. The Novelty Shop was still there, but it looked different inside. The hill across the street from our old house was much, much smaller than I remembered it, and it was covered with houses (that used to be a GREAT sledding hill).

The house I lived in way back when looked different, too. They'd added on a little room on the side and it was a different color. The tree in the backyard was gone and the screen porch on the front was gone. But it was home. We drove around the town a little bit, too, and I drove to an old friend's place like I'd been there the day before. Kind of like spawning salmon. They never quite forget from where they come.

When we finished in my old hometown, we went over onto Long Island (another $13 just to go through the Holland Tunnel!!) and looked at Citi Field where the Mets play. Nice stadium. Then we got onto I-95 and headed for Philly. We drove right to Bob Laney's house (old college roommate). When he got home from work, he and his son, Ethan, joined us at a Phillies game at Citizen's Bank Park. The Phils were playing the Giants, one of Jacob's favorite teams.

For the last couple of years, Jacob has wanted to be number 55 on his baseball teams. It's because of Tim Lincecum. He is a Giants' pitcher and is one of Jacob's favorites. He's a starter, though, and was not scheduled to pitch this game. However, the game went into the 14th inning (talk about getting your money's worth), and who should come walking out of the bullpen to pitch the bottom of the 14th inning but Tim Lincecum. When he started coming out, I looked out there and said, "That looks like The Freak (his nickname)." Jacob looked at me and said, "Not funny, dad." But when he looked and saw him, he was thrilled.

The Giants won the game, though Lincecum did give up a run. Jacob was happy and so was I. It was 1am Wednesday morning.

I'm glad I got to spend this time with my son. We need to do more things like this. We're talking about going to the BYU game up in Connecticut at the end of next month. But that's not for another month. How about something sooner?

Can anyone say, "Getting his learner's permit this afternoon?"

Yea, I think I could wait on that one.

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