NY II and Philly

Hey friends,

Day two in NYC was a blast. We walked all around the city and hit a bunch of different sites. Some of my favorites: CENTRAL PARK, Strawberry Fields (John Lennon's place and memorial), and of course the free meal we ate at one of NYU's dining halls. We went to the Mets game Friday night, and it was awesome. Sam, Kelley, and I took a 45 minutes subway ride out to Queens. Citi Field blows Yankee Stadium out of the water. Better atmosphere. Better view from all seats. Cheaper prices for everything. Maybe I'm biased because I actually like the Mets and hate the Yankees. Sam, Kelley, and I enjoyed the game over some beers and free peanuts via Kelley's huge purse. After the game, we rode back to Kelley's dorm and just chilled there for a while and hit the sack to prepare for the long day on Saturday...

Saturday:

We woke up about 7am to get ready. Left NYC at 8. Drove over four hours to Cooperstown in upstate NY. Cooperstown was just as I remember it. It truly is a baseball fan's heaven. The town can be summed up in the few words we overheard from a [not so bright] woman walking past us on the street. "Geez. Like every store is a baseball shop."

The museum was just as cool the second time around. Only this time, we didn't spend seven hours reading every word written on every square inch of every wall. We spent about three and a half hours in the museum, and Sam loved every minute of it. She was in heaven. The only thing new since I visited two summers ago was an exhibit paying tribute to Latin American baseball players. All the photographs and stories of Latino baseball players coming from nothing were captivating.

After the museum, we hit some stores on Main St. and then left for Philadelphia. We were on our way to stay with Finn, a friend of my brother's and a true veteran of the original N.O. Shuffle. She lives in South New Jersey, about 20 minutes from downtown Philly. The drive was around five hours, but it could have been shorter. We stopped to have dinner at a rest stop/service center off the Pennsylvania (Penna) Turnpike. A side note...Not many times in my life can I remember having a bad piece of pizza. A piece of pizza is something that is almost impossible to screw up. Even a slice done wrong tastes good. Let me just say that the pizza at the Allentown service center sucks. Stay away from it if you're ever in town...We also lost some time due to the GPS getting us lost in downtown Philly on the way to Finn's house. Second time this has happened. I've decided GPS's are either generally stupid or just get really confused in big cities. 

We got to Finn's new place (she just closed yesterday) around 10:30. She asked us an easy question.

Finn: "My friend's having a Mexican themed party at her house with tequila, costumes, and Mexican food. Want to go?"

Us (simultaneously): "Sure."

So we got there, met some of Finn's friends from Jersey, and let loose a bit. Sam and I had a battle to the death (rock/paper/scissors) to see who would be the DD. I won. End of story.

Sunday:

Woke up this morning with a little bit of a headache. Sam and I drove down to Citizen's Bank Park about an hour early to get some drinks at the bar beforehand. We met an old Phillies fan at the bar with about as many teeth as games we've been to so far. That's five if you've lost track. He made fun of me for being bald, asked how many kids I have, and told us for two college grads we sure don't know shit. To give you an idea about his condition, in the middle of our conversation, Sam told me to make sure he didn't fall backwards off of his barstool. This guy is my new best friend. 

Moving on...the Phillies game was awesome. We had nosebleed seats, but they were the best seats we've had since the Red Sox game. As the toothless Phillies fan told us, "there ain't a bad seat in the park." Again, we indulged in some free peanuts (this time via Sam's huge purse. I guess traveling with a girl isn't so bad after all) and beer. The Phillies lost 2-1, but it was a close and exciting game. Needless to say, we had a great time. 

We're heading out for a few beers with Finn tonight, then checking out downtown Philly a little more tomorrow before traveling to Pittsburgh. Stay tuned.

THANK YOU KELLEY FOR LETTING US STAY WITH YOU IN NYC. I HAD AN AMAZING TIME IN THE CITY AND AT THE METS GAME! YOU'RE A GREAT TOUR GUIDE (ESPECIALLY FOR A NEWCOMER TO THE CITY). BY THE WAY, METS' STADIUM GETS A 10 OVERALL AND PHILLIES' GETS A 9.

Peace,

Matt