FROM THE DESK OF SARA: A trip to Yankee Stadium

Okay... so the second last day of our trip was allotted for a trip to Yankee Stadium to see the Yanks takes on the Baltimore Orioles. Really... going to Yankee Stadium was our main reason for the trip... PC and I really wanted to see NYC, but I wanted my Mom and Dad to come too, so that my Dad could see Yankee Stadium in its final season, before the new stadium came into use.

The day started out not bad, but then came the rain... we were doing some shopping in the morning, and it was raining steady, although not hard. At times I thought it might clear, but then in the early afternoon it went from steady rain to a serious hard down pour... and it did not let up for anyone.

I have to say... I was not optimistic about the game being a go, because of the rain, but nonetheless we decided that it was worth making the trip to the Stadium, if at the very least, all we got to see was a wet field, and an empty stadium!

We mapped out the subway route and ventured not far from our hotel to our boarding stop. Being the good tourist my Dad is, he takes out his camera while we are waiting for the B train to arrive (nothing to attract attention quite like a flashing camera)! Eventually our train arrived and we settled in for a 20 minute ride directly to 161 St.

When we got off the Subway and up to ground level... it was now raining harder than ever.... we walked around with our umbrellas, and tried to snap some photos in the rain... the new Yankee Stadium was right across the street... and the outside is finished... it looks pretty darn close to the current one - kind of weird, but I guess the Yankees wanted to keep a good thing going, so they didn't try to reinvent the wheel on this one.

Given that there wasn't much activity in and around the park, we decided to get out the wet weather and get something to eat. We picked a fairly upscale joint (not!)... it was a pretty simple place with beer, burgers, and fries... nothing special, but it hit the spot! While we ate, and dried off, and while inside, the rain went from steady to an inconsistent drizzle, and once we were refuelled and ready to head back out, it had pretty much stopped.

We toured in and out of a few souvenir stores... my Dad loaded up on enough Yankees gear to last him until the next time they can win the World Series (and according to PC that will be a long time!).

We made our way to the front of the Stadium to take some pics, and then eventually found our way inside. What I didn't like about Yankee Stadium compared to Fenway Park, was that you couldn't enter at any one gate... you had go in the gate specific to your seats, and the stadium didn't connect all the way around. For us, we were in the cheap seats ... in right field, so we only got to go in there! However... our seats turned out to be pretty decent, minus the fact that they weren't seats, they were nice cold wet steel benches... but being prepared we brought stuff to sit on and we never got went, so I was pretty impressed with ourselves!!!

I was loving the atmosphere at the Stadium, in the cheap seats, the fans are dedicated folks (my Mom may beg to differ... I think she thought they were a little crazy)... just picture about 20 people with thick Jersey/New York accents, yelling and cursing at the team when they mess up... chanting, encouraging the team during the potential plays... it was definitely something to see.

PC (a HUGE Red Sox fan) opted not to wear his Boston hat to the game... and by the second inning we realized it was a wise choice when another Boston fan arrived with his hat on backwards.... and out of nowhere the crowd starts chanting 'Assssssssshole, Assssssshole, Asssssshole!' until he realized and turned his hat around. Priceless.

The Yankees didn't fair to well that night, they had a brutal first inning, giving up 7 runs, and then another 2 runs in the second inning to make it 9-0. However, there were some highlights of the game... Derek Jeter got picked off at home plate and had to leave the game, and then there was almost a bench brawl when both teams charged the mound - quite exciting. The Yankees had a home run at one point, but never really came within striking distance. PC enjoyed taking a photo of the scoreboard after every inning (which I will spare you all of the photos).

All in all, despite the Yankees losing, I think my Dad had a great time... I was happy that the skies cleared and the game was able to be played... and that we actually were able to enjoy the atmosphere. We took the subway back downtown... and arrived safely in Times Square for a good night's rest before packing up the next day to head home.

Here are some of our memories from Yankee Stadium!