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!

Team Orange - waiting for the Subway to arrive... !

The new (soon to be finished) Yankee Stadium!

PC and Timbo enjoying a collector's Bud Light

made especially for this year's All-Star Game at Y.S.

Our tickets to the game - THE FINAL SEASON!

Weather has cleared up for a photo ... in front of the NEW Y.S.

The front of the current Yankee Stadium.

Timbo is all of his Yankee gear, ready for the game!

Proud to be in the presence of the Yankees!!!

Yankees dig themselves a deep deep hole to begin!

The 3-2 pitch... or something like that!

Settle down boys... he didn't mean to hit the batter, again!

Team Orange in the bleachers... did I mention I got that

jacket in 1999 at the GAP for $6.99!

Mariano Rivera warming up ...

although at this point the game was beyond saving!

Family photo late in the game... the crowd thinned out pretty good by then !

The Final Score!

My Dad disappointed with the Yankee's loss...

PC had other opinions!

The Old vs soon-to-be New Yankee Stadium from the sky!

NYC: Day 3

Okay... so its been a few posts since I left off from Day 2 in NYC, and to be honest I am now having a hard time recalling Day 3 in NYC. So... this will just be the highlights of day 3!

What I can remember is that we did A LOT OF WALKING. We decided to head down to the financial district, Canal street, Greenwich village, etc. We hopped on the double-decker bus... and got off in Soho hoping to grab some breakfast before we really started out the day. We had some trouble finding a restaurant, but after covering a few blocks, we found a place that served a decent meal!

PC had scouted out a place called the Hat Shop that was nearby, so we walked a few blocks to find this place. When he read about this place online, he thought it was a sports hat shop.... but it turned out to be not quite what he expected - it did fit the description 'find hundreds of different hats here of all brands' - but was more for the 50 plus crowd of older high society females! We all had a good laugh about that, while PC and my Mom posed for a quick photo.

We made our way to the famous Canal Street ... but didn't stay too long, and decide to come back later in the day. I guess we just weren't in the mood for making deals with the vendors so early in the day!

From there we made our way down to the Financial District... as one of things we all wanted to see was Ground Zero and the aftermath of 9/11. What a site this is... they are still digging it out, load after load of concrete. It's not much of a site, except for a very busy, loud, and noisy construction site - but as we were walking down to it, you could only imagine the state of chaos in that city almost seven years ago. To be in and among the rest of the tall buildings in that part of city at that traumatic time in history would have been unbelievable to say the least.

After finding the World Trade Center site we made our way into Wall street.... that was pretty neat, I must say - PC wanted to find the lucky bull - the Wall Street icon - so we did... and took some good pics there. Supposedly you are suppose to have financial luck after touching the bull, but I have to say, we haven't seen any payoff from it just yet!

As the day worn on, we headed down to South Seaport Street... and I loved loved loved this part of the city. The views of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge were really cool... and there was a small mall and some stores there to do some shopping... we wandered around for a bit and right into the Yankees store... where my Dad found a new coat and a t-shirt. The funniest part was when PC asked the store clerk where all the Boston Red Sox stuff was - and she replied 'oh - out back by the dumpster!' in her thick New Yorker accent!

We were nearing 6pm by the time we finished up at South Seaport, so we headed back to Canal Street to close some deals. I think we arrived a fairly good time of the day to be in Chinatown as all of the fruit and vegetable vendors were coming out and getting into action. As well... the non-legal street vendors were swarming up a storm on all of the street corners, since the police had disappeared for the day by then. It was quite the scene... but did not deter my Mom and I from purchasing some authentic D&G purses! PC talked the talk on a few watches, but in the end decided it wasn't worth it (wise decision!).

Since it was the early evening by the time we were done at Canal Street our tour bus had stopped running so we decided to take a cab back to our hotel in Times Square - this experience was WELL WORTH THE MONEY! Honestly, the cab ride was probably about 10 minutes max, and we went from zero to 110km in about 8 seconds flat between every light... then slam on the breaks, back on the gas, honking horns, changing lanes, weaving in and out of cars, buses, bikers - you name it - it only happens in an NYC cab! You didn't know whether to laugh or cry at times... but we were relieved when we saw 53rd street! The cab fare was actually really reasonable... for the distance we went, I was quite surprised actually, given that a cab in Ottawa would have been double the price for half the distance!

Anyways... I can't really remember what did after that... dinner I am guessing, and then called it a night most likely. I do remember my legs were aching by the time the night was complete - but it was a very productive day, we covered a lot of ground, and it barely rained at all - so all in all a good day.

Check out the pics from Day 3!

Snapshot of a side street in the Fashion District!

MSG - Home of the NY Knicks, Liberty, and the NY Rangers!

My Mom and PC at the famous Hat Shop!

The World Trade Center Site - Ground Zero.

Connie & Timbo with George Washington (my Dad was born on GW Day - Feb. 22)!

PC and I at the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street.

The lucky bull in the financial district!

Rubbing the golden ball for good luck!

Did anyone see I Am Legend - the famous arch way.

My parents coming out of the Yankees Souvenir Store with their goods!

South Seaport - Pier 17.

PC and I in front of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.

My parents at South Seaport in front of Brooklyn.

Oh the Bargain District... !

Chinatown vegetable vendor.

Side street view in Chinatown.

Snapshots from Halifax

Well.... I returned to the office Thursday, exhausted from the trip, but nonetheless felt it was well worth it... work-wise and from a sight-seeing perspective. I am not sure if I was exhausted from the long work days, or the fact that the entire trip I was walking up a hill - not exactly a pregnant lady's dream - but I guess if your going to see some of the sights you've got to do it!

I thought I would post a few shots I took while there... and then I will try to get on with rest of the NYC photos.

PC is away on a golf trip this weekend, and I am enjoying the nice sticky weather and having the house to myself to laz-around - just what the doctor ordered I think!

Anyways.... onto the Halifax photos - for your viewing pleasure!

The public gardens in Halifax were so nice... the tulips were out in full bloom

The clock tower at Citadel Hill

I didn't have time to tour the grounds,

but here was the guard at the entrance!

The view from the top of Citadel Hill

The tall building to the right is where our office in Halifax is -

the view from there is amazing, much better than the field of dirt

I stare at everyday in Ottawa!

Couldn't pass by this place without a stop in for PC!

I absolutely loved looking at this view from the waterfront!

Greetings From Halifax

Time out from the NYC recap, I am in Halifax, Nova Scotia this week (and have been since Sunday morning) for work. I am a first time visitor to the this part of the country, so although my schedule is jammed packed with work events, I am trying to squeeze a little sight-seeing here and there.


I must say what I have noticed is that Halifax has a very laid back way of life... not one person in this city is EVER in a hurray- and to be honest, its quite refreshing from downtown Ottawa. The culture here is different... there seems to be a lot of Canadian history embedded in the city of Halifax, and if I had more time I would really like to take more of the history in.


The waterfront here is absolutely breath-taking. Today at lunch I had to walk from the conference centre, back to my hotel, before going our Halifax office, so I took the boardwalk along the Atlantic ocean ... and I loved every minute of it. I grabbed a quick bite to eat (fish & chips) on the waterfront and parked myself on the side of a pier and just soaked it all up - it was the best lunch hour I have had in a very long time.

I have to admit I am wishing I wasn't pregnant so I could enjoy all of the fresh seafood here that EVERY restaurant has to offer. It's killing me actually that I can't indulge in it, but I guess this is just an excuse/sign to return to Halifax for a real visit ... perhaps with PC and the baby in the coming years.


I have snapped a few pics of the little pieces of the city I have seen, but of course, I forgot the camera cable to download the pictures so I will have to post them when I get back home on Thursday.


I am feeling pretty exhausted right now, only one more full day of activities here and then it will be back reality at the office in Ottawa.

Hope all is well with each of you.
10-4 from the East Coast!

Day 2: NYC

Day 2 was not hard to get up for... one, because we were moving hotels - back to the one we originally booked at, and two, because there was sooooooooooo much we wanted to see and do, that we knew we had to get started.


My Mom unfortunately had a rough first night, and was plagued with a bad headache. PC suspected that it was most likely because the first item on our morning agenda was to head over to St. Patrick's Cathedral to attend mass. We left her in the room to sleep it off, and PC and I went with my Dad to the cathedral. What a place... very nice - I have to say without my dear old Dad on the trip PC and I may not have stayed for mass, but I was actually quite enlighten by the priest and the service - he was an old New Yorker (Yankees fan)... and seemed like a bit of a grumpy old thing, but was actually quite comical in his delivery. After the service, we toured around the place and took some photos, and then decided to grab some breakfast near by.


By the time breakfast was done and we returned to the hotel, it was a miracle - my Mom was up and walking, and ready to take on the world. She didn't seem too rattled that she missed church - but as presbytarian, I guess she wouldn't be!


We got settled into our new rooms, and we were really amazed at the fantastic view of Times Square from our windows. By this time it was pushing close to noon, so we headed out in Times Square to activate our 48-hour hop-on hop-off tour bus passes. It seems like a corny thing to do - ride a double decker tour bus with a bunch of other tourists - but it was honestly one of the highlights of the trip because we got see so much of the city, and learn a lot about different areas of the city that we would have otherwise never gotten to. The tour guides on the buses were pretty good... they shared with us a ton of tid-bits on different buildings and really gave us a good overview of the history of the city.

We started off taking the Uptown Loop... and got see Central Park, Trump International Tower, Harlem, and the Columbia University Area. We got off around Columbia and headed over to Tom's Restaurant for lunch - Tom's Restaurant is known for its appearances on Seinfeld... where Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George would hang out. It was actually a pretty decent lunch, and not pricey at all.

From there... we got back on the bus and finished the loop through Harlem... and 73rd St. E - where Carrie from Sex and the City resides in the show.

It rained on and off again during the afternoon, but by the time the tour was over, it had basically stopped. We decided to head over to 5th Avenue to check out some stores... we landed in Niketown, which was 5-story store... and filled with everything Nike you can imagine. On the 5th floor you can make an appointment to design and make your own pair of shoes - for a relatively decent price (I have feeling if we ever go back to NYC, PC will definitely be doing that).

After we shopped a bit... we decided to take a carriage ride in Central Park - this was something my Mom and I really wanted to do, and it was well worth it. Our driver was good and gave us all the little details about where scenes from a variety of movies were shot in the park, I thought it was really cool.

By the time we walked back from Central Park... it was getting dark - we passed by the David Letterman Studio... and saw some other neat things on our way back to the hotel, including a car office in which a lady was working out of, complete with fax machine, photo copier, desk lamp, laptop - you name it, she had it in her car, it was pretty funny.

After a brief stop at our hotel room... we decided to take the tour bus on the Night Tour, which crossed the Manhattan Bridge and went into Brooklyn a bit - it was really nice to see the city at night, the Empire State Building all lit up... and just the different little villages. Our tour guide was a little over the top on this ride, but nonetheless... we saw quite a bit and best of all was the view of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge - it was really breath-taking.

By the time the night tour concluded, we were exhausted, but stopped for a quick slice of Pizza before calling it a night. It was a long day.... a good long day, but not quite as long as Day 3 would turn out to be!

Here are a few pics from Day 2, with more on Day 3 and 4 to come later.
Enjoy!

View from our hotel room - just an average Sunday in Times Square!

A short stop at Trump Tower and Trump Bar - didn't see the Donald though!

Safety first... always lock up your bike in Manhatten,

but try not to leave it on the same pole for more than 3 years!

A funny display in a wine store window in Times Square.

Even the NYPD drive Chargers/Tony Soporano Mobiles - PC was quite impressed.

Niketown at Fifth Ave. - quite the scene from the inside.

My Mom contemplated buying these snazzy shoes!

The Plaza! Most expensive hotel in NYC.

PC with the Plaza's Rolls Royce.

Making the Band... P. Diddy's Office.

PC, and PC and I outside of the Seinfield Restuarant.

Our horse and carriage getting ready to take us on our tour in Central Park.

A group shot of us on the carriage, taken by our driver.

PC and I at St. Patrick's Cathedral - proof we were there for Mom C!

Us again, outside the huge doors to the Cathedral.

Proof Baby Coleman was there too!

PC and I outside of the Late Show!

My Mom and Dad outside of the pizza joint that David Letterman

always airs during his late night show.

A shot of Harlem... a really interesting neighbourhood.

The crazy woman working from her car office!

When we are done with our Escape, we can sell it a cab driver in NYC!

Comical sign in Times Square, given that all Taxi Driver's do is HONK!