Like I mentioned in a previous post, my father grew up in the shadow of Yankee Stadium in the late 1920's and 30's. As a result, I grew up a Yankees fan but living in fly-over country. So when my son, Andrew, suggested going to a game and started checking the schedule for our days in NYC I thought it would be fun to finally see a game in person. The Yanks were on the road until our last night in the city so we set it up with the concierge at the W to get the tickets and to get us to the Bronx and back. Cathy and my daughter, Amelia, were going to see Mamma Mia on Broadway while we were at the game.
We picked up our tickets from the concierge desk and didn't bother to look at them because it was discussed that we would do this on Thursday evening since we were leaving the city the next morning. We came down Thursday and the car service was not in front of the lobby so when I mentioned it to the concierge on duty and she noticed the mix-up and went to work over the next 15 minutes getting new Yankee tickets, new Mamma Mia tickets and getting the car service over to the hotel. She did a great job under pressure while we waited for her to fix things.
After a ride through beautiful (ha) Hoboken, Weehauken and Fort Lee, NJ we crossed the George Washington Bridge into the Bronx and got to Yankee Stadium quickly. We left the girls with the driver (who would steer the big black Suburban through tiny wholes in traffic) to continue the trip into Manhattan and the Theater District.
The stadium is new, only a year old. It would have been great to see a game in the old Yankee Stadium that my Dad had gone to as a kid with his brothers. It was right across the street from the new and now gone. But the new stadium is wonderful. Easy to get around, spacious food and merchandise areas and the best seats I've ever seen in a sporting arena. Cushy, roomy, cup holders and menus at every seat. Order takers are always around and send your orders for food and drinks wirelessly where a runner brings them straight to your seat. Caesar Salad and mixed drinks? No problem. Everyone working there was so friendly and helpful.
We got to see Derek Jeter hit his 2,998 career hit while on his way to the magic 3,000. But the Yanks lost. Oh well. It's only a game. It was still a great night.
After the game, our driver was waiting for us outside the stadium and deftly maneuvered his way thru traffic to shortcuts that he knows and before we knew it we were in Manhattan and picking up the girls for our ride back to the W via the Lincoln Tunnel. He was a great driver, showing us sights along the way. He even pointed out Sparks Steakhouse where Gambino crime family boss, Paul "Big Paulie" Castellano, was shot on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. As someone who likes to follow the rise and fall of the Mob I found that morbidly fascinating.
I only brought my little camera and cheap lens along but here are some shots from the evening.
We picked up our tickets from the concierge desk and didn't bother to look at them because it was discussed that we would do this on Thursday evening since we were leaving the city the next morning. We came down Thursday and the car service was not in front of the lobby so when I mentioned it to the concierge on duty and she noticed the mix-up and went to work over the next 15 minutes getting new Yankee tickets, new Mamma Mia tickets and getting the car service over to the hotel. She did a great job under pressure while we waited for her to fix things.
After a ride through beautiful (ha) Hoboken, Weehauken and Fort Lee, NJ we crossed the George Washington Bridge into the Bronx and got to Yankee Stadium quickly. We left the girls with the driver (who would steer the big black Suburban through tiny wholes in traffic) to continue the trip into Manhattan and the Theater District.
The stadium is new, only a year old. It would have been great to see a game in the old Yankee Stadium that my Dad had gone to as a kid with his brothers. It was right across the street from the new and now gone. But the new stadium is wonderful. Easy to get around, spacious food and merchandise areas and the best seats I've ever seen in a sporting arena. Cushy, roomy, cup holders and menus at every seat. Order takers are always around and send your orders for food and drinks wirelessly where a runner brings them straight to your seat. Caesar Salad and mixed drinks? No problem. Everyone working there was so friendly and helpful.
We got to see Derek Jeter hit his 2,998 career hit while on his way to the magic 3,000. But the Yanks lost. Oh well. It's only a game. It was still a great night.
After the game, our driver was waiting for us outside the stadium and deftly maneuvered his way thru traffic to shortcuts that he knows and before we knew it we were in Manhattan and picking up the girls for our ride back to the W via the Lincoln Tunnel. He was a great driver, showing us sights along the way. He even pointed out Sparks Steakhouse where Gambino crime family boss, Paul "Big Paulie" Castellano, was shot on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. As someone who likes to follow the rise and fall of the Mob I found that morbidly fascinating.
I only brought my little camera and cheap lens along but here are some shots from the evening.
