Leg 2 - New York City

 Greetings from the Big Apple!  We were able to work the schedule to see the Mets and Yankees on back to back days.  If you're wondering, we did not drive Melinda's CRV into Manhattan.  You can take the New Jersey Transit train from Trenton NJ right into Penn Station in Manhattan.  So, on Saturday, May 6 we drove from Philadelphia to Trenton (about 45 minutes), parked our car in a parking garage at the train station and took the local to Penn Station.  And the best thing about the train was it was $7.65 each one way - it pays to be a senior citizen.

Our hotel in Manhattan was nice midtown location.  It was a beautiful day so after we checked in we walked up to Bryant Park and then strolled up 6th Ave. all the way to Central Park.  We had not been to New York in over a decade, and we couldn't believe the new really tall buildings on billionaire's row near Central Park south (see picture to the right).  I tried to convince Melinda that we should go to one of the buildings and tell them we were prospective buyers and wanted to tour a unit, but she wouldn't go for it.

On Sunday, the Mets played the Rockies in an afternoon game.  The weather was great -  sunny and 75.  We took the subway out to Flushing.  Citi Park was great with lots of good food choices (I had an excellent pastrami on rye), and it never felt too crowded even with over 36,000 fans.

The Rockies beat the Mets 13-6.  The game was just over 3 hours and featured 23 hits and 13 walks between the two teams along with multiple mid-inning pitching changes.  Thank goodness for the pitch clock or we would still be there.  Bad managerial decision of the year so far by Buck Showalter (Mets).  He took out his starter after 4 innings and the reliever who came in gave up 5 earned runs in 1/3 inning.

On Monday, May 8 we walked to the New York Public Library, near our hotel.  We've been there before, but we love libraries and this one is fantastic.  I was able to talk our way into the Rose Reading room, and we read books on our phones for 30 minutes (I know, pretty nerdy).  We then took the subway to the American Museum of Natural History on Central Park West.  We had both been here as kids (back in a prior millennium).  We enjoyed the museum - especially the dioramas of African animals and great dinosaur fossils.  

Our plan was to take the subway from the museum (81st St.) to Yankee Stadium for a 7:00 game and get there plenty early.  When we reached the 135th St station, the train stopped, and we were informed that there was a fire at the next stop at 145th St.  We weren't sure when the track would clear, so we got out and walked.  It was 1.5 miles through upper Harlem and we crossed the Harlem River into the Bronx at Macombs Dam Bridge.  It was a nice late afternoon and the neighborhoods were fine.  We were able to make it to the Yankees Monument Park before the game started.  With all of the great Yankee players over the years, it was pretty cool (even for someone like me who considers the Yankees to be the Evil Empire).

While the stadium was beautiful and the history was significant, the game was kind of dull and the crowd wasn't really into it (probably because they were playing the A's on a Monday night).  The Yankees won 7-2 with all of their runs coming from four homers.  Our subway ride back to mid-town was crowded but uneventful.

We're now off to Baltimore.