Captain's Choice blog: New York State of Mind

     Take me out to a ball game,
     Take me out with the crowd;
     Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
     I don't care if I never get back.
    Let me root, root, root for the home team,
     If they don't win it's a shame.
     For it's one, two, three strikes, your out,
     At the old ball game.

Allison, Eric, Mark and I sang along at Yankee Stadium Monday night as we watched the Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3. This was our first experience at Yankee Stadium and this time Mark was the one grinning from ear to ear since we have been long time Yankee fans. We started the night by meeting for dinner at The Jeffrey Craft Beer and Bites, followed by a subway ride to Yankee Stadium. The quick rain shower while we were at dinner ended and it was a beautiful night for a game with the temps in the 70's. Before entering the stadium Allison had to make a quick stop in one of the many Yankee stores for an Aaron Judge t-shirt, she wasn't alone the Judge shirts were flying off the shelves. Next Eric said we needed to get a "true feel" for a pre-Yankees game so we stopped in the Dugout for a beer and fan watching. It was a sea of Yankees fans with a sprinkle of Blue Jay fans and since I was wearing my Buffalove shirt I was approached by a WNYer that couldn't help but say "hi". We made our way across the street to the stadium...so excited to see the Yankees at home and even more so when the game ended with a WIN! As we walked out it was more singing, this time New York, New York.
    I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps
    And find I'm A-number one, top of the list,
    King of the hill, A-number one
   ....It's up to you, New York, New York

It's the 4th of July and most might think we would head over to the Macy's firework display in the East River...they estimated 3 million people...we opted for Jersey City. There was some controversy as to where the fireworks were going to be because governor Chris Christie closed all state parks due to the budget not being approved. It was approved at the last minute but they left them at Exchange Place instead of moving them back to Liberty Park.
Being such a beautiful day we started at Allison's pool in the afternoon and then headed to her friends' Christie and Garrett's where they were entertaining at their rooftop pool.
Decisions, decisions...do we stay on the rooftop or walk to the river to see the fireworks. We decided to stay and at 9:15 p.m. we were questioning our decision, the fireworks started but we didn't have that great of a view. Mark was not convinced that those were the ones from NJ and at 9:30 more fireworks began and they were fantastic! It was a great spot to watch from, as the fireworks burst in the air and the tall buildings reflected the colors, they were spectacular. Not to mention we could see other fireworks from all different directions from our vantage point.

When Mark and I got up Wednesday morning we both wondered what had happened to "boaters midnight", we were both feeling the effects from the late night bus rides back to Staten Island and all the activities over the last couple of days. It's been fun and we still had 1 more day, the whole reason for staying the extra day, Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden! Over 3 years ago Billy Joel said he would perform at MSG 1 night per month as long as he sold out the show, they were advertising November 2017 as his 47th consecutive month.
We met Allison at Stout on 33rd for a quick bite to eat before walking over to MSG. It was our first time at MSG and what a great venue. WOW, WOW, WOW at 68 years young The Piano Man still has what it takes to entertain the audience. He is one class act! Everyone was definitely in a NY State of Mind as he belted out so many familiar tunes. The Uptown Girls were in attendance and We Didn't Start the Fire is still so very true today! For over 2 hours he had the crowd singing and everyone was on their feet for the entire encore. It is hard to believe he has not produced an album since 1993 and his fans ranged from all ages. It was a fabulous night and a great way to end our visit to the big apple.

It's always bittersweet moving on when you have family in the area, but we will be together again soon as our 10 day stay has come to an end. Thank you Allison, Eric and Allison's friends for your hospitality while we were there. We loved hanging out and appreciate you including us in your plans.