America

July 30, 2017

99 Judge up to the plate

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To finish off our NYC visit we concluded with some good ol' American traditions.. an evening at the ball park; day out at Coney Island and viewed New York from the top of the Rock. 

We caught the subway with 45,000 other home town supporters to Yankee Stadium up in the Bronx. I swear we all decided to catch the same northbound train.. it was jam packed! Seeing how Ana had already managed to squeeze aboard I had to force the closing doors open, then wriggle my way into the already at capacity carriage. Phew! somehow made it. It only stayed like this for a few stops, thankfully. Some people got off in midtown and that allowed everyone to breathe out. Once there we arrived we bought some more fried chicken and damn was it good!! (Ana sure knows where to find good fried chicken! - if near the stadium make sure you go to US Fried Chicken- hole in the wall but finger lickin' good)

The game (New York Yankees vs Cincinnati Reds) had started by the time we got through the lengthy security queue. We caught the elevator high into the sky to find our seats. Long way from home base, yes.. but it didn't look like anyone could have had a bad seat watching baseball in this magnificent purpose built stadium. I loved the atmosphere that the diehard fans and announcers brought to the game... why can't we get crowds like this at sporting events back home!?

So what was baseball like to watch? Actually really exciting.. it's a game that suits watching live - not via a flick of a remote. Obviously it has many common traits with cricket (hitting, running and throwing) which I like but what I found interesting was the tactical substitutions of pitchers and which base the fielders would through to (to gain the most advantage from). I highly recommend going to a game.. drinking an American Ale, eating peanuts and singing along to the various anthems.. You'll have a great time!

The following day Ana & I boarded another train, this time heading South East over the Manhattan bridge towards Brooklyn. We counted down the stops, 30 or so in total till we finally stopped at Coney Island. A coastal suburb in outer New York that has a vibrant atmosphere.. along its foreshore is a number of theme parks... even a 'Luna Park' which holds great significance to us both as we met in Sydney's Luna Park. We wandered around checking out the numerous rides.. both modern day thrillers and yesteryear's rollercoasters (90yrs old), swings and ferris wheels. A wonderful place to bring the family!

We saw a pic of a 4th of July (Independence Day) weekend at the beach from 1940's.. I have never (NEVER) seen so many people crammed onto a single stretch of sand. I reckon there would have been 3 or 4 times as many people on that beach than on the busiest of Bondi days... it was beyond crowded.

That afternoon we climbed to the Top of the Rock; ie. caught the elevator to the top of the Rockefeller Center. What a view - Just WOW! NYC from above is simply spectacular. Highlights included; North over Central Park as you see the stark contrast of high rise buildings and nature; to the South you can see almost all of NYC's popular landmarks. How many can you spot & name??

We kept busy right until the end.. and still managed to miss out on things. New York is such a big place with hundreds of things to do & see.. we will be back sometime in the future.

Thanks to all the family and friends that made this trip so amazing... you are what made this trip even more memorable :-)

Cheers,

Adam

Yankee Stadium outfield

Coney Island

CI, B, NY

90yr old Cyclone

Luna Park

Fancy a hot dog??

Decommissioned ride - parachutes

Empire & One World

Upper West Side

Everywhere looks like this

City that never sleeps

 

#NYC #BigApple #PizzaSubwaysandBeer #CityThatNeverSleeps #YankeeStadium #BronxBombers #FriedChicken #TouristsToTheMax

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