Road trip at home

I guess I should fill in whatever leftover blanks from the trip reports from Mike and Craig . They've done a great job of wrapping up their long journey; I was just there for part of it, as well as serving as a home base for a good portion of it.

Wednesday: I actually worked on some housing stuff before a rather uneventful trip up to Hudson Valley. The one thing that struck me was the jersey t-shirt for Evan Longoria. Yes, he was the Devil Rays' top pick last year, and yes his name is that close to Gabrielle's (although they're not related). But as you can see from the stats, Longoria played all of eight games for Hudson Valley (hate that 'Gades stuff) last year. Is that enough for a t-shirt? On the other hand, I'm still interested in getting a Mike Piazza Marlins jersey or a Rasheed Wallace Hawks uni.

Thursday: It was disheartening to see the line for NBA Draft tickets wrap directly around Penn Plaza. Who said the NBA was dead? It was interesting to note that the NBA official who broke the bad news did say they asked to use the actual Garden instead of just using the Theater but were rebuffed. It also sparked one guy near us to ask, "Why did you bother advertising on the radio?" if there were only going to be a few hundred seats available once all the VIPs and entourages were taken care of.

While Mike and Craig were doing their Millionaire audition (oh yeah, I got the thanks but no thanks postcard today), Dwight and I took a quick trip to the Strand Bookstore where somehow I ended up selling out to the WWL by buying a handful of books all related to some of their talent.

We did a good job of ad libbing our way to some entertainment that night. I'd been meaning to go to Caroline's one of these days since it's right down the street from work, so it all turned out for the best, especially as we escaped the thunderstorms we all expected with the insanely hot and humid day in Manhattan (it's less comfortable there than the dry 100 degrees in Las Vegas).

Also, while I was impressed by my trip to the Stage Deli, it is notable that more than one person suggested I take them to Katz's, although it was a little out of the way from where we planned on being during the day.

Friday: Citizens Bank Park is a solid stadium, although the stairs to the upper level of seats were a bit interesting. I'm still unsure how I feel about all of the sporting venues located in one area, but there seemed to be adequate parking as well as a SEPTA stop should I need it. We did get cheesesteaks before the game, although at a pizza place down the street from the stadium and not at one of the landmark places. Still, it was a decent sandwich. Plus, it gives me more ideas for my own Philly trip.

I also finally got to a Somerset game, which is notable since the park is only about 25 minutes from my house. I thought I might actually run into people I'd know, especially since my high school did some big alumni gathering there earlier in the week. The funny part of entering the stadium was our assorted oohs and aahs when such former major leaguers as Quinton McCracken, Junior Spivey and Alan Zinter were announced in the starting lineup as we were walking in.

Saturday: I've had better experiences in the Yankee Stadium bleachers, but unfortunately this wasn't it, even if it was a nice sunny day. Then again, with Kei Igawa starting, it was going to be a long day. I just didn't think the Yankees would be one-hit that day. Hopefully I'll get those guy better tickets and a better experience soon enough. Maybe we won't have Carl complaining about the team. I did make a quick return to the Stadium already (more on that later).

Unfortunately, I don't know all of the places actual Rutgers students might go to, but I know enough of some of the areas now (specifically suburban South Plainfield/Piscataway) to find a decent diner experience before the lacrosse game. The Fountainbleau diner had some great meal deals, plus we had the requisite onion rings (no jukebox at the table, though).

Oddly enough, the MLL game had the most expensive tickets of all the games I went to on the tour, and that included two Major League Baseball games. But the entertainment was solid enough. I had no clue it was that close to home.

Now I have to knock a few more local parks off the list like Lakewood, Montclair, Sussex and maybe even Atlantic City and Camden.

It was fun tagging along for a good portion of this trip and at least see a little of the fun that I'd only heard about.

Sunday: While the rest of the traveling quizbowl circus hit Baltimore, I made the requisite trip to see Live Free or Die Hard. It had pieces of the other three movies but it obviously doesn't live up to the original, but much like Rocky Balboa, it was good for what it's worth. Very silly and it was a bit strange seeing Warren Cheswick/Mr. Mac trying to play a hacker. Oh yeah, Maggie Q kicks all sorts of ass as well.