Day 6: Major League Baseball Trip.

DATE: Friday, September 6, 2013. Day 6.
LOCATION: 235 5th Street, Manhattan, Times Square and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

I got up at 9 AM and took a walk by myself. Macy's Department Store was about two blocks away so I went in and did some looking. You notice I said looking because the prices were a little more than I wanted to pay. I was drawn to the neckties - they looked great - I was thinking I might buy one and be able to say to my friends at church when having our Sunday morning coffee, "Hey, look at the nice necktie I bought at Macy's in Manhattan." Well, I changed my mind when I looked at the price - the cheapies were $50.00 a tie and the more expensive ones were on sale for $65.00 (regular price = $85.00). So, no tie from Macy's for Pete.

While walking I decided to see if I could get at least one person to say "Good Morning". The first person I said "Good Morning" to looked at me like I was nuts. He never responded and just kept walking. Then I tried a lady and I got the same response from her. I tried  another woman and she just stared straight ahead and kept walking. I concluded my little experiment was not really working so I gave up. I was zero for three and the odds were not in my favor so I hung it up and said "To hell with you Manhattan people" Manhattan folks are definitely not as friendly as Iowa or Minnesota people.

John, Brad, Karen and I went to Jack Doyle's for breakfast. Then we all strolled 4-5 blocks to Times Square. Karen had to leave by 1:30 and catch a taxi to the airport as she was flying back to Boston. We ate at another Irish Pub. One thing you notice about Manhattan that is very different from Anamosa or Cedar Rapids is the great diversity of people and the hundreds of different language you hear. And it seems like everybody is in a hurry - they walk as fast as they can and it seems like they are all late to wherever they are going.

Some of the things we saw that afternoon were: ABC News headquarters; where the ball is dropped on New Year's Eve; the live theater section on Broadway (some shows  now being performed were Annie, Kinky Boots, Pippin, Lion King, Chicago and many others); Empire State Building; and the Naked Cowboy. The Naked Cowboy is a guy in tight underwear type shorts playing his guitar and singing - of course he stops when someone wants a photo - for a price, of course. Really, the shorts is all he has on except for a hat and boots.

\In midafternoon we walked back to the hotel. At around 5 PM we got on the subway to go to Yankee Stadium. Brad figured out how to access tickets on the automated ticket machines. (Thank God he figured it out as I don't think John or I could've done it). The cost was only $2.50 each - a bargain and a lot cheaper than a taxi. We got to Yankee in the Bronx about 5:30. The stadium is unbelievable. We saw the Yankees play the Boston Red Sox. The Yanks were leading 8-3 when the Sox tied it up in the 6th inning. The Sox went on to win 13-5. We did get to see Mariano Reviera pitch and Alex Rodriquez play. I got ID'd when trying to buy a beer. I kind of laughed at her and she said "I have to do this - even though you do like you're 39." When done with my ID she said "I was wrong, you're only 23.

Grandson Wesley joined us in the 4th inning. He is in the Air Force stationed at Fort Dix Army /Macquire Air Force Base in New Jersey. He loves baseball and wanted to join us for some games. He stayed overnight with us on an air mattress we had brought along. After the game we took the subway back to 35th street - ate at a another Irish Pub and didn't get to bed until 2:30 AM. I'm not used to 2:30 bedtimes anymore - at my age of 72 a 9:30 bedtime time feels good to me. It was a fun day.

My rankings for Yankee Stadium:

1. restrooms           A
2. wide/deep steps A+
3. railings               A+
4.friendly help        A
5, wide concourses A+ (you can walk the concourse all around the stadium)
6. price of beer        B  (I base my lower grades for beer compared to Iowa prices)