Day 8: Major League Baseball Trip.

DATE: Sunday, September 8, 2013. Day 8.
LOCATION: Manhattan to Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies.

Citizens Bank Park was our sixth stadium on our 17 day tour. We left Manhattan at 9:30 to drive to Philadelphia to see the Phillies play the Braves (Phillies won 3-2). We stopped at a gas station/convenience store in New Jersey to pick up grandson Wesley. He had driven there from his Air Force base, only 10 miles away. We had a good parking spot as the porta-potty was only 10 steps from the front bumper of our car. Our next door neighbors were from the area. They were four guys, around 60, who had been life long friends. In fact, three of them earned their Eagle Scout awards together. We visited with them for an hour and as game time approached the one guy says, "It's now time for some power drinking." So the four of them guzzled their Heinekens and Coronas and headed for the staduim. The were fun to talk to. They said they usually went to one Eagles game a year. The Eagles stadium (named Lincoln Financial Field) was right next to the Phillies Stadium. In fact the same parking lots are used for each stadium.

At the game I met Jim and Meg - all three of us were standing in the concourse - we started talking and our conversation lasted for over an hour. Jim and Meg were from the area and were big fans of the Phillies. He was a retired UPS driver while Meg was still working for FedEx. They had traveled a lot and recommended two tours they thought Ruth Ann and I would like. One was the NAPA Valley Wine Tour in California - the other was the Jack Daniels Whiskey Tour in Tennessee. They were also a fun couple. Talking and meeting new people is one of my favorite activities.

After the game all of us were hungry. I told Wesley that I wanted to have a PHILLY CHEESE STEAK SANDWICH as I had never had one before. He said he knew just where to go because this place had the best tasting sandwiches in Philadelphia. He directed Brad to  TONY LUKE'S. There was a big crowd so we had to wait but it was worth it. A Phillie Cheese Steak Sandwich consists of a big hoagie style  bun with lots and lots of thin sliced beef and cheese. They are huge and they are delicious. Mine was  so big I could only eat half. I finished the other half at bedtime.

On thing we all noticed about New Jersey is that you cannot pump your own gas. You will be fined if you do. There are attendants on duty at every station and they must fill your tank. The only reason we could think of why New Jersey does this is that it provides jobs and maybe there is a safety factor involved.