Two weekends ago, my father flew up to DC on a Friday night for a big day trip to New York City the following day. The day was planned around attending the last day game at Yankee Stadium. Dad, being a large Mickey Mantle fan growing up (he's got the baseball cards, one of them washed, to prove it) had never been to Yankee Stadium (neither had I) and had also never visited NYC either. So off we went. The plan was to take the train from DC leaving at 5:30am and arriving in New York at 8:45am. After a day of touring, the train left the station at 11:00pm, arriving back in DC at 2:30am on Sunday morning. It was a big day and our feet may never be the same but it was totally worth it. So off we go...


Unfortunately, this is how the trip started. At 4:30 in the morning, we got to Union Station in DC to find it a tad smoky. Turns out there was a fire in the building and we were quickly evacuated. With the train leaving at 5:30, they let us in the building at around 5:29 to make a run for it.

A few hours and a nap later, we were heading under the Hudson and into Penn Station in New York. From there, we took the subway down to city hall to walk the Brooklyn Bridge.




Pop on the bridge.






Views of Midtown and the Financial District from the bridge.



From the bridge, we visited Ground Zero . We also stopped by the Firefighters Memorial which is around the corner from a firehouse that is literally across the street from Ground Zero.








Here are the billboards at Ground Zero showing the plans for the site.


The memorial, a bronze mural that is 56 feet long, is very impressive and quite moving.

We next took a five minute walk due south to Battery Park which is on the southern tip of Manhattan. The view of the Statue of Liberty was great. It really is amazing that you can be in the middle of the big city with all the honking horns and whatnot but then walk five minutes where all you hear is the water and folks fishing. Very impressed with Battery Park.







On the way to the 4 train, we walked up Broadway and took these random pics.


Here is Bowling Green Park. This is the oldest existing park in NYC and was the site in the Pre-Revolution days of a 4,000 pound statue of King George III. On July 9, 1776, after the Declaration of Independence was read to General Washington's troop stationed in New York City, a crowd rushed down Broadway to Bowling Green where they toppled the statue. Very cool stuff.


The Wall Street Bull and the NYSE. I understand both are still standing.


Here is Pop who said his stock was going up. Apparently, it was not in WaMu, Wachovia, etc., etc.


The Woolworth Building was the world's tallest from 1913 to 1930.

From there, we hopped on the 4 train to the Bronx for the ballgame.


Pop at Yankee Stadium.


Yeah, bleacher seats.


Going thru the tunnel . . .


View from our seats.






The American Flag was directly above us. The picture on the right may be my picture of the day. And yes, that is how the picture came out originally - no photoshop involved.


Jeter, A-Rod, Damon, and Giambi sporting his Don Mattingly-mustache.


A-Rod and Jeter at bat. Can you find the ball in the A-Rod pic?


Here is a sequence of photos of a pitch to Jason Giambi. Of course, he missed it.


Jeter with Joe Girardi, the Yankees manager, in the dugout. A-Rod at 3rd.


Mariano Rivera warming up. He eventually came in and got the win.


Stadium clearing after the win. A video of the game winning hit will be put up in a day or so.


Final Scoreboard.


Monument Park. Also, had to take a picture of center field, former home to players named Mantle, Dimaggio, etc., etc.


Here is the scene on River Street (that is the subway tracks above) after the game.


Our seats were right on the other side.


The new Yankee Stadium that is literally right across 161st Street.


Hopping on the 4 train back to Manhattan.


Here is the view of Central Park when we got off the train.


We then headed down 5th Avenue and saw some shops that were way too expensive for us. We did pass by St. Patrick's Cathedral which was absolutely beautiful.


Next up was heading up to the top of 30 Rock.


Just so we're clear...we went to the very top.


Pop on top of Gotham.


We timed it just about perfectly. When we first got up, it was still complete daylight. We then saw the city change from day to dusk to nighttime. Here are the before and after pics looking north over Central Park, Harlem, and the Bronx. Below are the same from other sides of the city.


View of Midtown and southern Manhattan.


View of the MetLife and Chrysler Building with Brooklyn in the background.


View of the CitiGroup Building with Queens in the background.


The Empire State Building.


Here is the sunset looking to the west.




The lights of Times Square.

From 30 Rock, we headed towards Times Square and ended up in Planet Hollywood to watch the first half of the LSU-Auburn game. The second half was much better.


Here we are right outside of Rockefeller Center behind the famous statue of Prometheus. In a few months, the big Christmas Tree will be standing where we were and this will be an ice rink.


The Today Show window.


Fox News.


Live on Fox News. When I showed my mom these pictures the next day, she said she remembered watching this anchor at about the same time.


Pop in Times Square.






This pic was for Kerrie.




Heading into the subway to go back to Penn Station for a nap on the train back to DC.

Be sure to check back in a few days for videos from NYC and pics of our afternoon trip to Mount Vernon.