In the land of Seinfeld, the dork is king (Episode V)

It was our final day in New York City. I was effing glad. The agenda wasn't action-packed, but we did have a very important event to attend: Yankees vs. Rays.

We didn't really have a breakfast. I think Dave and I grabbed coffee juice and muffins and then busted out of town. The subway ride was grueling, especially since there was a service disruption, and the train we needed to take was delayed. Dave gets antsy at the prospect of being late. We had to get to Yankee Stadium in The Bronx from the Upper West Side. We had to take a local to Times Square and take an express from there to the ballpark. The subways made Dave nervous to begin with, just because public transportation is a far cry from jumping into your own car and heading out to the game.

So, we get on the train, and we're late, according to Dave. The trains don't care about your schedule, though.

We get to The Bronx, we find Yankee Stadium and we make our way through the crowds after checking Dave's bag. We find our seats and we take it all in:


Grounds crew is prepping the field for play


Memorial Park


The most pristine home plate

Hours later, there were pretzels, hot dogs, beer and baseball...



And some knitting, too...



And Dave kept score, as always ...



But perhaps the most interesting part of our game at Yankee Stadium was the old, crusty New Yorker we sat next to. The man was a typical crank with more hair growing out of his shirtsleeves, nose and ears than was to be found on his angular and misshapen pate. He studied a Daily News police blotter from two days ago in between keeping score and shouting at the home team. All of the sudden my future flashed before my eyes... Could this be Dave? Will he get old, crusty, loud and inconsolable at ballgames?

Yankees lost that contest against the Rays (yay!), who went on to have a pretty decent postseason.

After the game, we took a stroll around Yankee Stadium to get some photos before they tore the old gal down.



And we also got a peek at the new Yankee Stadium. With the limestone exterior and gold engravings, it really evokes a national monument, which, considering the franchise, is probably what Steinbrenner wants.



After that, it was time to meet the crush of humanity in the too-small subway station. Dave, if y'all didn't know, is quite the claustrophobe, so the train station, packed with people and hot like a sauna, was pure hell for him. I am so proud that he didn't have a panic attack.

We headed from The Bronx to Morningside Heights for an early dinner at Tom's Restaurant, or, if you're a fan of Seinfeld, you can call it Monk's Diner. I had the roasted chicken and rice, which was good. The coffee was also very good. Dave enjoyed his turkey sandwich and salad. Good food, but nothing outstanding. ANd it was definitely a comfortable joint. I could see why George, Jerry, Elaine and Kramer would want to hang out there.

We met Dave's best friend Mike and his brother Ashley at Tom's. We all ate and did the obligatory picture outside the restaurant.



We then went back to the shitty hostel to change and put on more deoderant. New York was unseasonably humid and warm during our visit, and since we were away from our room all day, we were kind of gross. A change of clothes was definitely required before we headed off for a drink.

At about that time we got in touch with dear Livvy, who was just finishing up shopping and running errands and was ready for a drink and a meal. We told her we'd wait for her at our landing spot: Burp Castle -- Cathedral of Beer.



This is perhaps the third most dorkiest photo of the entire trip. I was just glad to be sitting down and drinking a really good hefeweizen with people. And the bar was pretty unique, in that every time the clamor of the crowd rose above a manageable din, a horde of folks would shush everyone with a loud and authoritative hiss.

Livvy arrived, proclaimed that she was famished and didn't drink beer. She downed a glass of vino and we moved on to greener pastures, which happened to be this little cafe off of Amsterdam (cannot remember the name! Help me Liv!). It was great, and I had a good time hanging out with everyone. Here, Liv seems to be quite tired of our antics, and I am one Guinness away from being a REALLY good time!



We headed back to the shitty hostel and packed our bags. The next morning we would get up ridiculously early and head for Penn Station...