Posted by
ChrisR on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 3:19:16 PM
Ok - this one will be told in pictures. Enjoy!
We start our journey at Shea Stadium in Queens for the Mets game.
Outside Shea with the one and only Mark Riley
Shea Stadium from the Loge Section. Adam scored the tickets and I am not entirely sure how. Whatever, good for me.
A view from our seats of the brand new Citi Field. Shea is a dump and has been untouched since 1964. This new stadium - opening next year - is going to be real nice. As much as I love my Mets, I hate Shea.
Gary Cohen and Ron Darling, the best announcing duo in baseball.
Only 39 games left at beloved <?> Shea! Courtesy of Mr. Met
Adam and Mark pretending to care about the Mets. They swore that they would be root-root-rooting for the home team at every park, regardless of the fact that they are actually Yankee fans.
First pitch of the game. As much as I hate Oliver Perez, which I do, he has been really solid lately. He has a new windup and seems to be throwing more "free" now that Rick Peterson is gone.
Another pitch by Perez.
Saturday morning: Penn Station. NJ Transit to Trenton where Mark and Adam had parked. It was like, 9am and Friday was a long day.
This train kind of looks like a spaceship in this picture.
This station... Trenton. Ever want to know why I dislike NJ? Take a walk through Trenton. Or Asbury Park. Or Camden. Or Newark...
In the car on the road to Philly.
Philly skyline in the distance.
And then we arrive at the corner of 9th and Passyunk in South Philly. A shot from our parking spot of Geno's.
Geno's claims to have the best in the Philly Cheese steak wars.
Pat, on the other hand, disagrees. He believes himself to be the king of steaks. Yes, these 2 are literally right across the street from each other.
Despite the insistence that I try Geno's due to their political beliefs (thank you Anne), see that line? I was in no mood to wait. Pat's will have to do.
Despite these clearly written instructions, you still have the morons who get to the front of the line and say "uhh.... I... hmm... I'm not so sure..." The guy will yell at you. And it is funny. Follow simple procedure, don't have any problems. It's not like teh Soup Nazi militant, but they have instructions and expect people to follow them. A fair demand.
Whiz wit-out.
Mark diving in.
The remains. These bad boys got scarfed down in about 2 minutes flat, and I'm not even joking. The whiz was good, although very salty. The meat was tender, although a little thicker than I was used to. Good flavor, and the bread is what put it over the top. I give it a thumbs up, and at like $7, it was very excellent.
Notice: This is Pat's only store.
Except they are no longer just in South Philly... Contradiction much?
Even on the way back to the car, Geno's still has a line.
Immediately followign the cheese-steaks, we hit the Rocky stairs at the Museum of Art. It was about 95 degrees out, plus the steaks we just chomped down, and now a race up 72 stairs. I don't care. Rocky is all heart. So am I. Watch as I destroy the competition.
After my victory up the Rocky steps.
A shot of Philly from the steps.
Adam and me with the champ. I just needed a motorcycle helmet to throw at it. And if the statue were actually of me. And I was about to fight clubber lang.
"hey hey wo-munn. wanna know what it's like to be with a reallll man?" (also note: what is adam doing? i think it's a seizure)
The "mall" in Philly. DC's definitely got it beat.
The lib-ty bell. Wilford Brimley was not outside hawking diabeetis products though. Disappointing.
Constitution Hall. Or is it Independence Hall? I should probably know this.
At the stadium in Philadelphia. A mark of a man's character can be directly correlated to the number of sports he is prepared to participate in at any given time. So what if we are outside a baseball stadium? Football is appropriate as well.
Citizen's Bank Park. Enemy Turf.
I give them credit - this is a really nice stadium.
The view from above.
The scoreboard, Philadelphia skyline, and another view of the stadium.
New photo server, so they are different sizes. Jimmy Rollins is gay.
Yep, super-mega gay.
Ok - seriously, what is this trainer doing?
Phillie Fanatic? Also gay.
Randy Johnson? Not gay. Ever see that mullet?
Adam Eaton? Maybe not gay, but he certainly is terrible.
Hmm. 5-2 in the 4th. And this onslaught is far from over.
Ryan Howard vs. Randy Johnson. Looks like a bomb off howard's bat - but it was a pop-out.
Wilfred Brimley? I wonder what would happen if you brought his and John Bolton's mustache into the same room. 2 words: hostile takeover.
Notice how ugly that 4th inning got? 10-4 Phils loss is a-ok with me.
Where is there to go near Citizen's Bank Park? Why of course! (say it in your best Rocky accent) ChickieandPetes! (for some back story - when we did this same trip last year, we asked someone for food ideas. the security guard, in 1 garbled philly-accent syllable fires that at us. We find it, and it was quite good, actually. But pronouncing 3 wrds in 1 syllable was certainly interesting).
Any bar that serves Canadian beer is ok with me.
Cheese steak - round 2. Not one of the best in Philly, but most convenient to our needs? Absolutely.
Adam chowing down.
Back in DC! 7 minutes for a train? On game day? Who makes these decisions?
Up the Metro for the game.
Nationals Park from the top of the Metro exit.
The stadium from our seats. Actually a decent turnout for a Nationals game.
The outfield. My boy Lastings Milledge is on the DL, unfortunately.
Paulie Lo Duca playing first? That should show how weak this lineup is. There might be 3 guys who played on Sunday who could be on another major league roster. it's that bad.
Adam, our new recruit Matt, and Mark at the Nats game.
The Presidents' Race!
Seriously, I know it isn't exactly PC, but if you can't walk up the stairs due to your age and or weight, you should not be allowed to sit in the upper deck, pure and simple. This woman is one of about 10,000 who could barely get up these things, and struggled mightily. The people in the surrounding areas should not be forced to be spotters for someone who cannot manage their fatness.
One final shot of the stadium before departure. Yes, I am breaking my own rule and leaving the game early, but it was obscenely hot, humid, and sunny, and we were all tired from an exhausting weekend. Oh well, great trip nonetheless.
And there you have it. Photos chronicle some of the events between Friday around 5:30pm and Sunday at 5pm. Hope you enjoyed the run through my weekend as much as I did. See you next time.