Midsummer Classic in NYC

The MLB 2013 All-Star Game takes place this year at Citi Field in Queens for the first time since 1964. Festivities were held all over the city including my neighborhood right near mid-town. The players stayed at the Westin Hotel (5 blocks from our front door) and the Red-Carpet parade came down 42nd Street starting at Bryant Park and ending at 3rd Ave. It was hard to believe this collection of the best players in the game was just down the street from me so I had to go out and see them as they drove through mid-town. Although we didn't splurge on tickets, it was fun to see the game's best all in one location and we will enjoy watching the game tonight. Once again I am reminded of how cool it is to live in this city!!

 NL Manager - Bruce Bochy

 AL Manager - Jim Leyland

 Big Papi

 Prince Fielder

 Mike Trout

 Yu Darvish

 Triple Crown Winner - Miguel Cabrera

 Dustin Pedroia

 Yadier Molina

 Matt Carpenter

 Justin Verlander

 Torii Hunter

Joe Mauer

 Robinson Cano

 Jason Castro

 Chris 'Crush' Davis

 Bryce Harper

Nelson Cruz

Jason Grilli

Adam Wainwright

 Clay Buckholz

What's Up Doc? - Dwight Gooden

The World Series Trophy

Listen to What the Man Said

It had only been a month since I saw Sir Paul in NYC but I was just as excited to see him again. This time, the scene shifted outside to Boston's Fenway Park. With Laura and our ties to the city, we were both looking forward to returning to the Back Bay and having another good time and rockin' out to some good tunes. But It didn't quite start off that way.

For the pre-show drinks, we headed to the Bleacher Bar; an awesome bar located underneath the outfield stands. Normally for baseball games, the door is open so we can see onto the field. But since this view would now be to the backstage area , it was covered with a tarp. Not cool. But luckily they had the garage-style door up so we could here the sound check, which may have been the best moment of the evening for me. Although it was a little difficult to hear Paul, I did make out a few songs that he didn't play in his regular set: Penny Lane, C Moon, Matchbox and Sing the Changes. Wow!!

At around 7:00 pm, we made our way into the stadium to get situated and find our seats. This is where things started to get bad. As you can see by the picture below, we had, not only an obstructed view, but it blocked the entire center stage where the band would be. Seriously? I wasn't going to stand for this. Nowhere on our ticket did it say 'obstructed view' and for $250 for a pair of tickets i expect better. So I made a b-line for customer service. Luckily, they encounter this issue often and had seats and new tickets ready for those who had been given these awful seats. We traded in our tickets and set off to find our new seats.

Can you say upgrade?!?! Wow, in a major way at that!! We were re-located to the field level and as you can see by the pictures below, pretty much center stage!! So awesome! I mean, how often do you get to stand on the field at Fenway Park right where Dustin Pedroia plays? Too cool!!

Paul delivered almost the exact same show I saw in NYC, which was okay for me as I can never get tired of hearing his tunes. You can reference my last McCartney post to see what songs he played if you are interested. The stadium setting provided a great atmosphere and luckily, the predicted rain storms stayed away. I leave you with some great images from what turned out to be an amazing night!!

Pyro

Sing-A-Long

I Saw Here Standing There

Record Crowd

Thank You Boston!!

Confetti Shower

To Stay Or Go? That Is The Question...

Well, as we sit here today, it has been 4 months since we arrived in NYC. Summer is in full swing every chance we have to get out and see all this magnificent city has to offer, we do it. We have 2 months left before Laura's current contract is up and we have a lot of contemplating to do. We really love it here and are now starting to entertain the idea of a permanent stay. Laura is seeing offers in here new field of research and has begun submitting resumes. The task we face is if one of those jobs actually offers her a job, do we decide to become New Yorkers for good? The up-side is that we would have the opportunity to live in maybe the most vibrant and exciting city in America. On the other hand, we would be committing to living in maybe the most expensive city in America. There are certainly other concerns that arise concerning NYC, but I think money is the biggest one. In about a month, we will need to start planning our next destination if we decide to move on. The next month should be very interesting. In the meantime, here are some of my latest images that continue to dazzle my eyes and make me never want to leave this place!!

The High Line

 Union Square

 Greenwich

 Rows & Stoops

Modern Architecture

 10th Ave. Freeze Out

 4th of July

 Williamsburg

 East River

 City At Night

Freedom