Sixth game, Yankees vs. Blue Jays

Chris and I outside Yankee Stadium
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Sixth game, Yankees vs. Blue Jays

The first thing I would have to say about Yankee Stadium, is that it fits great in New York City.  Chris and I got to the game about two hours early, and there was already a ton of people at the stadium.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised that one of the most popular places in New York is packed with people.  We walked around the stadium, and got a couple of pictures.  From the outside it doesn't look like anything spectacular, but the inside is something very different.  Everything we had read was a bit disparaging about the stadium, saying that it was very large and not a very good place to watch a game.  I could not disagree more.  While the stadium is very big Chris and I both thought it was a great place to watch a game.  Because the upper deck is so steep you don't feel like you are very far back from the field (unlike Busch in St. Louis).  Our seats were almost at the very top of the third deck, but still felt like good seats.  In the fifth inning we were able to get some better seats farther down and a bit closer to the infield.  The one thing Chris and I both noticed about the field was how massive the outfield is.  You can also see the previous fence lines which are REALLY DEEP.  I can't imagine anyone hitting a home run over the old center field fence, not even Babe Ruth.

View from our seats, considering actually not that bad.
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The only real disappointment was Monument Park.  We got to the stadium early hoping to take a walk through, but the line was ridiculous.  We think it may have had something to do with the fact they were honoring Phil Rizzuto before the game.  The had his kids and his widow, as well as Reggie Jackson and some of his broadcasting partners on the field before the game for about a 30 minute ceremony.

The game was good with the Yankees winning 7-5.  Unfortunately A-Rod didn't do anything too exciting, just a couple of walks.  Yankee fans are pretty cool, at least when there team is winning.  It was hilarious to hear the thick accents cheering for Jeter and A-Rod.  And more than anything hearing the accents calling for beer and cracker jacks.  Overall I was very impressed with the Stadium.  The layout is great, there are plenty of vendors in the stands and on the concourses, and a great view of the game from almost every seat.  As much as it pains me to say this it was one of my favorites on the trip so far.

The only way we were able to see Monument Park.
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After the game we took the subway back into Manhattan and walked around for a while.  We went down by the UN building, which was pretty insane.  With the UN in session, and the President of Iran in town as well things in NYC are pretty crazy.  There are cops EVERYWHERE!!!  We have seen tons of Secret Service officers as well, most carrying pretty hefty assault rifles.  There were also snipers on the top of the roof of the UN building.  We also went up to the top of the Empire State Building to check out the view.  It was a beautiful day yesterday and the views were great in all directions.

Chris and I inside the Stadium.
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Today we got up and took the subway down to Wall Street.  Seeing the economic center of the US was pretty impressive.  There is a real buzz in the area, and most of the people walking along the street are talking shop.  There is so much money in this city it is insane.  So many of the shops/restaurants/bars/health clubs are ridiculously swanky.  We actually saw a couple of restaurants that you couldn't go in unless you were a member of the restaurant club.  I'll bet the food in there was pretty tasty though.  We then walked by the World Trade Center area.  It was pretty moving to see the enormous hole that is left in the ground, and to see the names of the people taken on that day.  We also walked across the street to the St. Paul's church, which was miraculously completely untouched by the 9/11 attacks.  This church was the main area used by the rescue workers after the attacks, providing food and shelter to those working at ground zero.  There were many pictures and notes to love ones lost, very sad.  It's hard to stand in the shadow of the church, looking into the gigantic hole that used to be two huge skyscraper and not feel moved.

View from Empire State Building
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Anyway, on a happier note we are getting ready to head out to the Mets game.  We'll update with pictures from Shea as soon as we can.