2

Two people. Two cities. Two venues. Two games.

This past Saturday Heather and I traveled by train to New Jersey for a unique doubleheader. We left Long Island by way of the LIRR in Baldwin (I kept stats for Verizon Fios high school lacrosse telecast) around 1:30. The train arrived a few minutes early and with some fast walking and sprinting down the steps we were able to catch a NJ Transit train to Newark and avoided waiting around Penn Station for 45 minutes.

Once we arrived in Newark we had a few options to choose in order to get across the Passaic River and into Harrison. We decided to take the free shuttle bus (since this was the way we wanted to leave the game and get to the Bears game). The woman in the information booth sent us out the wrong door.Eventually we found the location by asking around. There were no signs anywhere. Not sure how they expect fans to find the shuttle for the first time.

The ride over was a bit slow but we still arrived with plenty of time before the first kick. Red Bull Arena is a very modern looking facility that is surrounded by nothing but vacant lots and some abandoned industrial buildings. There were some banners up on the fences describing some of the developments planned for the area. Despite the lack of facilities outside the building there was still a festive atmosphere with music and a fanfest.

Once inside Heather and I took a lap around the building's only concourse and snapped several pictures. The stadium interior is a complete contrast to the gray exterior. Inside the seating bowl it is very bright with the green grass, blue seats, some red and yellow ones to to form the Red Bull logo, and the translucent roof.

The first half was kind of slow, the second half saw three goals including one scored on a penalty kick at our end of the field. The Red Bulls won the game 2-1 and sent the large contingent of Philadelphia fans home unhappy. We happened to be sitting right near The Sons of Ben as they are known and heard their entire catologue of songs and chants.

When the final whistle sounded we headed back to the shuttle and got on the route for Broad Street Station. Once again there were no signs and very little orginaztion to this system. If they don't fix this system soon no one is going to us it. There is not much parking around the stadium. So without the shuttle bus the only other options are the PATH and to walk.

We arrived at the Newark Broad Street station that is right across the street from Bears and eagles Riverfront Stadium. The second half or our doubleheader was an Atlantic League game between the Bears and the Camden Riversharks. The place was a ghost town. The listed attendance was just over 1000 people. Maybe 500 were actually there. The bears have had trouble drawing a crowd and on cool, overcast night in April not many people showed up.

If the Bears were smart they would have been outside of red Bull Arena before and after the game to pass out free or discounted tickets, schedules, and any other information that might get some of the soccer fans to come over for the baseball game. especially since Camden is right across the river from Philadelphia. They could have potentially attracted fans from both sides.

Despite the small crowd and the minimal concessions choices we still enjoyed ourselves. The highlight of the night was meeting Mets manager Jerry Manuel. His son plays for the Bears and with the Mets winning an afternoon home game Jerry had the night free to come and watch his boy. Poor guy was surrounded by fans between every inning, but he still signed autographs and took pictures.

The Bears won the game 13-3 so we were good luck for both home teams. Not sure when and where the next adventure will be. So check back soon.

Brian
Patchogue, NY

Better late than never.

So I've fallen behind on posting already. Two weeks ago Brian and I headed out to the Meadowlands to see my first professional basketball game. We got there early and walked around the construction site once known as Giants Stadium. It was a little weird seeing all the rubble behind the gates Brian took some pictures and reminisced a little about the place in which he has spent MANY Sunday afternoons and nights.


After our walk around memory lane we headed over to the Izod Center for the Nets game. I know Brian mentioned in our previous post how he got these tickets...well I am telling you now that my fiance is amazing at finding good deals. A night out for 2 at a professional sporting event along with parking and souvenirs (key chain for my collection and a pin for Brian's) the total cost was....$6.99. That's right for less than the tank of gas it took us to get there and back we were able to enjoy a great night. While the Nets and the Hornets were swapping baskets on the court, we were swapping seats around it. We started one row from the top on one end of the court and eventually moved to the opposite end and much farther down. At the end of the game we headed back to the car and off to my old stomping grounds in Clifton.


The Tic Tock Diner was pretty much how I remembered it. There were many Friday nights after temple spent at this diner as well as lunches catching up with out of town friends. I kept looking around at all the patrons and staff to see if I recognized anyone. Unfortunately I didn't. It was nice to share this part of my childhood while enjoying some really good food with Brian. I even talked Brian into driving past Temple Beth Shalom. Not much to see in the dark other than it's outline, so I guess the place is still standing.

More adventures to come soon :-)
Heather
Dumont, NJ.

Not sure if you can call this a road trip

Saturday night we will be heading to the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ perhaps for the final time. Just grabbed a pair of Nets tickets off of ebay for a total of $4.99. I have not been to a Nets game in years and did not plan on going again anytime soon. However with the team moving to Newark next season and than to Brooklyn I wanted to make one last visit to the big white box in the swamp.

Growing up 20 minutes from here I saw lots of events in this arena, mostly Devils games. Since they moved out three years ago I have been back only once for a concert. Some of the memories that the Devils gave me on my visits will be cherished but after being back in the building I truly realized that it was a dump with horrible parking that will not be missed.

Also planned for the weekend is a trip down Route 3 to the Tick Tock Diner in Clifton. This is a place Heather used to frequent when she lived in Jersey. Now we can both add it to our list of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives locations.

Rhode Island Recap

Yesterday was spent in Providence, RI. We originally planned to see and do more in than we ended up doing. We did not arrive at the diner until about 1:00. This place lived up to our expectations. We had the seen the video of the place more than once and knew what we would be ordering before we even arrived. I had a great roast turkey sandwich and clam chowder. Heather had Johnny Cakes and coffee milk. For desert we split a fried fluffer nutter and banana sandwich. The waitresses here knew that we like a few other customers had seen the show and they were really pitching some of the featured foods.

After leaving the diner we headed took a drive through Roger Williams Park. This place reminded me of Van Saun Park. There were a few ponds and some statues scattered about. But it seemed like a a place to park the car and stay in one general area or ride a bike through. With the skies being gray and the air being cold we decided to just drive through. Heather did get out a few times to snap some pictures.

After the park we headed north to down city Providence and drove around. Never came across any place to get out and walk around. So we headed in to the Dunkin Donuts Center. On the way in I realized that the batteries for my camera were still in the truck, so we had to turn back. I guess it is not as bad as leaving your purse in the arena.

The P-Bruins game was a near sell out crowd with a lot of kids in attendance. The atmosphere as well as our seats were much better than they were in Manchester. The arena has been renovated in the last few years and looked pretty nice. It looks like a scaled down version of the Nassau Coliseum. If that building is ever renovated they might want to take a look at Providence for ideas.

The game ended in overtime with the Monarchs winning for the second time in two days with us in attendance. After the game it was time to drop Heather off at the bus and head back to Boston. Tomorrow it is back to Marlborough for me and than home to New York.

Thanks for following along with our road trip adventures. We might be back at it in two weeks.

Brian

Dorchester, MA

First leg of our New England trek

Well yesterday was a long day. Brian did all of the driving while I was having fun taking, or a least attempting to take, pictures documenting our drive. We passed through Connecticut, Rhode Island, and then into Massachusetts. First stop was Brian's first alma matter, Dean College. I had fun driving and walking around campus while Brian recounted his time there. Then it was off to Boston to meet up with Danny. Time started getting away from us and we missed brunch at the Beehive but went to this diner that has Brittany Spears on their menus. Hanging out in Boston was fun but it was soon time leave and head for the hockey game.

An hour drive up I-93 led us into New Hampshire and to our final destination of the night...Manchester. The game was fun. The Manchester Monarchs beat the Adirondack Phantoms 4-3. For the first time ever I caught a t-shirt and in doing so apparently really pissed-off the woman in front of us...Oh well. The night was almost a disaster as I realized after leaving the arena that I left my purse at my seat AHHHHH! Luckily I was able to run back in and found it right where I left it. Although I think I may have shaved at least 5 years off my life. Once I could breath again, we headed to the Red Arrow Diner featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. We even got to sit at the counter where Guy sat. The food was good but not as good as we thought it would be. The Dinah Fingers aka homemade Twinkies were delish.

After a good nights sleep back in Boston we are about to head down to Providence. Can't wait for my Coffee Milk :-)

Heather

Dorchester, MA

New England Here We Come!

Tomorrow we point the Expedition north and head for Massachusetts. The preliminary itinerary includes a stop in Franklin, MA to give Heather a quick tour of Dean College. Then it is off to Boston for lunch and jazz with Danny at the Beehive. The day concludes with a stop in Manchester, NH to check off another Diners, Drive Ins & Dives location (Red Arrow Diner). Also on the slate in the Granite State is a visit to Verizon Wireless Arena to watch the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL and add them to my list.

Sunday we plan to spend the day in Providence, RI seeing some of the sights and taking some pictures. We plan to eat at the Liberty Elm Diner. This is another Triple D selection. Heather has been insisting that we go since she saw that they have coffee milk, a Rhode Island specialty. Our weekend concludes with a Providence Bruins game at the Dunkin Donuts Center on Sunday evening. Then Heather will head back to New York while I head back to Boston to prep for Nationals on Monday and Tuesday.

Pictures and stories to follow.

The Travel Blog

We've decided to start a blog to chronicle our road trip adventures. If you are reading this, then you must be at least slightly interested in our stories. Hopefully our tales can captivate you enough for a return visit. We welcome any comments with suggestions on some sights to see. Invitations for a free place to stay are always welcome as well.

Brian & Heather

Long Island, NY