Going to a Met game is not supposed to be an all-day activity but yesterday it was. The Met-Phillies game started at 1:10. As happens too often I wanted to get there early but dilly-dallied for 20 minutes longer than I wanted to. That still gave me time to spare but when I ran out I forgot to bring sunblock and a sun hat. That is not as dire as it sounds as in the upper deck you can usually sit where you want instead of your assigned seats. Alan and I pretty much never sit where he has his season tickets. We sit behind the plate which does not have an obstructed view. I went further back than usual so we’d be in the shade. Somehow my thighs just above my knees got sunburned but nowhere else. I don’t think you can get a sunburn through the subway window, glass blocks UV but it had to happen while I was seated as it’s only that one spot which is faces the sun when seated. It is a mystery.
They don’t let you bring a water bottle, but I thought that wouldn’t be a problem. Citi Field like many sports venues gives you a free soda if you are a licensed driver and promise to not drink alcohol. I always take advantage of that. My plan was to drink the soda then fill the cup with water. As I didn’t get there early like I planned I didn’t walk around field level and went straight to the Promenade, the upper level. There’s a food court behind home plate, convenient for where we sit, where they set up the stand where they give you the coupon for your free drink. As everything is paperless this season it’s now an e-coupon. I went to where the booth is on the upper level, and it wasn’t here. I asked and found out that it is now only on the field level. My first game I got it there. I would have had to go back to the field level, then back up to the upper level, and probably miss the first pitch if I wanted my free drink. I decided to forgo it, but I lodged a complaint. They could have at least posted on field level warning you of that. I expected better of the new management. Under Wilpon and even Doubleday they would deliberately avoid giving amenities on the upper level. The one that got me the most upset was that on field level if you ordered a hot dog you could get cheese on it. You couldn’t on the upper level even though they had the cheese there for cheese fries. When I asked why I was told it was because they wanted people to have it worse in the upper levels. The fact that you could see the game better from the good seats was not considered enough of an inducement. When they built Citi Field they made access to the upper deck difficult. There are four small elevators that you often have a long wait for. There are escalators but to get to them you have to walk to the outfield corners as far as possible for the main entrance near the subway. The only other option is stairs. As I mentioned earlier, many of the seats on the upper level have obstructed views though they won’t admit that. I expected better of the new ownership, and I still do. They just reopened the stadium to full crowds, and they are still learning. I was told that there were many complaints. We’ll see if they fix it before my next game next homestand. For water I used he water fountain halfway through the game. The feels like temperature was over 90ºF. Today it might hit 100.
The Mets lost; I must be a curse. I still had fun at the game. On the first two plays Met outfielders made great diving catches. Kevin Pillar hit a long home run. I just found out that he’s Jewish and had a bar mitzvah. I’m surprised I hadn’t heard about that before. You usually hear when an athlete is Jewish in New York.
Now for the adventure going home. It should be simple the 7 train to the D train. It takes a about an hour and ten minutes. The 7 is great, they have what they call a super express waiting for the crowd when the game is over. We breezed to 5th avenue where I switched to the D. At 125th street they told us to the train was going out of service and to wait for the next one. I got on the next one and it stopped between stations. Then when we go to the next stop, 145th street we had to get off again. There was no explanation given. I checked my MTA app and saw that there was smoke at the Bedford Park Station, and all trains were stopping at 145th street. If it went up to 161st street I could have switched to the 4, not as convenient but not that far from my house. But it didn’t Nobody told us what to do. Finally cops came down and said we should switch to the BX 19 bus. I asked about paying for it and he said that I should ask at the booth for a transfer slip. One problem, there is no booth at the end of the train I was at and no signs where to find the BX 19. While I was trying to figure out what to do I saw the top of a head I recognized. It belonged to Mark; his wife Beth was with him. I just saw Beth last Sunday at the porch concert. The stop is not just near where they live, I was standing right in front of the new music venue they are opening, The Porch. I had no idea they were opening a venue. I talked to them for a while, the only good part of the long trek home, and Mark told me where I could get the bus. It was near the other entrance of the subway, the one with manned booths, so I got my transfer.
When I got to the bus stop there was a huge crowd. Of course, there was as everyone that wanted to go to the Bronx was headed to the bus. I decided that I’d walk to the 4 train. The walk was a bit more than a mile. I like walking across new bridges, and I have never walked the 145th street bridge before. The 4 station is in the Bronx, I had to cross the Harlem river. I got the station went down the stairs, and saw that there was no booth there, so nobody to let me in with my transfer. There were cops. One told me to up the stairs and cross the street, that entrance was manned. I asked him which street, 145th street or Grand Concourse. He said, Just go straight up the stairs, then when I pressed him on which street to cross he said 145th street. You know where this is going. There was no entrance across 125th street. I had to cross grand concourse and then 145th street again. When I got down there I saw there was a 14-minute wait for the next train. I waited, what else could I do. It was a zillion degrees in the station and I really could have used some water. The train comes and there was a hard to hear announcement that it was running express part of the way. Somebody told me that it was until 167th street, that’s no problem for me. That person heard wrong. It went local all the way to Fordham Road and then went express, skipping only three stops, but one of them was mine. Arggh. I had to then switch to a downtown train to get home. Instead of taking two trains and a two-block walk, I took five trains and walked over a mile. It took me three and a half hours to get home. I was hot and sticky, so I made myself an ice cream soda.
I remembered to put the AC in the living room window last night and this morning I sealed it. I still have to do my bedroom. I’ll probably end up doing that when I go to bed. Let’s see how long I can last before I turn the AC on. It’s already 87º outside but it’s not that bad inside yet. Great, it just went up to 88º in the time it took me to finish that sentence. Time for breakfast now. I’m glad I have ice coffee prepared. I’m an idiot but some things I get right.
Wise Madness 