In keeping with the staycation theme, you might want to consider jet setting somewhere local and checking out your hometown's baseball team in action. The weather is perfect this time of year to go to a game, watch some ball, eat some junk food, maybe also check out a new area you haven't been to yet, and do something as American as apple pie! We got some tickets this past Saturday to check out the
New York Mets play the
Washington Nationals at
Citi Field (the new Shea Stadium)...and so that's exactly what we did!
My husband's sister Maura, her boyfriend, Andrew, Rich and I went to see a Saturday afternoon game. While I am really a Yankee fan at heart, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to hang out with family on a beautiful day and watch some baseball on what was the last official weekend of summer! :-(
We drove to Citi Field (short trip from NYC- you can also take the #7 train which is so easy) and had to pay $18 for parking. I thought that was a little crazy, but what could I do? At first glance, I have to say that Citi Field reminds me a lot of Phillies Stadium (where the Phillies play in Philadelphia). It's new and beautiful...but it also is built out of brick and so it has that "old school" feeling to it which is really cool.
Once inside the stadium, it's completely open...so it almost feels as if there couldn't be a bad seat in the house. We grabbed some sausage, pepper & onion heros, a few beers and watched some great baseball. In addition to the usual junk food stands, Citi Field has a
Blue Smoke restaurant (great bbq) and a
Shake Shack (awesome burgers, fries, & yes, shakes)...but the lines were ridiculously long...so we went with the sausage and were good with that. The Mets wound up beating the Nationals 3-2! It was so much fun!
Afterwards, we drove to Sunnyside, Queens...just a short 2 miles from the ball park. Sunnyside is often referred to as the "unrecognized star" of western Queens...and it truly is a star in terms of neighborhoods within the five boroughs of New York City. It's so close to Manhattan (15 minutes on the #7 train), has a lot of six-story buildings & quaint little homes, and a good number of restaurants, bars and shops.
We met up with Rich's cousin Kerry, her husband, Antoin, and their adorably cute 11-month-old son, Kieran. We all had some drinks and a nice cheese plate at this great wine bar called
Claret on Skillman Avenue.
What I realized most about this day is that you don't have to travel far to have a great time. Odds are...there are so many great neighborhoods right in your own backyard waiting to be discovered. This weekend...Sunnyside, Queens was waiting to be found and experienced...where should I go next?
{Photos:
About,
Forgotten-NY,
Claret}
My husband's sister Maura, her boyfriend, Andrew, Rich and I went to see a Saturday afternoon game. While I am really a Yankee fan at heart, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to hang out with family on a beautiful day and watch some baseball on what was the last official weekend of summer! :-(
We drove to Citi Field (short trip from NYC- you can also take the #7 train which is so easy) and had to pay $18 for parking. I thought that was a little crazy, but what could I do? At first glance, I have to say that Citi Field reminds me a lot of Phillies Stadium (where the Phillies play in Philadelphia). It's new and beautiful...but it also is built out of brick and so it has that "old school" feeling to it which is really cool.
Once inside the stadium, it's completely open...so it almost feels as if there couldn't be a bad seat in the house. We grabbed some sausage, pepper & onion heros, a few beers and watched some great baseball. In addition to the usual junk food stands, Citi Field has a Blue Smoke restaurant (great bbq) and a Shake Shack (awesome burgers, fries, & yes, shakes)...but the lines were ridiculously long...so we went with the sausage and were good with that. The Mets wound up beating the Nationals 3-2! It was so much fun!
Afterwards, we drove to Sunnyside, Queens...just a short 2 miles from the ball park. Sunnyside is often referred to as the "unrecognized star" of western Queens...and it truly is a star in terms of neighborhoods within the five boroughs of New York City. It's so close to Manhattan (15 minutes on the #7 train), has a lot of six-story buildings & quaint little homes, and a good number of restaurants, bars and shops.
We met up with Rich's cousin Kerry, her husband, Antoin, and their adorably cute 11-month-old son, Kieran. We all had some drinks and a nice cheese plate at this great wine bar called Claret on Skillman Avenue.
What I realized most about this day is that you don't have to travel far to have a great time. Odds are...there are so many great neighborhoods right in your own backyard waiting to be discovered. This weekend...Sunnyside, Queens was waiting to be found and experienced...where should I go next?
Sunnyside is such a great town. I lived there for almost my entire life and even in more recent years it's really become a hip place to live and eat. It's my home away from home and a great alternative to living in the city since its literally 3 stops from Grand Central! Thanks for featuring my home town!
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