Surreal moment of the trip, a moment of Being one would say -- Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" came on the radio as I was pulling onto the section of the highway where you can see the New York skyline as you drive in the NJ Turnpike towards Giants Stadium. The sun was just coming down, so it created this late day haze, the temperature was cooling off, the windows were open in the car, and everything, at that very second felt 100% perfect. Life is made of those moments, I just haven't been good at seeking those moments out lately. They don't happen when you're in bed or your motivation murders you and keeps you from exploring this amazing country. I wish everyone in the world felt like I did for those 5 minutes.
From beauty to garbage. Giants Stadium is a humungous pile of concrete shit. It's a hell-hole. It's dark and dingy, old and crusty. I was pumped too, I was in a great mood thanks to Billy Joel and the fact that I was at my first MLS game, but this stadium -- seriously -- is a disaster.
...Ralph was hating Giants Stadium too. The only positive, not a trace of the Jets anywhere in the building.
Structure issues aside, in the parking lot kids were kicking around the soccer ball with their friends or with their Dad. This was life-assuring to me! There ARE Americans like me out there who appreciate the beautiful game. They celebrate it, and kicking a soccer ball on concrete isn't the easiest thing in the world, but kids were doing it ALL OVER THE PLACE! I just chilled for a little while with the windows open, smelling the charcoal, watching kids kick it around and loving the energy in the pre-game tailgate.
The game was fairly dull. The only goal came early, a nobody defender knocked in a header from a corner in the sixteenth minute and that was it. Red Bulls won 1-0 over FC Dallas.
After the game I still had energy from my sleeping in that morning so I rode the Lincoln Tunnel into the city. Saturday night, 10 PM, Manhattan......Ummm, not a great plan. I don't know that there was a place anywhere in the world at that moment where parking would be at more of a premium than the Times Square/Broadway area of New York City. And there I was, looking to park and walk. Didn't happen. So, I just drove around, listened to some Jay-Z with the windows open, pissed off some cabbies, and headed back to the hotel disappointed in my lack of finding parking in the city. I took my sleeping pills and forgot all about it within 10 minutes of pill time.
That was New York. On to Philly tomorrow....And check out what I was driving all weekend:
...Ralph is SUPER eco-friendly, rocking the Prius and loving every minute of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment