But because of the hectic first few days of the trip including our arrival in Boston after 1 in the morning, I let them sleep in thus cutting our activities a little short.  Lunch, the NBA store, Lego store, Rockefeller Center, NBC store and back to the Yankee shop provided the Manhattan excitement before leaving four hours early for the Bronx to begin our search for tickets for Tuesday night's game against the Rangers.

I have tried to let the boys know what goes on in this city, especially on the subways so that they would be prepared.  One fellow didn't disappoint when he hopped into the crowded subway car to announce that "folks, I am not going to lie to you.  I got out of prison just a few months ago and am homeless with no job.  I try to take care of myself by keeping my clothes clean, taking showers and shaving so I don't look or smell like the usual bum on the street.  But I need help.  I need some food. If there is anyway you can help me…blah, blah, blah."  As we exited the train Logan tells me that the guy scared him and I told him he didn't need to be scared because that's just how some people beg for money in NYC.  His observation was that "he could have left out the part about being in prison."  We'll suggest that if he hops our train today.

The next "highlight" for us was the ticket search.  Holy cow!  It is a bit different here.  We established relationships with a number of fine middlemen.  At one point there was a bit of a tiff between two over whose client we had become.  Many promises were made but none kept.  This is where my over twenty years of working with investment managers came in handy.  Overpromise and underperform.  How many do you need?  How much do you want to spend?  Where do you want to sit?  Go down there, stand in front of that abandoned bowling alley (pictures included here) and someone will meet you there with tickets for section 214, row 3.  I ask when.  He looks at my watch and says, "five minutes after the big hand is on that little dot at the bottom of your watch."  We do this stuff for about 90 minutes and then get a new appointment at 5:30.  Enough time to eat and have Logan clothesline himself on the handicap rail at the restaurant entrance…tough guy I learned after watching his head snap and the restaurant personnel rush to his aid.  But he shook it off.

We're back at the abandoned bowling alley at 5:15 and meet Joel.  He's waiting for clearance to sell certain seats.  Apparently what happens here is most people now dispose of their extra tickets through Stub Hub which gives them control.  At a certain time before the game, Stub Hub will "release" tickets to middlemen like our new guy Joel.  Because buyers from Stub Hub can print the ticket online, the sale of the actual ticket on the street must be coordinated because it will be voided if an online version is produced.  You can get to the gate with a real ticket and not be allowed in.  So, as nearly 6 pm rolls around it is not looking good, I seek Joel's professional advice and he says the market looks very tight for the evening and I should take what he has, field level 11 rows back down the right field foul line.

So why WOW?  The New Yankee Stadium is a WOW.  We were in Wrigley Field just days ago where even game and player information is almost non-existent, the seats are tight and not well positioned and now we are in this state of the art palace.  Then at Fenway larger people could not walk straight down our aisle.  They had to move sideways.  The cushion on our seats was just short of the depth of my iphone.  Four inches of space between my knees and the seat in front of me.  Seats angled towards the playing field so the boys end up with their best view of a game so far even though we were 250 feet from home plate.  A gigantic HD display that is hard to believe for an old folk like me.  It is an amazing facility and clearly worth the billion dollars.  And at $5 for a bottle of water, $9 for nachos and $6.50 for a cup of ice cream (I think I saw $9.50 on the beer), it should be paid for by the end of this first season.

We saw the usual Yankee Stadium purist traditions of no "National Anthem of the Day Singer" but rather the recorded Marine Corp Band version, no pre-game hoopla, no names on the jerseys, the traditional and unique method of introducing players and the not so traditional (and my favorite) of the ground crew performing "YMCA" while they groom the field .  We had five home runs in front of us, defensive plays, a manager ejection, foul ball action, the boys getting to stand at the rail and watch batting practice and inning warm ups while hoping for a ball to come their way and an epic battle between Ryan, diving over a row of seats to try to capture a ball, and a bully adult who out fought him for the prize.  Despite crowd and buddy pressure, the guy did not cave and kept the ball for himself.  Ryan's physical injuries were only slight but who knows what the long-term emotional toll might be.  I have the guy's pictures.  We will find him.

Oh yeah.  The final score was Angels 10 Yankees 2.  Back to the Palace today.