As you might recall, Drew and I are Mets fans …just look at the covers we use on our furniture to keep the cats from scratching. But a visit to Citi Field is expensive, so we make the trip only once or twice a season.
But, as you also know, we are also fans of the Long Island Ducks. They play in the an Atlantic League, an independent league that “partners “ with Major League Baseball. Their home venue has gone through several name changes, and is currently known as Fairfield Properties Park.
While the fundamentals are the same, seeing a game in a 6,000-seat ballpark is different from watching a game in a major league stadium. The ballpark’s technology is less sophisticated, but the fans in the stands are all pretty close to the action.
We had tickets for July 4, the Ducks vs. the Charleston Dirty Birds. And it was fireworks night.
Our usual routine: we arrive before the gates open. As soon as we go inside we head over to the Waddle In Shop, where Drew gets his scorecard and we both buy tickets for the 50-50 raffle. Drew likes to take a photo of the white board where the starting line up’s are listed.
We sit in the upper deck, behind home plate.
First time in a long time I’ve seen the place at capacity.
Sitting upstairs gives us access to the Duck Club, the bar/restaurant. The food is much better than at the concession stands downstairs (also more expensive), and they have a gluten-free menu. I had a hot dog on a gluten-free bun.
The Ducks present fireworks after the game several times during the season. On fireworks night you can anticipate (1) red rockets during a certain line in “The Star Spangled Banner”; (2) a short burst of fireworks at the end of the 7th inning stretch; and (3) a short burst of fireworks if any of the Ducks hit a home run. We experienced all three on the 4th.
But this was the 4th of July … owning and using fireworks is illegal in New York unless you’re running a professional pyrotechnic company, but since fireworks are easily obtainable outside of New York … The skies around the ballpark lit up as soon as it started to get dark — around the 6th inning,
Very distracting for the crowd. I can’t imagine trying to actually play a ball game with that going on.
Finally the game was over (Ducks won!) and it was time for the professional fireworks to begin.
If you go to the 3 minute mark and look at the bottom left corner you will see fireworks that aren’t part of the professional show.
We came home to two cats who were more skittish and clingy than usual. Can’t imagine why.
The Ducks vs the Dirty Birds? Were feathers everywhere?
It sounded like a war zone around my place with various places doing professional displays and others using illegal fireworks (illegal in my city, but neighboring cities it isn't). The animals definitely do not like this holiday.
So you should know that I am not a “shopper”. I live in shopping mall heaven — I’m ten minutes from the Broadway Mall, 15 from Roosevelt Field and 25 from Whitman Shoppes — but I seldom go to the mall. I prefer to shop on line. And when I do venture into a store, I usually know what I want and buy it as quickly as possible. I’m not one to browse through stores just to see what’s for sale. There’s a local chain, Baked By Melissa , that specializes in mini cupcakes. They’re primarily in Manhattan. A few years ago Becca introduced me to their product - delicate little cakes, exquisitely decorated, very tasty. I walk past their shop on 7th Avenue whenever we go to the theater. Well, last week I remembered that they used to have a second shop on 7th, right next to the original shop, but selling gluten-free versions of all their cupcakes. The gluten-free shop closed, but the company continues to make a gluten-free version of their product. So I thought that gluten-free cupcakes wou
Another “your choice” week. How about new music from icons of the 60’s and 70’s? Let’s start with Jimmy Buffett’s posthumous hit, “Bubbles Up”. The Rolling Stones released a new song in 2023, it’s called “Angry”. The surviving Beatles (with some help from AI) released “Now and Then”. And then Billy Joel … The AI effects in the video blew me away… A note about the AI effects … the Beatles used it to isolate John’s vocals on an old demo. Billy Joel had a young man play the piano then superimposed his own face onto the image of the younger man.
thanks to suzanne , I decided to join the party. I got into blogging last year because of Suzanne. I've known her on message boards for awhile, but I've gotten to know her much better since entering the blogosphere. I've also met several others whose blogs I am starting to love, and look forward to meeting even more bloggers now that I've joined the party. So I guess that means I have to introduce myself. I am a single mom from Long Island. My older daughter, Jen, is a college freshman, going to school in New England. Younger daughter, Becca, is a high school junior. I am also an attorney with an insurance company, with offices in Jersey City, NJ, a really "wonderful" commute. I sit on the board of trustees at my synagogue (which means I do a lot of volunteer work there!), and I am active in various fundraisers for the American Cancer Society, currently planning for this year's Relay for Life. I like ot take photos, so you'll see many of them in
The Ducks vs the Dirty Birds? Were feathers everywhere?
ReplyDeleteIt sounded like a war zone around my place with various places doing professional displays and others using illegal fireworks (illegal in my city, but neighboring cities it isn't). The animals definitely do not like this holiday.
The Ducks….the Dirty Birds …the Ferryhawks ….three feathery teams. Yeah, we have some interesting names in that league…
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