Central Park (July 22, 1 p.m.)

After lunch at Times Square we walked over to the bike rental shop located a block or two from Central Park. We rented our bikes and then walked over to the park to begin our ride.



According to Wikipedia, Central Park gets over 25 million visitors each year. The park was built in 1857 and although it experienced periods of progress and decline, today it’s a beautiful natural getaway right smack in the middle of Manhattan. It occupies 843 acres and is 2.5 miles long and 0.5 miles wide. One fact I found interesting is that although the park appears to be natural, it is entirely landscaped. It takes about $25 million a year to keep this park in operation…but I guess that’s not a lot of money when you consider the real estate value was appraised at $529 billion in 2005.

After cruising around the busy and noisy city, the natural beauty and quietness of the park was a welcomed relief. I couldn’t help but wonder what this park looks like in the autumn. I did a quick Google image search of Central Park in autumn and I would like to go back with Stacey sometime during this season. It is spectacular. I’m sure there are a lot of other places that are just as pretty but I don’t think you’ll find something quite as unique as this setting.




We rode up the east side of the park and stopped at the various areas along the way. We passed the lake, the great lawn, a castle, the boat house area and eventually made our way up to the reservoir. I really liked the mall (the large walking area lined by huge trees), the castle, the great lawn and the boat house, and the reservoir…oh, wait…that was pretty much everything we saw. There were people all around but it wasn’t too crowded since it was midday Thursday. I would guess the park gets pretty busy on the weekend during the warmer months. We saw people painting, playing baseball, getting a tan, jogging, biking, playing soccer, rowing boats, playing music, etc – pretty much everything. If I lived in Manhattan I think I would end up spending a lot of time at Central Park.




After our 2 hour casual ride through the park we headed back to the hotel in New Jersey. We needed a little bit of a rest from our big day before the Spurs - New York game later that night.

Times Square (July 22, 11 a.m.)

After walking around the Rockefeller Center we headed over to Central Park. We took a quick detour to see Times Square, however. This is another famous landmark everyone has seen on television - so the few extra blocks were worth the walk. We walked down Broadway all the way to the main plaza where the masses gather for New Year's Eve. The Waterford Crystal ball was still there, at the bottom of the pole, with the year 2010 illuminated. The naked cowboy was nowhere to be seen while we were there. With the exception of the lights, the jumbo trons, the famous setting, the shows, and the mass of activity, there really isn't a lot else to see. We ate lunch there, but otherwise it's probably only worth an hour "experience" just to see it.



One of the highlights of this destination was the jumbo tron on One Times Square (the building where the ball drops for New Year's Eve). As we were standing below it an advertisement for Fox Soccer Channel and the New York Football Challenge was shown. The advertisement for the New York Red Bull and Tottenham Hotspur game featured none other than Danny Rose's rocket goal against Arsenal from April of this year. I thought it was great that they were showing this memorable highlight in the middle of Times Square in New York. For those who aren't familiar with the background of this goal, it was scored by 18 year old Rose 9 minutes into his Premier League and Tottenham debut against Arsenal, our arch rivals. In addition, it was the first goal in a stretch of 3-4 important games that in the end, essentially qualified us for the Champions League this coming season.



Along the route from Times Square to the Central Park bike shop is the Late Show with David Letterman building. We popped off a few pictures of the marquis and made our way over to the bike rental shop.

Rockefeller Center (July 22, 9 a.m.)

After walking around Grand Central we hit the sidewalks and walked uptown a few blocks to Rockefeller Center. This area in midtown Manhattan has many recognizable areas because of the television shows that broadcast from the area.

The main building, the GE building (formerly known as the RCA building), is well known for housing the headquarters of NBC and the New York facilities of NBC studios. One of the building's nicknames is 30 Rock - short for its address of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. It's 70 stories tall making it the 9th tallest building in New York City and the 32nd tallest in the United States. Construction was completed in 1933 as part of the larger Rockefeller Center project.

Here's a short list of the shows/recognizable areas at 30 Rock and the Rockefeller Center:

The Today Show (from 10 Rockefeller Plaza), NBC Nightly News, Dateline NBC, MSNBC, Saturday Night Love, 30 Rock, former home of the Tonight Show (now in L.A.), Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Football Night in America, NBC Sportsdesk. It is the former home of Late Night with David Letterman. It's also the headquarters of the Bravo, Oxygen, Universal HD, and USA networks and the site of the famous Radio City Music Hall.

30 Rock was the site of the famous photograph Lunchtime Atop A Skyscraper. However, to most Americans, this area is most recognized by what happens outside. More specifically, at the base of 30 Rock is the site of the famed annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and ice rink.

We toured the Center and the famous sights after our trip to the top of 30 Rock. One of the main attractions is the Top of the Rock - the observation deck that boasts the best panoramic view of the city. You name it, you can see it from this 360 degree observation deck. The observation deck is lined by a very high Plexiglas wall but I did not like being too close to the edge. Images of 9/11 and falling off the building were enough to make me venture near the edge of the 70th floor only to take pictures. The most prominent views from here are of the Empire State Building and Central Park.



After we had gone to the Top of Rock we ventured down into the lobby area at the bottom of the building. There are shops and other things at this level - i.e it's a public area. As we were walking out I looked up and made eye-contact with a woman. We exchanged smiles and after we passed it hit me that I had just passed someone famous. It was none other then Meredith Vieira from the Today Show, of course, with a body guard. I nudged my dad who caught up with her to take a picture. When she stopped I asked if we could take a photo together. She was extremely nice and very friendly - not at all put out by my request. One other couple followed suit, but other then that I think every one else just missed her.



The views from the observation deck, seeing the locations I've seen countless times on television, and getting my picture taken with someone famous all added up to a pretty good Thursday morning.

Grand Central (July 22, 8 a.m.)

On Wednesday night we arrived at the Newark airport after a full day's worth of travel. Our flight was supposed to leave Colorado Springs at 6 am, so it was an early morning. At the airport we were delayed due to a mechanical issue but eventually we left on that same aircraft around an hour later then planned. Due to the delay, we missed our connecting flight in Dallas to Newark. It wasn't a big issue except that it meant we arrived later then expected. We checked into the hotel and bought some groceries and then went to bed.

We got up early on Thursday and headed to Manhattan on the Path (train). It was good that I had printed out street and subway maps because they helped a lot. The Path left Newark-Penn Station in Newark, New Jersey and made its way to Manhattan. The train went under the Hudson river to get to New York from New Jersey and stopped at its final destination, World Trade Center Station.

We walked a couple of blocks and hit the Starbucks I had found on Google Maps along the way. Then, it was up to Grand Central Terminal. Our eventual destination via the subway was Rockefeller Plaza, but I wanted to arrive a few blocks away in Grand Central just so we could see it. The great thing about the subway is that it's hard to get lost. Just hop on and check the map to see which way it's going. If the next stop isn't the right direction you can just get off and cross the tracks and hop on the next one going the opposite direction.

We arrived in a relatively short amount of time. Talk about a lot of people. I've been to intersections where there were more people (Tokyo), but this was still fun to see. The terminal is beautiful. Very classy looking. Wikipedia:

Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heyday of American long-distance passenger trains, it is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms: 44, with 67 tracks along them. They are on two levels, both below ground, with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower, though the total number of tracks along platforms and in rail yards exceeds 100. The terminal covers an area of 48 acres. Although it's maintained various forms, this station has operated as a "train station" since October 1871.

Although it's function is practical, it's one of many iconic images of New York City. The rest of the terminal has a market, shops, underground restaurants (the famous Oyster Bar - the oldest business in the terminal), etc. The clock in the center of the terminal is one image I'm sure you've all seen before. I'm glad we took the scenic route. We could have easily gone directly to Rockefeller Plaza but Grand Central was definitely worth the extra 15 minute walk.

Hawaii Five-Oh Snap!

Since Stacey returned home Julia has been packing a suitcase for her own Hawaiian vacation. Actually, Julia has been using the same suitcase that Stacey used for her trip just with her stuff. Her little imagination is very good and very cute. She's been playing with the camera and then saying "cute" after she takes a pretend picture and looks at the back display...as if she's satisfied with the digital photo. She has all kinds of pretend items in her suitcase along with piles of actual things she's packed for her big trip. In fact, she's thrown in so many toys, animals, stuff, etc, that it's full.

This morning, while getting ready for work, Julia and I talked about her trip to Hawaii. She's planning on taking an airplane (good idea) to get to her destination. All that talk this morning continued into the kitchen downstairs before breakfast. I gave Stacey that "look" and told her that Julia was going to Hawaii (wink wink). Julia chimed in and told Stacey that she AND Dadda were going to Hawaii together. Naturally, Stacey asked Julia if she was going on the trip too. Julia, who was standing next to Stacey at this point, looked up at Stacey and gave her a patronizing (yet cute and sweet) smile. She gave Stacey a nice hug on the leg and while looking up at her just said "sorry".

Hawaii Five-Oh Snap! You've just been told by a 2.5 year old! Stacey just stood there with her mouth agape while I laughed hysterically.

Hawaii Trip

Stacey and Jonathan returned from their week-long work trip to Hawaii today. It was good for her to reconnect with Mario, Susie, Julie, and the rest of the crew.

Julia and I met them at the airport. The airport meeting was pretty cute. I was holding Julia when she saw Stacey. She let out a little squeal, I put her down, and she took off sprinting down the terminal yelling "mommy mommy mommy" until she and Stacey were able to give each other a big hug.

During the trip Jonathan had started smiling at Stacey and others. When we sat down at the baggage claim I held him for the first time since he started interacting with others. He kept smiling at me over and over again. It was pretty funny to see his cheeseball grin.

Julia was in a very good mood and very happy to have her momma back. Actually, we all are!

The Last Thing You Want To Hear...

...when your daughter returns from the zoo. "Oh, my ni-night (blanket) smells like monkeys"! That's got to be pretty high on the list at the very least.

UPDATE: APPARENTLY, NEITHER JULIA NOR HER NI-NIGHT ACTUALLY WENT INSIDE THE MONKEY HOUSE THIS TIME. SHE HAS BEEN IN THERE BEFORE THOUGH. IN FACT, NI-NIGHT DIDN'T EVEN GO INTO THE ZOO. I THINK THAT MAKES THIS COMMENT BY JULIA EVEN MORE FUNNY AND THE SMELL ON HER BLANKET EVEN MORE ENIGMATIC.

The Dad Life

This is how I roll.

Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo.

Speaking Of...

Speaking of club football (in my previous post), a week from tomorrow my Dad and I leave for New York City to watch Spurs play the New York Red Bulls and Manchester City play Sporting Lisbon. I'm excited. Of course, we're going to do a little sightseeing on the side too. I should be able to see and take some great pictures of the city and it's most famous landmarks in addition to my favorite players.

UPDATE: Just read that Thierry Henry has signed for the NYRB and will be making his USA debut in the friendly against Spurs! This game should be allsome.

World Cup 2010 Review

Well, the World Cup is finally over. Congrats to Spain for winning their first World Cup and becoming only the 8th country to do so. They were by far the best team in the tournament and deserved to win. In sports it's good to see the best team win because it doesn't always happen.

However, even though Spain was the best team, the manner in which they won is a current topic of discussion. A few posts ago I mentioned that I just couldn't stand to watch Spain play. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who feels this way. The issue is this: watching a game that Spain plays in is completely devoid of entertainment. Let me be clear that I think Spain are the most technically skilled team in the world and the most difficult to beat. However, just because each player is extremely talented and Spain play a great passing game doesn't mean they play a beautiful, entertaining, or competitive game. To put it bluntly, Spain were so good in possession that they were completely able to kill off the game and the opposition's strengths in every match...making it a one-sided affair. Every Spain match in the knockout round turned into a "half court" game where Spain passed the ball 5 yards in every direction until they were finally able to break down the opposition after an hour of play, winning all games 1-0. From a skill and technique perspective it was a great showing, but from an entertainment perspective it was like watching paint dry. In the 7 games en route to winning the final, Spain scored 8 goals and conceded 2. It was so predictable that I called exactly how the final would go Friday at work. I was going to make a post on Saturday explaining what I thought would happen - and now I wish I did. Basically, I knew it was going to be a repeat of the previous games and the Dutch were going to try to hack them to death and take their chances on the counter attack. Many people involved in the sport have referred to the final as "boring", "lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig", "disgraceful", "terrible", etc. Point is, although deserved winners, Spain failed to entertain as did many other teams in this tournament. I considered not even watching the final if the score was 0-0 or 1-0 (I would have had to ask someone) because I had already seen this same game 3 other times in previous rounds.

So, was this tournament a success? I think that depends on what you're asking about. From an entertainment standpoint, no. The semifinals were similiarly poor games like the final. The quarterfinals had some great moments/games, but the tournament was largely void of any major stories on the pitch. Thanks to a great meaningless third place game, we avoided this tournament setting the record of being the lowest scoring in history. We just barely passed that mark...by about 3 goals I think. So, it was the second lowest scoring tournament in history. If an A is a great tournament and a B is good and what's expected, I'd probably give it a C. I'm kind of glad it's over. I'll give the country of South Africa and ESPN an A. I'm surprised the country actually pulled this off with no real issues. ESPN threw everything at this tournament and did a great job covering it, broadcasting in HD, having skilled analysts provide commentary, and did a great job boosting the numbers in this country. As far as the USA is concerned, I'll give them a B. I didn't think they were going to get out of their group - or at least is was going to be very close and they were going to miss out. Well, I guess I was 3 minutes away from getting that right. What a great ending to a game though - 3rd to 1st place with the scoring of 1 goal. That game was intense and from my perspective the best game of the tournament in terms of how excited I was afterwards. I felt like a deflated balloon though when all that momentum was lost a few days later against Ghana. When talking about the referees, I really think they did ok they just had some high profile, terrible misses. We need technology (in some form) to determine if the ball crossed the line. I think after 5 games, 2 yellows cards is way too low to merit an automatic ban in the next match. It's not even 1 every other game. I think this rule needs to be looked at, either we need to bump the number up to 3 or have them reset after the group stage. One of Germany's best players missed the match against Spain in the semifinals due to a weak second yellow card the game before. When talking about the fan base in this country, I think we really tuned in to see what was going on this time around. This has a lot to do with ESPN's coverage. Regardless, the numbers this time around don't lie. We consistently set records for the number of people that watched a soccer game in this country. I hope that is a positive thing and not a negative thing when you consider this tournament was far from perfect.

Euro 2008 and this World Cup has pretty much convinced me that the club football season is much more entertaining and a better demonstration of why this sport is the best and most popular in the world. Just like I mentioned a few weeks ago, it's like watching an Olympic team compete versus the NFL, NBA, etc. There are great things about a global, national competition. At the end of the day though, if I had to choose between the two, I'd choose club over country as a fan. I love both, but for different reasons. My involvement in club football though seems to have taken some of the shine off of the World Cup. It's probably ruined it a bit for me...."once you've seen the city you'll never go back to the farm" or so the saying goes. At the very least, if you do ever go back to the farm to visit, it just isn't going to be the same as it used to be.

Goodbye South Africa. Despite my complaints I'll still leave you with some great memories. See you all in Brazil in 4 years time.