Yankees Baby!

Boston has a deep abiding love for the New York Yankees and their current short stop, Derek Jeter.  Derek Jeter is retiring this year and we decided an early birthday gift was in order so Boston could see him play at Yankee stadium.  Taking the whole family to New York wasn't an option.  Thankfully, Eric was able to take a few days off work and enjoy some one-on-one time with Boston. 

Our good friend, James Hannum, is working and living in Jersey City and invited them to come stay with him and hang out.  He also has great connections for Yankee tickets.  James came through big time!

I dropped Boston and Eric off at the airport at 4:30 am to make their 6 am flight.  They arrived in NY at 11 am and jumped in a taxi to meet James.  Game time was 1 pm.  Cutting it close for sure.

From a taxi they jumped on the subway - planes, trains and automobiles for sure!

James bought this Babe Ruth jersey for Boston and he wore it with awe and pride.  Before the game started they hit up the snack counter.  What's a baseball game without hot dogs?!

Eric took a baseball officiating class in college (was told it would be an easy A) and got a D.  He didn't understand the game of baseball nor was he interested in learning about.  Boston has changed that perspective.  Because Boston loves baseball, Eric now likes baseball.  

Derek Jeter #2 in the position he has held since he became a Yankee back in 1992.

He got on base every time.  He's a class act on the field and off.

Boston was disappointed he didn't get Jeter's autograph and when Eric saw this bat, he knew it was just what the doctor ordered.  It's a genuine major league wooden bat that was engraved with Boston name, number and the date.  Pretty cool.  Although it did cause quite the ruckus at the airport when Eric tried to bring it on the airplane as a carry on.  They made him go back to check it in.  I guess it could be a weapon:)

James had to go to work the next day but Eric and Boston made the most of the day and hit up the sights.

This is the view of New York City from James' apartment in Jersey City.  Pretty sweet.

Eric asked Boston what he really wanted to see and  the Statue of Liberty made the list.

They toured Ellis Island as this is where Eric's grandparents and his mom passed through when they came to America from Denmark back in the 50s.

Wall Street - Bear Market

New York has it all - even dead animals curing in the window.

Eric loves the architecture in New York.

They tried out this bakery where each of these cookies cost $2.50.  Eric said they were terrible!  Crazy what yuppie ville will get for a lame cookie:)

They spent much of their day in China Town buying souvenirs and bartering.  They brought home a couple "I Love NY" t-shirts for the kids and scarves for me.

And they couldn't pass up the opportunity to take in the Jets vs. Giants game Friday night.  Eric played for the Jets many moons ago so this whole experience was surreal.

Sitting in the stands like the rest of the world does it:)

Boston came home on cloud 9 and couldn't wait to share his experience with us and give everyone their gifts.  This was a dream come true for him.  Let's hope the high lasts through September 20 when his actual birthday is.

Venturing Out

We have lived in Friendswood since June 1, 2014, and we haven't left the Houston area since then as a family.  A little get away was just what the doctor ordered.  We broke out our handy dandy Texas map and headed North and West to the Austin area.  It's about a 3 hour drive.  The climate in Austin is much dryer and hotter than Houston.  I felt like I was back in the dessert for a bit.  Jackson was our map guide and laid out the route.  I told Eric google maps works just as good and he said he wanted to do things the old fashioned way; that our kids needed to learn how to use a map.  He's onto to something there.

In our travels we came across this employment opportunity.  A $400 signing bonus sounds tempting...

Most of our stops revolved around food.  You wouldn't expect anything different from us.  Black's Barbecue is the oldest barbecue establishment around.  The boys were so impressed with their food they spent their 15 hard earned dollars for a t-shirt.  I put up a fight but Eric convinced them it was worth it.

Eric's platter of food before ...

And after.  He hated it.

We ran down this little ice cream man in Austin so the kids could taste what a real Mexican pop cycle tasted like.  They were quite impressed.  Even I was impressed with the pina colada flavor.

 Austin is very artsy with a Southern California vibe.  The kids kept saying how they felt like they were in California.  Just one major thing missing:(

 The city from Zikler Park where they hold concerts, people were picnicking, playing Frisbee and heading down to the river to float or kayak.

We hit up the food trucks and sampled just about everything from pizza, to hot dogs to Philly cheese steaks to our favorite, aebelskivers.

Kennedy was on her phone when she wasn't eating. I wonder who she was texting or whose instagram she was viewing?

This place lived up to its name - terrible.

 When I placed the abelskivers on the table, they were gone in 60 seconds.

We even walked across the street to try another pizza joint.  Very Pizza Huttish.

 More art

See it kind of looks like Pizza Hut pan square pizza and tastes like it too.

 Up and at 'em the next day dining at The Salt Lick in a little town called Driftwood, headed to the Alamo in San Antonio.  San Antonio is about an hour and half drive from Austin.  We like to pack it all in.

 This was my favorite meal as Kennedy and I shared a pulled pork sandwich.  Eric gave it all a 9 which is rare and almost gave this blackberry cobbler a 10.  It was gone in 60 seconds as well.

 The pit.

Boston and Jackson wore their souvenirs from the eating establishment the day before but couldn't resist a t-shirt from the Salt Lick too.  Jackson took it a step further and bought 3 bottles of their barbecue sauce.  He guarded it with his life and has strict rules with who and when it can be eaten.

I've talked about Buc-ees before but this one was the grand daddy of them all.  HUGE convenience store.  We spent a little time in here ooing and awing.

 A little photo op with Buc-ee.

The bays for gas are endless.

The river walk in San Antonio.  We took some pictures at the Alamo but they are MIA.  To sum it up, it was hot and quick.  The Alamo gets it's name from a 13 day battle in 1836 that claimed 200+ lives including David Crockett.  It all started over a cannon.  Unfortunate chain of events but exemplified the Texan spirit.

We ended the evening back at the Aebleskiver food truck.  Three orders to go!  They remembered us.

We saved the best for last - floating the Comal River.  A lazy, relaxing float where you can connect tubes, drink, eat, sun bathe and visit.  It took us about 3 hours round trip.  Eric was the photographer and couldn't bring his camera with him on the float so this all the pics we got.  We'll plan better next time.

After the float we toured the German town of Gruene (pronounced Green).  This was a step back in time.  We ate at the Gristmill (oldest dance hall in Texas) and enjoyed Blue Bell ice cream at the little General Store.

Crocs and socks (worn by Eric) should be illegal.

Eric licked his plate clean.  Just like my dad.

Fuzzy pic and all, a great idea for a white elephant gift.  This is a Hillbilly "Brief" Case.

The General Store had a little bit of everything including a Christmas tree.  We can't wait to bring family and friends to these parts of Texas so come on down ya'll!

We'll leave the light on:)