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July 6, 2008July 6, 2008Brian Aaby 1 Comment

New York City!

Wow.

The one word which can describe the look, the feel, the atmosphere and the prices in New York City… wow.

We drove the couple hours from Philadelphia to NY yesterday morning, arriving at the Seaport area by about 11:15. Dad, David and I took in about an hour of sight seeing, grabbed a NY style hot dog (from a street vendor) and then grabbed a little more at a local corner restaurant. It was raining at this time, so the indoor feel was better than the outdoor.

The drive to the Bronx was next; interesting. Wasn’t nearly as ugly as others had told me it was. Wasn’t pretty either. One of the main reasons were came on this trip was to go to Yankee Stadium. As many of you know, it is the last season at this Yankee Stadium. The new Yankee Stadium makes her debut next April (it is right next door, I’ll post a pic below).

What a great game. Not too much rain and a very not pretty stadium, but lots of history! Glad we made it. Yankees almost blew the game but pulled out the 2-1; which made the 20%-of-the-crowd BoSox fans upset!

After the game the weather cleared up and we checked into our hotel and then hit Times Square. WOW. The three of us enjoyed Applebees in Times Square (prices were almost double what I pay in Seattle). My brother and I spent another couple hours walking around while Dad went back early.

Today we’re off to Cooperstown and the baseball Hall of Fame. Long drive, but a good rest, I hope. Then off to Boston tomorrow. Looking forward to Fenway the most!

Posted some more pics below!

Grace,
Brian

Ground Zero

Classic NY staples

The Brooklyn Bridge

sold out

$can\'t imagine New Year\'s eve here$

Yay Dave!

Yo Adrian?

July 5, 2008July 6, 2008Brian Aaby 2 Comments

In the city of Brotherly Love… never did see Rocky, but did see the Liberty Bell (on the 4th even). Pretty cool stuff. My Dad took in more of the Historical District Museum stuff while David and I walked around other parts of the city… we were able to see the burial place of Ben Franklin; and found another sacred place, Starbucks (you can see David checking his email below).

After checking into the Holiday Inn Express we took off for the game at Citizen’s Bank Park, home of the Phillies. Great park! I had the best ballpark fare I have ever had, a LARGE turkey leg; the biggest mess I’ve ever made of my hands and face with all the BBQ sauce as well. Good times.

The game was a great one, the Phillies win on a bottom of the 9th, two out single by a guy named (fittingly), Victorino! The game was about 2 hours and 40 minutes. We guess about 2:10 of it was played a in a steady rain… why doesn’t everybody go for the extra $100 Million and get a roof?

The highlight of my day (yes, beyond the Bell, beyond the game, beyond the 4th) was getting two great text message pics of my kids. Elisabeth sent a couple precious pictures to me during the game. I miss them much, can’t wait to get back home but will enjoy the rest of the tour (especially when she keeps sending me those little pick-me-ups!).

Some of the pics from yesterday, below…

Grace,
Brian

$Penn\'s landing High 5!$: Liberty Bell with Pops

: My brother can be inappropriate at times! Ha

The Harbor

July 4, 2008July 4, 2008Brian Aaby 2 Comments

Greetings from Baltimore, Maryland! It is raining here this morning, looks more like home, feels more like Hawaii (very warm rain). Enjoying the beginning of our nations birthday at the local Sbux with Dad and David once again playing crib (they are tied 1-1 after yesterday).

Great day in Baltimore yesterday. Today we are off to the Liberty Bell and Philadelphia’s new stadium. We have about a two hour bus ride ahead of us in about an hour. Baltimore was absolutely great. The Inner Harbor area reminds me of Seattle in some ways. Great choices for food, lot’s of tourism and the like. We saw the birthplace of Babe Ruth (saw the actual room he was born in, in a house). Went to the Maryland Sports Hall of Fame and then to Camden Yards (or “Oriole Park at Camden Yards”). We had good seats and watched the Royals come from a 7-3 deficit to beat the home town O’s 10-7.

Hope to post from Phily. Here are some shots of yesterday!

Grace,
Brian

I really miss my family! Next best thing?

The Inner Harbor looking back at Camden

D.C.ompression

July 3, 2008July 4, 2008Brian Aaby 1 Comment

Get it… DeCompression? Yes, I’m in DC (or was). On my little “Sabbatical” between being a Student Ministries Pastor and President of Youthmark I am on a little tour with my Dad and Brother. We are visiting 4 ballparks (and the Hall of Fame). Yesterday we were able to visit the National Mall and then drive to Baltimore. We’ll be at Camden Yard (where the Orioles play) tonight, then off to Philadelphia tomorrow… 4th of July at the Liberty Bell, pretty cool huh?

Feels a little weird to be “done” as a youth pastor and to not have a talk to plan (though I am preaching again at BPPC on Aug. 3). The down time is a hard thing for me. I found myself working on the plane, thinking of stuff I need to line up, etc. I don’t think it is a bad thing entirely, but I do want to know how to rest and “be” wherever I am (but I hope everyone can admit that ‘being’ on a plane isn’t all that great anyway). I was able to watch Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith. Not too much “happy” about that film. Well acted, but not the most inspiring story.

Excited to be here with David and Dad. We’re laughing (David and Dad are playing Crib as I type), we’re talking baseball and just enjoying some time together. Thank You to our wives and family for allowing us to do this quick trip!

Here are a couple shots from the trip so far. Hope to update again.

George W. and Laura say, “yo” to all my readers (all 5-10 of you)! Ha.

Grace,
Brian