philadelphia

Royal Rumble a fun time again

February 5, 2015

The Rumble from our seats.

I think I need to stop going to the WWE Royal Rumble. Not really. But the weather never seems to agree with me going.

After all, it seems, whenever I go to it — at least the past two years — bad weather follows. First last year in Pittsburgh, then this year in Philadelphia.

Still, it was one heck of a blast.

Three of us took a trip to Philly (was supposed to be four, but the fourth couldn’t pull it off) for this year’s edition of the Royal Rumble, the “official” start for the road to Wrestlemania.

Ticket.

And the Royal Rumble is easily my favorite WWE event of the year. In fact, it was the first pay-per-view I ever saw in person (1992, Albany).

This year, the ride down was a little sketchy at times, but not too bad. The weather could have been way worse. It was VERY cold out. But we didn’t get hit with the snow storm they were calling for on Monday.

As for the Rumble, it was a fun event. We had solid seats. thanks in part to a connection I have. The same one I used last year, which was amazingly awesome.

Not only that, we got to see another wrestling show (Chikara), and ate at Geno’s, which is always a bonus. In the end, it was a fun weekend, the event was pretty solid, and it was enjoyable to get away for a night.

See a few photos below (all iPhone as I wasn’t supposed to bring my main camera in, though I think I could have pulled it off).

Thrown out of the Rumble!

Rumble filling up!

The Rock with the winner!

Blurred lights as Bray Wyatt comes out.

Three-way dance for the Championship!

The former Brodie Lee (left), now Luke Harper, squares off with Buh Bug Ray Dudley.

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Summer of Baseball: Philly is a great place to see MLB action

September 9, 2014

The Bank.

Ahhh Philadelphia … the City of Brotherly Love.

It’s the city where my parents grew up and where I still have a lot of family. And, it’s also the home of the Philadelphia Phillies – my favorite MLB team.

I usually try and get down to see a game or two each summer at Citizens Bank Park. It’s a great place to watch a game as the park features an open concourse and seating that is extremely fan friendly. The lone time I didn’t like my seat was one year we went and were stuck out in centerfield – and the seats just weren’t great for watching a game – at least on that day.

My first MLB game in my Eephus League Halfliner.

This year’s trip was done at the last second. In fact, a minor league game had been being planned but when Cole Hamels and Stephen Strasburg were scheduled to face off.

Score!

Tickets were soon purchased and we did this as a day trip. The seats we had were awesome, pretty much just off to the right side of home plate and on the first level. Needless to say, in all of the trips I’ve made to Citizens Bank Park, these were probably the best seats I’ve had.

Anyway, back to the park.

Like many major league stadiums, the parking is simple and the stadium is close to major highways. I got tickets through Stub Hub, which included a parking pass. Therefore, we didn’t have to pay for the parking. That being said, it’s like many other big-league places – there are big-league prices. Parking, if I remember right, was $15. That’s pretty steep, especially in a complex that includes the home of Philly’s NFL, NBA and NHL teams.

Mmm crab fries!

The stadium offers many things for fans of all ages. There’s a fine selection of food (including Bulls BBQ, cheese steaks, the normal ballpark fare and Chickie and Pete’s famous crab fries). The beer selection is pretty solid, too, considering each small stand had a different choice. There are microbrews and your everyday beers, too. So it’s nice. Prices for those are pretty normal for a MLB park.

Obviously, souvenir stands and the team store are well-stocked. The prices are what you would expect, but there aren’t many things you couldn’t get there. When I make my trip down, I usually pick up a program and the media guide for the year and it’s usually quite affordable. Sometimes, I’ll walk out with a hat or something as well. This year I didn’t leave with much, but prices were all pretty normal for what you’d see at places like this.

For the most part, it’s a friendly park. But, like any place with so many people working, there are those who are a little more “business-like” in their approach. The vendors are usually quite easy to get along with and customer service always does quite well when I’ve needed to use them.

Play ball!

It’s an easy park to navigate. No matter where you are, you can see the action. There is also a running “counter” around the park, so if you are eating and can find a spot, you can stand at the back of the seats and watch before heading back to your seat.

It’s definitely a modern stadium. Like many newer ones (Citizens Bank Park opened in 2004), it has an old-time feel with many modern amenities. You’re brought closer to the action, too, which is nice. But in the end, it’s not cheap to go to an MLB game, but this spot is well worth the trip.

Park Notes:

Citizens Bank Park
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Home of the Philadelphia Phillies
Visited on: Saturday, July 12.
Opponent: Washington Nationals

Ratings (out of 10)

Stadium: 9/10
Concessions: 8/10
Parking: 8/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Friendliness: 8/10

I am embarking on a summer of baseball with the plan to hit a minimum of 10 stadiums this summer. Hopefully, there will be more than that. I will report on each park that I hit on the blog.

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Geno’s is still my favorite cheese steak in Philly

July 26, 2012

Oh. My. Yes, please.

When I go to Philadelphia, I usually like to try and hunt down a cheese steak.

It makes sense, being the city has so many wonderful spots to get an authentic Philly steak. When we hit the city this past weekend for a Phillies game, we had intended all along to hit one up after the game.

I didn’t have anything of major filling up at the game, which is rare as I usually get a hot dog or Bull’s BBQ. Instead, it was some Italian Ice to tide me over.

But for dinner?

Marc chowing down on a steak from Geno’s.

Geno’s Steaks.

Now, I realize that Philly people have different likes and such when it comes to cheese steaks. Some love Geno’s. Some love Pat’s. Some love others. It’s understandable.

But I love Geno’s.

I have to be honest, too. I am biased in that Geno’s is in the family. My second-cousin Joey is the man who started Geno’s. This trip to Geno’s was the first time that I had been there since Joey died last August. In the past, we usually went down early when Joey was working and went inside, chatted with him and had the chance to see things from a different perspective.

This was different.

Though I’ve waited in line to buy steaks here before, I’ve never done it after a game. Holy cow! The line wrapped around the building and we hopped in to wait our turn.

The line moves quickly. I got to see the memorial to Joey at the front. And I got to see things in a different way. Watching the steaks being made on the inside. Seeing other people waiting and enjoying their steaks. It’s really amazing what Joey built.

There were lines at Geno’s, but they move fast.

Marc and Rod were deferring the ordering to me. See, you have to order right. (Three steaks wiz wit.) — which means three cheese steaks with cheese whiz and onions.

Delightful.

We also got an order of cheese fries as they are divine, too.

After finding a place to sit, we dug in. I can say the quality hasn’t changed since Joey died, thankfully. My oh my do I love cheese steaks at Geno’s. Everything was truly awesome.

When we were done eating and heading back to the car, I stopped into a Rita’s for some Italian Ice — the perfect way to end it. Well, close to the hotel was a nice little bar where I had a pint of Guinness. THAT was the great way to end the day.

The next day, we hit up a geocache in Delaware before dropping Rod off at the train station. Marc and I headed back to New York, but we made a quick stop at Sheetz for a final sub.

In the end, an excellent weekend and not a lot of money was spent, thankfully.

I’ll look forward to my next trip to Philly for some cheese steaks though. Those things are simply incredible.

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50 questions that free your mind: No. 19

February 22, 2012

As part of my Day Zero Project, I will be answering the 50 Questions That Free Your Mind. For each of these, I will blog an answer and then it will be linked here as well. Some of these will have longer responses, some will be extremely short. But by the end of the Day Zero Project, I will have answered all of these.

No. 19: If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?

Though this seems like it would be an easy question, it’s actually kind of hard. There are a lot of places I would like to live.

Montreal.

Ireland.

Maine.

So it comes down to this — is this a move for good or for a little while?

Because if it’s a little while, you could easily add places like Austin, Texas, Philadelphia, South Jersey and some other places. And it all depends on what the move is for. Work? Pleasure?

Again, this question sheet baffles me!

Let’s say this, considering friends and family, I’d want to move somewhere in the Northeast. If I was to stay in New York, Albany is a place I’ve always enjoyed. There’s enough there to give you ample things to do, yet small enough where it doesn’t feel like a major city.

A view from my last trip to Maine.

But if I’m going further away, I really love Maine. It’s a great state. Good photo opportunities. Great natural things. I could see myself fully becoming a transplanted Mainer (obviously, I’d never be a full Mainer!)

Maine has always been a surreal place for me. I’ve visited a few times and have enjoyed each spot I’ve been to. Especially when you can get some awesome “lobstah.”

I’d want to be on the coast, however. The water is soothing. The lighthouses are amazing. The photo chances are endless.

I haven’t played up there yet, but I also hear the disc golf is excellent.

And I know the geocaching is really good in Maine.

The travel back to see friends and family would be a little longer, but doable.

And in the end, it seems like a place that would be fantastic to become part of. I’d probably prefer to be in one of the smaller areas on the coast, but know I’m not far from a city atmosphere for other things. What a life it could be.

Anyone know of any solid job leads there?

But, if this was more of a daydream question, there’s no question Montreal would win out. Even over Ireland, a place where I had an incredible time.

Looking over Montreal at night from Mont Royal.

Montreal is a city that has had my heart since my first trip there in the late 1990s. Since then, I’ve visited more than a dozen times in different seasons. The city is everything I would want in a place to live. Culture. Music. Sports. Photo chances. Everything.

There’s great food and excellent beer.

The people have always been friendly. I love the laid-back feel, too. Though you have that “mad city” feel at times, it’s not as crazy as, say, New York City.

It’s a clean city, too.

The summers are unbelievable in Montreal. There are so many festivals, concerts and everything else. I’m convinced you could do something different every day during the summer in Montreal and never consider doing the same thing twice.

I’ve made friends there that I still keep in contact with. I know the parts of the city I really enjoy and there is so much more up there to explore. It’s been a couple of years since I made the trip, but the love for this city never dies. I hope to get back there and have a vacation soon. There are so many other parts of the city I want to see, explore and take photos.

In the dream world, Montreal wins. In a practical world, Maine would win. In a realist world, Albany. Hopefully one of these spots will be my home one day, maybe even soon. Who knows? I can only hope.

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Foto Friday: The archives

February 10, 2012

My external hard drive is starting to fill up. That pretty much means I need to start shifting some things and deleting, or I might not have room for a lot of photos.

I have three external hard drives, but two of them are full and the third, which is a terabyte, doesn’t have much left. I know there’s a lot of waste on all three of them. So, over the next few weeks, it’s my hope to really clear a lot of space. In the end, I’d like to have the TB drive be all photos only — so I can get an online backup service as well.

Anyway, as I do that, I got peeking at some older photos. And that got me interested in looking at some older photos on Flickr, too. So, in this post, I am going to share some of my favorite (or not so favorite) photos from the Flickr archives. Things are going to be random. I am going to hit a few random pages and snag a photo of those pages and share them here.

I’m hoping to head out and shoot some fireworks tonight, so if things come out as I hope, I’ll look to share what I did and such with the images next Friday.

Page 40

Ahhh, this past September. We got some unseasonably warm weather and this page was basically filled with sports photos — a softball tournament and some flag football. Here’s one of those shots.

Foul ball!

Page 67

I had been catching up on posting some images, including from my trip to Ireland in 2010. Those photos were on this page.

Good advice!

Page 94

From April of last year, my trip to the Washington DC area and Arlington National Cemetery.

The unknown plots are extremely moving. There are far too many.

Page 123

From November 2010. One of my favorite disc golf photos.

My faithful buzzz.

Page 149

Ahhh, the Ireland trip. This wasn’t long after getting back. This was a shot I took in Howth.

My mother and brothers at Howth Harbor.

Page 165

The Oneonta Outlaws. Love some of the shots on this page.

Pitch coming in.

Page 187

Out on a photo day with a former co-worker. Watershed property…

Stay off!

Page 204

This big snowstorm at the end of February 2010 shut down local schools and even the local college. A great day to be out taking photos!

Snow!

Page 235

Geno’s Steaks, at night. December, 2008.

All lit up!

Page 270 (last page for now)

Downtown Montreal at night. I took this photo from Mont Royal in August of 2007.

Montreal!

I hope you enjoyed a slight trip through the archives with me. I’m sure as I get going through these external drives, I’ll be sharing more — and uploading a lot more to Flickr. I want to get a lot more of my photos on Flickr and put them together as sets. That way, they are there for all to see!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!