Our 12 Hour Adventure

Yesterday Chris took a day off and we headed up to NYC for most of the day. We got there around 2 pm, parked our car where we normally park (right outside the Holland Tunnel on a side street behind Audis and Mercedes) and then jumped on the subway up to Katz Deli. Katz's Deli is "New York's oldest and best delicatessen since 1888" and is also famous for its slogan "Send a Salami to Your Boy in the Army". Chris had a corned beef sandwich while I had potato pancakes and then we shared blintzes. Always good!

We then headed to Shea Stadium to watch the Braves play the Mets! A friend of ours from church had gotten season tickets from the attorney who represents the firehouse he works at. They were great seats - on the Mezzanine level a little to the side of home base. Before the game started we headed down to the dugout to watch batting practice. We ended up right at the dugout - yep, touched the dugout! Because of that, we saw the players come in and out right up close. Chipper threw a ball to the little boy next to us (why do all the players only like little kids and not "big kids"? - no fair!) - right within fan screaming for a touch distance (alas maturity prevailed and no screaming happened).

New field

-----

Shea Stadium

------


Chipper getting ready for batting practice

-----

Within fan screaming distance! Notice the top of the dugout at the bottom of the picture!
-----

The game was nerve racking! The first pitch of the game was a Braves homerun! Wahoo!! However, the Braves did end up losing the game in the 9th inning. One thing I personally did not appreciate was the boo-ing when our pitcher (Mike Hampton) and Chipper came up to bat.

We did, however, sit next to a very interesting Mets fan! She was all decked out in her Mets regalia including large round Mets earrings. She kept score the entire game (including balls & strikes) and ate her peanuts and cracker jacks she brought with her. Chris and I thought it a little strange that she kept score the entire game, but have been told that this is normal for a baseball fan to do. New information for two big baseball fans - guess I have to go out and get some score books!?!

Think she's a Mets fan???

-----

Eatin' peanuts at the game! -----

After the game ended (about 10 pm) we headed back on the Long Island Rail Road to catch the subway back to our car. As we came down the street we quickly realized . . . our car was gone! It is now 11 pm at night in NYC and Chipper (my car's name) is gone! G-O-N-E gone! How does that happen?!? Now I do have to insert this note: when parking earlier in the day, we specifically made sure we were not in a no parking zone, etc, etc. . . . so not knowing exactly what to do, we went ahead and called 911 (at 11:25 pm). We waited until 11:50 pm (taking turns jaywalking across the street to use the restroom) before the police came. Mental note: Do not get mugged in NYC - the cops take waaay to long to get there! Oh, mental note #2: Always know your license plate number and carry a copy of your insurance and registration in your wallet - it comes in handy when trying to determine if your car was stolen or not! Anyway, the police called the tow people who said they did not have my car so the paperwork for a stolen car was filled out. Because we had no car, we got to ride in the back of the police cruiser back to the police precinct.

Figured it wasn't every day you got to ride in the back of a

NYC police cruiser at midnight - and not even in trouble!

-----

Needless to say, eventually they found Chipper at some tow place on 38th Street - thank God he wasn't stolen! We quickly jumped in a cab and walked into the police-just-stole-my-car place where a "party" was going on. Apparently the NYC traffic division is VERY busy at night hauling away cars (and from what we understand - not always for a good reason). Chris and I were about the only "normal" people in there! You see all kinds in NYC, especially at the tow yard!

We sneaked a picture of "Funky Shoes"

-----

For as terrible as it could have been, it was actually in a twisted wierd way -- kinda fun (well for 1:30 am fun anyway)! Everyone was laughing and joking with people they didn't even know.

Unfortunately for us bribery is a crime:

So, we paid the $185 tow fee.

(Another sign said "Retaliation is a Crime" - man, they just had to cover all the bases didn't they???)



So then we jumped in Chipper and came home, right? Ha! We wish! Unfortunately Chipper's battery decided to not work. We had to get jumped by the same tow trucks that hauled us away in the first place - irony!

Then, we jumped in the car and came home! We got home at 3:30 am. Got up at 6 am. Tired? Just a little (read with MUCH sarcasm!).

Lions and Tigers and Bears . . . bbbbBEAR!!

Thursday we took the teens to Mountain Creek Water Park for a day of fun in the sun! Mountain Creek is always a favorite summertime activity - not just for the teens but for Chris and I! The group of girls I was with started out with the Colorado River (rafting ride) since the line is usually a hour or more wait later in the day. We then went on to High Anxiety. High Anxiety is described on Mountain Creek's website as this:

This two, three or four-passenger tube ride begins with a four-story vertical plummet through darkness and ends in a huge funnel-shaped enclosure that propels you to dizzying heights.


Totally SCARY and FUN!!

We also rode several other rides that are fun but not nearly as awesome as High Anxiety (in my opinion only). Chris does enjoy other rides such as the Tarzan Swing and H2-Oh-No! H2-Oh-No is described as this:

Do you have what it takes to tackle this daring high-speed body slide? This towering attraction boasts a 99-foot vertical drop.

Are you CRAZY??? 99-feet straight down?!? He loves it!

About 3 pm the rain began and along with it the thunder and lightening which in turned caused the park to close for the day cutting our fun about 3 hours short.


We were however, rewarded with the surprise sighting of a black bear alongside the road. As we were driving past the DQ (which by the way is not far from where we were), one of the girl's yelled out that there was a bear by the picnic table at the DQ and mini golf place. Chris quickly made a detour so we could see it a little bit more up close and in person. The bear quickly ran away as we drove up - partly by the screams coming from our van. But we can say that we randomly saw a bear (named Smoky by the girls) eating at a picnic table.

What's Going On!?! . . . What's NOT Going On?!?

This last week our teens spent it painting the Trenton Family Preservation House as part of our Missions Emphasis Week (they painted and I scrubbed the baseboards and floor after they were done missing - er, painting - the walls). The TFPH is a home for families who are on welfare and have no place to live until they get back on their feet. We finished the upstairs (16 bedrooms and the hallway) and part of the downstairs. We also had "Adventure Week" (when reading please read with a deep commanding voice so as to get the whole effect) 2 nights with the children who live there. So as to make the week "fun" we also went to a Trenton Thunder game (minor league team to the stanky-Yankys), took a tour of the Trenton Fire Headquarters (courtesy of Johnny while he was on night duty) and went to the Pt. Pleasant boardwalk. It was a great week - we had one 18-year old girl who has 2 little children profess Christ as her Savior! So the whole hard work of painting (and me scrubbing) paid off in the end!

That was Monday through Friday. Saturday, I had to clean up the house and go grocery shopping while Chris was playing Ultimate Frisbee. After that Chris and I went to a party and then came home and watched the Olympics! (They are great this time!!)

Sunday we had a YAC (Youth After Church) at our house - we had BLT's, popcorn, pretzels and cookies (made in our new oven - whuhooo!).

Today (Monday), I have the Little Man, Chris is getting a massage tonight and then we are going to Little Man's house so Mr. Chris and his Daddy can watch some UFC (Wendy and I will chit-chat for sure!).

The rest of the week is as follows (deep breath): Tuesday-going to the boardwalk with some girls, Wednesday-LM and church, Thursday-Mountain Creek Water Park all day, Friday-wedding a hour away, Saturday-possible massage and Youth Leader's Meeting at our house plus the LM, Sunday-LM and church.

Enough said! We hope everyone is doing well, relaxing, chilling out, spending some down time, etc., etc. We can only dream of such a thing . . . :)

Kitchen Progress

Well after 6 months of waiting, our kitchen is just about complete!! Praise God!!! The cabinets are all in, the electrician comes today, the countertop guys come tomorrow to measure and make a template, and the plumber will be here next week. So "just about complete" still has a long way to go . . . but that's ok because the end is in sight!

We should have learned from remodeling our last house, but for some reason I did not take BEFORE pictures to show you. However, as soon as my camera batteries finish charging, I will take some pictures of the "just about complete" kitchen (as long as there are no working men in there) and post them.

These are the way cool pendent lights I found this afternoon - the lampshade matches the walls almost exactly! Exciting!

-------------------------------------------

The floor came out awesome!