Sunday September 26th

New York City

We left Darla's house at 7:30 for the drive from New Jersey. Under Darla's expert guidance, we got through the Lincoln Tunnel only to be thwarted by one way streets going the wrong way. It would have been a nightmare but traffic was light this Sunday morning. After some skillful navigating, we knew we were close when we looked over and saw Irma and Bill Weaver waving wildly on the corner. I ran in to find out about parking and found Mom & Dad sitting in the lobby. Mom & Dad had taken the train up from Lancaster on Saturday morning (all by themselves) and Dad had gotten the scoop on the parking garage so he jumped in as Fred jumped out of the car with our luggage.

Irma and Bill had come to New York for the weekend and were going along to the game. After hugs all around, we went up to Mom & Dad's room to drop off our luggage. Now I know why I got such a good price for hotel rooms in the big Apple. We were in a great location near Madison Square Garden. However, the room was not much bigger than a walk in closet.

Under the direction of Irma, a native New Yorker, we maneuvered our way through the subway with ease. We arrived in the Bronx around 10:30 and took our typical stroll around the outside of the stadium. Everyone fears the Bronx, but perhaps because it was a gorgeous day, it did not seem bad to me. On one side of the stadium across the street, a pick-up basketball game was in progress. Vendors were hawking food and Yankees souvenirs. Hundreds of fans were lined up against barricades at the players entrance waiting for autographs. Darryl Strawberry and Tino Martinez both signed.

We were to pick up four tickets at the Yankees Office which did not open until 11:30. We knew we would have good seats for the game because my Dad had used his ASA connections to secure four tickets for us. Andy Loechner from Lancaster, who is on the Olympic Committee with Don Porter, who is a friend of George Steinbrenner, arranged for us to pick up tickets from the Yankees front office. Darla, Irma and Bill were using the tickets we had originally purchased back in February.

We hung out watching players come in and listened with interest as news reporters interviewed people about whether the team should leave Yankee Stadium . Personally I think it would be a shame to move and lose all the history and ghosts of games past.

At 11:30, Fred went in to pick up the tickets and came out empty-handed. The lady assured him that all the tickets were not down yet and to stop back later. We walked over to the other side of the stadium to check out the bars. The bars cannot start serving until 12 noon so we were first in line. After taking pictures of the gang joining us for our official New York beer, we went back to the ticket office and this time the tickets were available. Of course, Fred walked out of the office acting like he did not get the tickets and there was momentary panic until we realized he was faking.

We waved goodbye as my parents, Fred, and I were escorted through a special entrance while Irma, Bill, and Darla went off to find their seats in peanut heaven. While those three took three escalators up and in Darla's words, "Sat closer to the sun than God", we were being escorted down, down, down to our box seats. We were not only in the front row, we were directly beside the dugout with a perfect view of David Cone, Roger Clemens and Derek Jeeter. These had to be the best seats in the house. I felt like a New York celebrity. I couldn't believe that I was sitting in the same seat that Billy Crystal had sat in the night before. I'd wager a bet that he and his friends were not as thrilled as we were to be sitting here. I can't begin to describe how sensational the entire experience was to all of us hayseeds from Lancaster County. This was the baseball fans version of winning the jackpot in the lottery.

During the fifth inning, Fred and my Mom went up to exchange seats with Irma and Bill. Bill is a life long Yankees fan and he just sat there with his mouth open. One of Irma's favorite players, Bernie Williams, was standing two feet away as he warmed up in the on-deck circle. My Dad, who was the hero to all of us for getting these seats, kept repeating, "I never thought I'd see the day".

Bill and Irma had to leave at 4:30 (we tried our best to convince them to stay and go along to the Mets game) to catch the train back to Lancaster. Fred (as the odd man out) went across the street to catch the Ryder Cup. Meanwhile,the usher halted my Mom & Darla saying we were not allowed to change seats. I guess we had pushed it just a little with all the switching but Darla has a way about her and was able to explain the situation. At one point the game was tied and we were hoping for extra innings but unfortunately the Yankees lost. The Yankee dug-out cleared quickly as the players retreated to the locker room. We stood at our seats, still in awe, until the usher chased us out.

We went back to the bar to meet Fred who was laughing hysterically as he narrated his story of seeing us on TV. He had been watching the exciting Ryder Cup and the Yankees game at the same time. Near the end of the game, the opposite dugout camera caught us as it panned to the batter. My face and Darla's were on either side of the batter, plain as day, bigger than life. I can only imagine the Yankee faithful wondering who the heck we were since they are used to seeing famous people in those seats. Fred saw us several more times before the game ended.

Irma had given us specific directions on which train to catch to go back to the hotel and we arrived back in Mid-Manhattan with no problem. We ate dinner at an Irish restaurant and retired for the evening.

What a wonderful day full of memories to last a lifetime.

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Monday September 27th

New York City, NY

New York City is full of the rich and famous. Our tour of Madison Square Garden confirmed that fact. The Garden is huge. Over 1,000 employees take care of two theatres plus Liberty, Knicks and Rangers games. High profile boxing matches, super star performers and championship caliber teams provide only the best for New York fans. The Super boxes containing 12 seats cost $300,000 per year with a minimum commitment of three years. Just in case you are planning to buy one, I must tell you there is a five year waiting list. The front row seats at the Knicks games (affectionally dubbed celebrity row) where the likes of Madonna, Spike Lee and Billy Crystal sit cost $1,500 per game.

Underneath the seats where the locker rooms are located, Salvatore Perenez has been the security guard since 1968 when the Garden opened. He has seen it all and shared with us that his favorite performer was Tom Jones because he excited all the women. The worst was Barbara Streisand, demanding and a b--ch, he whispered to us.

We had lunch in the Play-by Play Club at Madison Square Garden. The Club is open to the public except when there is a Knicks or Rangers game. At that time, only the big bucks box seat people get in.

Darla was anxious to get out of the city before rush hour so she left after lunch. Thanks for driving us into the city Darla. You are very brave.

Mom, Dad, Fred and I walked the 14 blocks to Rockefeller Center and the NBC Studios. We took the official tour and saw the sets of Rosie, SNL, Conan, and Dateline. We got a seat in Rockefeller Center after our tour and did some people watching. This city is something else. People and cars move at a fast and furious pace.

Dad spotted the area where people stand outside on the sidewalk and wave on the NBC Today show. He decided that we should get up at 5 AM and go get on the show. I vetoed that idea for Tuesday morning but said I would think about it for Wednesday. Fred said NO Way was he getting up that early.

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Tuesday September 28th

New York City, NY

We were all slightly tired and sore from all the walking we had done yesterday. I have to give Mom & Dad credit for hanging in there for all those blocks of walking and we still had many more to go today.

Lunch today was at Mickey Mantle's on Fifth Avenue near Central Park, Dad's choice. The restaurant was filled with memorabilia. The prices were high but the food was excellent. Unbelievably, the service was poor. Our waiter was not rude, just inattentive.

We walked across the street to Central Park and since our feet were hurting, we took a carriage ride. I went over to check on prices and to pick the carriage I wanted to ride in. Since I was informed that you have to take the carriages in order we had a 15 minute wait until my pick came up. Fred found that quite amusing.

It was time to go to Queens for the Mets game. We found the correct subway train without a problem. We were hoping to find some bars to visit around the stadium but the only thing we saw were used car parts stores. Several fans were set up with grills ready to tailgate in the parking lot.

We did our tour around the outside of the stadium but there was not much to see so we went in to watch batting practice. It was a media circus down on the field. Reporters were lined up with their camera crews all hoping to catch an insight on the Mets meltdown. They had been 4 games up on the Reds for the wild card and lost 6 in a row to fall a game and a half behind. They had been swept by the Braves and Phillies. The Mets now had another shot at the Braves, but this time at home.

The fans were charged up for this game from the very first pitch. We were sitting with my parents out at the foul pole in right field on the second level. The crowd consisted of a smattering of normal people like us mixed up with hard edged New York Mets fanatics. These guys stood and loudly booed every Atlanta fan that entered the section. Most Atlanta fans just sat down in their seats and kept to themselves but one guy wearing an Andruw Jones jersey dared to respond back with the "choker" gesture. It didn't help the mood of the fans when Hersheiser walked the first batter and then gave up five hits all before the first out. He was pulled during the first inning but the damage was done and the Mets were down by four runs.

By the 4th inning, the Braves fan and an obnoxious Mets fan were getting into it with shouting and gestures by the Mets fan with both hands, if you know what I mean. That Braves fan had no fear. It takes either guts or stupidity to incite New York fans in New York. Eventually the Mets guy backed off and went back to his seat which was two sections away. It was a rather ugly display. Meanwhile the usher had the police ejecting three guys from their seats in the front row of our section. We had seen a group of about 50 police officers outside before the game and had no doubt that were being kept busy throughout the stadium.

The Mets lost 9-3 but we were on the subway before the end of the game. It must be a mob scene with 42,000 people trying to get out of Queens and that is something we did not need to experience.

Mom and Dad had met a couple at Broadway Joe's on Saturday night who's daughter owned a restaurant in Lower Manhattan. It was already 10:00 pm and Fred and I were tired but we were not going to be outlasted by Mom & Dad. Fred figured out which subway line we needed to transfer to and we found Diana's Restaurant on Riverton St. It is a cute place where Jazz musicians come to play and patrons can sit at a table or on a comfortable sofa & chairs by the window. Diana was not there so Mom left a note and we decided to head back closer to our hotel to grab a bite to eat.

Dad was still psyched about getting on the Today show so I agreed that he should call me at 5:15 and I would be ready to leave by 5:45. (He wanted to leave at 5:00 to go down, but Mom & I both unanimously outvoted that plan.) Dad had bought markers that morning to make signs so we scrounged around in the garbage to find cardboard. I never dreamed I would ever be rumaging around in New York garbage.

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Wednesday September 29th

New York City, NY to Baltimore, Maryland

Dad's alarm had failed to go off so I didn't get my wake-up call until 5:45. Fred answered the phone and told my parents I would be down in the lobby as soon as I was ready. Not unexpectedly, when I arrived in the lobby at 6:10 (I had to shower to be able to wake up that early) Mom was the only one sitting there. Dad had already left to head up to Rockefeller. When Mom and I arrived, about 30 people were gathered around the railing. Dad had gotten the last open spot up front. Dad had made a sign that said, "28 down, 2 to go" and Mom's sign said, "Hello Lancaster". I had stuffed Fred's trip sweatshirt with newspaper and I tied it to the railing with the map showing. The air was charged with excitement as everyone waited for the Today show to start. FTD.com was there handing out flowers to everyone. The couple beside us was from Montanna and had been to the Ryder Cup. A lady across the sidwalk held a sign saying she was from Scottland and another women's sign said, "Mother of Oregon Duck". There were lots of people from California.

Al Roker made his first appearance outside around 7:45. He chose a few people to talk to on the air. The operation was amazing to watch as he moved from side to side effortlessly giving the weather report while in motion. One guys job was to make sure the TV with the weather map moved along with Al. After going off the air, Al moved from one side of the crowd to the other shaking hands with everyone. He asked Dad what his sign meant so we thought maybe next time he came out he would talk to us. We got on the air twice as the camera panned the crowd and sure enough Al talked to us on the air.

The excitement mounted as Katie, Matt and Ann came out to do their segment at 8:30. Ann (the news person) came over to talk to Mom in response to her Lancaster sign. Ann had visited Lancaster and thought it was a great place with wonderful baked goods. We asked her if she had ever had Shoe Fly Pie to which she answered, "No, but I'm curious what it is made of, not flies, of course?" We will have to Miller's to send her one when we get home. She has a wonderful personality and seemed genuinely interested in talking to the people in the crowd.

It was fun watching the Today Show and I'm glad Dad insisted on going up to Rockefeller Center at that crazy hour of the morning. Thanks Mom & Dad for making the trip to New York to join us in our adventure. It was lots of fun.

Fred and I caught the 10:30 NJ Transit Train to Newark which was running late. We had three minutes in Newark to make our connection for the train to Fanwood. As promised, Darla and Dianne had dropped the BK off at the train station. With the directions to Route 95 that Dianne had e-mailed us, we found our way with ease.

Driving along 95, just after the Delaware Memorial Bridge, we saw the directional sign for Lancaster. Wow, did that feel strange and hit us hard with the fact that we would soon be home. It will be interesting to see how much Lancaster County has changed in six months.

Our hotel in Fells Point is located at Henderson's Wharf. Restored from an old tobacco warehouse, the hotel is elegantly furnished with antique reproductions. Our outside wall is original brick, three feet thick. Floor to ceiling arched windows in our room offer a breathtaking view of the harbor. It is perfect.

We have never been to Fells Point. This area combines the past with the present in an old fashioned way. The streets are bumpy paved brick. The town square invites people to sit for a spell. Restored row houses line the streets with many providing one-of-a-kind accommodations for unique shops and restaurants.

I was hoping for a nice restaurant to have a quiet dinner. The place we chose, which was highly recommended, turned out to be disappointing. The small dining room was noisy and it could be that we hit an off night, new chef or whatever, but the food was not good. We certainly are anticipating the joy of cooking at home.

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Thursday September 30th

Baltimore, Maryland

This hotel does breakfast right! Fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, granola and croissants were artfully displayed in the lobby with real china plates and silverware. We loaded up bamboo trays and carried breakfast back to the room in order to sit and eat breakfast with our view of the harbor. Ahhh. Enjoy it while it lasts This lazy luxury will be over in four days.

We walked the 1-1/2 miles over to Inner Harbor. Hard Rock, Barnes-n-Noble and ESPN Zone have all been added since last time we were there. Fred and I strolled down Pratt Street toward the stadium. We were looking for the Wharf Rat. We had been there before and vaugely remembered that we liked the atmosphere and food. The Rat is also a micro brew and their micro, Olivers, was good. We ordered the soup of the day and yummm, was it good. Chicken and Broccoli in a cream base, to die for!

We were meeting my parents at 4, at of all places, Hooters (Dad's idea). They were driving to Timonium, parking there, and then taking the light rail train to Camden Yards. Fortunately, we did not have to go into Hooters as Dad headed us off at the pass while Mom sat outside on a bench watching the harbor. We went to Capital City Brew since Mom & Dad were hungry. This is another micro brew. The beer was good and they served us free soft pretzels.

I had forgotten just how nice Camden Yards is. The area around the stadium is pleasant and bustling with activity. Eutaw Street was lined with vendors. We arrived at 6:00 and already a line was forming for Boog's Bar-b-Que. Little did we know that would be the shortest line all night.

Camden Yards was the first new ball park built to resemble the old parks. It combines all the modern conveniences with a wonderful old fashioned feel. A large picnic area offers families and friends a place to gather before the game to socialize and grab a bite to eat. Fans have full view of the bull pen to watch warm-ups before and during the game.

Our original seats purchased back in February were in left field behind the foul pole. All that was available at that time were seats with "possible obstructed view". I do have to give Camden Yards credit. At least we were told they were bad seats and they were priced less than other seats in that level. Many other stadiums price all their tickets in a level the same even though some seats are much better or worse than others. Fortunately, Dad came through again with his connections. He had gotten four seats from a season ticket holder which were located along the third base line. Much better than where Fred and I would have been sitting, but no seats will ever compare to the Yankees.

Speaking of the Yankees, the Orioles were playing the Yankees. If the Yankees won the game tonight they clinched the Division title. The Yankees started off with one run and the Orioles answered with two runs. Neither team scored in the 2nd or 3rd. At the top of the 4th, a message on the big board stated, "Please report to fan assistance FRED HAUCK."

Pat Principe and the cameraman from WGAL were waiting for us. They had gone to our original seats and when they could not find us, Pat used his press credentials to have the message put on the board. Even though Pat had told us before we left last April that he was planning to come to Baltimore, we were surprised to see him. They spent about twenty minutes filming us walking to our seats and doing an interview. Of course when Pat asked us what was the most unusual thing that happened on our trip we both drew a blank. We were trying to think of something bizzare rather than exciting. We talked about losing our credit card instead of mentioning any one of the items we thought of after he left: our harrowing ride over the mountain in the snow on June 1, the 10 run come from behind of the Indians, or our awesome seats at Yankee stadium.

By the time we got back to watching the game, the Yankees had taken control. Mom and Dad left at 10:30 to catch the train back to Timonium. Since the Birds were losing, many Orioles fans started filtering out in the 8th leaving the busloads of Yankee fans to dominate the stadium. They started filling in the front rows chanting LET'S GO YANKEES until the final out. We'll be seeing more of Derek Jeter and the boys during the play-offs.

We were disappointed that Cal Ripken, Jr. was not playing. He is one of my favorite players and we had figured out that the timing would be right for him to get his 3,000 hit during this game. Unfortuately he had gone out a week ago for back surgery. We will make it a point to get down to some Orioles games next year. It is a fun place to watch baseball and my parents said taking the light rail was a hassle-free way to get there from Lancaster.

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Friday October 1st

Baltimore, Maryland, to Philadelphia, PA

After another delicious breakfast eaten while watching the boats on the harbour, we drove over to Camden Yards to take the daytime tour. The original architects, who get all the credit for the uniqueness of Camden Yards, originally designed a round poured concrete stadium. A woman by the name of Janet Smith, hired by the Orioles, is the one who came up with the innovative idea to build the Camden Yard modeled after stadiums of old. The original artichets and the city wanted to tear down the warehouse wall so people coming to the stadium could see Inner Harbour and thus go over and spend money before or after the game. Janet said no, the old ballparks were built right in the middle of neighborhoods and the warehouse should stay. It has become one of the charms of Camden Yards and is recognized around the country. The warehouse wall is the place from where the numbers dropped during Cal's streak.

We had one last beer to drink to accomplish a beer in every state. We toasted in Newark, Delaware. As we were sitting eating lunch, we saw a Blue Hen roller skate down the sidewalk. Honest, we only had one beer! The Blue Hen is the mascot of the University of Delaware.

Judy and Jeanne must have been watching out the window because as soon as we pulled up at the hotel, they ran out to the BK. It was great to see them after so long away.

We went out to dinner with an ASA friend of Dad's to an Italian restaurant. Has anyone heard of a vegetable called Broccoli Rabe? I had this on my pasta thinking it was broccoli. However, it resembled something closer to spinach which I did not care for.

Later in the evening, we got the shuttle driver at the Holiday Inn to take us to South Street. Tara and Roger had arrived to join us in the fun. It was Kevin's birthday so we sang and toasted him. Cheers to You is a bar with a row of tables for two along the window. We were having our own party in the side room.

We visited a few more places and then we spotted St. George's off on a side street. We walked in and asked if the bar upstairs was open. A guy laughed and said sure, go on up. This was a bar with a theme. We were out of place since we had forgotten to wear our leather pants and spikes. One couple had matching hair. Hers was bright red all over, his on half. Everyone was wearing a belt with spikey silver studs.

We had been planning to take the subway back to the hotel but it was closed. We started walking in the direction of the hotel but of course Tara was not ready to head back. She tried to talk Roger and Fred into turning around saying her life would be boring if she always goes home early. It was already after 1AM and we had 25 blocks to go. We overheard that one and now won't let her forget it. Tara, Roger, Judy and Kevin stopped at White Castle for burgers. They bought 20 and got 10 free. (White Castle are those little burgers, or as Roger named them, burger nuggets.)

Jeanne, Fred and I kept walking. Suddenly we heard a loud noise and saw a street light come crashing onto the road. By the time we walked the one block, people had gathered. We could not figure out what happened but it looked like the guy had hit the gas instead of the brake while backing out of a parking lot. The hospital was across the street and paramedics were on the scene.

We continued on back to the hotel and by now Judy and Kevin had caught up and were trying to pawn off some burgers on us. Somehow Roger and Tara had beat us back to the hotel and were already up in their room. I think they were pretending to moon us from their sixth floor window.

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Saturday October 2nd

Philadelphia, PA

After last night, several of us had cobwebs in our heads this morning. Everyone did their own thing throughout the day and we started gathering at Legends at 6:00.

We were watching the Alabama/Florida game which went into overtime. Alabama pulled off one of the big upsets of the year by beating Florida. By the time we got over to the stadium, the game should have been in the second inning. However, the Phillies pitcher Bryd, was having an awful start. We got there in time to see Wilton Guerero hit a home run. The score in the top of the 1st was already 4-0. By the end of the second inning, the damage was 9-3.

We stuck around to watch the debacle until the 7th inning. Everyone was feeling tired so we just hung around the hotel bar for a short while before retiring for the evening.

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Sunday October 3rd

Philadelphia, PA

Last night a note had been slipped under our door. Addressed to Fred & Joni Hauck, it had been crudely constructed out of letters cut from a newspaper and scotch taped onto a piece of notebook paper. Nit had been kidnapped! (Nit is the little lion that had gone on the entire trip riding on our dashboard. Fred had swiped him from my sister Judy)

The note demanded a ransom of $450 with financing available and the instructions said to be at the Concierge Desk in the hotel at 10 AM. We figured it was an amateur job because they forgot to tell us not to go to the police.

To me everyone seemed guilty. Jeanne looked sly as we questioned her and could not understand why we were not more upset. Judy said we had better get him back to which Fred replied she had to pay the ransom since he was her lion and we were done with him now that our trip was over.

We questioned everyone at breakfast. We ruled Dad out because the words were not taped down securely. Dad is known for using a whole roll of a tape on one Christmas present. Everytime he sent our mail to us it was taped so tightly we struggled to open it. As each person came down to breakfast Fred flashed the note in their face and commanded, "What do YOU know about this?" Tara and Kelly never made it down for breakfast but as we gathered in the lobby, Fred quizzed them. Tara seemed clueless and Kelly seemed guilty.

I asked the security guard at the hotel if he had seen a little lion. I explained the situation and showed him the note. After he finished laughing, he promised to keep a look-out.

Fred said they would probably cut off Nit's left ear. Jeanne suspected that Tara and Roger took him into the bad section of the city and he was in a tunnel with 48 hours of air. Judy said they better send him back with all his stuffing. Poor little Nit.

As we were standing around talking in the lobby, the hotel desk clerk asked if one of us was named Hauck. She had another note. This one instructed us to take the ransom to the stadium and they would be in contact. I tried to find out who dropped off the note but the desk clerk said she did not know. I know the kidnappers bribed her to keep quiet.

Jackie, Barry, Chris and Jason arrived so we had to explain the whole story to them. Jason wanted a Philadephia Cheese Streak so those in the group who had not eaten breakfast set out to look for a good Cheese Steak. Meanwhile Fred was preparing the duffle bag with the ransom money. He stuffed it with his dirty underwear and socks. Gross!

Once we arrived at the stadium, Nit was temporarily forgotten. Dad had gotten a group of tickets and family and friends were there to greet us. It was great to see everyone after so long away. It was fan appreciation day at the Vet and the Phillies cooperated by winning the game. A thrilling 4-run bottom of the 8th capped off by three instant outs in the top of the 9th and it was all over. The Philladelphia players were each wearing a different hat from past teams. Each player tossed his hat into the stands before disappearing into the dug-out.

Everyone gathered over at the Holiday Inn parking lot around the Big Kahuna for pictures before heading home. Thank you everyone and especially Mom & Dad for all the support during our trip.

Oh I almost forgot to finish the Little Nit story. We were slipped a note during the 6th inning telling us to take the ransom money to the concession stand behind our seats. Ten people followed along as we made the exchange. Nit was unharmed. The culprit who came up with the idea was Kevin, the person we least suspected. However, everyone was in on it. Jeanned swiped the car keys from our room, Mom carried the lion in the bottom of her bag and she is the one who slipped the ransom note under our door. Nit is now back where he belongs on the dashboard of the Big Kahuna.