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08/01/2004 Archived Entry: "Ocean City, Yankee Stadium, and Back to Rhode Island"

Friday, July 9th, I did another of our regular public tours to Ocean City, New Jersey, for the day. It was a very warm day, great day to be on the beach if you were so inclined. I spent a little time walking the boardwalk, but it was too hot to do much, and I didn't feel like swimming despite having taken my swim trunks along. Maybe next time. The trip was easy and uneventful.

Saturday, July 10th, was another trip to Yankee Stadium -- this time one of our public tours instead of the private charter that was a less than pleasant experience two weeks before. This time it went much more smoothly. Because I arrived a couple of hours before game time (it was Old Timers Day), parking in the bus lot at River and 165th in The Bronx was still available (although at $40), and I jumped at it after my last experience here. Because I was early I decided to buy a ticket and went to the game (photo above right) -- I even made like a Yankee fan and bought a hat, figuring it will come in handy on future trips to New York (and besides, I like hats and have a growing collection). It was the first Yankees game I attended, and an interesting experience.

Monday, July 12th, I was back in Rhode Island, taking girls to a summer soccer program at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. Because of the length of the drive, we had five drivers for three coaches, and I spent time driving each of two coaches to ensure everyone stayed legal with their maximum driving times. On Wednesday and Thursday, I drove back by myself, going up Wednesday evening, staying the night, and returning with one group of the girls on Thursday. The biggest challenge was packing the two weeks worth of luggage each girl took for their one week stay -- that and fighting traffic on the return trip each time. Ultimately we ended up heading up to Route 84 to return west across Connecticut rather than endure the bumper-to-bumper traffic across Route 95; that added a few miles but saved a little time and a lot of frustration.