New York, New York

Sometime, back in March or April, Garrett's baseball coach (Steve) was talking to Russ. He told Russ that he was trying to get the baseball team into a tournament in New York. He asked Russ not to say anything to anyone until he saw if it was going to be feasible. As the days/weeks moved along, Steve would give us little updates about the progress he was making. Soon, he contacted all of the parents to see if anyone would be interested in their son playing in a baseball tournament in New York and asked them not to tell the boys just yet. The response, of course, was fantastic. Not only did the parents want their boys to play in the tournament, most of the parents wanted to go as well. I was one of the parents that planned to travel with my son (Russ had used up almost all of his vacation time when he went to the Seychelles in January and was unable to travel with us). Finally, we held a team meeting. The boys were told that they were going to New York to play baseball. Although that in itself was exciting, the boys were then told that they would be attending a Yankees game (including a stadium tour and batting practice) and going to one of the top ten water parks in the nation. Needless to say, the boys were VERY EXCITED! They were able to get some sponsors for the trip and then they held some fund-raising events. We were very pleased at how hard the boys worked to raise money. I had told my parents about the trip when it seemed like it was really going to happen. My dad got very excited about the idea that the boys were going to see the Yankees play (a ranked item on my dad's bucket list). My parents decided to join in the adventure. Then, last minute, Kami decided to come along as well.
The Adventure Begins...July 25th,2011
The day finally came. The team, parents, and my family met in the Smith's parking lot at 2:30 a.m. We drove down to Las Vegas to catch our 6:00 a.m. flight to Baltimore, MD where we would have an hour and a half lay over, and then off to Long Island, New York. Everyone was was in good spirits and thrilled about the upcoming week.The first leg of the trip went surprisingly well. The boys were somewhat controlled and seemed to have a good time. There was a small incident on our flight where medical assistance was needed. It was rumored someone was having a seizure. One of our coaches is a P.A., so he went to assist. That seemed to keep everyone pre-occupied for a while. Turns out the man had been a t a bachelor's party in Las Vegas and was drunk and hadn't eaten forever... stupid is as stupid does. We finally set down in Baltimore and that's when things went sour. We found out our connecting flight had been diverted due to bad weather and were delayed a couple of hours. The boys bought some cards and began playing some games to keep themselves entertained.

That was fun for about an hour. We kept watching the screen to see what time our flight was expected. Every time we looked at the screen, the flight departure time was pushed back 15-30 minutes. When we weren't watching the screen, we were watching the storm outside, dumping water and electrifying the sky with lightning. We ended up having a 7 1/2 hour lay-over with eleven 13 year old boys. To pass by the time, the boys played on the express walkways, played football, slept, and ate non-stop!

And the adults tried to keep their sanity- with NO Southwest workers keeping us updated or making themselves available to answer questions! Things continued to get worse that day. Garrett had slept a ton at the airport, and unlike the other boys, he barely ate. As we got on the plane he asked me if he could sit by me so he could lay his head down on my lap... strange. Luckily, it was not a full flight and we had an entire row to ourselves. As Garrett laid down, I realized he had a fever. He slept the entire flight. When we got off of the plane he looked like crap! His glands were swollen, he was shivering, his teeth were chattering, he could hardly talk because his throat was so sore, and he had zero energy. NOT my kid at all. We walked down to the baggage claim to find ALL of our suitcases and baseball gear completely wet. During our 7 1/2 hour flight delay- due to a storm- all of our luggage was left out in the downpour. When we got to the hotel, Garrett was too sick to eat. We checked in our room and put him straight to bed. Later that night, he was given a Priesthood blessing.

Day 2

I awoke on Tuesday to Garrett still feverish, strep throat-ish, and miserable. The P.A. that was traveling with us had the doctor he works for call in a prescription for a z-pack for Garrett. I spent the first half of the day trying to pick up his prescription. We got Garrett all drugged up and he and my dad left with the team for the Yankees game.The boys had a great time at the Yankees game. There were 2 rain delays and almost a no hitter. They enjoyed seeing batting practice and touring the stadium. Although Garrett was not at his peak wellness, he still managed to enjoy the night. While the boys were at the Yankees game, I was able to go into Manhattan with my mom and Kami and experience the city. We took the train from Ronkonkoma to Penn Station. The train ride was a fun experience. We came out of the train station at 7th avenue and 34th street, right at Madison Square Garden. It was amazing! You feel so tiny and very insignificant in Manhattan. There are hundreds of people on each block and at least 40 taxi cabs and enormous buildings that just tower over you. After the train ride we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch and I had the most amazing salad. It was worthy of a picture. After lunch we walked to Times Square. That was about all we were able to fit in that day. I loved the diversity of the city, the crowds, the amazing architecture, and the crazy cab drivers that honk just to honk- because the person in the car in front of them couldn't move even if they wanted to!

Day 3

On Wednesday, the boys went to Modell's and Dick's sporting goods stores to purchase their Yankee/Mets/Jets/Giants fan wear. Then they actually played a baseball game that night. They won the game 11-5. They were pretty excited. That day my parents, Kami, and I toured Long Island. We drove to Montauk and looked at some famous lighthouse from a distance. They charged $8 to park the car and then $9 per person to walk up to the lighthouse. Although it was pretty in that area, it really was just a lighthouse. We took some pictures and moved on. After the Montauk, we drove to the Hamptons. Wow! Talk about a beautiful area. Everything on Long Island is so green. There are HUGE trees that grow over the roads and 20 foot shrubs that surround every home. Each home sits on acres of green grass, with huge trees and shrubs. After a while I began to feel claustrophobic. A person is unable to see to the right or left because of the trees. You know you are so close to the ocean, but you just can't see it through the foliage. It is weird after having lived in the desert most of my life. When I got back to the hotel, I had dinner with the team and we celebrated one of Garrett's teammates, Bronzen's, birthday.

Day 4- July 28th, 2011

On Thursday, the boys had a baseball game at 8:00 a.m. They had to be at the fields by 7 to warm up. That meant I had to wake them up at 6 so they could get ready and eat before they left. That was 4 o'clock Utah time. They all looked like walking zombies in the lobby that morning eating breakfast. They played like they looked. The boys lost that game 10-0. I am not sure if they were tired or just too excited about their post game activities. As soon as their game was over, the coaches took the boys to Splish and Splash- a water park that is rated in the top 10 of the nation. The boys had a blast! When they got home that night, they were exhausted, but told me every detail of the day. While the boys were at the water park, Kami, my parents, and I went back into Manhattan. I was able to see a little more of the big apple. We went to Rockefeller Center, Central Park, the New York temple, and Canal Street. I was also introduced to the subway system- so crazy, fun.

Day 5- August 29th, 2011

We awoke on Friday to rain, and lots of it. We were supposed to have a game at 8:00 a.m. We kept checking the tournament website and calling the tournament director for an update to see if the games were cancelled, postponed, etc. By 7:30 we had not heard anything, so we headed to the fields. We got there at 7:55 and found that games were on. Fortunately, the other team had just arrived as well and the boys were given 15-20 minutes to warm up. The heavy rain slowed and it just drizzled most of the game. The boys played great and won 4-2. Garrett had a GREAT defensive game at 3rd base. He got cleated a couple of times, but still made the plays. It was a proud day for his mama. As soon as the game was over, we rushed back to the hotel, changed our clothes and loaded up half of our group to tour Manhattan. Me, 3 of the dads, and 6 of the boys took the train into the city for the craziest, fastest, all-encompassing, see everything there is to see in 7 hours, tour of the Big Apple. It was such a fun day. In a nutshell, we saw Madison Square Garden, 34th street (you know the movie Miracle on 34th street), Macy's (as in the Macy's parade), the Empire State Building (including the tour to the top), the famous hot dog stands on every corner of Manhattan, and Grand Central Station where we hopped on the subway to Wall Street. At wall street we saw the Merrill Lynch bull (the stock market bull). Then it was off to see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the eternal flame for the 911 victims and the surviving statue that had been by the twin towers when they fell, the Korean War memorial, the Downtown Athletic Club (where the Heisman trophy is given out each year), and then to Ground Zero. The boys were pretty solemn at this time. It was a neat experience to talk to them about what had happened and see so much of the destruction still visible 10 years later. After Ground Zero, we took a subway to Central Park. We then walked over to the New York Temple, Julliard School, Carnagie Hall, and then down to Times Square. We ate New york style pizza at Ray's Pizzaria and then sprinted back to the train station in the rain. It was an amazing, action packed day.

And someone told us New York was big and you couldn't see it in a day... Ha- If you don't spend any amount of time at one place, it is possible. Exhausting, but do-able.