8/23/08 Canoeing on the Nissequogue River

This entry is co-authored by Godnephew.

We went to Nissequogue River to canoe. Theresa had to paddle the whole five and a half miles because Goddaughter and Godbuddy were the only other passengers in that canoe and they rotated with each other. The other canoe had Godnephew, Godchum, and Godfriend plus Dad. They had all the food and drink at the beginning until we made a rest stop at a small patch of sand that we stopped our canoes at. The Nissequogue is a tidal river (also known as an estuary river) which means that there's tides on the rivers so the water goes different ways every couple of hours. We went the direction of the tide as soon as the tide started flowing from the Long Island Sound inland. Theresa's canoe got stuck on a pipe that was just far enough underwater that you couldn't see it but just high enough that we could get stuck. The other canoe had to help them and strangers in kayaks and passing canoes helped also and eventually they got out. We went five and a half miles until we got back to where the car was. At the end of the river there was a bridge where we had to get out and drag the canoes to the shore.

8/22/08 After the Mets' Game

I'm not sure how much of the game Mom actually saw because she had to spend most of her time keeping Little Brother entertained and out of other people's way.

Here are the players congratulating each other at the end of the game:

Look at all those brake lights. We are about to enter that traffic:

In the background you can see Flushing Meadow, home of the U.S. Open. Some of the preliminary U.S. Open events were happening tonight at the same time as the game. Knowing how bad traffic was going to be with both of those events happening so close to each other was another reason we left early to get to the game.

As we walked out from our high, high seats, we could look down on the other people who were leaving:

Neon signs depicting baseball, like this one, are a signature part of Shea Stadium:

8/22/08 Go Mets!

Ballpark hot dogs at Shea are really Nathan's hot dogs! So that means Theresa had two Nathan's hot dogs in three days:

It was an exciting game. The Mets played the Astros (it turns out that they were both expansion teams started in the same year).

Bryan Schneider just hit a two-run home run to extend the Mets' lead to 3:

See the Brooklyn skyline to the right of the scoreboard? Also, look at the top of the scoreboard. There's a neon outline of the city skyline.

8/22/08 Making Our Own Pizza

Here's a fun way to have lunch where everyone gets something they like. Make your own pizza!

We liked that this cheese was made in Denmark, Wisconsin which is where Aunt Kathy was born.

8/22/08 The Mets' Final Season at Shea Stadium

This entry is being co-authored by Godbuddy.

On August 22nd, Theresa and her friends got to go to a Mets' game. A big reason why we wanted to go was it was the Mets' last season at Shea Stadium and we wanted to see the park. This park has been with the Mets almost since the franchise started. (The Mets started in 1962 and the park was built in 1964.)

On the 45 minute drive to Shea Stadium, we gave Little Brother the digital camera to keep him entertained. Here's a self-portrait that he took himself:

Here we are driving up to Shea Stadium:

This is the new park called Citifield:

Here you can see the two parks side by side:

Though most of the family is Mets' fans, everyone agrees that Godbuddy is the #1 Mets' fan in the family:

Here is the whole gang (except Dad who's taking the photo) in front of Shea Stadium:

Theresa liked this "You are here" sign because it showed that we were really at Shea Stadium:

Here's one of Little Brother's cute faces at Shea Stadium. Look how close we were to the top of the stadium:

Another look at how high up we were:

Dad got a commemorative bottle:

8/21/08 The Cyclone on Coney Island

This entry is co-authored by Goddaughter.

The Cyclone is a wooden roller coaster on the boardwalk of Coney Island. Although it was very expensive ($8 a ticket), it was worth it. The first drop was the worst. After that it just didn't seem as bad or scary. After the ride, this one person tried to get us to ride again for just $5 but we just kept walking so he lowered his price to $3. Guess what. We still didn't go on again.

Dad bought the pictures of us on the ride. We find them quite hilarious.

8/21/08 Nathan's on Coney Island

This entry is co-authored by Goddaughter.

For lunch on Coney Island we decided it was best to go to the original Nathan's except for Godnephew who doesn't like Nathan's food so he had a slice of pizza. The rest of us enjoyed hot dogs, mozzarella sticks, and really bacony and cheddary bacon cheese fries.

8/21/08 The Coney Island Experience

This entry is also co-authored by Goddaughter.

We came to Coney Island in two cars. The first contained Mom, Hank, Theresa, Godbuddy, Godnephew, Godchum, Godfriend, and Little Brother. Goddaughter and Dad came in the other car with Goddaughter's boyfriend. (Dad had a meeting at work in the morning and we wouldn't all fit in one car anyway.)

Since Little Brother couldn't ride The Cyclone, Mom took him on a few rides of his own:

Dad and the five oldest kids (plus boyfriend) rode The Wonder Wheel. Do you see them in their car? The interesting thing about this is that the white cars on the outside are just for decoration now and aren't used. The colored cars on the inside of the wheel move back and forth while the ferris wheel goes around.

Here's a close up. ;-)

Dad helped make sure that we had the full experience. Right before leaving, he bought cotton candy and fried dough. Yum! AND we got back to the cars before the meters ran out. All in all, it was a great day at Coney Island.

Hank had to leave after our time in Coney Island. We only got to see him for about 24 hours, but that was better than not at all. Here are Theresa and Hank in the parking lot before one car left for home and the other car left for Queens to take Hank to his next destination.