Major League Best Time

I try to make sure to catch a Mets game about every 10 years.  So I jumped at the opportunity to join some of the good people of the Upper West Side for a Mets game a few weeks ago.

A lot of people waited a long time to get Shake Shack at Citi Field.  I had chicken fingers.  I've been to three professional sporting events this year and I've had chicken fingers at all of them.  I guess you could say that's "my thing."

I believe Aubrey took the next few pictures.

Because I couldn't have taken this one.

But I did take this one.

Wooo!  I love baseball!  But I'll only stay for ten innings.  That's my limit!

Posted all photos in black and white because, I don't know, why not?

Best Home Town Trip

Two things I just realized: I haven't blogged for nearly two weeks (I blame going into the wilderness . . . more on that in the future) and I haven't blogged about my trip home in July.  Time to kill two blogbirds with one blogstone!

So, yeah.  I went to Chicago kind of suddenly one weekend.  It was one of those super early morning flights from La Guardia.  The kind you take a cab for.

Next thing I knew I was in Chicago.  I hadn't been home in over a year.  Here's establishing O'Hare photos to establish that I was there.

Important Chicago discovery: There's a Rick Bayless torta shop at O'Hare now.

I got home to Oak Park before Mom got home to Oak Park from a week at Girl's Camp.

We celebrated her return and my return by going to the grocery store for Sunday dinner ingredients.

And then we went to Las Fuentes for the traditional Las Fuentes eatings.

Here's the part of my family that lives in Chicago still.

Here is me, for better or worse.

Chaunte was also in Chicago that weekend.  She spent Sunday with the Barneses.  After church I took her to see Al Capone's grave,

Then she took me to meet some friends of hers from Chicago.  No pictures of friends reuniting, but I got a picture of my chilaquiles.

Then we scurried home for a proper Sunday dinner.  The sort worth flying home for.

Then we took our Sunday afternoon walk through the neighborhood.

Oak Park is overrun with bunnies right now.

Monday: Went downtown with Mom and Emily to eat with Dad.  Killed time around Northwestern.

Museum of Contemporary Art was closed

But not the Gift Shop!!

Niketown is always a legitimate Michigan Ave stop.

Made our traditional visit to the Lamborghini Dealer.  Not kidding!  And neither are they when it comes to leasing Murcielagos.

Went inside a church I've been passing my whole life for the first time.

Yeah, and then a little later it was time to go back to New York.

Inside the Airport: Plane's totally late.

But that's okay, it just gave me enough time to get one of those Rick Bayless tortas I'd been thinking about all weekend.

Best Berlin Days Five and Six

Last full Berlin day was a Sunday, that meant bike rides to church.  I did not pack church shoes but fortunately I remembered my belt so I didn't look totally foolish.

Leaving the apartment, look at that cat up there!

Rode the train part of the way there, Berlin trains have a trickster problem.

The rest of the way we zoomed through parks.

Languages spoken at the Berlin ward: At least German, English, Spanish.

After meetings, a Linger Longer!

I couldn't help it, even though I was a visitor I hit that Potluck hard.

After church, find myself bumping into this famous monument that relates closely to my Senior year of High School/Freshman year of college fascination with Wings of Desire.

Inside the base, other fine structures are honored.

For a very fair fare of just a few Euros you can take a many step trip to the top.

And get yourself a nice view of town from up there.

Underground art on the way out from the monument

More zooming through parks

And mysterious structures

Or just Bauhaus museums

On the way to stand in a massive line

For some very famous doner

It was the only line I stood in the whole time I was in Berlin and it was worth it.  This was quite the sandwich.

Not saying I'd be in a hurry to do it again, but maybe if I knew their off-hours.

More things passed on the way to one more park.

Entering the park, so many happy faces.

And a great big crowd . . .

Of delighted, enthused people.  But why?

Oh because they're there for the weekly arena karaoke show!

Typically I'll have nothing to do with karaoke, when Alpha told me I needed to see this karaoke show I was highly suspicious.  But I was totally taken with it!  Alpha could barely drag me away from it.

But fortunately she did in time for me to buy one last sausage, this from the best brat-vendor she knew of

Sporting an amazing range of mustards

Me, my sausage, and the motto.

This graffiti artists expressed his displeasure with me having taken his photo in the most polite manner.

Rainbow playground.

Weirdos raving in the woods.

Rock climbers on the periperhy of the park.

Headed home to the apartment one last time.

And now, Day Six, a day where I just got up and went to the airport.

Perfectly normal sight to see at 7 am at an airport.

I started my trip home on KLM and they served me the most delicious tomato and egg sandwich.  One of the best things I ate on my trip!

Coming in for a layover in familiar territory . . .

Good old Amsterdam!

Home to one of my favorite McDonalds

Sigh, when in Rome, you know?

Odd discovery: the Amsterdam Airport Duty-Free shops had incredible Leica inventories.

If you were at the airport and the need struck you and you had, what, seven thousand Euro handy, you could just casually pick up the much-sought-after Monochrom or one more S-system lens, should you need it.

Delta carried me home to America, feeding me Thai curry along the way and offering me the most incredible range of On Demand movie options.  I fell asleep for the final acts of two different Steve Carrell movies.

And that, I guess, was my amazing trip to Berlin.