Baseball and boats. They do go together and in wonderful fashion this past month with me and my two children. Highlands, NJ-based Seastreak Ferry recently served up a grand helping of sun and fun for me and mine. Here are five grand slam memories of the outing with my fabulous son and daughter:
1) Bond Building—Both of my kids are knowledgeable sports fans. Both like the Mets. I’ve been a fan since 1969—the Amazing Mets signature year. My 19-year-old son Kyle (he’s entering his second year at George Washington U in DC) and my 17-year-old daughter, Lauren (soon to be a senior at High Tech High School in Lincroft) and I were the guests of Seastreak and their superb direct ferry service to Citi Field. That’s the home of the New York Mets. And I’ll remember always the happiness that we shared that day. It was a magic time. I’ve been talking to my kids about the Mets since they were little. Lauren went through a time where she watched all the games and got me back into watching. Kyle has a head for the history of the game and went with me to my first ferry-ballgame excursion.
2) “The Only Way To Go”—If I heard that once, I heard it 20 times from others. Prior to the ferry to the pro ballgame route, I myself would dread to go to a Met game or even taking my kids to see our Great American Pastime live. Seastreak changed that for me (and many others) and I’ve used the service many times. I get to bag the traffic, gas, tolls, parking and that dreadful ride back and devote all concerns into having a good time. “It’s a perfect setup,” my daughter Lauren explained. “You get to the game early; you can walk around the stadium and checkout the place. You even have time to get some lunch. And all with no hurry. You’re relaxed when you get to the seats.” Lauren is the one who picked the game on the Seastreak schedule. Smart girl that Lauren. Plus: The ferry is clean and fast. The sights from the boat ride (NYC in its glory) are breathtaking. Citi Field is open and inviting and also has a wide selection of food to choose from. Bring money.
3) Fantastic Voyage—There was a lot of good cheer on the boat ride up to the game. A couple of brothers from Wall Township, who made the journey with their young sons (both boys had their mitts), admitted to “be long suffering but always hopeful” Met fans. “It’s the only way to go,” one said, “and it’s the only way I’ll ever go again.” I also ran into and old-time friend of my family on the boat. He took the ferry-to-the-field trek with his wife and niece. He explained that his niece “had been traveling the world in recent months but was more excited about coming back to our area and seeing the Mets play.” The Shrewsbury resident explained that “Seastreak does things right—and besides that sitting in traffic is for the birds.” For more info on the Seastreak baseball schedule (there are Yanks trips too) click HERE
. The games run through September.
4) Great Game— The Mets played their longtime National League rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies. As for the ballgame itself, we couldn’t have asked for a better contest or outcome. Before the first pitch, Kyle and I both predicted that David Wright would hit a home run to left field. The Mets All-Star third basemen complied with a line shot in the first inning. Wright’s 15th homer of the year was then quickly followed by another from Marlon Byrd (the first back-to-back home runs all season by the Mets) and the team never looked back. New York won 5-0 and the team’s phenomenal young starting pitcher Matt Harvey was at the very top of his game (7 shutout innings and 10 strikeouts). Plus: The hot weather broke for the day. The seats behind third offered a perfect view—high enough to take in the big picture yet close enough to see the action. Oh, and one more thing. It was Dwight Gooden bobble-head doll day and “Doc” was at the ballpark.
5) A “You Never Know” Moment—While I knew for sure that the boat ride and ballgame would be worthwhile summer excursions for us; I never imagined that music would have such a thoughtful impact on this trip. Both the Star Spangled Banner (pregame) and Good Bless America (7th inning stretch) were 
sung by a remarkable young Long Island, NY tenor, Christopher Macchio. He left a crowd of 32,000+ spellbound and really thrilled me and my two children. All three of us were strongly moved by the two performances and continued to talk about it on the boat ride home to Highlands. A very nice moment for the three of us.
Filed Under: New Jersey, NY Mets at Citi Field, The Hot List, This Weekend in