Rockaway Beach, Mets

My love/hate relationship with the Weather Channel app took another turn for the worse today, as it promised a storm-filled afternoon, with the trouble starting around 2pm.  I had decided to go for a walk along Rockaway beach out at the end of the 'A' subway line, so despite it being warm and sunny, I took my coat with me when I left around 10am.  Not having the hotel breakfast has allowed me to set off earlier in the day than I would have done previously, so I thought that I would go as far along the beach as I could until the weather turned and then get on the subway back to the city and dash back the one block to the hotel.

It took nearly two hours to get to Rockaway Park, as despite it being the same line, I had to change at Rockaway Boulevard and again at Braod Channel for the shuttle to the end of the line.  I walked along the shoreline, able to paddle in the remarkably warm - or rather not-bitterly-cold -  Atlantic Ocean.  I stopped for a beefburger for lunch at Rippers as it had good reviews - and it was the only thing still open now that the summer season is over as far as the USA is concerned.  This also meant that the place was almost deserted apart from a few surfers and a handful of people sunbathing.

It would have been a peaceful walk along the beach if it weren't for it being on the flight path for JFK airport, which meant a steady stream of large jets passing low overheard.  I saw planes that were going to Saudi Arabia, India and South Korea as well as to various places across the USA.

After a couple of hours in total, I decided to head back to my hotel and prepare to go to the Mets game in the evening.  The subway train goes along a narrow strip of low land across the water, so as you look out of the window, it seems like the train is surfing along the top of the water - I imagine it must have to close fairly often when there are storms.  I got back to the hotel, with the weather still hot and sunny and having had to carry my coat around all day.

I bought my ticket for the Arizona Diamondbacks at the New York Mets game.  About an hour later, there was a huge thunderstorm with torrential rain.  Again, the game's start was delayed.  Often, if the weather is dodgy and it's not the last game of a series, they'd call a game like this off and schedule a double-header the next day, but it was obvious the game was going to be played eventually - especially being 11th September, as there were lots of pre-game commemoration ceremonies planned.   Once the sun had come out in Manhattan, I decided to go to the stadium.  I had dinner in the Caesar's club, which was a lovely place to eat - you have a view over the field from behind the left-field foul pole and can sit there watching the game as you eat and catching the replays on the TVs dotted around too.  I'd finished by the end of the 3rd inning, so I was able to watch the rest of the game from my seat which was in a great position just in front of the press box.