The Track Hack: A Busy December….GO NAVY!

Such a chaotic month….I'd expect nothing less.

Four years ago, I went to my first Naval Academy reunion. Only took me 30 years. Meanwhile, I had a blast reconnecting with old friends, and connecting with new ones.

This time around? My first Army Navy game since a very cold Philadelphia day in 1986. Release the hounds!!!!

Benefits of my early morning arrival; an incredible sunrise from the Jersey City Hyatt. Yes, I treated myself to the new iPhone…

Ferry ride up the Hudson to 34th Street.

Stop by Chez Craig; the host with the most.

A view of Alexander Hamilton’s last mistake….dumbass got his behind shot off over there.

Where is everybody?!?

(Translation: Craig owns this magnificent restaurant in Times Square and used every ounce of his Navy ingenuity to keep it viable thru Covid. As thanks, many of our classmates were determined to descend upon 49th Street and party like it’s 1987).

Did I mention Hamilton? I saw the play 3 years ago, before I truly understood the storylines. Since then, Disney+ has made me a fanboy. So i wanted a repeat performance, but tickets are once again prohibitive.

So i show up at the box office at 10am, first of four in line. Sorry, no tickets available….I wait in the lobby, searching on my phone for final options while the three people behind me leave…..I locate tickets in the nosebleed section for $300 and am poised to hit ‘purchase,’ when….

The Box Office guy whispers and waves me back over. His boss just approved release of a hidden batch…which just happens to include $220 tix…in Row H.

That’s 8th row, people.

A little unsettling to see unfamiliar faces in the cast. What was amazing was the step jump in vocal ability; this cast has ridiculous pipes.

Friday begins with a trip to WTC, always a poignant trip, with a classmate and many schoolmates memorialized there.

Union Square Park has some serious food. And I was hungry, so…

Uptown to Lincoln Center and Julliard...

Night-time, and the big bash at Craig’s place.

You might remember Sir Ron, from the Olympic Trials posts. He leaves a trail of wreckage wherever he goes!

Saturday, game time. An Uber thru Hoboken finds this gem….

Then there’s this…

My man Scott had game tix that he threw my way. But a week before the trips, he calls with a cryptic ‘who’s your buddy’ message. Seems classmate Gabe knows a guy who knows a guy….next thing I know, it’s a luxury suite with da boyz…

The suite had some sweet cannoli...

I hunt down Midshipman 4/C Shuttleworth, a budding trackster with a feral kick. He’ll be doing some damage to the Navy record books….and maybe a visit to the 2028 Olympic Trials, Bowen?

Great game, tough game. This is the 4th and short stop that Navy held, effectively ending the game. #WeSingSecond.

I remember that 4-game stretch in the mid-1990s when Army won all by a grand total of 6 points, just a brutal time for the Blue and Gold. Each game seemed to end in a made field goal, a missed one, or a goal line stand. Army bounced back this time and won their bowl game on a last second FG. Nice job, Whoops!

Back to the city for one last evening’s fun. Here's Ty redecorating the restaurant....

Next stop: Jersey Shore. Friends C and S have a Bradley Beach house that they lent for a few nights. Lovely place, two blocks from sand. And a mile or so from Asbury Park.

An impromptu pool hall stop in Eatontown...

Iconic site: the Anhaeuser-Busch plant across from EWR.

Mini-reunions: Brother Curt and his wife Angela

High School classmate Jill, recently relocated to The Shore. And yes, it’s ‘Down the Shore’ in Jersey, not ‘At the Beach’ or ‘The Coast.’ Get it right, people, or there will be NO pork roll!

Jersey bar humor...

Yikes. NBC abode, 1968-1985, Branchburg NJ. My room was the 2nd floor window.

Alas, duty calls. My DC-based client had some meetings they want me to attend in person, so i cut my vacation short and fly down. A little unnerving to be on a plane with 5 passengers.