On the inbound path to Citi Field, my dear wife Karen and I along with fellow New York Mets lover and good friend Steve Vicik Jr. and his lovely wife Kristen passed a whole lot of access to La Guardia Airport.
Yes, Flushing Meadows is right next to one of the Big Apple’s major air thoroughfares. I used to watch the overhead action at Shea Stadium. Hear it, too, even over the Let’s Go Mets cheers.
I was more than a bit fascinated to watch them depart over the center-field scoreboard Saturday.
Where you going?
Really upper deck.
OK, maybe I was a bit too fascinated by the big birds. I must admit, they did not seem as loud to me as they did at Shea. Maybe it was the rain. Or my hearing.
Click on any gallery photo for a description. Click on the right photo for an enlarged slide show.
There were also moments in the two stores we visited and other spots that did not fit into other posts this week. And so this happy Mets fan — remember, my squad went on the next day to win the completion of that rain-suspended game against the Reds in 13 innings and then take the regularly schedule game, too, behind the magnificent major-league debut of appropriately named, went-to-my-Long-Island-High-School-phenom pitcher Steven Matz — will leave you with one last photo montage.
Do you enjoy watching planes take off and land, and where do you best get to watch? What’s your favorite piece of sports wear or memorabilia, and why? Which is your favorite photograph, and why?
If you missed them: The Game, Fans and Friends, Mets Museum, Wet It Was, Neat Stadium.
Mark Bialczak 
Ahhh… nothing like that feeling when you’re at a major ball park watching a game. Mr. B and I go see the Red Sox early August. Regardless of their standings or who they are playing, I just love being there. As to planes taking off, it is cool to watch but every time I do I question my next trip because I can’t believe they don’t crash more often than they do! 🙂
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Red Sox at Fenway for the four of us, Mrs. B, next June. 🙂
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when i go to the airport, while waiting for my plane’s departure, i love to watch the other planes take off and land and try to imagine where all of those people are going, and their stories. my fav piece of sports memorabilia is a photo, which i will reveal in a later post. you keep reminding me to write it, with your sports stories and one day soon i will )
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Red Wings or Tigers or Wolverines, oh, my?! I like when you keep me guessing, Beth. I think it’s a hockey photo. Yeah, Wings. Frank Mahovolich?
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Today. I loved the flags, Mark. Proud may they fly for the home of the Free and the Brave!
I also liked the honor shown for 1986 and 1969’s championships.
Your photos catching planes were clear and interesting. I like the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport watching planes coming and going. I also enjoy inside airports with people arriving to hugs and relief. Especially our armed forces who greet their families with such gratitude. 🙂
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I love the flags and planes, too, Robin. Thank you! Airports are such interesting places to observe behavior.
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Favorite picture? The fells with the Rose jersey. 😉
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I may have had several bloggers from Ohio in mind when I took that one, MBC. Hi, Robin! 🙂
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Hi Robin!!!! 😉 Appreciate the thought MBM! When he played it was the last time I watched baseball. Seriously not seen a game since.
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Charlie Hustle made us all watch, MBC. Now he’s a sorry old liar who bet on his own team and didn’t want to admit it and … Oh, well. What a player to watch, though!
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That’s all I remember MBM. 🙂 I was young, in a house with 5 brothers, dad, everyone….. Johnnny Bench. 🙂 Pete Rose. Joe Morgan. Dave Concepcion. Ken Griffin. Yes. I used to love that. Never watched since.
I can’t speak to what happened after those years I watched. I lost interest when they weren’t ‘that’ team any more. 🙂
All that other stuff is over my head. Though I know it’s a heated debate for sure!
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I think the flags were captured nicely. I used to enjoy watching the planes and now I see my kids still getting a thrill out of it. It is exciting when they’re really low. We have Burbank Airport right here and it’s pretty much across the street from where my husband works.
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You passed down your aviation love to your kids. That’s pretty cool, Marissa.
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Thanks Mark!
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Great photos Mark! I live several miles from our airport. I see planes coming and going all the time. In fact, about 18 years ago and small engine plane took off from the airport and crashed one block from my home. (All 4 people aboard died).
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That’s really awful about the plane crash so close to your house, PJ. I’m glad it was not closer, though.
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Yes me too, it was very sad.
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Or, hit truck on the road. He would have gotten the worst of that collision, I’d guess, Paul.
Two things I wouldn’t think are possible just by looking at the pure physical situation, but I step forth and venture onward because I believe in the science: Flying planes and floating ocean liners. 🙂
Have a great Friday, my friend.
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There is a regular rural road that passes right beside the very end of one runway in Ottawa.There is a fence,of course but there is also small turn-out that will hold two cars.We used to drop by there on summer nights and lay on the hood of the car and watch the bellies of the jets go by about 20 feet overhead as they landed and took off. They are humongous and I have to wonder at the physics that keeps so many tons of metal suspended in the air. I know how the theory works, of course, but the reality is mind blowing.
Ha! When I was trucking, I actually almost hit a helicopter in the air once – ha! I was trucking in Newfoundland and it got foggy around Arnold’s Cove on the Trans-Canada. It was the middle of the afternoon and there used to be quite a bit of helicopter traffic in that area as it was a supply and personnel route for servicing the offshore oil rigs in Hibernia. Many helicopters had and used instrument operating procedures but there were a few that navigated by sight only and the occasional one that could operate on instruments but chose to use visual rules. Anyway,the fog came in very fast as I was driving up the gentle slope to the top of a grade. I knew that hill and knew there was a similar slight incline on the other side. Just as I topped the hill I met a helicopter coming towards me that was flying so low that I was looking the pilot in the eye. I jumped on the brakes and he must have pulled back on his collective as he shot straight up in the air out of sight. Afterwards I realized he must have been following the road using visual rules and when the fog came in so abruptly he got too close to the ground when he followed a roadway that was rising. ha! That would have been hard to explain to the insurance company: hit helicopter in the air.
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Thanks for those photos. One of my best memories of the ’60s is making a banner for Banner Day at Shea, where you could march right on the field with other kids thinking you had a chance to win “best banner.” The event took place between games of a doubleheader. There were hundreds of kids and we had to assemble outside the ball park starting around the 7th inning of the first game, so we missed the last few innings but everyone who participated got a ticket to a future game! By the way, my sister says that banner is still around (we could never toss it).
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Hi Mike! I also took part in a banner day. The double-header was against Philadelphia, and I still remember my unfortunate 9-year-old creative poem that ruined a pillow case: “Ding Dong, Ring Their Bell, If You Don’t Beat the Phillies, You’ll Go to …” Just like that. My father made me go down there and walk the field by myself because he didn’t want to miss any of the game. No, I didn’t win. 🙂 Good seeing you here today. And I’m pretty sure that pillow case was tossed as soon as we got home.
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Haha! My banner was on a bed sheet and even though the artwork was awful, we hung it up on the wall for a while.
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Perfect, Mike. I love it.
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I am always amazed when driving on the Grand Central Parkway how low those planes are. I know regulations have changed and airports are no longer allowed to be built in locations so close to freeways. I am always fascinated though and love to watch planes overhead.
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I couldn’t help but look at the game, Lisa. I wanted to get an even better shot than I did. The iPhone 6 didn’t do it justice as to how my eyes perceived how close they were to the stadium.
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We live almost across the Delaware River from Philadelphia airport, so we get planes flying right over us–sometimes it’s annoying, but it’s not really bad. Sometimes the park by the river offers a great view of planes flying in or taking off.
I have zero interest in sports, but last night at dinner my daughter and her wife (who live in Boston and are visiting) and my husband were comparing the Red Sox and the Phillies and trying to decide which team was worse this year. It was pretty funny.
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That’s sure some dinner topic, Merril. 🙂
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