New York, New York !

by Chris

I just got back from a great, 6 day trip to NY for the final Team Ireland selection camp at the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY. We saw the last group of guys trying out for the team and announced the team that will represent Ireland in the European Championships this summer in Finland. Half the team are Ireland based players and half are American based players with Irish citizenship.


I also had plenty of opportunities to visit family and friends. Unfortunately, without my trusty, camera-toting sidekick Kelly, I didn't take many pictures. Luckily, Alli is a semi-pro photographer and always has a camera at the ready.

I spent my first night and the next day in NY with my sister Alli. We had dinner out in Manhattan then hit a few Irish bars for a few pints. One of the places we went was the Black Bear Lodge, which is made to look like a log cabin inside. It was too warm in the backroom though so we nicknamed it the Sweat Lodge.

Here i am at the Sweat Lodge trying to get delirious from the heat and alcohol so I can find my spirit animal.

The next day we had to meet my friend Joe in NJ so he could deliver my truck to me to use for my trip. Alli and I decided to take the bus from Port Authority to the Ikea Superstore in Elizabeth, NJ and wait for Joe there...oh boy, what an adventure.

After dealing with the unorganized hell that is the port authority bus terminal, we got on the bus only to find out at the last minute that it was the wrong bus. It dropped us about a 20 minute walk from Ikea.

Chris & Alli in beautiful Elizabeth,NJ

Then after a while shopping, we get to the check out area and its all the fancy-schmancy, self-checkout...which seems like an invitation for people to steal stuff, but I had a great time scanning Alli's purchases.

Hi, welcome to Ikea..my name is Chris, did you find everything ok ? paper or plastic?
(insert scanning noises...bleep..bleep)

When we were walking to Port Authority, Alli was telling me about a project she had worked on that was going to involve banners of her drawings hanging all over the fashion district advertising a book...and then we came upon an advertisement for it !

neat-o !

I got to visit with my Dad 3 different days. On Saturday Alli, Aunt Jackie Dad and I went out to the South Bay Diner in Babylon for lunch before heading to Grandpa & Olga's.

This picture is actually from last year, but you get the idea...me & Dad

One day I even drove by the ol' Arnold Homestead in Massapequa where I grew up... hello old home that now belongs to strangers.

Traveling with me was fellow Dublin Lacrosse member Leonard who participated in the tryouts and made the team for Finland! Congrats Len !

Chris, Grandpa & Leonard during one of two visits I made to see my Grandfather & Olga. Being quite the fitness & nutrition nut himself, Leonard was very interested to hear about my grandfathers younger days as an award winning weightlifter, body builder and trainer...as well as Nassau County Sports Commissioner. We looked at Grandpa's old scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and photos and , of course, had a few beers.

On St Patricks Day, after visiting my Aunt Jackie, my Father, and Grandpa & Olga, we arrived at Matt & Jen's house to discover Matt and his children painted green.

On our last night in NY, we relaxed by the fire on Matt & Jen's patio, drank Blueberry Ale and caught up with friends...including a suprise cameo appearance by Brian Gressler and Matt's friend Tom the Relentless Debater.

I got to spend a good amount of time with Aunt Jack during my trip, but its never enough. Our last hour or so in NY was spent at Aunt Jackie's while she made Leonard and I tea, we repacked our bags and waited for our taxi to the airport to head home to Ireland.

A big thanks goes out to Bobby & Maryanne, who let us stay at their house in Long Beach for 3 nights. It was like staying at a bed & breakfast....that comes with dinner too !

Thanks Maryanne & Bobbie ! and Walnut too !

On Sunday night, many of Kelly's siblings came over for dinner cooked by Maryanne. It was great to see everyone, but I didn't have enough time to really catch up with everyone.

I'm already looking forward to my next trip to NY in May, when I'll stop on Long Island for 2 days before and 2 days after the NCAA Lacrosse Championships in Boston.

-Chris