over thanksgiving break, i was lucky enough to take a trip to the future home of the new york yankees. mr permahos (better known as amanda's papa) is a project manager for the new stadium and invited mr. rackover (amanda's dad), booty, and myself to take a tour with him around the construction site. the day started with a quick trip to the trailer office to suit up (hard hats and bright orange vests a must) followed by a quick trip into center field which is nothing more than a muddy, temporary storage area for steel, pipes, and other misc. machinery. at 80 years young, our tour guide made us look foolish -- maneuvering through obstacles such as thin wooden planks, large awkward rocks, and shaky temporary stairs as though he was walking on a freshly pavaed sidewalk, the 3 of us could barely keep up. another pleasant surprise was VIP treatment we received from every worker at the site. we knew we were walking with somebody important when everyone went out of their way to give papa a "'ow ya doin boss". one gentleman actually stopped his team of men just to come over a shake his hand ... respect! this same man directed us towards home plate and suggested we walk up the bleachers to the main entrance. here we got to check out the HVAC system, along with the intricate granite work which will welcome fans starting in april '09. after climbing a few flights, we ended our journey with a few pictures of the site along with a few laughs.

the day was special on more than one level -- the obvious was a yankee fan getting the chance to have a sneak peek at his team's future home. the second, though not so obvious, was having the opportunity to spend a day with the boys; a best friend, future father-in-law, and of course, the well respected tour guide. i never had the opportunity to meet either of my grandfathers growing up, but mr. permahos help filled that void on the tour de la yankee stadium.

me, mr. rackover, mr. permahos