A lot has transpired since I last put my thoughts down here.  First the trip to Philadelphia was great!  All of us interns packed into a bus at 6am and headed to Philly for a Phillies/ Mets game.

We received press passes when we arrived at the brand new Citizens Bank Ballpark and got a behind the scenes tour by some of the Phillies staff.  Originally, we were supposed to go on the field, but because the players were taking batting practice early our tour took us directly behind home plate, just feet away from the players.

We were completely spoiled for the day.  I received a $20 voucher, which was good for any purchase in the ballpark, and we watched the game from a Hall of Fame box, in a prime location down the first base side.  Every week here I found more reasons to be thankful to Peggy Steele, for the opportunity she has given us. 

During the game we had to complete a pre-discussed assignment of finding any employee at the ballpark to interview, and eventually write a journalistic feature style article on.  I somehow managed to tag along with another intern as she had an interview set up with a media member in the press box.  I found a polite press box attendant to interview, which made for a better story than if I had landed one of the many writers in the box.

The leaders of our caravan gave us the signal to leave in the eight inning, so they could avoid the torrid Philadelphia traffic (but the game was secondary to the other events transpiring today).  Then we made our way to Peggy Steele’s home outside of the city.  This was a real treat, as she held a catered pig roast in our honor.  I was amazed by the collection of baseball memorabilia and art, as well as a very large collection of Irish books, artifacts, and paintings.  I had a long conversation with Peggy about our Irish heritage, which is always a plus!

But overall, the Philadelphia trip was amazing.  I don’t think I have ever had such an unbelievable time on a day that I was being paid to work.  The only down side was that we made it back home at 11:30pm, and had to work the next morning at 9am, but the lack of sleep was a small price to play for a great day.

After work on Friday, another intern and I set off for New York City, and our weekend vacation we had planned out.  We stayed in a simple hotel/hostel in Manhattan for two nights and had a great time! The highlights included:

• Visiting the statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
• Seeing my grandparents names engraved on a giant plaque honoring immigrants who came through Ellis Island (something I had dreamed of seeing my whole life)
• Eating lunch in Chinatown
• Taking a double-decker bus tour of the city, at NIGHT! (very cool)
• And just checking out Times Square and the millions of other tourist spots in Manhatt

The trips were all great.  Now my next challenge is to stay focused for the next few weeks, as Hall of Fame Weekend is rapidly approaching.

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