Upstate NY Trip
Weekend Agenda: Saratoga Race Tracks
Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra
Yesterday, the Boy, myself and his friends went to the Saratoga Race Tracks. This was my first time going to see horse races and my first time upstate. Saratoga is about 30 minutes north of Albany which is about 3 hours from the city.
I'd seen horse races as the background in movies before, and that's pretty much exactly what they are like. Many ladies dress up in colorful polka dot dresses with fashionable straw hats and sunglasses. Some men wear suits, while others wear khaki pants with polo shirts. The Boy and I bet on almost every single race to make the experience more fun.
For the first race, we bet on a horse named "Speedy Deedy." And Speedy Deedy was speedy indeedy. He wasn't slated to win, so we got paid out more than five times what we put in! Most of the time since we didn't know how to pick winning horses, we picked the horse with the most symbols and best ratings in the book. After winning some races and losing others, we noticed that the horse favored to win almost always won. So, we went with the favorite for the next round and won, but the payout was only three times since everyone bet on it.
For the next round we decided to bet all of our winnings on the favorite again. This was definitely the most exciting race for us. Initially, our horse wasn't even in the top 4. We were so pissed off! What the hell was wrong with this horse?! But it started gaining in the last quarter of the race and came neck in neck with the leader by the end. The horse snuck up on the leader so quickly that the commentator didn't even have time to mention it, but in the end it came in second. The Boy and I just sort of stared at eachother first and then turned our attention over to the slow motion instant replay screen, hoping it would reveal that our horse really won the race even though we knew that it was pretty obvious that it didn't.
In the end, we broke even and had a lot of fun at the races. We continued to go with the favorite, and won every time we bet small, but lost every time we bet big. At one point, we left our seats and went to the field where the horses parade out with their jockeys riding along. The horses were really lean and muscular, and the jockeys were either small guys or girls a little bigger than me.
After the races, we walked around Saratoga and had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. The neighborhoods in Saratoga and Albany are really cute. The homes have porches, attics and white picket fences. They were total 'Leave It To Beaver' neighborhoods with nice lawns and trees.
In the evening, we went to see the Philadelphia Orchestra. The venue looked a bit like the Hollywood Bowl. It was outdoors, and people picnicked on the grass near the stage. We had orchestra seats a few rows from the stage. I'm not much of a symphony person, but the soloist in this orchestra was mesmorizing. I've never seen or heard such a great violinist perform. Everyone loved him.
We stayed at the Boy's friend's brother's place in Albany that night. Actually, the Boy's friend's brother just moved in a couple of days ago, so his place was a bit cramped with boxes and no place to sleep. So, we stayed at the neighbor's (good friends with the brother) instead.
The next morning, we went back to the city.
Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra
Yesterday, the Boy, myself and his friends went to the Saratoga Race Tracks. This was my first time going to see horse races and my first time upstate. Saratoga is about 30 minutes north of Albany which is about 3 hours from the city.
I'd seen horse races as the background in movies before, and that's pretty much exactly what they are like. Many ladies dress up in colorful polka dot dresses with fashionable straw hats and sunglasses. Some men wear suits, while others wear khaki pants with polo shirts. The Boy and I bet on almost every single race to make the experience more fun.
For the first race, we bet on a horse named "Speedy Deedy." And Speedy Deedy was speedy indeedy. He wasn't slated to win, so we got paid out more than five times what we put in! Most of the time since we didn't know how to pick winning horses, we picked the horse with the most symbols and best ratings in the book. After winning some races and losing others, we noticed that the horse favored to win almost always won. So, we went with the favorite for the next round and won, but the payout was only three times since everyone bet on it.
For the next round we decided to bet all of our winnings on the favorite again. This was definitely the most exciting race for us. Initially, our horse wasn't even in the top 4. We were so pissed off! What the hell was wrong with this horse?! But it started gaining in the last quarter of the race and came neck in neck with the leader by the end. The horse snuck up on the leader so quickly that the commentator didn't even have time to mention it, but in the end it came in second. The Boy and I just sort of stared at eachother first and then turned our attention over to the slow motion instant replay screen, hoping it would reveal that our horse really won the race even though we knew that it was pretty obvious that it didn't.
In the end, we broke even and had a lot of fun at the races. We continued to go with the favorite, and won every time we bet small, but lost every time we bet big. At one point, we left our seats and went to the field where the horses parade out with their jockeys riding along. The horses were really lean and muscular, and the jockeys were either small guys or girls a little bigger than me.
After the races, we walked around Saratoga and had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. The neighborhoods in Saratoga and Albany are really cute. The homes have porches, attics and white picket fences. They were total 'Leave It To Beaver' neighborhoods with nice lawns and trees.
In the evening, we went to see the Philadelphia Orchestra. The venue looked a bit like the Hollywood Bowl. It was outdoors, and people picnicked on the grass near the stage. We had orchestra seats a few rows from the stage. I'm not much of a symphony person, but the soloist in this orchestra was mesmorizing. I've never seen or heard such a great violinist perform. Everyone loved him.
We stayed at the Boy's friend's brother's place in Albany that night. Actually, the Boy's friend's brother just moved in a couple of days ago, so his place was a bit cramped with boxes and no place to sleep. So, we stayed at the neighbor's (good friends with the brother) instead.
The next morning, we went back to the city.
posted by LANYTransplant at 2:39 PM
1 Comments:
Haha. That's cool. I want details. E-mail me everything.
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