US Open

US Open - Grand Slam Tennis - Flushing Meadows, Queens

Finally got a chance to attend an event at the US Open this year. We planned badly, and only by luck did we inherit tickets from a relative (who scored better tickets for the same match). We went on Day 5 of the tournament, the evening games at Ashe Stadium. The luck of the draw had us watching Marion Bartoli beat Lindsay Davenport, followed by the exciting match where Andy Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, edge out 19-year-old newcomer Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.

Compared to the Mets game we attended at Shea the prior week, this crowd was much more civilized, mostly in pastels if not wearing their tennis whites. It was very crowded but surprisingly not so annoying. Lots of foreign languages spoken, definitely an international event.

We took the 7 train to the Shea Stadium stop, and followed the more cleanly dressed crowd over a boardwalk with US flags waving and people with megaphones shouting some incoherent directions to the calm and well-mannered crowd. Apparently there are separate lines for this with-bag and those without-bag. The with-bag line stretched back all the way down the boardwalk. Luckily in our ignorance we skipped most of the line and stayed in the without-bag section until getting rejected by a staff member, whereby cutting into the endlessly long with-bag line. No one complained or gave us dirty looks (but then again I didn't look around or behind us to those we were cutting off) and by that time there was not much difference in speed between the withs and withouts. A purse counts as a bag, by the way, so ladies keep that in mind.

The outdoor venue was kind of fun, this funky modern architecture kept minimal with navy blue, silver and white. Many booths dotted the area - US Open merchandise, Heineken, Nike, American Express. There is a larger food court area that resembled food courts in malls - a curved wall of various food vendors selling burgers and Chinese and pizza that hugged an open court filled with white tables. The most difficult part was finding an empty table. Since we got there as the day matches ended and the night matches were starting, we got the peak food crowd and as soon as a table opened up people immediately swarmed on it to fill it up. We ended up sharing with a gracious stranger - table sharing was common at the point, so don't get discouraged unless you're with 3+ people.

The most shocking part of the event (aside from the calmness of all) was the price of food. We probably spent a good $60+ for two of us, and we didn't even get a lick of alcohol. Just pretend you're at a really large, outdoor movie theater, and expect the same kind of prices. $4.50 for a bottle of soda, $6.00 for a foot-long hotdog. You get the picture. To add injury to insult, the hotdog and sausage dog we had as we entered the stadium were cold - not even lukewarm, but as if they just pulled them out of the cooler to cook and forgot to turn the heaters on. Gross! But the other vendor foods - pepperoni pizza, cookie, sushi - were decent. The pizza was a welcome treat at 11pm when we were barely into the second match.

Our seats were in the Lower Promenade, section 306. Looks terrible from the seating chart, but we actually had a great view, in the corner of the stadium opposite the judge's chair, and were able to clearly see everything going on in the court. Our friends who had the closer seats were on the opposite side of the stadium behind the judge, and while they enjoyed their seats they admitted to not being able to see the net.

The attendance at this venue was surprisingly sparse, for such hot tickets. But then again it did rain and delayed the games by a few hours, so maybe that kept a lot of people from making the long haul out to Queens. During the later part of the games people did, of course, make their way down toward the seats closer to the court. But we liked it fine just where we were.

For such a highbrow event, the crowd was pretty casual and relaxed. As the games stretched far into the night, the music was pumping, the people dancing and mugging for their camera closeups, children jumping up and dancing at every opportunity. Despite Roddick being American as well as a previous US Open champ, there were equal cheers for Roddick as there were for Gulbis, who both turned a year older by the end of the event - they both had birthdays on the same day, Roddick turning 26 and Gulbis turning 20. Keep your eye on Gulbis - he's going to do well in the coming years if he keeps his pace up. He made the play look so easy.

In all, definitely check out the US Open if you haven't already. Next year we're hoping to go a little earlier, check out more of the things they offered, like the Outer Courts. The New York Times has a great page for suggestions about visiting the US Open.

O-Bon Festival at Dai Bosatsu

Every summer the Japanese have a O-Bon festival, in which they welcome back for a night the souls of their departed ancestors, hang out for a day, then send them back to the "other side." A few places outside of Japan celebrate this holiday, and the Zen Studies Center in the Catskills - Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-Ji - is one of them. We had the privilige of taking part in the celebration this past August.

The drive up to the monastery is a good 3 hours or so from NYC, requiring very detailed directions. If you take a wrong turn, your only hope is the kindness of local strangers who can point you in the right way. We were relying on our handy iPhone map until we got deep enough in the mountains and lost all signal. Almost a quarter of the journey is on dirt roads, so make sure your car can handle it. Keep in mind, too, that the rain can make it extra challenging on those curvy dirt roads.

Five of us drove up, and were greeted a beautiful lake and a bald monk dressed in sheer black robes. I never did get the chance to ask about the different ranks and dress of the monks, but there is an obvious hierarchy. We drove up to the building - an amalgum of Japanese temple architecture and college dormitory styling - and 4 of us were assigned to room 11, the remaining friend who was a regular visitor, had her own single room. Our room was furnished with a pair of bunk beds, a complete set of linens (including two woolen blankets) per person, a closet, a bathroom larger than those found in most NYC apartments, and windows with a view of the lake. All was clean, and sparse. Aside from the room, we were not given a key - it's all about trust and karma here. We left our valuables anyway (or I did, at least) and never had a problem with theft.

We registered, paid, got lunch then were given an informal tour of the grounds.  We stopped by one of the rooms to decorate our own personal paper lantern that was to take part in the ceremony.  The lantern was to honor any of our past loved ones, who were supposed to have picked that night to come and visit us on this earthly plane, just to say hi.  Four blank sides of rice paper set about a styrofoam base.  In the middle of the base would be a candle, lit during the processional.  We finished our lanterns, and were guided to the temple room to dedicate it and place it with the other lanterns.  

For the remaining hours until the evening's ceremony, we took the opportunity to circle the big lake, changed into gray jedi-like robes, and had dinner.  After dinner we lined up in the ceremony room and tried to follow along with the Buddhist ritual - lots of changing, an amazing amount of intense energy.  After the ritual, night had fallen and we all gathered outside to the lake in the utter absolute dark, carrying our lanterns and placing them into the row boats which were sent out to the other side of the water.  It was indescribably beautiful to watch these glowing lanterns being set onto the water, floating gently into the night, with the soft background chanting and bells ringing as we said our greetings to our departed loved ones.   This emotional ceremony was followed by a large bonfire and party at the cottage house.  There was another meditation and ceremony early the next morning, followed by breakfast, and then it was time to go.  

A truly unique experience, one that even my Japanese friends say is not done commonly in Japan today.