Rogers Centre -- Toronto Blue Jays 9-23-08

WE DID IT!

30 Major League Ball Parks in one season. 20 years of planning and one retirement later, we’ve completed our journey. Last night, we watched the Yankees beat the Blue Jays 3-1 in Toronto’s Rogers Centre.

Rogers Centre is a convention center masquerading as a baseball stadium. It has a retractable roof (railroad tracks just like Houston and Seattle). I’ll do some research when I get home to see which of the stadiums was the original, prototype design. Canadians are hearty people. It was cold and the roof should have been close, but NO! Having said that, the open roof did provide a spectacular view of the CN Tower. The concourses are wide and, instead of concrete, the floors were department store-like faux granite (Nancy’s description). It was actually comfortable to walk on. The stadium was very clean with more than enough bathrooms. They had lots of food choices, but be sure to bring Canadian money and be ready to pay extra … tax is NOT included in the price.

Here's the link to the pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

The hot dogs were ok. Nancy’s Italian sausage with fresh peppers and onions was better than my hot dog with onions. We gave it a 7.5. One caveat … I think we’ve OD’ed on hot dogs and that has probably influenced our ratings. I had a slice of pepperoni pizza which was surprisingly good. Nancy drank an India Pale Ale which she liked. I thought it was too light, but what do I know. I haven’t had many beers in the past 20 years.

The game was a good one. The Yankees took advantage of opportunities; the Blue Jays did not. Mike Mussina pitched well despite getting hit by a line drive. Joba Chamberlain pitched into and out of a bases loaded jam. Mariano Rivera got another save … ho, hum. And, the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs when the Red Sox beat the Indians. Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?

As I write this, we’re on our way home. I feel like I should be planning another trip. We’ll figure out something. This was too much fun. I’ll be publishing “What We Did on Our Summer Vacation” shortly.

Detroit -- Comerica Park 9/22/08

We're on the road again. Detroit this evening to see the KC Royals play the Detroit Tigers. Ball Park #29. On the way to the stadium, we stopped to see our former neighbors, Randy and Sharon Byrd in Novi, Michigan. They've purchased the Virginia Bar-B-Que franchise for the area and just opened their first store. Not bad for fast food bar-b-que. Stop by if you're in the area (http://www.virginiabbq.com/).


Comerica is a very nice new ball park. It's very well laid out. Wide concourses; good views from all locations; kid friendly with a carousel and a ferris wheel. We had great seats (not much competition for seats as you'd expect for a late September game with both teams out of the playoff race). The only negative ... the seats were not very comfortable ... narrow and not much leg room. One surprise ... there's a Montgomery Inn restaurant area behind right field. If anyone has any idea why the Gregory family wanted a franchise in Detroit, let me know.


The game was what you'd expect from 2 teams out of the playoff race ... not great pitching, not much hitting and general player disinterest (except for the September call-ups). Kansas City won 6-2. It was the David DeJesus show. He had 4 hits and a couple of nice plays in center field. Here's the link to the box score: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_09_22_kcamlb_detmlb_1&mode=wrap


Here's a link to the pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/
(They'll be uploaded tomorrow ... the link isn't working tonight)

Hot Dog Rating: I had great expectations for Comerica hot dogs, but they let me down. I had a Hebrew National hot dog with grilled onions (no sauerkraut available in the stadium ... believe me, we asked). Nancy had an Italian Sausage with onions and peppers. We rated both 7.5, good not great.

Summary of East Coast Trip 9/2/08

Sorry it has taken me so long to post the East Coast trip summary. After visiting the 7 East Coast stadiums, we spent a week at the Jersey Shore (Brigantine -- an island just north of Atlantic City) and I wasn't going to waste valuable beach time writing my blog. Then, when we got back to Cincinnati, I had to take care of some overdue bills (We were gone a month and Clermont County Water and Duke Energy were threatening to shut off our water and electric), see my dentist, participate in my Fantasy Football draft, play some golf and see some of my P&G buddies to catch up on the latest gossip/info. I lead such a busy life!

This trip seemed so short after driving to the West Coast earlier this summer. The longest time we were in our car was 6 hours. Most of our trips were less than 3 hours. We put 3133 miles on our car. Gas was cheaper than in California ($439.96). Typical cost was $3.69 a gallon. However, NJ must have low taxes. The gas stations there were charging only $3.35 a gallon. Our hotel costs were also cheaper ($1846.96) since we stayed with friends and family for much of the trip although that was offset by our expensive week at the shore (NJ Shore Condo $1800).

Our restaurant costs were typical of our other trips ($1651.34). Museums/Activities ($258.74), Baseball Tickets ($1190.10), and Miscellaneous expenses ($691.71) were also on par. Groceries were a bit high ($374.84) since we spent a bunch of $$ to stock Steven's apartment with food. Our cash outlay was also high ($1460.00) given the readily available, and generally unsuccessful, gambling opportunities in Atlantic City.

General summary of things and stuff:
1) Pittsburgh is a great town. I loved the Inclines. Great food choices. Very clean. Surprising to me given the decline of the steel industry which dominated Pittsburgh industry for so long.
2) If you like horse racing, there's nothing better than Saratoga. Beautiful grounds, friendly atmosphere, and the opportunity to win a few bucks betting on the horses (note: opportunity means I didn't win).
3) Boston is a great city. While I cannot bring myself to root for the Red Sox, Fenway Park was a great experience. The city has a lot to offer ... history and great restaurants.
4) Yankee Stadium is the best, but I am biased.
5) If you love Chinese food, go to Chinatown in Flushing NY. But, you better learn Mandarin first.
6) I have made great friends in my life. It was great to see people I haven't seen in years.
7) Brigantine, NJ -- great beaches, proximity to Atlantic City, wonderful Italian food.

Songs of the Trip -- I picked two since we heard both way too many times:

"I Kissed a Girl" by Kate Perry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAp9BKosZXs

"All Summer Long" by Kid Rock (It sounds like "Werewolves of London" to me)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwIGZLjugKA

Two more stadiums left. We'll be visiting Detroit and Toronto in two weeks (9/21 and 9/22). I can't believe we're almost done. I've lived with planning this trip for over 20 years. It feels like I'm losing an old friend.

Atlantic City 8-18-08

My casino losing streak is intact. I lost $45 at the Trump Marina hotel playing blackjack. I'm done gambling on this vacation. I won't play again until we do our next Vegas trip. Jeff?

Monmouth Park 8-15-08

Well, I finally had a successful day gambling. My dad and I went to Monmouth Park in NJ to play the horses. I bought the racing form, did all my calculations, studied the form and made my selections. I won $15. I should feel really good about it except for the fact that Nancy picked horses by name, gave me $10 and won $13. I should have just played her horses and saved myself the time.

We're in Brigantine, a beach community just 5 minutes north of Atlantic City. Steven and Rob have joined us for beach time. Hopefully, my luck will carry over. We'll be playing blackjack on Monday.

DC Boat Tour 8-13-08

Not much doing today. We hung around Steven's apartment all morning then decided to go on a boat tour on the Potomac. We've had good luck with boat tours on our baseball stadium trip. They provide a good overview of the sights and a lot of information about the local area. Here's a link to our pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

I can't believe we're almost done with the tour. It's been more than I expected. The stadiums were great, but the side trips really made it great.

NY Mets vs. Washington Nationals 8-12-08

I really liked Nationals Stadium. It is the newest of the parks we've seen and they got all the amenities right. Wide aisles, lots of food choices, decent seats with leg room, a very nice, wide open center field pavilion. The only quibble ... its not in the best of areas and the center field view is marginal. A definite top 5 candidate.

While in DC, we're staying with our son, Steven. He and his friend James came with us to the game. It was T-Shirt Tuesday so we all got Nationals T-Shirts with "Run, Teddy, Run" on the back. The mascot race is between the 'Rushmores', the 4 Presidents on the face of Mt. Rushmore. Apparently, in the 4 years of their existence, Teddy has never won. They keep coming up with creative ways for him to lose. Today, he was in the lead and went back to attack a mascot bee which allowed Abe to win.

Here's the link to the pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

It was a good game. The Mets won 4-3. They scored the winning run in the 8th when Damion Easley was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_08_12_nynmlb_wasmlb_1&mode=wrap

Hot Dog Rating ... we have a new standard bearer. Nancy had a chili dog from Ben's Chili Bowl (in left field). It was great ... spicy chili, a tasty hot dog and a great bun. I had a foot long hot dog from the Senator's Sausages kiosk. great taste, good mustard and grilled sauerkraut pile thick. Yummy!! If I was an Eastern Bloc judge, I'd give it a ten ... "9.9" Nancy liked the beer, but it was a national brand, Miller Lite, in a bottle.

We'll be doing a few museums in DC before we head to the Jersey shore and the Brigantine Condo we've stayed in each of the past 8 years. 28 stadiums down, 2 to go. We'll do Detroit and Toronto in September.

Texas Rangers vs. Baltimore Orioles 8-9-08

The Orioles Camden Yards Parks is one of the original new parks. It has many of the amenities I like in a stadium. However, the view is marginal. They've built hotels and they block the view of the Baltimore Skyline. We had seats in the Club level, but the seats were not nearly as comfortable as the Philadelphia club seats. Getting into the parking lot was easy. Getting out was not ... this seems to be a theme for the 'in the city' ball parks.

We went to the game with a friend from P&G, Rick Beagle, his wife, Elena, and their son, Quinn. Thanks for the tickets, Rick. The highlight of the game was Quinn schmoozing the ball girl to try to get a ball. He got the technique down quickly, but was unsuccessful. However, now that he has the technique down, I'm sure he'll get a ball next time. The game was over in the 2nd inning when Nick Markakis hit a 3 run homer. The Orioles ultimately won 9-0 behind Daniel Cabrera and several relievers. Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_08_09_texmlb_balmlb_1

We stayed with Tom Drum (and Lisa and their kids, Gina and Ava). They have a beautiful home and were wonderful hosts. Thanks, Tom and Lisa.

I've had some difficulty loading the pictures. When I finally load them, here's the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

The Italian Sausage I had was quite good. It was the spiciest one we've had and had lots of veggies and a fresh bun. Once again, no sauerkraut (is there a national shortage??). I'd give it an 8.5. Nancy liked the Clipper Ship Ale she had.

We're now in DC visiting our son Steven. We'll be going to the Nationals game on Tuesday.

p.s. We had our Garmin stolen from our car in Baltimore. The police officer who took our information was very nice, but held out little hope for its return. I guess I'll be buying a new one.

Florida Marlins @ Philadelphia Phillies 8-7-08

Citizens Bank Park is one of the nicest stadiums we've been to. It's definitely a candidate for the top 5. It's very much like San Francisco's stadium with a view of the Philadelphia sky line instead of the San Francisco Bay. The promenades are wide, there are lots of food choices, and the lines were short. The rest rooms are pristine. The only downside to the stadium is the traffic exiting the parking lot. As I type this (Nancy is driving), we've been in traffic for 30 minutes and we're less than a mile from the stadium.

The Marlins and the Phillies played a day game today. Nancy and I drove from my parents house in Lakewood, NJ (about 1.5 hrs away) We got a late start so we were in a bit of a rush. We got to the stadium at 12:30pm, about 30 minutes before game time. Parking was easy. We found reasonably close, reasonably cheap ($10) parking and rushed to buy the tickets. I assumed that tickets wouldn't be an issue since it was a day game ... and I was wrong. We later heard they had the 3rd largest crowd in their history (45,000+). The ticket booth guy said they were sold out. I had a moment of panic until I turned away and heard a scalper offering tickets. I didn't have the cash for his primo seats. He asked me how much I was willing to spend. "$75," I replied since that's all the cash I had. He sold me one $50 seat in the Hall of Fame Club (like the 4192 Club in Cincinnati) and one upper level seat ($24) for my $75. I figured I could just show my one Hall of Fame Club ticket and get both of us in. One of the benefits of being old and having gray hair is they assume you're honest. HAH! We walked into the Hall of Fame Club and went to my seat. There were enough open seats so that Nancy and I sat together the whole game. We sat right behind home plate and sat in the most comfortable, padded stadium seats ever. Here's a link to our pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

As for the game, the Marlins won 3-0. The Marlins hit just enough and the Phillies just didn't hit. There were a few good plays, but all-in-all, not a great game. It was, however, a gorgeous day. Here's a link to the box score: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_08_07_flomlb_phimlb_1&mode=wrap

The Italian Sausage I had was tasty ... lots of peppers and onions and decent mustard. However, NO SAUERKRAUT and too much of a stale bun. I gave it a generous "8". Nancy liked her Bud Light so much, she went back for another (and got a Flying Club Pale Ale instead which she also liked).

Overall, it was a great day. Tomorrow, it's on to Baltimore. 26 stadiums down and 4 to go.

New York and Shea Stadium 8-5-08

After a family weekend, we moved to a hotel in Queens to be close to Shea Stadium. It's been quite an adventure. The Comfort Inn is less than a mile from Shea Stadium. However, it's in the middle of the Chinatown section of Queens. Good news for eating Chinese food (we had a great dinner last night); not so good for being able to communicate (more on that in a few).

The hotel check-in was an interesting experience. The hotel does not have a place to park your car when you check in. In fact, it doesn't have any place to park. So, while I checked in, Nancy had to drive around the block (and got lost). We had to pull the car into a private lot (and block traffic) to unload our stuff which we had to do in stages because someone had to stay with the illegally parked car. It was difficult to get our stuff up to the room. The elevator was up one short flight of stairs so we had to carry everything up to the elevator. It took us 20 minutes to get everything up to the room and not a moment too soon. A truck needed to pull into the private lot just as Nancy was walking out of the hotel after dropping off the final load. We, then needed to find parking. We were told to go to the lot at the end of the street. The lot custodian did not speak English making the discussion of what we needed to do very difficult. Somehow, we struck a deal for $15/day which is a good NYC rate. It seems to have worked. We were able to get our car today and bring it back tonight. One last complication ... our hotel is in direct line of the LaGuardia landing pattern so it's a bit noisy. I can't wait to try to load the car tomorrow.

Yesterday, we went to the Queens Hall of Science. It's on the site of the 1964-65 NYC World's Fair. It was a very well done science museum. Lots of demos and most were very well done. Nancy liked it and she's not into science.

Today, we did the Circle Line tour of Manhattan. It's a very nice guided tour boat ride around Manhattan. I liked it 28 years ago when Nancy and I took the tour and enjoyed it just as much this time. We took way too many pictures. I'll upload them as soon as I can. Here's the link to our pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

After the Circle Line tour, we rushed back to the hotel, got the tickets to the game and immediately left for the subway to the game. Shea Stadium is another stadium that was great in its day, but badly needs replacement. CitiField is being built in the old parking lot and will be ready for next season. As for the game, the Mets beat San Diego 6-5 thanks to 2 HRs by Fernando Tatis. On the second HR, he did the Carlton Fisk thing waving the ball down the left field line fair. The Mets tried to give the game away. San Diego scored 3 in the 9th on a HR but their rally fell short. Here's a link to the box score: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_08_05_sdnmlb_nynmlb_1&mode=wrap

The Nathan's hot dog at Shea was very good. Good flavor and outstanding sauerkraut. The mustard was spicy, but it was served in a packet. You have to get it at the Nathan's stand near the left field foul pole. I give it a "9". Nancy didn't like the fact that they didn't have any beer on tap although the Coors Light she had met the 'cold' standard.

On to my parents' house in Lakewood NJ and the Phillies game on Thursday afternoon.

Yankee Stadium 8-2-08

The Cathedral of Baseball, The House that Ruth Built, The Home of Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra and many of my childhood memories ... We went to the game at Yankee Stadium today with my sister Shari and her son Tyler. She got us the company tickets which saved us a large sum of money (Thank you Shari). As an added treat, it was Old Timers Day (unplanned ... I didn't know about it until last Wednesday). We got to see many of the Yankees of my youth. The only disappointment, we didn't get to see Monument Park. The line was at least 2 hours long.

The game was great. The Yankees needed a win vs. the LA Angels and got it winning 8-2. Four Yankee home runs and great pitching by Mike Mussina were the keys to the game. Here's a link the the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_08_02_anamlb_nyamlb_1&mode=wrap

I have been spoiled by all the great stadiums we've seen. Yankee Stadium is old, the promenades are narrow, the seats are uncomfortable, and the Jumbotron is old. There is still the view of the courthouse and the greenest grass I've ever seen. New Yankee Stadium is almost finished (and easily seen from our seats) and not a moment too soon. Here's a link to our pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

The hot dog was very disappointing. I remembered it as being the best tasting hot dog in the world. However, I've clearly been spoiled. While it had a good flavor, it was wrapped, not fresh off the grill, the mustard was in packets and NO TOPPINGS! A "6". Even worse, the beer was warm. Nancy was not happy.

The good news ... I got a Yankee golf shirt. On to a bar-b-que at Abbe's house (my other sister)today and it's Shea Stadium and the Mets on Tuesday.

Addendum To Fenway Park 8-1-08

I forgot to mention the best part of the Fenway experience ... the ritual singing of "Sweet Caroline" before the bottom of the 8th inning. It is something to behold. The whole crowd gets up and sings at the top of their lungs. There's one part of the the song that's punctuated by 3 notes ( a 'bom, bom, bom', if you will). Go ahead, sing the song in your head ... you'll know what I mean. When this part comes up, the music goes quiet and the crowd sings 'bom, bom, bom'. It happens twice in the song. David Ortiz actually delayed getting into the batters box so the crowd could get to do the 2nd one. Very cool.

We're now in Mystic, Ct on our way to Long Island. Mystic is a very cute tourist town if you're ever up in this area. We ate at a seafood restaurant last night -- S&P Oyster Company (http://www.sp-oyster.com/). It was noisy. Lots of kids after a day at Mystic Seaport. However, the food and the view of the Mystic River were outstanding. Worth a trip, but bring ear plugs or sit on the patio.

On to Long Island via the New London to Orient Pt ferry. The Yankees on Saturday. Old Timers' Day.

LA Angels vs. Boston Red Sox 7-30-08

We had plenty of time to tour Boston before the game today. We decided to do the Freedom Trail walking tour. When we got to the starting point in Boston Commons, we went into the Visitor's Center and found they did guided walking tours. For $12/person, you get a period costumed guide who leads you to the key sites and tells stories about the Revolutionary War period people. Very worthwhile. You get a much better sense of the history. But be prepared to do a lot of walking!!

We went to the game tonight with Robby Neufeld (my next door neighbor and best friend growing up in Bethpage) and his daughter Hannah. Fenway Park is a classic stadium. The seats are uncomfortable and there's not nearly enough leg room. The posts that hold up the upper deck block some of the view. The game was not very good (especially if you're a Red Sox fan). It was very hard for me to appear to be rooting for the Red Sox while silently rooting for the Angels. The Angels did a number on Josh Beckett. Lots of hits (16 for the game). The Red Sox defense didn't help (4 errors). The Angels won 9-2. Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_07_30_anamlb_bosmlb_1


The hot dog I had was very good. Very flavorful, good peppers and very good mustard. However, NO SAUERKRAUT! It coulda been a contender for best dog, but NO!! "8.0"

Nancy didn't like the Italian Sausage she had. Too dry. "6.5"

She did, however, really like the Coors Light beer. Very cold!!

Here's the link to all the pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

July 29 Update

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. We diverged from the baseball trip for a few days to visit Nancy's sister and husband (Sara and Karl) in Vestal, NY. Nancy and Sara visited relatives and did some touring. Karl and I played golf. The new Ping putter must be helping ... I shot an 84 and an 85.

On Monday, we drove to Saratoga to bet the ponies. I had hoped to win back some of the money we lost in Vegas. However, it was not to be. Lots of longshots came in. We met a friend, Mark Davis, for drinks after the races then went to the Barnsider restaurant for dinner (Historical sidebar -- the Barnsider was the restaurant where my P&G interviewer -- Jim Frisa -- took me to dinner to try to convince me to work at P&G. It's about 10 miles from the RPI campus).

Today, we drove to Boston. We'll be seeing the Red Sox game tomorrow. We met my old friend, Robby Neufeld, his wife Phyllis, and their daughter, Hannah, for dinner at McCormick's and Schmick's. Very good seafood. Robby and Hannah will be joining us at the game tomorrow.

San Diego Padres vs. Pittsburgh Pirates 7-24-08

Since the Pirates played at night, we had a day to do some more touring of Pittsburgh. We took a one hour sightseeing cruise on one of the Gateway Clipper Fleet's faux steamboats. It was a beautiful day and they actually gave a good tour of the three rivers skyline and sights.

Afterwards, we walked to the Station Square area to get something to eat. We ended up at Bar Louie where sat on the patio overlooking the Monongahela River while having very good gumbo and a great shrimp po' boy. It wasn't New Orleans, but it was very good! We then walked around the Station Square shops and bought a few souvenirs. They have a fountain that's a mini version of the Bellagio fountain (water jets that move to music). We watched and listened as they played several songs from Mamma Mia ... I called Jeff McPherson as we watched since it's his favorite play. We also decided to ride the Monongahela Incline which is across the street from Station Square. It's steeper and cheaper and the view at the top is not as good as the Duquesne Incline.

Oh yeah ... we did see a game today. The Pirates dominated the Padres winning 9-1. Three Pirate home runs and lots of hits. Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_07_24_sdnmlb_pitmlb_1&mode=wrap
PNC Park is one of the nicer parks we've seen. Spacious promenade, comfortable seats, cheap seats (we sat right in the first level behind home about half way up and paid $27 per seat) and a pretty view of the downtown skyline and the Clemente Bridge. It's too bad Pittsburgh fans are not more supportive. Only 17,000+ showed up. Here's the link to our pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

Our hot dog rating will be skewed. Service was, by far, the slowest we've had on the stadium tour. I was 5th in line and waited a whole inning. They also didn't have any kiosk hot dogs which we've established are the best. The hot dog was flavorful and the mustard was spicy. The fried onions were good, but NO SAUERKRAUT!! With all of these issues, I'll give my dog a 7.

Nancy liked the Penn Pilsner beer, but it was nothing special.

Our next stop on the tour is Vestal, NY to spend time with Nancy's sister (Sara) and her husband (Karl). It's a stopover on our way to Saratoga Race Track on Monday. Hopefully, I'll win back some of the money I lost in Vegas.

On The Road Again --- Pittsburgh 7/23

We drove 4 hours to Pittsburgh today. After those 10+ hour drives out west, this drive seemed like a walk in the park (there I go again, mixing my metaphors).

We had heard about Primanti Brothers sandwiches so we just had to try one (http://incline.pghfree.net/index.shtml). It was outstanding. Great bread, a healthy portion of meat and cheese (only provolone), cole slaw and french fries (either on the sandwich or on the side). I had my fries on the side, Nancy had them on the sandwich. If you're ever in Pittsburgh, it's worth a stop.

We had to do something historical while we were here. We decided to ride the Duquesne Incline (http://incline.pghfree.net/index.shtml). Lots of historical pictures and newspaper articles about Pittsburgh. There's a beautiful view of the Three Rivers area from the observation deck at the top of the incline. It's very cool. I wish Cincinnati would rebuild the Mt. Adams Incline!

Right next door to the incline observation deck is the Coal Hill Steakhouse (www.coalhillsteakhouse.com). We had a drinks and an appetizer (the Jalapeno Clam Dip) on the outdoor deck. The Clam Dip was very good ... the view was outstanding. I'd go back for dinner!

Padres and the Pirates tomorrow!

West Coast Trip Summary

Trip #3, the West Coast Trip (also dubbed “Can they spend 33 days together in a minivan?” tour) is complete. We took 7 days to drive to Seattle and stopped at the Field of Dreams, Badlands National Park, Mt. Rushmore, and Yellowstone National Park.

We then drove down the west coast stopping at all the ballparks along the way. We also stopped at some beautiful golf courses (Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach). Our favorite city was San Diego. Temperate climate, crystal clear skies, a beautiful bay, ships going in and out all afternoon, Balboa Park and great seafood. We’re hoping the Dept. of the Navy sees fit to transfer Steven there so we can go back.

Our route home took us thru Phoenix, Denver and Kansas City. I was most impressed with Monument Valley on the Navajo Reservation. It’s where they’ve filmed many of the Hollywood westerns most notably with John Wayne. Our tour guide, Roy, knew all the best places to take pictures and told the best stories.

We put on 7960 miles in a rented Dodge Caravan. By the way, it was so hot in Phoenix, the rear bumper expanded and prevented the rear hatch from opening. We invented an ingenious way to open the hatch … we’d put one foot on the bumper to press it down and open the hatch at the same time. I’m sure there’s a joke in there somewhere. We spent $9639 ($750 on tickets; $251 at museums and tours; $1212 on eating out; $1481 on gas -- max price $4.89/gallon; $859 on the rental car; $2950 on hotels; $886 on groceries and miscellaneous knick-knacks; and $1250 in cash ($400 of which went to various casinos in Las Vegas).

AT&T Park (San Francisco) was our favorite stadium. The view of the Bay was spectacular.

Petco Park (San Diego) and Coors Field (Denver) had the best hot dogs. It was hard to pick between the two … 33 days on the road clouds the brain!

-- Things to note:
1) The US has an incredible National Park system (thanks to Teddy Roosevelt as we learned during our Mt. Rushmore tour). There were so many things to see and each was more beautiful than the next. Arches National Park was particularly interesting since it wasn’t on our itinerary … we just happened to drive on the road passed it.
2) South Dakota is the most boring state to drive thru (beating out Iowa). Very flat and no sights to see.
3) There are far too many casinos in Montana. I guess that’s not surprising. After all, what else is there to do in Montana. I’m still quite perturbed that they allowed the Little Big Horn casino.
4) We witnessed some incredible flooding in Iowa although what we saw was the prelude to the big flooding problems they had. It apparently rained a lot after we left. I will also never forget being hustled to the basement of the restaurant, dinner plate in hand, when the tornado warning alarm was sounded.
5) Yellowstone is gorgeous. Two noteworthy events … it was the first time I saw snow on the ground in June … the melting snow led to some spectacular waterfall scenes in Yellowstone; and, for the first time in my life I had to yield to a bison (who looked me in the eye as we passed him in a way that said ‘this is my road, a—hole!’)
6) We experienced the hottest temperatures of our lives (116deg) as we drove to Phoenix. We also went thru the smoke from the first forest fires although it got much worse after we left California. Thank goodness for indoor stadiums. It was too hot to sit outside in Phoenix to watch a game.
7) The tour of the Ping Golf Club Mfg facility was outstanding. Best factory tour I’ve been on (The Budweiser tour in St. Louis was very good, but I’m no longer a beer drinker). I just had to get fitted for a Ping putter. I just got it so I’ll get to try it out this weekend.
8) The Broker Restaurant with its All-You-Can-Eat shrimp bowl brought before you order wins the best restaurant of the trip
9) The songs of the trip … both of the Maroon 5 songs currently in heavy rotation –
Won’t Go home Without You (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gskuP-8dtSU) and
Wake Up Call (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOskLZ-w3RA&feature=related).

East Coast trip next. Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium here we come!

Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals 7-8-08

The Negro League Baseball Museum is in Kansas City (http://www.nlbm.com/). It seemed only fitting that on our baseball stadium tour, we visit the museum that celebrates the Negro Leagues, an important part of baseball history. It was outstanding. Lots of memorabilia, pictures, and videos. They also had a field set up with statues of the preeminent players at each position (e.g., Satchel Paige pitching, Josh Gibson catching). When I walked on the field, I felt like I was intruding on a game.

In the same complex, they have set up the American Jazz Museum (http://www.americanjazzmuseum.com/). I enjoyed it. However, to me, Ken Burns' PBS Jazz special did a much better job of telling the story of jazz. Lots of listening areas to experience the music.

While in Kansas City, I had to pay homage to the Lieber and Stoller song "Kansas City" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q978YtUlMBk). We went to 12th Street and Vine, took a few pictures and left (it's not in the best neighborhood).

After the museum tours, we were starved. The Food Network Channel had recommended LC's Bar-B-Q so we tried it. Outstanding!! For you Cincinnatians ... it was much better than Montgomery Inn. Meatier ribs, spicier sauce, and ridiculous quantities. It's a small place, but exactly what you'd expect a local Bar-B-Q joint to be like. Here's a link to a web site that discusses LC's: http://cityguide.aol.com/kansascity/entertainment/lcs-bar-b-q/v-111836067

The Kansas City stadium was surprising nice for a 30+ year old stadium. The "K", short for Kauffman the original owner of the Royals, is being renovated. They're doing it during the baseball season so they'll be ready for 2009. We got seats in the club level to be under cover since it rained most of the day and drizzled throughout the game. The "K" had the biggest, and incredibly clearest Jumbotron we've seen. They have great fountains although not nearly as good as the Bellagio fountains :-) I really liked their bottom of the 8th ritual ... they have a 100ft tall video image of Garth Brooks leading the fans in singing 'I've Got Friends in Low Places'. I had to be impressed ... it's one of my favorite songs.

The game was a good one. The Royals seemed to be in control the whole way, but the White Sox kept pecking away. The game went to extra innings with the White Sox winning 8-7 in 13 innings. The Sox scored 2 in the top of the 11th on a 2 run sacrifice fly (check out the video in the link below), but the Royals prolonged the agony by scoring 2 in the bottom of the 11th. Orlando Cabrera drove in the winning run with a double. Here's the link to the box score: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_07_08_chamlb_kcamlb_1&mode=wrap

Here's a link to our pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

The All Important Hot Dog Rating with a caveat ... we were stuffed from eating LC's Bar-B-Q. We shared a hot dog (from a kiosk of course). It must have been good because we weren't hungry and we both enjoyed it. Good flavor, great sauerkraut. We both gave it a "9" although it might have been rated higher had we been hungry. It certainly tasted better than the hot dog I caught during the 'throw the hot dogs to the fans between innings' promotion. Nancy had a Budweiser wheat beer. She was still thirsty from the Bar-B-Q so I suppose any beer would have tasted good.

We've now visited 21 of 30 stadiums ... we're 70% of the way there. Today, we head back to Cincinnati for 2 weeks of rest, recuperation and planning for the East Coast trip. It has been an amazing set of trips.

Florida Marlins vs. Colorado Rockies 7-6-08

We got into Denver yesterday afternoon. While driving to the hotel, I saw The Broker Restaurant. I ate at The Broker 25 years ago and had a great meal so we went again. It was just like I remembered. As soon as you sit down, they bring you a large bowl of peel-n-eat shrimp to munch on while you review the menu. The Broker is predominately steak and seafood although they have several other choices. I had the prime rib; Nancy had the trout. All meals come with the shrimp bowl, a large salad, the main course, and a desert. The food was outstanding and it was way too much to eat (we both took doggie bags and will eat the leftovers for dinner tomorrow). If you're in Denver, The Broker is worth a trip (http://www.thebrokerrestaurant.com/)

I really like Coors Field. It's in my top 5. Beautiful architecture, spacious promenades, comfortable seats, friendly staff. I especially like the out-of-town scoreboard. Old school with a guy changing the scores by hand. Before the game, the Rockies dinosaur mascot brought several kids onto the field in left to play a game of kickball. Very cute. We sat in box seats between home and third. I was two seats away from a foul ball,. I gotta catch one before this trip is over. Here's the link to our pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

The game was a typical Colorado game. Lots of hits, several lead changes. The Marlins won 10-5. Cody Ross, the Marlins centerfielder, drove in 5 runs with a single, double and home run. Here's a link to the box score: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_07_06_flomlb_colmlb_1&mode=wrap

The Coors Field hot dog was one of the best. They had lots of hot dog choices. We had a 'Rockie Dog' with peppers, onions, and sauerkraut. The hot dog had very good flavor, great sauerkraut, and a soft bun. we both gave it a "9". Nancy really liked the beer, Blue Moon Belgian White (a wheat ale). She said it was as good as Leinenkugel, but not as cold. Blue Moon is a Coors brand which was a response to various microbrewery beers.

We are now 2/3 of the way thru the trip. This was our 20th stadium. On to Kansas City.

Rocks, Rocks and More Rocks 7-4-08

Monument Valley was a real treat. You can drive yourself through the public part of the Navajo Park or you can get a private tour to the great sights. Frommer's recommended the Keyah Hozhoni tour guides. No question ... take the private tour. (http://www.monumentvalley.com/Pages/english_homepage.html). We had a Navajo guide, Roy, who told great stories and knew the perfect spots to take pictures. Monument Valley has been used as a backdrop to many Westerns. John Ford, the Director, used it for all of his. John Wayne spent most of his career here. Roy pointed out the spots where different scenes were filmed. The western chase scene from Back to the Future III was filmed here. We took over 100 pictures so it'll take a while to load them, but Monument Valley sure was beautiful.

Our overnight stop tonight is Grand Junction, Colorado. On the way from Monument Valley, we saw we passed Arches National Park. Since we had a few extra hours, we decided to stop. It was worthwhile as well. Lots of rocks ... over 2000 arches. If you pass through Moab, Utah, it's worth a visit (http://www.nps.gov/arch).

Ping Manufacturing Tour 7-3-08

While in Phoenix, I did an internet search looking for things to do. I found that Ping manufactures their clubs in Phoenix and they give tours of their facility. You need reservations, but I called and got on the list for the next day. It was one of the best factory tours ever. Two hours of in depth review of the process for making golf clubs to each person's individual specifications. I was so impressed, I got fitted for a putter. I'm not sure how I'll putt on the course, but I made 7 in a row from 10 feet with the putter designed for me by my club fitter. Nancy enjoyed the tour, as well. She asked the most questions of the people in our group. If you're ever in Phoenix, take the time to do the tour.

Phoenix 7-2-08

Today was a light day. It's just too darn hot to do anything in Phoenix. We did go to the Arizona Museum of Natural History (http://mesasouthwestmuseum.com/Home.aspx). It was one of the better natural history museums I've seen. Good explanations of the exhibits and very kid friendly. The best part for me was 'Arizona in the Movies' where they talked about the various movies that have used Arizona as a backdrop. Very interesting for movie buffs.

After a siesta, we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens (http://www.dbg.org/). Very well done. As you'd expect, lots of different variety of cacti. The pictures don't do it justice, but I've posted them anyway. http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

Tomorrow, we tour the Ping Golf Club manufacturing plant.

Milwaukee Brewers vs Arizona Diamondbacks 7-1-08

Whoever said it's not the heat, it's the humidity must not have visited Phoenix. Today's temperature was a personal high of 116deg. It's awful. Thankfully, Chase Field is enclosed (they have a retractable roof) and air conditioned. Chase Field is not very pretty from the outside. It's in the downtown area and looks like a warehouse. However, it is very good looking stadium on the inside. In fact, it looks very much like Miller Field in Milwaukee. It has the biggest jumbotron of any of the stadiums we've seen.

We had several firsts at the game today. I was on the jumbotron. They were actually taking a picture of the buxom woman sitting next to me, but there I was! Our joint picture led to a conversation. It turns out, she is Prince Fielder's wife (Brewers 1st baseman). We were sitting in the Brewers' family section with all of the wives, kids, and other various family members. As a result, we had to root for the Brewers. During the game, Nancy heard the D-Backs organist play. Ever since she met the Cubs' organist, she has been on a quest to meet and talk with all stadium organists. She met the D-Backs organist, Bobby Freeman, after a trek to his location on the 3rd deck by the left field foul pole. It was worth the trip. She got several pictures with him. For one of the pictures. Bobby let Nancy wear his 2001 World Series ring (the year they beat the Yankees) making Nancy the 1st Garfinkel to wear a World Series ring. The pictures are a must see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

The game was actually an interesting one. The Brewers bombed Randy Johnson with 6 runs in the first 2 innings. JJ Hardy hit 2. The D-backs pecked away, but could never mount a big rally. The Brewers won 8-6. The Brewers made several good plays in the field to secure the victory. Here's a link to the box score. You can also see videos of the plays of the game on this site:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_07_01_milmlb_arimlb_1&mode=wrap

The Hot Dogs were disappointing. They were cold. The veggies and the bun were good, and the sauerkraut was outstanding. However, we gave it an ok "7" because, first and foremost, the hot dog is the reason you buy and the best veggies ever can't raise the score too much. Nancy had a Fosters beer which she liked ... if the temps are high, any cold beer tastes good. BTW, it was 102deg when we left the stadium.

Oakland A's vs. LA Angels 6-30-08

The Getty Museum is very impressive. Beautiful structure, fabulous gardens, lots of art, and a great view of LA (sorry ... no pictures ... we left our camera in the car as we rushed to catch the tram from the parking garage up the hillside to the museum).

We did, however, get some pictures of the La Brea Tar Pits. It was better than I expected. The Tar Pits are kinda cool. However, the gardens and the park they've created around them were a pleasant surprise. The museum on the grounds does a great job describing the history of the area and the paleontology work that has been done and continues today. Here are a few pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

Side Note ... we ate an Italian restaurant on Wilshire Blvd called Palomino last night. It was very good. We sat next to Jeff Bridges, the actor, who was having dinner with his Mom (Lloyd's wife). As the waiter said to us after they left, "I love this town!"

It was a beautiful night for the game. Gorgeous weather (70 degs) as opposed to the hot 90s for last week's Dodger game. As for Angels Stadium, it has the most beautiful grounds of the stadiums we've seen so far. There's a beautiful palm tree garden outside the stadium, the halo structure, two size 649.5" helmets in front of the home plate entry, and a waterfall in a large rock garden in center field. Unfortunately, the rest of the ball park is just ok. Nothing special. As for the game, Greg Smith, the Oakland A's pitcher, dominated. He threw just 100 pitches in a complete game, 6-1 victory. The A's scored early and kept adding to their lead. The game was never in doubt. By the way, Nancy has a new favorite ballplayer ... Kurt Suzuki of the A's. When we saw the A's in Oakland, Suzuki had a great game (4 hits and 5 RBIs including the game winner) despite being hurt while catching and when at bat. We were surrounded by Angels fans so she quietly routed for him throughout the game. Here's the link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_06_30_oakmlb_anamlb_1

Here's the picture link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

Before we get to the hot dog rating, the concession operators were the slowest we've encountered. It took forever to get our hot dogs and a full inning to get our pretzel later in the game.

Hot Dogs: They had a special ... a 1/2 pound hot dog, straight from the grill for $7.50. Nancy had an Italian sausage. We both had peppers and onions. For me, it was quantity over quality. The first bite was great and it was downhill from there. The bun was too big and not terribly fresh. The mustard was standard fare. Nancy said the Italian sausage was ok. She gave it a "7.5". I gave my dog a "7" ("8" for the first bite down to a "6" by the last bite ... for an average of "7").

We now begin our trek back east. Phoenix and very hot weather again here we come!

San Diego 6-28-08

San Diego has quickly become a favorite city (San Francisco is the other). Balboa Park is a gorgeous park with 13 museums, 7 large garden areas, green areas for picnicking and lounging, small themed restaurants with outside dining, and a very large pipe organ. We didn't have time to do the museums, but we were able to walk around the entire park to savor the architecture and greenery. We were also treated to an organ concert. The organist was rehearsing for his Sunday concert and played to a very small group of us. We didn't go thru the Japanese Friendship Garden, but we did eat some very tasty Japanese food in the Japanese Tea pavilion (http://www.cohnrestaurants.com/cohn/cohnrestaurants/teapavilion.php). We'll definitely go back to go thru the museums.


Cabrillo National Monument commeroates the Cabrillo's exploration of the California coast. A National Park, with an historic lighthouse, has been created on the grounds (http://www.nps.gov/cabr). The very high point is at the confluence of the pacific Ocean and San Diego Bay and provides a beautiful panaromic view of numerous sailboats and Navy ships. The Lighthouse was a plus. It had an original lighthouse lens which I had never seen. Here's the link to our pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/


Both Balboa Park and the Cabrillo National Monument are worth a trip. On to Anaheim!

Seattle Mariners vs.San Diego Padres 6-27-08

Petco Park is a great ball park. It's in the top 5 of those we've seen so far. It' located in downtown San Diego and is well woven into the downtown architecture. The park integrated a National Landmark building, Western Metal Supply Co., into the stadium. They've added stands and luxury boxes to the building for a very ' Wrigley Effect'. Petco had the most spacious promenades of all the stadiums, easy access to concessions and rest rooms, and great site lines for all of the seats.

Tonight, the Padres celebrated retro night, celebrating 1978. They encouraged 70s dress up, 70s music (lots of disco), and 70s dancing. They exploded a ton of streamers on to the stands at the start of the game. There's a good picture of it. Nancy spent the 1st two innings winding up 2 streamers to take home so we can claim our spot at the Riverfest fireworks. The game time temperature was in the 70s (to go with the retro night theme). However, temps dropped into the low 60s with a cool breeze. Half the crowd was underdressed and left early. Nancy took out here beloved Atros blanket and saved the day. I suppose we deserved the cool temps after the 110+ temps in Vegas, but I sure do prefer hot to cold.

The game wasn't one of the best we've seen. The mariners and the padres are two of the worst teams in baseball this year. The game should have been a blowout for the Mariners, but they left 18 men on base. For the mathematically challenged, that's 2 men per inning. However, the Mariners were still good enough to win 5 - 2 allowing a meaningless 2 run homer to Chase Headley late in the game. Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_06_27_seamlb_sdnmlb_1&mode=wrap

Here's a link to our pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

Hot Dogs: One of the best!! We got them at the kiosk behind home plate. Nancy rated her Italian sausage a 9.5. Great flavor, lots of veggies, soft bun, tasty (and spicy) mustard. I rated my Kosher hot dog a "9". Still very good. I suspect there was some grade inflation here (see previous post). We had lunch at noon and were starved. Hunger level clearly influences rating since I thought the stadium pizza I had as dessert was very good, too.

Pretzel Rating: I was a bit hungry in the 7th inning so I got a pretzel. It was worth it. Very hot, very soft and very tasty ... especially when dunked into the stadium mustard!!

San Diego 6-27-08

Prelude to Blog: We love San Diego. What's not to like ... 70deg, clear sky, ocean ... aahhh! As you read today's blog, take this assessment into account. I'm sure you'll sense grade inflation.

We decided to take advantage of the great day. We took a 2 hr boat excursion touring San Diego Bay. I'm sure you know that San Diego is home to a large Naval base. We saw several large Navy boats in dry dock and a few small ones practicing maneuvers. There were quite a few sail boats as well as the America's Cup boat, Stars and Stripes. It was well worth the trip, especially at the senior rate (55+) of $21.50/person (http://www.sdhe.com/). We had lunch on the bay at Anthony's Fish Grotto (http://www.gofishanthonys.com/grotto.html). We also drove across the the Coronado Bay Bridge to see the Hotel Del Coronado. For those P&Gers who have been to the Boca Raton Resort, you have a mental picture of what this hotel is like ... very ornate and very expensive. This hotel is most famous for being the backdrop for the movie "Some Like It Hot" with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon (http://www.hoteldel.com/).

Here's a link to our pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

Petco Park ... Here we come

San Diego 6-26-08

After 3 days and 2 nights in Las Vegas (with our kids' inheritance reduced by $400), it was on to San Diego. Today, we went to the Torrey Pines State Preserve with a side trip to the Torrey Pines Golf Course. The Preserve has some relatively easy hiking trails (although one was a bit difficult), beautiful views of the Pacific, a wide variety of trees and plants, interesting gorges and great colors. Here's the link to our pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

We did a quick tour of Torrey Pines Golf Course, the site of the 2008 US Open. It's obviously a beautiful course. However, the corporate tents and the stands from the Open were still up. There were workers all over the course scrambling to take everything down while dodging errant golf shots.

We also walked around Old Town. While there were some interesting small buildings and museums, it was a bit too commercialized for me. That said, we had a great Mexican dinner and 2-for-1 root beer floats.

Hmmm ... I wonder what we'll do tomorrow. Oh yeah .. the Padres game.

Cleveland Indians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers 6-22-08

It was hotter than the blazes at Dodger Stadium today. 90+ degrees. Nancy and I walked from our hotel to the game and broke into a good sweat. We bought tickets from StubHub and it worked out very well. The announced attendance was ~40,000 people. I'll bet only 15,000 showed up because of the heat. Virtually everyone moved out of the sun and into the shade ... which is primarily behind 3rd base for future reference. We met Mike Ross (a friend of mine from High School), his wife Janet, and one of his 3 sons (Jordan) at the game. It was great catching up while the game was going on.

The game was interesting. The Dodgers won 4-3. The Dodgers' first batter in the first inning singled; the second, doubled; as did the third batter. The 4th batter homered and that was all their scoring. The Indians scored all of their runs in the third inning. There were several good plays and an Indian runner thrown out at home. All-in-all, very enjoyable. Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_06_22_clemlb_lanmlb_1&mode=wrap

Dodger Stadium is nearly 50 years old. However, it was a very nice stadium. They have good viewing lines, easy access to the stadium, decent seats, and lots of food choices. It isn't quite as good as the newer stadiums, but if we were to grade on an age curve, it would rank very high. Here's the link to the pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

Hot Dog Time: I had a Dodger Dog with sauerkraut (extra charge, served in a separate cup and cold). It was good, but I have to downgrade it because of the sauerkraut. I'll give it a "7". Nancy didn't have a hot dog. She said it was too hot to eat. She did, however, have 2 beers. One was a Gordon Biersch Hefeweisen which she liked ... what's not to like, it was hot out and the beer was cool, but not cold. Good, but not quite as good as the Pyramid Hefeweisen in Seattle and clearly not a Leinenkugel. The 7th inning Miller Lite tasted good since it also met the "I need a drink" criteria.

Tomorrow: VEGAS! Gambling in the heat.

17 Mile Drive 6-21-08

We drove from Oakland to LA today. Max temp 109deg. We stopped in Monterrey to see the coast on the 17 Mile Drive. Very beautiful (see our pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/).

We also drove on the James Dean Memorial Highway (where he crashed and died). Nancy went to one of the many James Dean websites and oohed and aahed the Porsche he drove.

Indians vs Dodgers tomorrow. It's gonna be hot!

McAfee Coliseum 6-20-08

Temperatures in Oakland reached record highs today (100s inland). Once the sun went down, it was a beautiful night. We had great seats right behind home. Jeff and Ted (our good friends and hosts in Oakland) joined us at the game. The Oakland (McAfee) Coliseum is an older stadium, built in the 60's. It was clearly built for football ... way too much room in foul territory. The upper deck seats, which are filled for football, are not open for baseball season and decoratively tarped over. They had numerous food choices, but the promenade was very narrow. It didn't matter since there were only 15,000 in attendance.

The game was quite good. Lots of action. The A's beat the Florida Marlins 7-6 in 11 innings. For the Marlins, Dan Uggla hit 2 homeruns, one in the top of the ninth to tie the game. The clear star of the game was Oakland catcher Kurt Suzuki. He had 4 hits, and drove in 5 runs including the game winner in the 11th. He probably should have come out of the game earlier. He fouled a foul ball off his foot while at bat and, while catching, took a foul ball off his knee. A real trooper. Here's the link to the boxscore:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_06_20_flomlb_oakmlb_1&mode=wrap

Here's a link to our pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

We have a "best" rating ... Oakland has the best hot dog buns of any we've tasted. Nancy had their Italian Sausage ... very flavorful, but a bit skimpy on the veggies. I had a standard dog from the regular vendor site. It was good, but sauerkraut was not available as an option. Nancy's rating: "8". I gave mine a "7".

Nancy had a Sierra Nevada Summerfest Light. It was very good and very cold, but no Leinenkugel (does this seem to be a theme?). Ted rated the basic Margarita a "7", but gave the bar-made Margarita a "9".

We had a great time with Jeff and Ted. We've now reached the halfway point in the stadium tour. 15 stadiums down and 15 to go. On to Los Angeles.

San Francisco Tour 6-19-08

Jeff took us on a tour of San Francisco today. It was a beautiful day. Great weather, great views. We drove to Muir Woods walked around the Redwood Trees. We drove to the Twin Peaks viewing site which offers spectacular panoramic views of the city and the bay. While Jeff and Ted went to a concert last night, Nancy and I met Gene Park and Julie ... who's far too good for Gene :-) ... for dinner. We had a wonderful evening even though we had to switch restaurants. The restaurant where we were supposed to eat had a water line break and was flooded. We ended up eating at a Turkish themed restaurant called "Sens". Very nice. We spent 3 hours eating and talking. It was a great evening. Here's the link to our pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

San Francisco 6-18-08

Our drive from Portland, Oregon to Corning, California was relatively uneventful except for the discovery of the Willamette Valley Wine Country. We only went to one winery, Erath, although there were at least 50 wineries in very close proximity. Erath Wines were very good, so Nancy tells me. Check it out (http://www.erath.com/).

We met Jeff McPherson at Pac Bell/SBC/AT&T Park to see the Detroit Tigers against the San Francisco Giants. It wasn't a very good game. Barry Zito pitched for the Giants and gave up 5 runs in the first two innings on walks and line drive hits. The Giant fans (and Giant Management), are not happy he signed a 7 year, $126MM contact. The Tigers won the game 7-2. Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_06_18_detmlb_sfnmlb_1&mode=wrap

AT&T Park is a great baseball venue. The stadium is beautifully done in brick and does not look like a stadium from the outside. Willie Mays plays a prominent role in the walkway up to AT&T. You cross the street named Willie Mays Plaza. There's a large Willie Mays statue on the promenade leading up to the entrance and there are 24 palm trees (24 was his number) on the promenade. Inside, the walkways are wide and there are numerous concession stands. We sat in the upper deck and had an unbelievable view of the bay. I thought it was the 2nd best stadium behind Miller Park in Milwaukee. Nancy like AT&T better probably because it was the nicest day we've had ... 75deg, sunny with a brilliant blue sky. Here's a link to our pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

Hot Dog Rating Time: I had the standard hot dog with sauerkraut and mustard. It was a very tasty dog. One of the better ones I've had. However, one point off for a hard bun ... an "8". Nancy searched for the kiosk hot dog and found a good one on the first floor promenade behind home plate. She thought this was one of the best ones she's had. She thought it was as good as the one at US Cellular (Chicago White Sox). She's a tougher rater than I am. She gave it a "9".

After the game, we did a mini-tour of San Francisco and met Ted for dinner. We ate at an Italian place, Cafe Tiramisu (http://www.cafetiramisu.com/) in their outdoor (in the alley) dining area. A bit pricey, but very good.

Seattle 6-16-08

We spent the night with Nancy’s cousin Marv and his wife, Joyce. They have a nice little place in Maple Valley, Washington. Today (Monday 6/16), they took us on a tour of downtown Seattle. When in Seattle, you have to go up the Space Needle. Easy elevator ride up and great views of the city, the lakes and Puget Sound. We also went to the public market by the riverfront. It’s quite a place and worth a trip. Fresh fruit, fresh fish, fresh veggies, arts and crafts, flowers … almost anything you could want to buy is there. The highlight: the flying fish at the Pike Place Fish market (http://www.pikeplacefish.com/). People place their order for fresh fish and the attendants throw the fish to the packers for wrapping and packing. It’s quite a sight to see fish flying all over the market.

Here are pictures of our trip thru Washington and touring Seattle:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

On to Oakland.

Washington Nationals @ Seattle Mariners 6-15-08

Happy Father’s Day! We got up early, left Spokane and drove to Seattle for an afternoon game. Safeco Field is a great ballpark. It’s very similar in design to Houston’s Minute Maid Park. Rollers on a railroad track can close the roof in minutes. It was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining and the roof was open. Apparently it’s a rare occasion when it’s 70deg and sunny in Seattle. The stadium was crowded which was surprising given Seattle’s poor record.

As for the game, the Nationals beat the Mariners 6–2. It was a close game until the Nationals went ahead on a controversial 3-run homer by Kory Castro. He hit a high fly ball down the right field line. The ump immediately called it fair while the right fielder thought it was foul. After a brief umpire consultation and an even shorter argument, the home run stood. I tried to find a link to see for myself, but I suppose MLB.com doesn’t provide good highlights for last place teams. One of the things I noticed was Seattle fans are the antithesis of the Cubs fans. Seattle fans are laid back and, for the most part, very quiet. However, when the next batter came up after the home run and hit a foul pop behind the first base dugout, everyone (yes, literally everyone) got up and began signaling “Fair Ball!” I thought it was quite humorous. Here’s a link to the box score: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_06_15_wasmlb_seamlb_1&mode=wrap

Here’s a link to the pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

Hot Dog rating: Very good footlong dog. As we’ve found at other ballparks, you have to find the kiosk with the grill to get the grilled dog with all the veggies. In Safeco, we found it by the seats between 3rd base and the left field foul pole. It was probably the most flavorful hotdog we’ve had. Good sauerkraut and onions and a soft bun. My only complaint – they made you by the ‘meal’ with 2 bags of chips. Total cost: $9. They could have been rated a “10”, but $9 is awfully pricey … Net rating = “8”

Nancy tried the local beer, Pyramid Hefeweizen, a wheat beer. She liked it a lot. However, she said it was not quite as good as the Leinenkugel wheat beer. Still, it’s worth a try if you’re in Seattle
http://www.pyramidbrew.com/beer/beerguide/hefeweizen.php

Spokane 6-14-08

We drove from Gardiner, Montana to Spokane, Washington today and saw some spectacular mountain passes thru Idaho. Not sure I could have made it in a Conestoga wagon, but it was pretty easy in a car. In Spokane, we ate at a restaurant called Moxie (www.moxiemoxie.com). It's a small place, maybe 20 tables, in downtown Spokane. Very eclectic and very good. If you're ever here, it's worth it. On to Seattle. Go Mariners.

Yellowstone Day Two 6-13-08

We spent all of today touring Yellowstone. The day is best described as Geysers and Waterfalls. As you'd expect, it was all very beautiful. Old Faithful was as advertised ... spectacular. However, I was much more impressed with the waterfalls. They were running fast with all the recent rains and snow melt. Whenever you'd think you had seen the most impressive falls, you'd come to another that was even better. The Upper and Lower Falls at Yellowstone's Grand Canyon were the best. The day ended with a bison walking on the highway preventing traffic from passing in either direction. When he finally went to the side and we were able to drive around him, his look was priceless. I wish I got a picture. You'll have a tough time getting thru all our pictures. Way too many, but there were so many pretty scenes to capture. Here's the link to all our pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

On to Spokane then Seattle for the Mariners game at Safeco Field.

Yellowstone Day One 6-12-08

We stayed in Billings, Montana last night, a stopover on our way to Yellowstone. We awoke to very low expectations. The weather for Yellowstone called for 12 inches of snow and high winds. As we drove towards Gardiner, Montana (a small town right at the north entrance to Yellowstone), our worst fears were realized. The drive was not easy with heavy rain and the car buffeted by 50mph winds. We made plans to sit by the pool and relax.

A side note: Montana is littered with hundreds, maybe thousands, of small 25-100 slot machines casinos. They are everywhere … shopping centers, gas stations, we even saw one attached to a Chinese restaurant. And, yes, there were cars parked in front of all of them with people playing at all the ones I looked into. The tackiest one … The Little Big Horn Casino. The Indians and Custer must not be very happy.

We made it to Gardiner and, surprisingly, it was sunny and 50deg. We decided to begin our tour of Yellowstone. For those of you who haven’t been here it’s everything you imagined … beautiful vistas, snow-capped mountains, wildlife right next to your car, loud waterfalls that were especially spectacular with the recent heavy rains. Mammoth Hot Springs was particularly incredible ... steam rising from the ground, vivid colors.

We made it back to Gardiner in time for a late dinner. We ate at a place called Outlaws … good pizza and pasta. Based on one day, if you decide to visit Yellowstone, Gardiner is a good option.

Once again, way too many pictures. Here they are: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

Mt. Rushmore 6-11-08

We toured Mt. Rushmore today. I described the Badlands as absolutely beautiful. Mt. Rushmore was VERY impressive. I expected to walk in, take a picture, look around for a few minutes and take off. We spent 4 hours walking the trails and learning the history of the sculpture. It was fascinating. Here's the link to the Mt. Rushmore website: http://www.nps.gov/moru

Here's a link to our pictures. Once again, too many to look at. That's what happens when you have a digital camera. It's too easy to take lots of pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

We're currently in Billings, Montana. It's a stopover on our way to Yellowstone ... maybe. Our waitress at dinner told us they had 6" of snow yesterday and were expecting 12" more tomorrow. She heard that all but the North entrance were closed. If we can get in, great. If not, we'll be relaxing by the indoor pool. See you then.

Badlands 6-10-08

The Badlands National Park is absolutely beautiful. It amazes me how any one crossed this area to go to the West Coast. It took us about 5 hours to tour the Park and hike some of the trails. Here's the link to the Badlands website: http://www.nps.gov/badl

Here are our pictures. There are lots of them
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

The West Coast Trip Begins (June 8th and 9th)

Monday June 8th -- Travel to Dyersville, Iowa

We left Cincinnati yesterday and drove 8 hours to Dyersville, Iowa, the city where the Field of Dreams movie was filmed. It was a very pleasant drive, although we did see some of the damage caused by the most recent heavy rains. We got into Dyersville at 4pm local time, so we had time to decompress before dinner. Nancy went out for a run. I napped.

After a while, we got ready for dinner. As we travel the country, we’ve tried to eat at good, local restaurants. The hotel recommended we go to the Country Junction (http://www.countryjunction.com/). It’s a nice little local restaurant where they make everything from scratch … great chicken rice soup and country rolls. The big excitement of the dinner was the sounding of the tornado warning sirens. The waitresses asked everyone to go to their basement shelter which was actually a nice banquet room. I brought my plate downstairs and finished eating while we waited out a very severe thunderstorm (but no tornados). After dinner, Nancy asked me to drive around town where she had run to show me the flooding from all the rain they’ve had. It was amazing. There were lakes where there should have been fields. One local park was completely under water. For those of you willing to invest in commodities, I strongly recommend investing in corn. Even though the price is high due to corn’s use in ethanol, it will go higher. The Iowa farmers have not been able to plant their fields due to the flooding. And, more rain is expected this week. BUY CORN FUTURES!!

Tuesday June 9th -- Field of Dreams

The Field of Dreams farm is located about 3 miles out of town. We drove there this morning. With all the rain, it should be called Field of Streams. It had standing water around home plate and by the stands. When standing on the field, it sounds just like the movie with birds chirping and a breeze rustling thru the field. The farmhouse is beautiful, freshly painted with the swing is still on the porch. The only downside … it’s too early for corn. There’s nothing for James Earl Jones to disappear into. We walked on the field, took a few pictures, and had a catch. A few things that struck me as I walked on the field:
-- the farm house is much closer to the field than it appears in the movie,
-- the stands are not nearly as high as they seem (the girl only fell about 5 feet),
-- there’s no mound (it’s flat like in Little League), and
-- the baselines are too close to the infield grass (I should be a baseball field designer), and
-- they have a very nice souvenir stand on site.

Interesting footnotes:
-- there’s no charge for going onto the field
-- the owners, the Lansing family, still live in the farmhouse (Nancy talked to Bob Lansing),
-- the family pays Universal Studios a licensing fee to use the “Field of Dreams” name
-- the family pays for the upkeep of the field by selling souvenirs. Here’s the web address if you’d like to see the field and buy some souvenirs
(http://www.fieldofdreamsmoviesite.com/distance.html)

Here’s a link to the pictures we took (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/).

We're now in Wall, SD to visit the Badlands national park tomorrow. While we're here, we had to visit the tackiest tourist trap ever ... Wall Drug. There are at least 1000 billboards advertising the place and all they do is sell souvenirs (http://www.walldrug.com/). Onto the Badlands.

May 20th -- Midwest Stadium Tour Summary

Trip #2, the Tour of the Midwestern Stadiums, is over. We visited Cleveland, Chicago, Minnesota, Milwaukee and Cincinnati. You might be saying to yourself … “Wait a second! You didn’t visit Detroit” And, you would be correct. We’re saving Detroit until September so we’ll have something to do other than just drive to Toronto.

-- Thank goodness for day games and indoor stadiums (and for the blankets we got as a giveaway in Houston at the Astros game). The Midwest is typically cold. However, it was colder than normal this year.

-- We put on 2162 miles and spent $2886 ($1022.45 on tickets; $66.50 on museums and tours; $330.02 on eating out; $318.09 on gas -- average price $3.79/gallon; $956.11 on hotels; and $192.90 on groceries and miscellaneous knick-knacks -- we bought several items at the Leinenkugel Brewery.

-- Miller Park (Milwaukee) was our favorite stadium. US Cellular (White Sox) and the Metrodome (Twins) were surprisingly nice stadiums, as well. A visit to Wrigley Field (Cubs) is something every baseball fan should experience. I had heard good things about “The Jake”, now called Progressive Field, in Cleveland. While it was a nice stadium, it was our least favorite on this trip.

-- The best hot dog was at US Cellular Field, although all the hot dogs we had on this trip (except for the one in Cleveland) were very good. Each of the ballparks had a stand with Leinenkugel, Nancy’s favorite beer. However, the best beer was at the Leinenkugel Brewery.

-- The strangest thing we saw – the Sculpture Garden in Minneapolis. While there were several interesting sculptures, there were some very bizarre ones as well. It’s a worthwhile side trip if you ever are in Minneapolis (http://garden.walkerart.org/artwork.wac ).

-- Most interesting food on the trip – the Dari-ette in St. Paul ... An Italian Drive-In with an outstanding meatball sub.

-- The song of the trip: Miley Cyrus – See You Again http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tubIRYvfu1E&feature=related It’s in very heavy rotation on all the XM stations.

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Milwaukee Brewers 5-13-08

For the regular readers of this blog, you know that Leinenkugel has become Nancy’s favorite beer. After having yet another one at the Metrodome last night, we’ve decided to make Leinenkugel the official beer of the 2008 Baseball Stadium Tour. With that in mind, it should make sense that, on the way to Milwaukee from Minneapolis, we took a 20 minute detour to go to the Leinenkugel Brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. It’s a small brewery, started in 1867. Their brewing process has been modernized with very up-to-date equipment (Aspiring chemical engineers should consider a career in the brewing industry. Complex chemical engineering processes and free beer). They’ve built a very neat lodge (Leinie Lodge) for their beer tasting and to sell memorabilia. We’ve made a good official beer choice (www.leinie.com).

On to Miller Park … I now have a new favorite ball park. Milwaukee did a great job building Miller Park. Easy in, easy out; Cheap, close parking ($8); Tailgaiting with places to dump your hot charcoal. The actual park is a beautiful structure. The roof was closed because of predicted thunder storms. However, that just added to the effect. Miller Park has windows to allow sunlight in. The promenade was spacious. We got free US Cellular backpack bags. They had lots of food choices (hot dog rating preview … they had the best mustard … tasty and spicy). There were many things to do for kids (playgrounds, speed pitch, etc.). Toyota sponsors special seats … Barcoloungers with personal HD TVs. Like I said, my favorite so far.

As for the game, the Brewers beat the Dodgers 5–3. The Brewers took the lead on a 2 run double by the Hebrew Hammer, Ryan Braun. Carlos Villanueva pitched well enough to win. Eric Gagne, the much maligned closer, saved the game for the Brewers. Why do I mention this? He did the Ryne Duren thing (NY Yankee from the 50s). Gagne threw a wild pitch to the 2nd batter and immediately stepped off the mound to clean his glasses. Intimidation! Here’s a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_05_13_lanmlb_milmlb_1&mode=wrap

Here’s a link to the pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets

Hot Dog rating: Very good. I had an Italian Sausage with sauerkraut. Nancy had a Polish Sausage doused with their special barbeque sauce and some sauerkraut. Nancy gave it an “8”. I’ll give it a “9” … one extra point for great mustard!

Boston Red Sox @ Minnesota Twins 5-12-08

Here we are in beautiful Minneapolis. We spent the day driving around Minneapolis and St. Paul to get a sense of the city. We saw UMinn campus to get pictures of the Weissman Art Museum. We happened on the UMinn Crew Boathouse and took pictures for Steven to see. We then drove to the Walker Art Museum to look at their 24 acre sculpture garden ... lots of interesting sculptures. One of the recommendations in the local guide was the Peanuts sculptures in St. Paul (Charles Schultz was from there). Of course, we had to go see them and take pictures. The UMinn crew coach recommended we eat lunch at the Dari-ette, an Italian Drive-In restaurant (car hops and eat in the car). Very Good and a worthwhile side trip. With an hour to kill, we walked around the Mall of America, the ultimate in US capitalism.

Here's a link to the pictures of our Minneapolis tour:
http://www1.snapfish.com/photolibrary/t_=98074769

The Metrodome was better than I expected. Good viewing lines. Good access in the promenade. Lots of food choices. However, it clearly was built for football. Minnesota is building a new stadium for the Twins to open in 2010. The game started at 6pm to accommodate ESPN. It didn't start well. Boston scored 3 in the top of the 1st. However, Minnesota scored 2 in the bottom of the first and scored 5 more during the next few innings to win 7-3. Here's the link to the boxscore:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_05_12_bosmlb_minmlb_1&mode=wrap

Here's a link to the Metrodome pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

The best part of the game was Michael Cuddyer's catch in right field. The ball hit his glove, bounced off his hat and fell forward into his glove. Here's a link to the video:
http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200805122688687

Hot Dog Time: a very good dog (You have to buy it at the "Top Dog" stand by Section 121). There was a woman taking the temperature of each hot dog to make sure they were done. Lots of topping choices --- chili, cheese, beans, tomatoes, peppers, relish, onions, sauerkraut. One point off for a bun that was too big (who needs all that bread when there's a hot dog to be eaten). I gave it an "8". By the way, Nancy had her 2nd Leinenkugel beer on the tour. She's enjoyed it so much, we're stopping off in Chippewa Falls today to see the Leinenkugel Brewery.

Arizona Diamondbacks at Chicago Cubs 5-10-08

Well, we finally visited the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field. It's a grand old stadium right in the middle of a residential area. Parking was very interesting. I pulled into a personal lot and the guy said $60 for easy out, $50 for regular parking. I said, "too much," and started to back out. He said, "How about $40?" I continued to back out. He said, "$35!". I said, "Make it $30 and we'll park here." and so we did.

At Wrigley. we sat in the first deck, in the second section of seats (under the 2nd deck). We could see the field, but not the scoreboard. Second base was blocked by a post. My seats reminded me of the seats I sat in with my father at old Yankee Stadium for a World Series game in 1964 when Mickey Mantle hit a homerun off Barney Schultz to win the game. Our son, Rob, joined us at the game as did his friends from college Don and Yuki. It was a typical Chicago day ... cold and windy. Thankfully, Nancy brought the blankets we got at the Astros game. They kept us warm.

The game was a pitchers duel until the 7th inning. The Cubs scored 6 runs, highlighted by a Fukudome homerun, to break it open. Alfonso Soriano had 4 hits and scored 2 runs, both on close plays at home. Here's a link to the boxscore:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_05_10_arimlb_chnmlb_1&mode=wrap

A few other things to note about Wrigley:
1) The 7th inning singing of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" is an event. I knew it would be, but it was great to experience it. Absolutely everyone in the stadium stands up and sings.
2) The crowd at the stadium comes to experience the game rather than watch it. Everyone knows everyone. There's lots of talking and drinking. It felt like a typical Saturday morning temple service.
3) A Cubs win leads to a rousing rendition of the song "Go, Cubs, Go", again sung by the whole crowd.

My bottom line ... Wrigley was a great experience

Here's a link to the pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

The Hot Dogs --- Very Good ... Foot Long Dogs with every possible topping (chili, cheese, kraut, relish, pickles, tomatoes, relish, onions). Hot and very messy. One point off for a soggy bun ... an "8"

Chicago Tour 5-9-08

Last night (Thursday), we went to Lawry's Prime Rib. It's been 20 years since I've been there, but it was just as good as I remembered. One of the best prime rib dinners I've had.

Today, Nancy and I did our own walking tour of Chicago. We went to the Navy Pier, walked the Magnificent Mile, and Millennium Park. It was a typical Chicago day, cold, cloudy and windy. At the Navy Pier, we decided to take a boat tour. We went on the Architecture Tour on the Chicago River. Very worthwhile. Good views of the buildings and a guide with lots of information (for the Long Islanders, he was from East Northport). When I bought the tickets for the tour, the sign said Architecture and Speedboat Tour. I assumed they were different tours. Wrong! After this pleasant boat ride down the Chicago River, they took us for a spin on Lake Michigan, Just what we needed to make a cold day colder.

The walk down the Magnificent Mile was interesting. We got close up views of Chicago's buildings.

The Millennium Park was very interesting. An outdoor theater with a large lawn, gardens, fountains, and my favorite ... the Bean ... a large, kidney shaped, reflective statue. Everyone takes a picture of themselves reflected in the statue (as did we). The interior is curved allowing you to take a picture of someone and their reflection. There's a good one of Nancy in the attached pictures. Here's the link:
http://www1.snapfish.com/photolibrary/t_=98074769

Saturday ... Wrigley Field and the Cubs

Minnesota Twins @ Chicago White Sox 5-8-08

On our way to Chicago (Wed. 5/7), we met Amy Stimpson for lunch. She looks great (see picture in the picture set). She seems to be managing without Bob although she has good and bad days. It was great seeing her.

We went to the game at US Cellular today (Thurs. 5/8). The weather forecast was not good ... cold and cloudy. We wore our down coats. But, we were pleasantly surprised. 52deg and sunny at game time. We actually took our coats off by the 3rd inning (and put them on again in the 8th inning when the sun went behind the stands). I really liked this stadium. Well laid out. Lots of room to walk. Lots of concession stands.

The White Sox won 6 - 2 behind good pitching (Jon Danks), home runs by Jermaine Dye and Juan Uribe, and a great take out slide by Uribe to break up a double play allowing a run to score. Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_05_08_minmlb_chamlb_1&mode=wrap

Here's a link to the pictures from US Cellular:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

Hot Dog Rating: One of the best. We had an Italian Sausage ... hot off the grill. Absolutely loaded with great veggies and sauerkraut. Very high on the messy scale, although the cardboard holder was a plus (we could eat the veggies instead of having them on the floor). A "10".

A Post Script -- I saw something in a baseball game I've never seen before. With runners on 1st and 2nd and no out, Paul Konerko was batting. He had a 3-and-1 count. He took what seemed to ball 4. The runners began jogging to their next base. Konerko dropped his bat, took off his protective shin guard and began jogging to 1st base. Four or five seconds had passed when Joe Mauer (the Twins catcher) decided to appeal to the first base ump believing that Konerko had swung. The ump ruled he did, in fact, swing. By this time, the runners were on 2nd and 3rd. The pitcher figured the baserunners moved up illegally so he ran toward the guy on 2nd, and tagged him assuming the umps would call him out. He, then, ran to 3rd to tag him as well. Of course, they were safe since they had 'stolen' the base. The Twins manager came out to argue because the runners had moved up because the ump had not made the strike call in a timely manner. No surprise ... he was ejected even though he was right!

Chicago Cubs @ Cincinnati Reds 5-6-08

It was a beautiful night in Cincinnati. Temps in the 70s; no clouds; no wind. A great day for baseball! Unfortunately for the Reds, they got good pitching from Aaron Harang, but no hitting. Carlos Zambrano pitched very well for the Cubs. Cubs won 3 - 0.

Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_05_06_chnmlb_cinmlb_1&mode=wrap

Here's a link to the pictures of the Reds Great American Ball Park:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

As for the hot dogs -- Nancy said it was the best one she's had so far. $5 for a good dog (choice of 5 different ones) and all the veggies and sauerkraut they could pile on top. I guess we'll have to give it a "10"

GABP is a very nice stadium. Roomy promenade, wide aisles, comfortable seats. The scoreboard is not as good as others. I still like Minute Maid park in Houston, but the Reds stadium is right up there.

NY Yankees @ Cleveland Indians 4/26/08 & 4/27/08

We drove to Cleveland this morning to see the Yankees play the Indians today (Saturday) and tomorrow (Sunday). We saw a good game, except for the fact that the Yankees lost 4 - 3 on a Victor Martinez walk-off single in the ninth. The Yankees have issues this year ... not enough clutch hitting and a very shaky middle relief. Oh well, maybe next year (unless something dramatic happens in a trade). Here's a link to the box score: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?id=2008_04_26_nyamlb_clemlb_1&mode=wrap

We saw Sunday's game. Much better (for the Yankees). They won 1 - 0 on Melky Cabrera's homerun and Chien-Ming Wang's pitching. Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_04_27_nyamlb_clemlb_1&mode=wrap


Here's a link to the pictures:
http://flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/


My general impression of Progressive Field (AKA The Jake) ... it's a very nice stadium. Good aesthetics. Great scoreboard. However, I was unimpressed with their amenities. Not enough bathrooms; long lines at the concession stands.

I was very unimpressed with their Hot Dogs! I gave it a "2". Very ordinary dog. We had one with grilled onions (little flavor) and one with sauerkraut (they charged $1.25 extra for it) and it came pre-packaged (so I had to put it on) and the kraut was cold. I did give them one extra point for having their own stadium mustard which was pretty good, but not great. Follow-up: Day 2 hot dog was better, but not enough to move it up the ranking! Nancy did, however, really enjoy her Leinenkugel Draft (The Pride of Chippewa Falls) ... yummy

April 23rd -- Trip #1 Summary

Well, we've been home for a week. I thought I'd put together a bullet point summary of the Southeastern baseball stadium trip.

-- We live in a beautiful country. There are so many things to see and do. I know I don't think about it often, but our drive thru the southeast was wonderful

-- We put on 4900 miles and spent just over $4000 ($600 on tickets; $160 on museums and gardens; $800 on eating out; $700 on gas -- average price $3.25/gallon; $1200 on hotels; and $550 on groceries and miscellaneous knick-knacks -- we bought a Budweiser mirror at Anheuser-Busch to hang behind our bar)

-- We have made great friends during the course of our lives. We met with many of them on our trip and will meet with many more as we travel the rest of the United States.

-- Minute Maid Park (Houston) was our favorite stadium followed by Busch Stadium (St. Louis), Turner Field (Atlanta), Arlington Stadium (Texas Rangers), Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay) And Dolphin Stadium (Florida Marlins in Miami)

-- The best beer and the best hot dog were both at the Florida Marlins game ... Brahma Beer and the dog from the Kosher Hot Dog guy

-- The strangest thing we saw (there was a tie) -- as we were entering Oklahoma (it was the first time I've ever been there), there wasn't a "Welcome to Oklahoma" sign. We saw a "Come on in to the Choctaw Nation Casino and Hotel". I suppose it's a sign of the times in the US. And, as we were driving north of Dallas towards Oklahoma on Rt 75 , We saw a statue of Sam Houston, the biggest statue I've ever seen on the side of the road (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/TXHUNsam.html)

-- The song of the trip: Sara Bareilles -Love Song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR5xv3pt7KI) We must have heard it 100 times.

April 15th St. Louis Tour

Before we went to the Cardinals game, we took in 2+ attractions in St. Louis ... the City Museum, a tour of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, and a drive around The Arch Park.

The City Museum is a combination of interesting art, an aquarium, weird memorabilia, and 3 stories of climbing and sliding that kids 8 - 13 can play in/on for hours. Nancy and I tried some climbing and sliding, but we just don't bend like we used to. I highly recommend the City Museum if you have the right aged kids.

The Anheuser-Busch tour is a free 1 hour walk thru their facility. They start with the Clydesdales' barn, lead you on a walk thru beautiful garden areas to see the architectural features of their 1800s buildings, show you their making rooms and bottling lines ( for you P&Gers, 1300 bottles/min. and floors you can eat off!!) and finish with samples in their brew pub. And, yes, I had my first beer in 21 years --- something called "Bare Knuckle Stout". It tasted great. This doesn't mean I'm going to start drinking. It was a one time thing. Nancy had a Michelob Ultra and a Sun Dog Wheat. As you'd expect, the beers were served at the perfect temperature with the perfect amount of foam.

We also drove around the Arch to take some pictures. Quite an impressive structure. However, the near flood stage Mississippi was just as impressive.

Here's a link to pictures:
http://www1.snapfish.com/photolibrary/t_=98074769