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
Monday, June 16, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
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.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/
On to Spokane then Seattle for the Mariners game at Safeco Field.
Friday, June 13, 2008
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/
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/
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
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/
Here are our pictures. There are lots of them
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/
Monday, June 9, 2008
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.
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.
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