DAY 1: SD, MINNEAPOLIS, KC, LAWRENCEAfter a nice big bump on my head from the van door, The Colonel (John, my Travel Companion) and I were whisked through security and were on our Big Northwest (although heading Northeast) Bird to Minneapolis, and in the air a shade prior to 9am.
After three smooth hours, we touched down in a hot, windy city, and proceeded to walk to our next gate and board the brisk one-hour flight to Kansas City. A 45-minute delay followed, and then we were on the ground, in even hotter and muggier, Kansas City, at about 5pm. After a nice transition to the rental car place, we chose our White Chevy Cavalier and proceeded southeast, 40 minutes or so, just beyond Independence, Missouri and parked at the
Harry S. Truman Sports Complex, which is shared by the Royals and Chiefs.
Tickets were a breeze and were quality. About 14,000 fans along with us saw a 6-2 Royals win over the Cleveland Indians. Jose Lima threw seven flamboyant innings.
I liked the stadium a lot: fairly clean, good Polish Sausages and a friendly, familial atmosphere.
We then journeyed nearly an hour Westward to Lawrence, Kansas, spending the night at the Bismarck Inn, just off the I-70. At about 2300 hours, John and I strolled through the town of Lawrence, which was "hopping" fairly well for a Tuesday night in early July. However, few places were open for food, so we headed back toward the Highway and our hotel for Sonic. John had a burger while I had Chicken Strips. We were tired at this point, and the bugs were bothering us at midnight so much so that John claimed he was contracting the West Nile Virus.
DAY 2: LAWRENCE, COLUMBIA, ST. LOUIS, A decent night of sleep was interrupted by a wake-up call from the front desk of the Bismarck Inn at around 730am. John and I dined on a small continental breakfast with good juice and drove down the road to KU, and by 930 am, had parked and were walking around. This would be the hottest and muggiest day of the trip. You could tell by the sweat on John's shirt in the pictures.
We toured the bookstore, library, central part of campus (Student Union area) and of course,
Phog Allen Field House, which luckily was open, and so we went in.
It was quite old-fashioned and hot, but it had character as I knew it would. I was not overly-impressed by the KU campus though: lots of run down old-looking buildings and kind of tacky, save for some classy and/or modern architecture here and there. No lingering evidence from Quantrill's raid, but more hills than I imagined.
We finally departed KU at about 1130am and winded our way back to the 70 East. Ripping across the Missouri State Line (after stopping for pictures at the Kansas Speedway), we drove through/circumnavigated, if you will (on the highway), Downtown KC, after deciding that there was not much to see given our time frame. Food was on our minds as of about 1230pm and we stopped to gorge on the $2.99 pizza buffet at Pizza Street in Independence, Missouri, just one exit East of the Sports Complex. Food was good, and we were then off to the East.
After stopping for gas in Booneville, about halfway between KC and Columbia, we finally pulled into the University of Missouri at about 315pm. We were lucky to receive a sensational "tour" (well, they let us through the gates and onto the field)
of the football stadium, with its new turf. Took some shots by the infamous North end zone, then saw the Hearnes Center (basketball arena) and finally the center of campus (took some nice shots - I thought this was the nicest campus we saw the entire trip), and, of course, the bookstore, for a pen and email. We departed Mizzou for St. Louis at about 430pm.
The drive to STL was a breeze and we were in Downtown STL, heading toward Busch (not
new one yet) and the
Mississippi River at 630pm. We parked for a good rate and scalped tickets for quite cheap, getting into the stadium aby 645pm. But, as we entered, the game was in the bottom of the 2nd. It appeared that, obviously, unbeknownst to us tourists, that ESPN had pushed the game's start time up to 6pm for their telecast. Oh well. Then again, that's why we got cheap ducats and cheap parking. Nevertheless, it was still scoreless,
our seats were decent with nice folk around us, and we eventually had good bratwursts and moved down to splendid seats for the last two innings. Giants won 4-1 and, yes, Bonds went deep twice. I do believe that I have now seen Barry homer in the three different stadia (SD, LA, STL).
At the advice of the nice lady next to us in our original seats, John and I "escaped to Illinois" (not East St. Louis, Illinois), driving about eight miles Northeast to Collinsville. There we found the wonderful Drury Inn and parked for the night, after wolfing White Castle Burgers at about 1030pm. And, such was Day 2.
DAY 3: ST. LOUIS, EFFINGHAM, CHAMPAIGNUp and out the door by 9-930am, after a beyond scrumptious Drury Inn Breakfast Extravaganza (meats, pastries, eggs, juices galore), John and I went backwards (west) about 15 miles, past Ghetto St. Louis, and eventually parked the White Chevy Cavalier at Washington University...in St. Louis. They like to make sure that there is no confusion therein. Somewhat shockingly, I ran into former campers of mine at Pontiac who were on a Teen Tour, heading through and out of STL. I had known they'd be in the area around early July, but, nevertheless, still did not expect to bump into them.
After scurrying the bookstore for The Usual (a pen, a check of the email and a few gifts for the family), John and I toured the campus on a heated day (nice campus, private looking but a lot of construction),
snapped a few shots and then were off East to Downtown STL for the 1pm Cards-SF game.
We parked a bit farther away, and I negotiated a two good scalped ducats on the third base line in the shade. I do the talking; John does not. I bargain; he abstains.
Being that it was only 1130am, and although people (diehards) were filing into Busch, we went for a little walk into downtown, passed City Hall, Savvis Center and the Ed Jones Dome. Finally, we took a 15-minute walk out on a bridge halfway to Illinois, across the Mississippi River and
took a picture. Very nice and patriotic.
The game was Cardinal pounding as the RedBirds avoided the four game sweep. STL pushed across eight in the second, capped by three run dongs from Renteria, Pujols and a Rolen job into
Big Mac Land. Cards win, 9-5. Bonds took the day off.
John and I then escaped to Illinois again, scurrying, mistakenly, the daytime tips of East Chicago and eventually dining in Collinsville on White Castle again. After 90 miles of Eastbound driving, we stopped in Effingham, at the confluence of the 70 and the 57 Highways and got gas. Then, I took the wheel for the first time since Western Missouri and pounded pavement North to Champaign.
John and I were able to get some "good shots" at the University of Illinois (no football field entrance, much less a tour) and check email; but no pen purchase due to the time of day/evening (about 8pm). Finally, while on the Internet, we obtained the address and directions to a local movie theatre and proceeded to catch the far-fetched, yet cute movie, "Legally Blonde 2."
At about 1130pm, we dined at Steak and Shake and then were luckily able to find another Drury Inn, down the street on the outskirts of Champaign.
DAY 4: CHICAGO, CHI-TOWN SUBURBS, KENOSHA
After the greatest hotel breakfast ever, The Colonel and I were pounding the 57 Northward on a cloudy day up toward the Chicago City Limits. We arrived at the Stadium in the Asian Ghetto of the SouthSide (Comiskey...er...US Cellular) at about 11am and took some shots and then were off. After procuring my pre-arranged free ducats (I have connections everywhere, it seemed to John) in downtown, we shot up Clark Avenue to Wrigleyville and Wrigley Field. Considering the parking problems and extravagant prices that were said to occur around the stadium, we parked rather easily and fairly cheaply, in a lot that allowed us to stay two hours after the game. Many do not.
We took some shots outside, walked around the neighborhood, schmoozed with some Chicagoans and eventually entered a packed
Wrigley Field for the Cubs and Cards on The 4th at about 130pm for the 220pm start.
Sensational game as the Cards contingent (5-10,000 strong) walloped the Cubbies 11-8 behind back-to-back jacks in Inning One from Jim and Al, as well as a Tino shot later. The Cubs, not to be upstaged, yanked FIVE (three by Moises Alou and the others by "Fabio" Karros and Corky the Sosa).
Afterwards, we walked through the heat, grabbed good Italian Beef and then headed toward
downtown. We journeyed to the top of the Sears Tower at dusk and that proved to be an
excellent time and idea.
At about 2100 hours, we boarded the Cavalier and headed North, accompanied by 4th of July fireworks on all sides. We whipped through the towns of Skokie and Evanston (saw Northwestern briefly) and then headed up what-I-would-assume-in-the-daylight-to-be beautiful Green Bay road, northward, along the lake.
Finally, we made it back to 94, and after checking for hotels in theme park-laden Gurnee, we eventually checked in at about midnight to the Days Inn in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There was only one bed and Mr. Homophobe (that would not be I) was not exactly pleased. But a good Chris Rock special kept us romantically laughing until 230am.
DAY 5: LAKES GENEVA AND COMO, MILWAUKEE, MADISON
After a short night in the bed with Juan, we awoke to a scorcher in Southeastern Wisconsin--- Kenosha, to be exact. I think Nick Van Exel, if memory serves me correctly, was born here.
Anyway, we ate our complimentary Continental breakfast at Denny's (toast and juice - John was not pleased with the quantity) and were off down Route 50 West for the 28 mile trip to see Adam Krohn (old friend of the family and then-Chicago lawyer who procured Cubs ducats for us yesterday) at his house on Lake Como, just west of Lake Geneva. It was a beautiful ride.
We spent the afternoon wolfing ribs - and good ones - on the lake with Adam and lounging on the docks and on his leather couch by the AC. Departure came at about 330pm and we took a roundabout way to Milwaukee, about 50 miles to the Northeast.
The Colonel and I arrived in Mil-ah-wau-kay (as Alice Cooper deemed it in "Wayne's World) at about 445 pm and toured Marquette briefly. It was, luckily, not quite as hot at this juncture. Finally, we left downtown Milwaukee and scrambled through the streets to find the Wisconsin Sports HOF and the Bradley Center on the outskirts. Then, we traversed the ghetto and found the highway (94) which took us about four miles West of downtown to Miller Park where cheap parking awaited, thankfully.
Miller Park is quite beautiful and John and I opted for great seats,
8th row behind the plate, since the junk seats were only like $12 cheaper or so. It was a Win-win Saturday night here at Miller; Brew Crew wins and everyone goes for free on Sunday. Alas, the Brewers lost, 9-8 to the Denver Rockies. We witnessed: six more bombs, making like 24 for the trip, the sausage race, just prior to Randall Simon-gate, and a spectacular post-game fireworks extravaganza after the game with 34,000 fans viewing it. Nice night in sum. (I've always enjoyed my games at
Miller Park over the years.)
The parking lot was stacked like Stonehenge (or Carhenge, in Nebraska) after the game and it took us almost an hour to get out. To further complicate matters, we had to get to Madison that night, so we were at least in shouting distance (not sure who can actually shout 250 miles) of Minneapolis for Sunday afternoon's flight home.
Well, 'twas a nice ride and the situation was ameliorated a bit by taking a small road off the 94 to get some Arby's at 1130pm. We barely made it back to the freeway and although he wanted to stop and stay in a hotel East of Madison, I was obstinate enough to force John to get all the way to Madtown, where we arrived at 1230am at the Holiday Inn Express, right next to the Alliance Centre and a jet ski ride from the campus and
capitol in downtown Madison, which we would hit Sunday a.m..
DAY 6: MADISON, ST. PAUL, MINNEAPOLIS, LA, SDMy quixotic demeanor and outlook which exemplified this trip were finally defeated Sunday morning when John and I refused to arise at 530am (we slept at 2am) and hit the University of Wisconsin early enough to make it to Minneapolis for the 1pm Twins-Tribe game. We arose about 730-8am, ate a solid morning meal (well, at least Juan did) and were standing in front of the Capitol Building, with "good shots" to prove it by 920am or so. We drove a bit more through the town and the outskirts, hitting (Civil War Training) Camp Randall Stadium, the University of Wisconsin Sports HOF, and eventually - it was not easy - found our Highway 94 West towards the land of 10,000 lakes, as opposed to my hometown: the land of 10,000 fakes. Anyone who tells you that Madison is just off the highway is full of it, to say the least.
So, The Colonel and I took a rain-soaked ride through such metropolises (or might it be “metropoli?”) as Wisconsin Dells, Eau Claire, Osseo (where we stuffed ourselves with Thick Burgers - yes, they are called that and being that we were in Wisconsin, we partook and thoroughly enjoyed) and finally made it to Minnesota's state line (about 10 miles East of St. Paul) at about 145-2pm.
We exited in St. Paul, drove right by Devean George's Alma Mater (I won't even mention the school by name since all and any Los Angelino(s) knows this) and then hit the U of M (Minnesota: Twin Cities, not that school in Ann Arbor) taking "shots" by the hockey and basketball arena.
Our final two stops, not counting the airport, which was incredibly hard to find but easy once we got in, were the Metrodome, where the game was going on inside, and the Mall of Americas. There was, sadly, no time to go into either of them (editor’s note: In 2006, I went to both. Dome is fine, mall is over-hyped), but we got some....well, I think you know where I am going from here.
The flight to LA was very crowded but a nice flight and then, arriving in LA, we had to walk like 40 minutes to our American Eagle flight to SD (yes, John does live in LA) and then I finally imploded on someone after holding in my anger, angst and frustration the entire trip, when there were some "issues" with our flight down to SD. But that is another story.
MIDWEST BALLPARK TRIP 2004
{Note: This journal was not written at time of trip, but rather via memory in 2007, as I sat and lived in The Heartland}
Day 1: Detroit, its ‘burbs, Tigers-Red Sox at Comerica
John Salas (2003 companion) and I took the red eye from LA, arriving bleary-eyed in dark Detroit, which is a bad situation any way you slice it. But after getting bags, picking up the rental car and heading west from the Muslim ghettos outside Dearbornistan and blighted areas south and west of Detroit, we were in the lily-white suburb of Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan. Nice campus, architecture,
stadium, etc. Very clean, safe and dull, which is likely why so many NY and Chicago suburbanites find it appealing. Next, after heading north and slightly east, we arrived in Troy, Michigan, not far from Auburn Hills and Pontiac, home of the Silverdome and Palace of Piston hoops. The great Drury Inn allowed us to check-in at 10am, which was also excellent. Nap time, indeed.
We drove through the gorgeous suburbs, like Gross Pointe---along the waters of Lake Saint Clair---and then QUICKLY into the
"urban" areas of downtown Detroit.
When all was said and done,
we enjoyed a gem by Pedro Martinez and a Red Sox victory before a
near sell-out crowd at Comerica Park. (Recall that the Tigers of 2004 lost 90 games, lost 91 the following season, and had lost 119 the year prior.) We motored across to Casino Windsor in Canada afterwards, enjoying food and gambling for a bit, before retiring back to the D-town ‘burbs and our Drury Inn.
Day 2: More ‘burbs, East Lansing, the Shocknessy and dinner in Cleveland
A stopover at Oakland Hills Country Club in the twee suburb of Bloomfield Hills awaited us in the early morning. They’d play the Ryder Cup here about six weeks later (and have played numerous major championships) but John and I were unceremoniously bounced after about ten minutes by some 22 year old in a Ralph Lauren shirt (note that I am currently wearing a Polo shirt, but this guy had a white one with white pants and was “prettier” than I was) since
I had a jersey on and John had jeans. I suppose we could have switched, since John was wearing a collared shirt and I did have one khaki shorts, but we got out photos, so whatever.
We then circumnavigated our way out of the Detroit Metro Area, hitting the farms of East Lansing and Michigan State University about an hour later. Lovely.
Enjoyed a photo by the Earvin “Magic” Johnson statue outside the Breslin Center.
At this point, it was time to head south and east to the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike to the East Cleveland suburbs via Toledo, Sandusky and much else, including traffic, which made us late for the family BBQ we enjoyed by my aunt and uncle’s pool on a warm evening.
Day 3: Cleveland
On Monday, we did
Cleveland well. I’ve been here 100 times, but like any city I enjoy, I am proud to show it off to friends, especially those who had never been, like Mr. Salas.
We did a great tour of
Jacobs Field, walked through Tower City Center, the Rock Hall (well, he did that---no interest to me at that price),
Great Lakes Science Center by Lake Erie, the Flats,
Browns Stadium, saw my cousin who works downtown, ate good food, etc. The Midwest rocks. I learned that again this trip.
I would honestly challenge someone to debate me on why areas like Cleveland, Indy, Chicago, Louisville, Columbus, Cincy, Pittsburgh, Des Moines, Madison, Minneapolis, Detroit, et al are not the best places to raise a family, when you consider EVERYTHING from quality of life to schools, food, people, values, sports & entertainment, seasons, etc.
The numbers don't lie. (Editor’s note: This trip, one year before I actually left CA for DC, convinced me I’d like to someday make my permanent home in the MidBest Heartland)
We had a nice dinner that night with my great Aunt back in the suburbs.
Day 4: Erie, Golf, Indians We headed out early for the two hour rain-soaked drive to Erie, PA on the Keystone State’s northwest corner (their only outlet to the Lake) for the
US Women’s Amateur Golf Tourney. We went to see some golf, see the area, see Michelle Wie, and kill some time. As it was, we enjoyed it, but made the day a rush, as I had a 4pm tee time for nine holes with my uncle back in Cleveland, then a 630pm pick up by some friends for
Tribe-Blue Jays at 7pm at The Jake.
Though I played poor golf sans a 9th hole birdie, all the “connections” were made and John and I enjoyed an Indians 2-0 shutout with over Toronto courtesy of the Dery’s awesome seats and Jake Westbrook’s right arm. It was my first game at Jacobs Field in roughly eight years. In the last four MLB seasons, I’ve taken in nine at The Jake, including five during my one month in Cleveland during the summer of 2006.
Day 5: Going southwest in the Buckeye State
Interstate 71 goes diagonally across the state of Ohio, from Cleveland in the northeast, through Columbus, to Cincinnati in the southwest---before eventually terminating in Louisville, Kentucky, about 100 miles southwest (of course) from Cincinnati, tracing the Ohio River much of the way. Interstate 77 goes due south along the eastern spine of Ohio, and all other interstates (70, 76, 80, 75 and 90) go east/west or north/south, thus no one has ever been through the south central portion of Ohio…but I digress from the geography lesson and return to a summary of Wednesday, Aug 11, 2004.
We thus matriculated southwest from Cleveland to Cincitucky, stopping briefly to drop some luggage off at my cousin’s place where we’d spend the night on the long way back up after the game. As we moved south, the temps, naturally, rose. Lunch at Skyline Chili---my first visit there in nearly a decade---was quite a treat for me and John. And, after a brief detour into Indiana (needless to say, I had no idea I’d be living in and loving that state just two short years later---I still had no plans to leave LA at this point), we hit the
Great American Ballpark just in time to watch the Dodgers smash Cincy after scoring six in the first.
Day 6: The Steel City (and some rain) beckonAfter lunch at Columbus’s “Buckeye Café,” we proceeded due east on venerable I-70 into the dark clouds that seem to perpetually cover the western edge of the Appalachians in Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. I was excited, though, as my first trip to Pittsburgh in 11 years was on the horizon, quite literally. After driving through the ten-mile stretch of West Virginia at Wheeling, we hit the hills on our way into the Steel City.
Like I tell visitors to the
Indiana War Memorial’s breathtaking Shrine Room when I guide them around, verbal and written descriptions never prepare first-time visitors for the experience of entering Pittsburgh. I’m being one-thousand percent honest, and no, I would not expect the residents of America’s “fringe cities” like Miami or Los Angeles to understand. After all, they live there, and this is Pittsburgh. Realize the people and cities that made America all it is today.
I won’t summarize further, but, as I quoted from an astute Pittsburgh photographer a few years back in
A Year in Americana, “it just hits you.” It’s incredible.
Take one look. And each person who has accompanied me through the Fort Pitt Tunnel and has been overwhelmed by the hills, bridges, water, buildings and beauty, has agreed.
A few strolls through downtown, some food, a tour of the University of Pittsburgh area (Oakland, to the locals), and we were in our seats, watching the SF Giants and ex-Pirates, Barry Bonds and Jason Schmidt, toy with the Buck-os in a 7-0 whitewashing under cloudy skies along the
confluence of the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio.
The drive from Toronto to Detroit spends 99% of the raw miles in Canada, southwestern Ontario to be exact. Most think Canada is a gorgeous country, and, due to its incredible size, it is. But in its more southern portion, where 99% of the population resides for obvious reasons, outside of the big cities and Canadian Rockies out west, is pretty rural, flat and, as you get toward the interior (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, etc), resembles Kansas and Nebraska more than anything. Not that that’s a bad thing at all (you don’t have to deal with all the crime, immigrants or French), as the people are “salt of the earth” types, of course---like middle Americans.