The Tale of the Tape from my journey. A "Pilgrimage Box Score" if you will.
Number of...
Miles Driven
4,356
States Driven Through (besides Florida)
19
Games Attended
10
Stadiums Visited
9
Hot Dogs Eaten
8
All-Star Ballots Filled Out
6
Times I did the Wave
3
Money Spent
$2,162.08
A Ballpark Pilgrimage?
Priceless...
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Game 10: Phillies vs. Cardinals at Busch Stadium
The Pilgrimage ended Friday night in St. Louis. And it was certainly a bitter-sweet day in more ways than one.
As I was just making it into St. Louis on Friday, my Dad called to tell me that my favorite political journalist, Tim Russert, had died of a massive heart attack. I couldn't believe what he was telling me -- I wondered if it was a sick joke for a split second. My friend & faithful reader, Jordan, called 10 minutes later to tell me also. Despite Tiger putting together an epic back nine at the U.S. Open on Friday, I got to the hotel room & turned it to MSNBC immediately. I couldn't help but get "a little more than misty" on several occasions in that hour or so as I watched the coverage & wrote my own thoughts about the news.
I finally pealed away & headed up to the ballpark. I just drove in silence reflecting on Russert's life -- his reputation, integrity, and lasting legacy. Finally, I saw it -- the big St. Louis arch. The gateway to the west. It's a simple structure, really. Unimpressive except for its size. But for some reason holds such a captivating draw & really lifted my spirits. I parked about a mile away from the stadium in the cheap parking & got a little extra exercise on my way to the ballpark.
The new Busch Stadium (or "Busch Stadium III") is extremely impressive. It may be the best of the new-wave ballparks I visited. To me, the coolest thing about the park is that you can see the city skyline, including the arch, through centerfield. They have a fantastic jumbotron, as one might expect, and their scoreboard is the best that I've seen. You can keep up with all the games going on in MLB at the park -- seeing the score, inning, who's on base, how many outs, who's up to bat, etc. for each game. It's really impressive.
I had the BEST seats for this game than for any other game I attended along the way. I was in the highest upper deck on the first row right behind home plate. There may be better seats in the house, but not many.
And I sat next to some great Cardinals & Phillies fans. The great part about this trip is that you can do it solo because of the camaraderie that exists between fans. And the group I sat around Friday night was one of the best: great guys with good senses of humor. We had fun.
I departed early, after the game turned into a rout of the home team (score was 12-1 when I left -- it ended 20-2). But not without sampling a Cardinal dog! They do it right in St. Louis -- a jumbo dog with a good, soft bun. I'll give them a 7.5.
On to the tab!
Gas somewhere south of Chicago
$31.30 @ $4.119/gal.
Arby's for Lunch
$6.00ish... because they are expensive
Courtyard by Marriott via Priceline.com
$52.19
Cardinals Ticket
$30.00
+$4.00 ("Processing Fee")
+$5.25 ("Order Processing (including delivery)" ... even though, again, I printed these tickets from home)
======
$39.25
Parking
$5.00
Coke & a Hot Dog
$9.00
... and then there was the Travel Day Home on Saturday ...
Gas in St. Louis
$27.02 @ $3.899/gal.
McDonald's Breakfast
$3.80ish
Gas in Clarksville, TN
$34.00 @ $3.999/gal.
+
$4.30ish in road snacks
Gas in Clanton, AL
$33.01 @ $3.899/gal.
Hardee's late-lunch in Clanton, AL
$5.52
Gas in Panama City before turning in rental car
$26.00 @ $4.099/gal.
Which brings the Pilgrimage Tab to a grand total OF...
$2,162.08
... and I had a blast :)
As I was just making it into St. Louis on Friday, my Dad called to tell me that my favorite political journalist, Tim Russert, had died of a massive heart attack. I couldn't believe what he was telling me -- I wondered if it was a sick joke for a split second. My friend & faithful reader, Jordan, called 10 minutes later to tell me also. Despite Tiger putting together an epic back nine at the U.S. Open on Friday, I got to the hotel room & turned it to MSNBC immediately. I couldn't help but get "a little more than misty" on several occasions in that hour or so as I watched the coverage & wrote my own thoughts about the news.
I finally pealed away & headed up to the ballpark. I just drove in silence reflecting on Russert's life -- his reputation, integrity, and lasting legacy. Finally, I saw it -- the big St. Louis arch. The gateway to the west. It's a simple structure, really. Unimpressive except for its size. But for some reason holds such a captivating draw & really lifted my spirits. I parked about a mile away from the stadium in the cheap parking & got a little extra exercise on my way to the ballpark.
The new Busch Stadium (or "Busch Stadium III") is extremely impressive. It may be the best of the new-wave ballparks I visited. To me, the coolest thing about the park is that you can see the city skyline, including the arch, through centerfield. They have a fantastic jumbotron, as one might expect, and their scoreboard is the best that I've seen. You can keep up with all the games going on in MLB at the park -- seeing the score, inning, who's on base, how many outs, who's up to bat, etc. for each game. It's really impressive.
I had the BEST seats for this game than for any other game I attended along the way. I was in the highest upper deck on the first row right behind home plate. There may be better seats in the house, but not many.
And I sat next to some great Cardinals & Phillies fans. The great part about this trip is that you can do it solo because of the camaraderie that exists between fans. And the group I sat around Friday night was one of the best: great guys with good senses of humor. We had fun.
I departed early, after the game turned into a rout of the home team (score was 12-1 when I left -- it ended 20-2). But not without sampling a Cardinal dog! They do it right in St. Louis -- a jumbo dog with a good, soft bun. I'll give them a 7.5.
On to the tab!
Gas somewhere south of Chicago
$31.30 @ $4.119/gal.
Arby's for Lunch
$6.00ish... because they are expensive
Courtyard by Marriott via Priceline.com
$52.19
Cardinals Ticket
$30.00
+$4.00 ("Processing Fee")
+$5.25 ("Order Processing (including delivery)" ... even though, again, I printed these tickets from home)
======
$39.25
Parking
$5.00
Coke & a Hot Dog
$9.00
... and then there was the Travel Day Home on Saturday ...
Gas in St. Louis
$27.02 @ $3.899/gal.
McDonald's Breakfast
$3.80ish
Gas in Clarksville, TN
$34.00 @ $3.999/gal.
+
$4.30ish in road snacks
Gas in Clanton, AL
$33.01 @ $3.899/gal.
Hardee's late-lunch in Clanton, AL
$5.52
Gas in Panama City before turning in rental car
$26.00 @ $4.099/gal.
Which brings the Pilgrimage Tab to a grand total OF...
$2,162.08
... and I had a blast :)
Friday, June 13, 2008
GAME 9: Braves vs. Cubs at Wrigley Field
Where do I start?
Wrigley Field was beautiful. I definitely dig the "old-tyme" baseball feel. Thursday was apparently turn-back-the-clock day, too, as the Braves & Cubs wore baggy, old-school uni's. Wrigley has kept things a little more traditional than Fenway in that they have not installed any kind of jumbotron out in centerfield. I missed it a little bit when I couldn't see the replays. But it was still nice. I suppose I am more of a baseball purist, and that old stadium & field just give me the warm fuzzies.
One thing about these good, old stadiums though: they pack you in like sardines. And Fenway & Wrigley sell out every game. So be prepared for that.
I knew there some rooftop seats on nearby apartments, but I didn't know how many. There are tons of little companies (as evidenced here, here, and here) that sell seats & standing room to watch Cubs games. And with so many of them, honestly, it really just clutters up the view outside of Wrigley Field.
One interesting part of Wrigley culture: the passing of money & food down the aisles. They have long rows at Wrigley, so when the hot dog or beer guy comes by, you have to wave him down & communicate with hand signals. He may even have you pass your ID down if you look young to be drinking beer. He then passes the food/beverage down the row & passes your change next. It is a social operation. And I think I was sitting between two alcoholics on Thursday, so there was a lot of beer-passing happening on my row.
Even growing up in Florida, I had grown up knowing about the lore of the Chicago Dog. And so I knew that would have to be part of the Wrigley experience. I heard some manly Chicago guy in the row above me tease someone for putting ketchup on their dog, so when I got mine I ate it plain. And it was excellent. When you buy it from a vendor in the aisles, it is kept warm by some steam mechanism. So the bun is soft & warm, and it gets wrapped almost all the way around the hot dog. It was good. Very good. About as good as I could imagine a plain hot dog tasting. I give it an 8 out of 10.
It was cool to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." At other ballparks, it feels cheesy & copied to do that during the 7th inning stretch. But not at Wrigley: I joined in, and it was moving. It felt like church with a few thousand more people.
BTW, while I'm on this, other ballparks need to stop copying Chicago's "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" tradition. That was Harey Carey's thing, and everyone else needs to just let the Cubs have it. Its sad: whenever other ballparks do it, my first thought is, "Hmmm, this would be cooler if I was at Wrigley." Boston got creative and they discovered singing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" in the middle of the 8th fit them. And it is cool. And unique.
Just had to get that off my chest. That, and EVERY ballpark should play John Fogerty's "Centerfield" immediately before the first pitch of every ballgame!
Cubs won a very exciting ballgame. They had the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th, and the Braves brought in a new pitcher. With his first pitch he beans the batter: game over. Cubs fans celebrated by going out to buy more beer!
I met up with a buddy from high school, Dawn. She, her room-mate, and I all walked down to Greektown and ate at a fantastic little Greek restaurant called Greek Islands. We had a little fried cheese appetizer dish, and I had a scrumptious chicken & rice dish for my main course. And the service was first class. I give that restaurant high marks.
To the Tab...
Starbucks
$9.60
(Didn't have a full night's sleep, so I was liberal in replenishing my caffeine level with 3 iced tea's along the way to Chicago. There was also a muffin in there for breakfast.)
Indiana gas
$30.00 @ $3.999/gal.
Tolls
$10.25
City Parking
$9.00
Chicago Dog @ Wrigley
$3.50
Wrigley Ticket
$46.00 (ticket from Cubs.com web site)
+$4.59 ("Convenience Fee")
+$6.00 ("Order Processing Fee (including shipping)" -- NOTE: They didn't ship it to me. I printed my ticket from home)
======
$56.59
Subway
FREE for me -- thanks Dawn! But probably would have been around six bucks.
Dinner at Greek Islands
$21.00
Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $1,885.69. I don't think I'm gonna make it in under 2K...
Today I make it down to St. Louis. Cardinals game is scheduled for tonight, but God has also scheduled some nasty weather for tonight. So we'll see what happens.
Wrigley Field was beautiful. I definitely dig the "old-tyme" baseball feel. Thursday was apparently turn-back-the-clock day, too, as the Braves & Cubs wore baggy, old-school uni's. Wrigley has kept things a little more traditional than Fenway in that they have not installed any kind of jumbotron out in centerfield. I missed it a little bit when I couldn't see the replays. But it was still nice. I suppose I am more of a baseball purist, and that old stadium & field just give me the warm fuzzies.
One thing about these good, old stadiums though: they pack you in like sardines. And Fenway & Wrigley sell out every game. So be prepared for that.
I knew there some rooftop seats on nearby apartments, but I didn't know how many. There are tons of little companies (as evidenced here, here, and here) that sell seats & standing room to watch Cubs games. And with so many of them, honestly, it really just clutters up the view outside of Wrigley Field.
One interesting part of Wrigley culture: the passing of money & food down the aisles. They have long rows at Wrigley, so when the hot dog or beer guy comes by, you have to wave him down & communicate with hand signals. He may even have you pass your ID down if you look young to be drinking beer. He then passes the food/beverage down the row & passes your change next. It is a social operation. And I think I was sitting between two alcoholics on Thursday, so there was a lot of beer-passing happening on my row.
Even growing up in Florida, I had grown up knowing about the lore of the Chicago Dog. And so I knew that would have to be part of the Wrigley experience. I heard some manly Chicago guy in the row above me tease someone for putting ketchup on their dog, so when I got mine I ate it plain. And it was excellent. When you buy it from a vendor in the aisles, it is kept warm by some steam mechanism. So the bun is soft & warm, and it gets wrapped almost all the way around the hot dog. It was good. Very good. About as good as I could imagine a plain hot dog tasting. I give it an 8 out of 10.
It was cool to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." At other ballparks, it feels cheesy & copied to do that during the 7th inning stretch. But not at Wrigley: I joined in, and it was moving. It felt like church with a few thousand more people.
BTW, while I'm on this, other ballparks need to stop copying Chicago's "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" tradition. That was Harey Carey's thing, and everyone else needs to just let the Cubs have it. Its sad: whenever other ballparks do it, my first thought is, "Hmmm, this would be cooler if I was at Wrigley." Boston got creative and they discovered singing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" in the middle of the 8th fit them. And it is cool. And unique.
Just had to get that off my chest. That, and EVERY ballpark should play John Fogerty's "Centerfield" immediately before the first pitch of every ballgame!
Cubs won a very exciting ballgame. They had the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th, and the Braves brought in a new pitcher. With his first pitch he beans the batter: game over. Cubs fans celebrated by going out to buy more beer!
I met up with a buddy from high school, Dawn. She, her room-mate, and I all walked down to Greektown and ate at a fantastic little Greek restaurant called Greek Islands. We had a little fried cheese appetizer dish, and I had a scrumptious chicken & rice dish for my main course. And the service was first class. I give that restaurant high marks.
To the Tab...
Starbucks
$9.60
(Didn't have a full night's sleep, so I was liberal in replenishing my caffeine level with 3 iced tea's along the way to Chicago. There was also a muffin in there for breakfast.)
Indiana gas
$30.00 @ $3.999/gal.
Tolls
$10.25
City Parking
$9.00
Chicago Dog @ Wrigley
$3.50
Wrigley Ticket
$46.00 (ticket from Cubs.com web site)
+$4.59 ("Convenience Fee")
+$6.00 ("Order Processing Fee (including shipping)" -- NOTE: They didn't ship it to me. I printed my ticket from home)
======
$56.59
Subway
FREE for me -- thanks Dawn! But probably would have been around six bucks.
Dinner at Greek Islands
$21.00
Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $1,885.69. I don't think I'm gonna make it in under 2K...
Today I make it down to St. Louis. Cardinals game is scheduled for tonight, but God has also scheduled some nasty weather for tonight. So we'll see what happens.
GAME 8: Twins vs. Indians at Progressive Field
I took in a game on Wednesday night at the ballpark formerly known as Jacobs Field. And I was very impressed.
Before I got to the ballpark, though, I had to drive all the way through Pennsylvania. I drove from Parsippany, NJ to Cleveland, OH, which meant I drove I-80 all the way right through the middle of Pennsylvania. As my Cleveland buddy, Bob, told me when he called, "Its like driving through the middle of Tennessee." Indeed. But the scenery from the highway was nice. Lots of tree-covered, rolling hills in PA. It is especially beautiful near the state line of western NJ & eastern PA -- some rivers cutting through & between hills. It was pretty.
The downside of driving on an interstate road in the middle of Amish country, however, is that no one is willing to take the highway route. I must have passed 300 semi trucks on Wednesday over the course of 450-or-so miles. It was rather annoying, especially when one semi wanted to pass another semi while going about 2 MPH faster than the slower semi.
When I bought my tickets to this game on indians.com, there was an option to purchase parking (as there was with other ballgames, including Washington). It was $12, and since I wasn't familiar with the Cleveland downtown area, I went ahead & pulled the trigger. Boy I'm glad I did. This was the best parking ticket ever! It is a parking garage that is connected to the ballpark. The entrance to the ballpark from the parking garage was about 50 yards from my car. And for the entire game, I was no more than two or three hundred yards from my car. It was incredibly convenient. And I even saw people charging more for parking in the street -- what a rip off!
Bob also told me about the Cleveland phenomenon known as "stadium mustard." When I got my hot dog I put some on with ketchup & it was fantastic. The hot dog itself was well-done, too -- soft bun & a good weiner. I had begun to wonder if ballparks cared about the quality of their hot dogs since it had all been downhill since my first game in Baltimore. But this was a quality hot dog. I give the Cleveland dog an 8.5 out of 10.
There is plenty of seating these days in Cleveland. The team is awful. Which is sad, because they were so close to the World Series last year. Myself & others thought they might come back with a vengeance and get back to the World Series this year. But they won't come close. Anyway, since there is plenty of seating, I sat exactly where I wanted in the outfield seats instead of climbing to the upper reserve level. Also, I noticed that there are TONS of luxury box seats at Progressive Field -- more than I've noticed at any other stadium I've visited. And about 80% of them were empty for this game. It was the kind of luxury box where you can sit inside with the air conditioning, or step outside of a sliding glass door & sit in your own personal stadium seats -- that is definitely the best way to make luxury boxes. If ever I'm through Cleveland again, and the team still stinks, then I may look up & see if I can pick off some of those tickets.
Indians lost. Grady Sizemore tried to bring them back late with a 2-run homer that brought them to one run back. But that's as close as they got.
And a big thanks to Bob & his parents for hosting me at their home in Amherst, OH. It was very comfortable & I enjoyed my stay.
On to the tab!
Gas in Pennsylvania
$29.67 @ $3.999/gal.
Lunch @ Wendy's in Pennsylvania
$5.65
Gas in Cleveland
$37.59 @ $3.8999/gal.
Soda, Hot Dog, & Cracker Jacks at Ballpark
$13.00
Ticket + Parking
$12.00 (Ticket
+ 4.25 ("Total Convenience Charge")
+12.00 (Parking)
+ 3.35 ("Order Processing Charge")
+14.50 (UPS Shipping)
======
$46.10
Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $1,745.75.
Before I got to the ballpark, though, I had to drive all the way through Pennsylvania. I drove from Parsippany, NJ to Cleveland, OH, which meant I drove I-80 all the way right through the middle of Pennsylvania. As my Cleveland buddy, Bob, told me when he called, "Its like driving through the middle of Tennessee." Indeed. But the scenery from the highway was nice. Lots of tree-covered, rolling hills in PA. It is especially beautiful near the state line of western NJ & eastern PA -- some rivers cutting through & between hills. It was pretty.
The downside of driving on an interstate road in the middle of Amish country, however, is that no one is willing to take the highway route. I must have passed 300 semi trucks on Wednesday over the course of 450-or-so miles. It was rather annoying, especially when one semi wanted to pass another semi while going about 2 MPH faster than the slower semi.
When I bought my tickets to this game on indians.com, there was an option to purchase parking (as there was with other ballgames, including Washington). It was $12, and since I wasn't familiar with the Cleveland downtown area, I went ahead & pulled the trigger. Boy I'm glad I did. This was the best parking ticket ever! It is a parking garage that is connected to the ballpark. The entrance to the ballpark from the parking garage was about 50 yards from my car. And for the entire game, I was no more than two or three hundred yards from my car. It was incredibly convenient. And I even saw people charging more for parking in the street -- what a rip off!
Bob also told me about the Cleveland phenomenon known as "stadium mustard." When I got my hot dog I put some on with ketchup & it was fantastic. The hot dog itself was well-done, too -- soft bun & a good weiner. I had begun to wonder if ballparks cared about the quality of their hot dogs since it had all been downhill since my first game in Baltimore. But this was a quality hot dog. I give the Cleveland dog an 8.5 out of 10.
There is plenty of seating these days in Cleveland. The team is awful. Which is sad, because they were so close to the World Series last year. Myself & others thought they might come back with a vengeance and get back to the World Series this year. But they won't come close. Anyway, since there is plenty of seating, I sat exactly where I wanted in the outfield seats instead of climbing to the upper reserve level. Also, I noticed that there are TONS of luxury box seats at Progressive Field -- more than I've noticed at any other stadium I've visited. And about 80% of them were empty for this game. It was the kind of luxury box where you can sit inside with the air conditioning, or step outside of a sliding glass door & sit in your own personal stadium seats -- that is definitely the best way to make luxury boxes. If ever I'm through Cleveland again, and the team still stinks, then I may look up & see if I can pick off some of those tickets.
Indians lost. Grady Sizemore tried to bring them back late with a 2-run homer that brought them to one run back. But that's as close as they got.
And a big thanks to Bob & his parents for hosting me at their home in Amherst, OH. It was very comfortable & I enjoyed my stay.
On to the tab!
Gas in Pennsylvania
$29.67 @ $3.999/gal.
Lunch @ Wendy's in Pennsylvania
$5.65
Gas in Cleveland
$37.59 @ $3.8999/gal.
Soda, Hot Dog, & Cracker Jacks at Ballpark
$13.00
Ticket + Parking
$12.00 (Ticket
+ 4.25 ("Total Convenience Charge")
+12.00 (Parking)
+ 3.35 ("Order Processing Charge")
+14.50 (UPS Shipping)
======
$46.10
Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $1,745.75.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
GAME 7: Diamondbacks vs. Mets at Shea Stadium
I attended part of a game at Shea Stadium tonight. I left early when a nasty storm front moved through the NYC area around the 6th inning & caused a delay in the game.
It was pretty crazy. Just a half inning earlier, it was sorta hot & I remember having sighed while looking up at the American flags flapping & remarking to my game buddy, Chris, "I wish we could feel that breeze." All of a sudden, the wind REALLY started whipping around Shea Stadium. Dust from the construction of Citi Field (the Mets new home starting next season) was kicked up everywhere. Trash in the aisles even began to be kicked up & scattered across the field. Some families around us began to scatter for the exits thinking that there was a tornado or something. But we realized that if there was something like that in the area, we surely would have heard from the P.A. guy.
I called my Dad to get a weather update, and that's when Chris & I realized that the game was going to be delayed, it was late already, and we were better off heading toward the exits.
Shea Stadium definitely showed some age. I'm sure that this stadium was a marvel back in the 60's, but its just sort of bland in 2008.
The biggest thing you notice is that Shea Stadium is right in the take-off path of jets from LaGuardia Airport. Every 8-10 minutes, the deafening noise of jumbo jets drowns out any conversation. And Citi Field appears to be more directly in LaGuardia's take-off path than Shea Stadium is. Why didn't they build a dome? I guess it just makes too much sense...
On to the tab!
Gas @ 3.99/gal.
$34.73
Wendy's Lunch (ugh...)
$5.30ish
Crossing George Washington Bridge to Bronx from Jersey
$8.00
Crossing another bridge to get to Queens
$5.00
Crossing back over that bridge to get back to Jersey
$5.00
Two Tickets to Mets Game
$48.50
Parking at Mets Game
$15.00
Dinner at Taco Bell
$6.00ish
The Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $1,613.74
Cleveland Indians tonight. I won't be in a hotel the next two nights, so I may not have internet access or be able to post updates until Friday afternoon.
It was pretty crazy. Just a half inning earlier, it was sorta hot & I remember having sighed while looking up at the American flags flapping & remarking to my game buddy, Chris, "I wish we could feel that breeze." All of a sudden, the wind REALLY started whipping around Shea Stadium. Dust from the construction of Citi Field (the Mets new home starting next season) was kicked up everywhere. Trash in the aisles even began to be kicked up & scattered across the field. Some families around us began to scatter for the exits thinking that there was a tornado or something. But we realized that if there was something like that in the area, we surely would have heard from the P.A. guy.
I called my Dad to get a weather update, and that's when Chris & I realized that the game was going to be delayed, it was late already, and we were better off heading toward the exits.
Shea Stadium definitely showed some age. I'm sure that this stadium was a marvel back in the 60's, but its just sort of bland in 2008.
The biggest thing you notice is that Shea Stadium is right in the take-off path of jets from LaGuardia Airport. Every 8-10 minutes, the deafening noise of jumbo jets drowns out any conversation. And Citi Field appears to be more directly in LaGuardia's take-off path than Shea Stadium is. Why didn't they build a dome? I guess it just makes too much sense...
On to the tab!
Gas @ 3.99/gal.
$34.73
Wendy's Lunch (ugh...)
$5.30ish
Crossing George Washington Bridge to Bronx from Jersey
$8.00
Crossing another bridge to get to Queens
$5.00
Crossing back over that bridge to get back to Jersey
$5.00
Two Tickets to Mets Game
$48.50
Parking at Mets Game
$15.00
Dinner at Taco Bell
$6.00ish
The Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $1,613.74
Cleveland Indians tonight. I won't be in a hotel the next two nights, so I may not have internet access or be able to post updates until Friday afternoon.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
GAME 6: "Yankees SUCK!"
I attended a Monday afternoon game in the Bronx -- Yanks trying to complete a 4-game sweep of the KC Royals. And I feel like I can say "Yankees suck" and have personal life experience that backs that up.
I made my way down to NYC from Kingston, NY on Monday morning. I weaved my way through New Jersey & entered the city from Lincoln Tunnel. When I emerged from the Tunnel, I was excited -- "I'm in NEW YORK CITY!" I was leaning forward in my car to see the tops of all the skyscrapers. I got into the city at about 11 or 11:30 AM, which was a good time to be driving around in traffic. Lots of buses & cabs to dodge. And I do mean dodge. I learned that the painted lanes & such on NYC roads are more like guidelines than hard & fast rules. Saw Times Sqaure. Saw Washington Square. And I made it to my 24-parking destination without any dents.
I then caught the B-train & headed up toward the Bronx. Not at all crowded. Felt safe. A little dirty & grimy. But all in all, I was thinking, "Alright. Not too bad so far."
When I made it to the Stadium, they wouldn't let me in with my back-pack. Apparently, if you're not with a group of people (like, "group seating" -- a couple is not a group), you cannot take a back-pack into Yankee Stadium. Took my back-pack into every other stadium I went to last week. But not Yankee Stadium. I had to go find this bowling alley across the street from the Stadium & "check" my bag. For five dollars, I let my back-pack sit in a bowling alley with complete strangers -- what a bargain!
When I finally got in the Stadium, I ordered a dog & a coke. It was a Nathan's Hot Dog, and I'd give an, "Eh... 6?" And the lady who took my order wasn't friendly at all, either. What is it with New Yorkers?
I found my seat in the right-centerfield bleachers. It was actually a great spot to catch possible homerun balls, but none came close to me. The guys I sat around were pretty friendly -- they saw my 'Bama visor, so several of us started talking college football.
The "collective consciousness" of Yankee Stadium is interesting. It totally sounds cliche, and I can't find the words to express it really, but they are truly "one in spirit." For example, it was a hot day. And when a cloud came overhead that blocked the sun, everyone started appaluding. But then when the cloud passed along, everyone went "Awwww" or "Boooo." And when I've heard announcers say, "And Yankee Stadium has finally come alive," I know what that means now. The stadium was only about 2/3 full Monday, but when they got excited, it is pretty rousing.
As far as the play goes, it was definitely a get-away day. Neither the Yankees or Royals wanted to be playing that game in 90-degree heat. Nobody was working counts. It was a relatively quick game. I was impressed with A-Rod -- I knew he was big, but he really looks like a giant out there on the field. And he hit a big homerun in the 7th inning that tied the game after being down 2-0.
Mariano Rivera came in to pitch in the 9th inning to hold the game to a tie. It was cool to see him trot in to Metallica's "Enter Sandman" (a song about going to sleep... in effect, saying to the Royals, "this guy is about to put you guys to bed."). Mariano Rivera has gotta be one of the coolest athletes of all time -- nothing fazes him. But the first batter hit a homerun off of him in an 0-2 count. I wanted to jump up & down in excitement to see Rivera actually blow a game in person! But I also wanted to leave with all my appendages in tact, so I bottled up all my Yankee hate for the entire game -- even that moment.
I was going to meet some friends after the game, but I was about an hour ahead of schedule. So I was going to sit in the bleachers, catch up on some phone calls, and maybe walk around the stadium a bit after the game to check it out from different viewpoints. Not a chance! The cops totally shoo'ed me out of the stadium. They were jerks. I guess they wanted to go home. But geez. Why can't you let folks hang out instead of going to cram themselves into a subway line? That sealed it -- my Yankee Stadium experience sucked. I don't like these people. And I will now root against all of their sports teams until the end of time.
I rode the subway back down to Greenwich Village to meet up with friends from home, Chris & Katy Donlan. We went to eat dinner at some famous pizza place in the West Village -- I think its called "John's Pizzeria." People wait in line outside to eat this pizza apparently. And while I was not enthralled with the "everything-on-it" style pizza (which is what I usually like), I really did enjoy the cheese pizza (which is what I usually don't like). Apparently the cheese pizza is their specialty. It was very good.
Katy, Chris, and I then went to "Magnolia's to mack on some cupcakes" (reference from Saturday Night Live's now legendary skit, "Lazy Sunday"). Magnolia's is a bakery in the West Village. I actually did buy a couple of cupcakes, and we all went down to sit on the bank of the Hudson River to watch the sunset.
Thanks again for the fun evening Katy & Chris :)
On to the tab!
Starbucks tea & Banana Nut loaf @ Starbucks Monday morning
$4.10
Lincoln Tunnel Toll to get into NYC
$8.00
Parking for under 10 hours
$30.00
NYC Subway Fare
Around $7.25 or something
Checking my backpack at Yankee Stadium
$5.00
Nathan's Hot Dog & Coke
$9.00
Magnolia's Cupcakes
I forget... I think it was around $4
Hotel in Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
$54
Ticket to Yankee Stadium Bleacher Seat
$23.55
The Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $1,486.21
I'm hoping to make it in under $2K
Shea Stadium tonight with Chris. Gonna find out if the humans are any more inhumane over in Queens...
I made my way down to NYC from Kingston, NY on Monday morning. I weaved my way through New Jersey & entered the city from Lincoln Tunnel. When I emerged from the Tunnel, I was excited -- "I'm in NEW YORK CITY!" I was leaning forward in my car to see the tops of all the skyscrapers. I got into the city at about 11 or 11:30 AM, which was a good time to be driving around in traffic. Lots of buses & cabs to dodge. And I do mean dodge. I learned that the painted lanes & such on NYC roads are more like guidelines than hard & fast rules. Saw Times Sqaure. Saw Washington Square. And I made it to my 24-parking destination without any dents.
I then caught the B-train & headed up toward the Bronx. Not at all crowded. Felt safe. A little dirty & grimy. But all in all, I was thinking, "Alright. Not too bad so far."
When I made it to the Stadium, they wouldn't let me in with my back-pack. Apparently, if you're not with a group of people (like, "group seating" -- a couple is not a group), you cannot take a back-pack into Yankee Stadium. Took my back-pack into every other stadium I went to last week. But not Yankee Stadium. I had to go find this bowling alley across the street from the Stadium & "check" my bag. For five dollars, I let my back-pack sit in a bowling alley with complete strangers -- what a bargain!
When I finally got in the Stadium, I ordered a dog & a coke. It was a Nathan's Hot Dog, and I'd give an, "Eh... 6?" And the lady who took my order wasn't friendly at all, either. What is it with New Yorkers?
I found my seat in the right-centerfield bleachers. It was actually a great spot to catch possible homerun balls, but none came close to me. The guys I sat around were pretty friendly -- they saw my 'Bama visor, so several of us started talking college football.
The "collective consciousness" of Yankee Stadium is interesting. It totally sounds cliche, and I can't find the words to express it really, but they are truly "one in spirit." For example, it was a hot day. And when a cloud came overhead that blocked the sun, everyone started appaluding. But then when the cloud passed along, everyone went "Awwww" or "Boooo." And when I've heard announcers say, "And Yankee Stadium has finally come alive," I know what that means now. The stadium was only about 2/3 full Monday, but when they got excited, it is pretty rousing.
As far as the play goes, it was definitely a get-away day. Neither the Yankees or Royals wanted to be playing that game in 90-degree heat. Nobody was working counts. It was a relatively quick game. I was impressed with A-Rod -- I knew he was big, but he really looks like a giant out there on the field. And he hit a big homerun in the 7th inning that tied the game after being down 2-0.
Mariano Rivera came in to pitch in the 9th inning to hold the game to a tie. It was cool to see him trot in to Metallica's "Enter Sandman" (a song about going to sleep... in effect, saying to the Royals, "this guy is about to put you guys to bed."). Mariano Rivera has gotta be one of the coolest athletes of all time -- nothing fazes him. But the first batter hit a homerun off of him in an 0-2 count. I wanted to jump up & down in excitement to see Rivera actually blow a game in person! But I also wanted to leave with all my appendages in tact, so I bottled up all my Yankee hate for the entire game -- even that moment.
I was going to meet some friends after the game, but I was about an hour ahead of schedule. So I was going to sit in the bleachers, catch up on some phone calls, and maybe walk around the stadium a bit after the game to check it out from different viewpoints. Not a chance! The cops totally shoo'ed me out of the stadium. They were jerks. I guess they wanted to go home. But geez. Why can't you let folks hang out instead of going to cram themselves into a subway line? That sealed it -- my Yankee Stadium experience sucked. I don't like these people. And I will now root against all of their sports teams until the end of time.
I rode the subway back down to Greenwich Village to meet up with friends from home, Chris & Katy Donlan. We went to eat dinner at some famous pizza place in the West Village -- I think its called "John's Pizzeria." People wait in line outside to eat this pizza apparently. And while I was not enthralled with the "everything-on-it" style pizza (which is what I usually like), I really did enjoy the cheese pizza (which is what I usually don't like). Apparently the cheese pizza is their specialty. It was very good.
Katy, Chris, and I then went to "Magnolia's to mack on some cupcakes" (reference from Saturday Night Live's now legendary skit, "Lazy Sunday"). Magnolia's is a bakery in the West Village. I actually did buy a couple of cupcakes, and we all went down to sit on the bank of the Hudson River to watch the sunset.
Thanks again for the fun evening Katy & Chris :)
On to the tab!
Starbucks tea & Banana Nut loaf @ Starbucks Monday morning
$4.10
Lincoln Tunnel Toll to get into NYC
$8.00
Parking for under 10 hours
$30.00
NYC Subway Fare
Around $7.25 or something
Checking my backpack at Yankee Stadium
$5.00
Nathan's Hot Dog & Coke
$9.00
Magnolia's Cupcakes
I forget... I think it was around $4
Hotel in Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
$54
Ticket to Yankee Stadium Bleacher Seat
$23.55
The Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $1,486.21
I'm hoping to make it in under $2K
Shea Stadium tonight with Chris. Gonna find out if the humans are any more inhumane over in Queens...
Sunday, June 8, 2008
The Trek to Mecca
I made my way over to Cooperstown, NY this morning to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum. And there is a bit of a distinction there. I'd heard my Dad say that when he visited the hall some 30 years ago, his reaction was, "This is IT???" Apparently they've done a good job building the number & quality of exhibits in the museum portion of the edifice. And I certainly didn't come away wondering if "this was it." Rather, I began to boggle my mind trying to fathom the amount of money in the form of baseball memorabilia is stored in that place. From bats, balls, & uniforms to EVERY World Series Championship ring, there's some money in that place.
Also, in the museum portion of the structure they do well to recognize Pete Rose & his accomplishments. They have one of his jerseys, and he is recognized as the all-time hits king. He's just not celebrated with a plaque in the Hall. And I think that that's an appropriate way to deal with the quagmire he created for himself.
I spent about 3 hours at the Hall, making my way through each & every section. They start from the beginnings of baseball & go all the way through to present day happenings. They have one section dedicated just to Babe Ruth. And another section over, they have a section dedicated to segregation & the Negro Leagues. They even have copies of hate-mail that was sent to Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron, filled with insults & peppered with "n***er boy" references. On the third floor of the museum, they have a whole section dedicated to the all-time stats leaders. On one wall, they have a dedication to all the no-hitters ever thrown. And within that section, there is recognition of Nolan Ryan's 7 no-no's. And I didn't even know that he had 5 other no-hit bids broken up in the 9th inning. Amazing...
The Hall of Fame itself is sort of bland. Its just a bunch of plaques. But I made a point to spend time in front of the ones that meant something to me: Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle (my Dad's boyhood hero), and Wade Boggs (my boyhood hero).
Of course there's plenty of ways to waste money. The Hall has a bookstore & a memorabilia store with all kinds of things. I was even looking at a Wade Boggs HOF jersey until I saw the price tag -- $300.
Once I got there, I was happy that I came on a Sunday. The Hall is near the middle of town, and it does NOT have its own parking. You can only park on the street for two hours at a time EXCEPT on Sunday -- so I was able to park near the Hall for free as long as I wanted. If you want to park longer than 2 hours Monday through Saturday, you have to go about a half of a mile away and pay ten bucks to park. Ridiculous, I say! If you're going to have a Hall of Fame, don't fleece the fan. It's already in the middle of nowhere so that most of the nation has to pay good money to get up there. They charge an exorbitant amount of money for a museum entrance fee. OUTRAGEOUS that you have to pay for parking at the Hall of Fame...
Not only that, but hotel prices in Cooperstown are outrageous. About $200 for a two-star hotel. NO thank you. I'm a couple hours away in a town called Kingston. I drove through Catskill State Park to get here -- a very nice, scenic drive.
To the tab...
Gas
$38.50 @ $4.19/gal.
Lunch at McDonald's
$4.80-something
(Man am I sick of fast-food)
Ticket into the Hall of Fame
$16.50
Taco Salad at Taco Bell
$4.50ish
Starbucks Tea
$4.54
(I got two. Man have I missed my tea. Maybe its more British than it is American, but I say baseball parks should sell tea!)
Courtyard by Marriott in Kingston, NY
$59.99
(ATTN Cooperstown Best Western & Holiday Inn Express: Go stick it! $220 for a room?! You didn't get my business)
Assorted Tolls along Mass Pike
$2.00ish
So the Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $1,341.31
And the Pilgrimage Odometer is at about 2,030 miles.
Tomorrow, I get to see a day game at Yankee Stadium. Royals @ Yanks. Since I've never been to NYC, I'm nervous. I'll admit it. I certainly won't be wearing any Red Sox regalia, I can tell you that. ;)
Also, in the museum portion of the structure they do well to recognize Pete Rose & his accomplishments. They have one of his jerseys, and he is recognized as the all-time hits king. He's just not celebrated with a plaque in the Hall. And I think that that's an appropriate way to deal with the quagmire he created for himself.
I spent about 3 hours at the Hall, making my way through each & every section. They start from the beginnings of baseball & go all the way through to present day happenings. They have one section dedicated just to Babe Ruth. And another section over, they have a section dedicated to segregation & the Negro Leagues. They even have copies of hate-mail that was sent to Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron, filled with insults & peppered with "n***er boy" references. On the third floor of the museum, they have a whole section dedicated to the all-time stats leaders. On one wall, they have a dedication to all the no-hitters ever thrown. And within that section, there is recognition of Nolan Ryan's 7 no-no's. And I didn't even know that he had 5 other no-hit bids broken up in the 9th inning. Amazing...
The Hall of Fame itself is sort of bland. Its just a bunch of plaques. But I made a point to spend time in front of the ones that meant something to me: Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle (my Dad's boyhood hero), and Wade Boggs (my boyhood hero).
Of course there's plenty of ways to waste money. The Hall has a bookstore & a memorabilia store with all kinds of things. I was even looking at a Wade Boggs HOF jersey until I saw the price tag -- $300.
Once I got there, I was happy that I came on a Sunday. The Hall is near the middle of town, and it does NOT have its own parking. You can only park on the street for two hours at a time EXCEPT on Sunday -- so I was able to park near the Hall for free as long as I wanted. If you want to park longer than 2 hours Monday through Saturday, you have to go about a half of a mile away and pay ten bucks to park. Ridiculous, I say! If you're going to have a Hall of Fame, don't fleece the fan. It's already in the middle of nowhere so that most of the nation has to pay good money to get up there. They charge an exorbitant amount of money for a museum entrance fee. OUTRAGEOUS that you have to pay for parking at the Hall of Fame...
Not only that, but hotel prices in Cooperstown are outrageous. About $200 for a two-star hotel. NO thank you. I'm a couple hours away in a town called Kingston. I drove through Catskill State Park to get here -- a very nice, scenic drive.
To the tab...
Gas
$38.50 @ $4.19/gal.
Lunch at McDonald's
$4.80-something
(Man am I sick of fast-food)
Ticket into the Hall of Fame
$16.50
Taco Salad at Taco Bell
$4.50ish
Starbucks Tea
$4.54
(I got two. Man have I missed my tea. Maybe its more British than it is American, but I say baseball parks should sell tea!)
Courtyard by Marriott in Kingston, NY
$59.99
(ATTN Cooperstown Best Western & Holiday Inn Express: Go stick it! $220 for a room?! You didn't get my business)
Assorted Tolls along Mass Pike
$2.00ish
So the Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $1,341.31
And the Pilgrimage Odometer is at about 2,030 miles.
Tomorrow, I get to see a day game at Yankee Stadium. Royals @ Yanks. Since I've never been to NYC, I'm nervous. I'll admit it. I certainly won't be wearing any Red Sox regalia, I can tell you that. ;)
GAME 5: "Good Times Never Seemed So Good"
I caught a second Red Sox/Mariners game at Fenway on Saturday afternoon.
I was searching for my seat right before game time. I had a seat WAY high up in the outfield bleachers. And it wasn't until I got to the top of the stairs that I realized I had gone up the wrong row (FYI: some rows go higher than others in the OF bleachers). I would have had to climb over a ton of people, or go back down & come back up the row one section over.
So, I found an empty seat next to a couple and sat down. And I made a buddy. Some guy from Springfield, Mass. (we didn't exchange names) who was born in Birmingham, AL & raised in Mobile, AL. I guardedly asked him, "Auburn fan? Or 'Bama fan?" He said, "OH, 'Bama all the way." Magnificent! I made a new buddy. He & I talked Sox & Tide all day long.
I sorta felt bad for his wife because he was giving me so much attention, but not too much. She was one of those girls that had to take a billion pictures, getting about 10 snapshots of the same pose to make sure she got just the right pose. And interrupting good sports talk at that. If it sounds like I was jealous that she was hogging my new buddy -- you're darn right I was! ;)
One thing I enjoyed about my two nights at Fenway is that I was among equals in terms of game knowledge. These people know their baseball, and they especially know their Red Sox. Maybe it was just bad luck, but in other stadiums this week (namely Washington & Baltimore), I sat in a section with masters of the obvious. And they had to blurt out their little modicum of baseball "wisdom" (read: "common knowledge") every chance they could seize. Not at Fenway. Even the women. The ladies knew their stuff, and they knew when to keep their yapper shut (unlike the annoying patrons in Baltimore & D.C.). I appreciated that.
Also, I have a new appreciation for the spirit of big city sports. I got a taste of it in Philly, and I got a big dose in Boston this weekend. All over town there are shirt vendors selling green "Beat L.A." shirts along with the standard fare of Red Sox & Harvard shirts. And, multiple times throughout the game, "Beat L.A." chants were struck up. It was totally fun & heart-warming even though I could care less about the Celtics.
Finally, I was pleased that I got to hear Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" play in the middle of the 8th inning. That was fun. Why is that a big deal? Well, its just become a Red Sox tradition this decade. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, which ironically fits with the first line of the song ("Where it began? I can't begin to knowin'..."). For an explanation of what this song means to Red Sox fans, click here.
In fact, I got to hear all the Red Sox favorites. Dirty Water. Tessie. And since Papelbon pitched the 9th, I'm Shipping Up To Boston. Wakefield was dealing. Manny hit a "homah." It was just a great day to be at Fenway!
And I loved every minute of it. I mean I really did. I sat around just letting my eyes soak it all in with a goofy grin on my face most of the time. And have you ever been sad when Thanksgiving dinner is over? Because it's so good, you get full, & you can't eat any more of it? That's sorta how I felt when I was walking toward Kenmore station to catch the subway back to my car. Fenway is a fun place to watch a baseball game. It is scenic. There's oodles of energy & passion. And they play good baseball, too.
On to the tab...
Gas
$40.30 @ $4.19/gal.
Tolls
$2.60
Commuter Parking
$3.75
Commuter Rail
$4.00
(If all of that sounds expensive just to get the stadium, compare it to paying THIRTY-FIVE DOLLARS at the lot next the to stadium. Outrageous! I almost wonder if they charge that much to make commuters like me feel better about themselves...)
Spicy Chicken Combo at Wendy's
$5.50
Fenway Frank & a Water
$7.50
(BTW, I give the Fenway Frank a rousing 5. I wasn't impressed. Generic bun & generic weiner. Certainly not anything to brag about, which Boston folks do)
Salad & Chicken Nuggets at Wendy's after the game
$3.00
Ticket via StubHub.com
$76.85
Fairfield Inn at Auburn, Mass.
$53
Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $1,210.48.
I was searching for my seat right before game time. I had a seat WAY high up in the outfield bleachers. And it wasn't until I got to the top of the stairs that I realized I had gone up the wrong row (FYI: some rows go higher than others in the OF bleachers). I would have had to climb over a ton of people, or go back down & come back up the row one section over.
So, I found an empty seat next to a couple and sat down. And I made a buddy. Some guy from Springfield, Mass. (we didn't exchange names) who was born in Birmingham, AL & raised in Mobile, AL. I guardedly asked him, "Auburn fan? Or 'Bama fan?" He said, "OH, 'Bama all the way." Magnificent! I made a new buddy. He & I talked Sox & Tide all day long.
I sorta felt bad for his wife because he was giving me so much attention, but not too much. She was one of those girls that had to take a billion pictures, getting about 10 snapshots of the same pose to make sure she got just the right pose. And interrupting good sports talk at that. If it sounds like I was jealous that she was hogging my new buddy -- you're darn right I was! ;)
One thing I enjoyed about my two nights at Fenway is that I was among equals in terms of game knowledge. These people know their baseball, and they especially know their Red Sox. Maybe it was just bad luck, but in other stadiums this week (namely Washington & Baltimore), I sat in a section with masters of the obvious. And they had to blurt out their little modicum of baseball "wisdom" (read: "common knowledge") every chance they could seize. Not at Fenway. Even the women. The ladies knew their stuff, and they knew when to keep their yapper shut (unlike the annoying patrons in Baltimore & D.C.). I appreciated that.
Also, I have a new appreciation for the spirit of big city sports. I got a taste of it in Philly, and I got a big dose in Boston this weekend. All over town there are shirt vendors selling green "Beat L.A." shirts along with the standard fare of Red Sox & Harvard shirts. And, multiple times throughout the game, "Beat L.A." chants were struck up. It was totally fun & heart-warming even though I could care less about the Celtics.
Finally, I was pleased that I got to hear Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" play in the middle of the 8th inning. That was fun. Why is that a big deal? Well, its just become a Red Sox tradition this decade. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, which ironically fits with the first line of the song ("Where it began? I can't begin to knowin'..."). For an explanation of what this song means to Red Sox fans, click here.
In fact, I got to hear all the Red Sox favorites. Dirty Water. Tessie. And since Papelbon pitched the 9th, I'm Shipping Up To Boston. Wakefield was dealing. Manny hit a "homah." It was just a great day to be at Fenway!
And I loved every minute of it. I mean I really did. I sat around just letting my eyes soak it all in with a goofy grin on my face most of the time. And have you ever been sad when Thanksgiving dinner is over? Because it's so good, you get full, & you can't eat any more of it? That's sorta how I felt when I was walking toward Kenmore station to catch the subway back to my car. Fenway is a fun place to watch a baseball game. It is scenic. There's oodles of energy & passion. And they play good baseball, too.
On to the tab...
Gas
$40.30 @ $4.19/gal.
Tolls
$2.60
Commuter Parking
$3.75
Commuter Rail
$4.00
(If all of that sounds expensive just to get the stadium, compare it to paying THIRTY-FIVE DOLLARS at the lot next the to stadium. Outrageous! I almost wonder if they charge that much to make commuters like me feel better about themselves...)
Spicy Chicken Combo at Wendy's
$5.50
Fenway Frank & a Water
$7.50
(BTW, I give the Fenway Frank a rousing 5. I wasn't impressed. Generic bun & generic weiner. Certainly not anything to brag about, which Boston folks do)
Salad & Chicken Nuggets at Wendy's after the game
$3.00
Ticket via StubHub.com
$76.85
Fairfield Inn at Auburn, Mass.
$53
Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $1,210.48.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
GAME 4: Mariners at Red Sox at Fenway Park
So, the day began with what I'll call a series of unfortunate events.
As I got to the commuter lot to ride the train into town, I was unplugging my electronics to hide them in the trunk. As I unplugged one of those things out of the cigarette lighter, the tip of it totally came apart, with several tiny parts scattering throughout the car. Great. So, I get all of them but one, which settled somewhere underneath the passenger seat.
So here I am, laying on the driver's seat, legs dangling out of the car, patting underneath the passenger seat for this little spring, and all of a sudden I turn my knee the wrong way & my right knee-cap comes out of its track. It popped right back in, but for five minutes I was clutching that knee like someone had beat it with a club it hurt so bad.
I've done this before. About ten years ago, playing in my Dad's company golf tournament, I did this same thing to my left knee. That injury was much more severe -- I wasn't walking for about 4 days. In the moment, I thought that my whole day was going to be ruined.
But I gutted it out like a champ!! Paul Pierce ain't got nothin' on me!
Seriously, after about 10 minutes, I realized that I could hobble around like an old Irish man -- somewhat appropriate for a day in Boston, I suppose.
So, I did. Boston has a two-and-a-half mile trail (marked with red bricks or a red painted line) called the "Freedom Trail." I saw some cool things:
All in all, it was a good way to see Boston, stretch the legs, and experience a little bit of history. I recommend it. You could zoom through it in a couple hours, or take your time & make it an all-day thing. I didn't see everything on the trail -- I skipped stops I wasn't interested in -- but I saw what I wanted to see, and I didn't have to spend a dime. Just followed a red-brick trail.
Then it was time to head to Fenway. Honestly, I didn't know what I would think. I've seen some really impressive stadiums already. And I know that lots of folks say that the old stadiums like Fenway & Wrigley "have character," which is really just a polite way of saying that they're old & falling apart -- like the eye-soar that is Legion Field in Birmingham ("the old gray lady" has seen better days). I've heard plenty of folks state that the old stadiums are way past their prime. So I really didn't know what I would think about Fenway -- whether I'd appreciate the character in the ugliness, or just think it was a dump.
But once I got in, I've gotta say... I was mesmerized. Dad called me on the phone and asked how it was. All I could say was, "Its beautiful. Just beautiful, Dad." Apparently, about ten years ago, Fenway was falling apart. But the current ownership has put a lot of money into it, and it is impressive for a 96 year-old stadium. Its hard to describe, but in a way I felt transported back to 1920 & I was watching baseball in a more idyllic, simple setting. It was like I was experiencing what James Earl Jones described in that scene from Field of Dreams. I just sat in silence & let my eyes soak it all in. It was fantastic.
However, I didn't get to stay long. I purchased a "standing room only" ticket for tonight's game. And between what shape my knee was in, all of the standing, and the below 60's weather, I decided to call it a night after 3 innings. Good thing, since the Red Sox ended up losing 8-0.
BTW, so far, I'm wondering about what kind of "luck" I'm bringing along this way. The Red Sox only two losses this week came when I was at the game. Other than the first Red Sox game I attended (the away game at Baltimore vs. the Orioles), the home teams (that I have rooted for) have lost each game I've attended. Not only that, but two nights ago, I showed up late for the Phillies game to avoid a nasty rain cell. A little after I showed up, and about one inning after I actually made it to my seat, Brett Myers' no-hit bid was broken up in the 7th inning. Tonight's game was the first game the Red Sox have lost at home since May 1st!
So... not sure what to think of that.
On to the tab!
From Thursday
Tolls
I think I may have paid about $25 or $30 in tolls. Shhh-yeah...
Lunch & Dinner
About 10 bucks
Gas
I filled up about $35 worth
Fairfield Inn in Auburn, MA
$53
(BTW, my hotel prices are via Priceline.com. I'd be spending 2 or 3 times more in lodging if I hadn't been using Priceline. It is everything it advertises that it is. I won't take a trip without them anymore)
Friday
Spicy Chicken Sandwich combo at Wendy's
about $6.00
Tolls
$2.60, coming and going
Commuter Parking
$3.75
Subway
$8.00
Starbucks Tea on the Freedom Trail
$2.24
(and if I had given them a twenty-dollar bill, the change would have been $17.76. THAT would have been patriotic...)
Ticket to the Game via StubHub.com
$42.00
+ $4.20 ("StubHub Commission")
+$11.95 ("Shipping/Handling")
=======
$58.15
Dinner at Boston Market
about $7.50
(mmmmmmm ;-D ... hadn't had any since I was in Gainesville)
Advil for my knee
$5.00
Auburn Fairfield Inn
$53
And the Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $1,013.98. Thanks Mom. :)
Tomorrow: Mariners & Red Sox @ Fenway again. This time a 3:55 ET start (LIVE on FOX!), I have a seat, and temperatures should be in the 90's. If I have time, I also wanna go hobble around Hahvahd University. I'm such a nerd that a university is a tourist attraction to me, but oh well...
As I got to the commuter lot to ride the train into town, I was unplugging my electronics to hide them in the trunk. As I unplugged one of those things out of the cigarette lighter, the tip of it totally came apart, with several tiny parts scattering throughout the car. Great. So, I get all of them but one, which settled somewhere underneath the passenger seat.
So here I am, laying on the driver's seat, legs dangling out of the car, patting underneath the passenger seat for this little spring, and all of a sudden I turn my knee the wrong way & my right knee-cap comes out of its track. It popped right back in, but for five minutes I was clutching that knee like someone had beat it with a club it hurt so bad.
I've done this before. About ten years ago, playing in my Dad's company golf tournament, I did this same thing to my left knee. That injury was much more severe -- I wasn't walking for about 4 days. In the moment, I thought that my whole day was going to be ruined.
But I gutted it out like a champ!! Paul Pierce ain't got nothin' on me!
Seriously, after about 10 minutes, I realized that I could hobble around like an old Irish man -- somewhat appropriate for a day in Boston, I suppose.
So, I did. Boston has a two-and-a-half mile trail (marked with red bricks or a red painted line) called the "Freedom Trail." I saw some cool things:
- The Boston Common
- The State House (that fancy building with the golden-domed top)
- The "Old" State House
- The site of the Boston Massacre (at least I think I saw it -- it wasn't clearly marked at all)
- The Market area (I have no clue why this place was significant for anything. I got me a sweet tea from Starbucks at the Quincy Market. Made me feel REAL historic)
- Paul Revere's house (Honestly? It was about as impressive as a trash can)
- The Old North Church (that was cool)
- And finally ended up at the Bunker Hill Monument (which is actually on Breed's Hill, but whatever...)
 |  |
Then it was time to head to Fenway. Honestly, I didn't know what I would think. I've seen some really impressive stadiums already. And I know that lots of folks say that the old stadiums like Fenway & Wrigley "have character," which is really just a polite way of saying that they're old & falling apart -- like the eye-soar that is Legion Field in Birmingham ("the old gray lady" has seen better days). I've heard plenty of folks state that the old stadiums are way past their prime. So I really didn't know what I would think about Fenway -- whether I'd appreciate the character in the ugliness, or just think it was a dump.
But once I got in, I've gotta say... I was mesmerized. Dad called me on the phone and asked how it was. All I could say was, "Its beautiful. Just beautiful, Dad." Apparently, about ten years ago, Fenway was falling apart. But the current ownership has put a lot of money into it, and it is impressive for a 96 year-old stadium. Its hard to describe, but in a way I felt transported back to 1920 & I was watching baseball in a more idyllic, simple setting. It was like I was experiencing what James Earl Jones described in that scene from Field of Dreams. I just sat in silence & let my eyes soak it all in. It was fantastic.
However, I didn't get to stay long. I purchased a "standing room only" ticket for tonight's game. And between what shape my knee was in, all of the standing, and the below 60's weather, I decided to call it a night after 3 innings. Good thing, since the Red Sox ended up losing 8-0.
BTW, so far, I'm wondering about what kind of "luck" I'm bringing along this way. The Red Sox only two losses this week came when I was at the game. Other than the first Red Sox game I attended (the away game at Baltimore vs. the Orioles), the home teams (that I have rooted for) have lost each game I've attended. Not only that, but two nights ago, I showed up late for the Phillies game to avoid a nasty rain cell. A little after I showed up, and about one inning after I actually made it to my seat, Brett Myers' no-hit bid was broken up in the 7th inning. Tonight's game was the first game the Red Sox have lost at home since May 1st!
So... not sure what to think of that.
On to the tab!
From Thursday
Tolls
I think I may have paid about $25 or $30 in tolls. Shhh-yeah...
Lunch & Dinner
About 10 bucks
Gas
I filled up about $35 worth
Fairfield Inn in Auburn, MA
$53
(BTW, my hotel prices are via Priceline.com. I'd be spending 2 or 3 times more in lodging if I hadn't been using Priceline. It is everything it advertises that it is. I won't take a trip without them anymore)
Friday
Spicy Chicken Sandwich combo at Wendy's
about $6.00
Tolls
$2.60, coming and going
Commuter Parking
$3.75
Subway
$8.00
Starbucks Tea on the Freedom Trail
$2.24
(and if I had given them a twenty-dollar bill, the change would have been $17.76. THAT would have been patriotic...)
Ticket to the Game via StubHub.com
$42.00
+ $4.20 ("StubHub Commission")
+$11.95 ("Shipping/Handling")
=======
$58.15
Dinner at Boston Market
about $7.50
(mmmmmmm ;-D ... hadn't had any since I was in Gainesville)
Advil for my knee
$5.00
Auburn Fairfield Inn
$53
And the Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $1,013.98. Thanks Mom. :)
Tomorrow: Mariners & Red Sox @ Fenway again. This time a 3:55 ET start (LIVE on FOX!), I have a seat, and temperatures should be in the 90's. If I have time, I also wanna go hobble around Hahvahd University. I'm such a nerd that a university is a tourist attraction to me, but oh well...
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Travel Day
Made my way up from Philadelphia, and through New York City & Connecticut, to Massachusetts today. And after not getting a full night's sleep the previous two nights, sleeping in today was a little more attractive than getting up early to get a ticket to Independence Hall.
I definitely feel like I've landed in some kind of twilight zone up here. First of all, Priceline.com landed me in a Boston area hotel in a suburb called "Auburn." Second, it is overcast & in the 50's outside. The fifties!! On June 5th. I didn't know I needed to bring my coat. With the surroundings & weather, it really feels like I've landed in a Stephen King novel.
The accents are also fun up here. As I was getting off of the New Jersey Turnpike & paying the toll, the guy at the booth looked at my ticket and said, "Ah, Five and a quah-tah." I'm not in the south anymore. And I'm carefully trying to conceal any lingering twang in my speech every time I speak.
I'll run through the tab tomorrow. And tomorrow night, I'll be at Fenway. OH yeah!
I definitely feel like I've landed in some kind of twilight zone up here. First of all, Priceline.com landed me in a Boston area hotel in a suburb called "Auburn." Second, it is overcast & in the 50's outside. The fifties!! On June 5th. I didn't know I needed to bring my coat. With the surroundings & weather, it really feels like I've landed in a Stephen King novel.
The accents are also fun up here. As I was getting off of the New Jersey Turnpike & paying the toll, the guy at the booth looked at my ticket and said, "Ah, Five and a quah-tah." I'm not in the south anymore. And I'm carefully trying to conceal any lingering twang in my speech every time I speak.
I'll run through the tab tomorrow. And tomorrow night, I'll be at Fenway. OH yeah!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
GAME 3: Reds vs. Phillies at Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park is impressive. Easily the coolest-looking park I've visited so far, complete with all the bells & whistles of the new-age ballparks. There are multiple restaurants & bars. If you don't want to sit at your seat to eat your hot dog or nachos or whatever, you can belly up to a bar (that is just behind the seats on the third terrace) & watch the game while enjoying your food.
I didn't want to get wet tonight as I did last night, so I visited the ballpark in between rain showers over Philly tonight. That meant that I only actually watched about 4 innings of baseball. I also felt a little like a bad-luck charm -- Phillies pitcher Brett Myers had a no-hitter going before I got to my seat. An inning later, Reds infielder Joey Votto breaks it up.
I was also impressed by the Phillies fans. Much different from the apathetic fans of other stadiums I've visited. They hung on each pitch, even after the no-hitter was broken up. They were also smart -- last couple games I've attended there have been loud-mouth amateur announcers that pointed out every obvious detail about the game. Tonight, anything I overheard was intelligent.
The one thing that was real frustrating, though, were the sight-lines from the 4th terrace where I was sitting. Anytime somebody stood up & walked all the way down the aisle, they obstructed the view of play. That was pretty annoying.
The tab...
Tolls
$ 5.00
$ 4.00
$ 2.00
$ 1.80
$ 3.00
=====
$15.80
Lunch
About $5.50
Ice for the Cooler
$1.80
Hotel
$60.16
Parking
FREE... because I got there late. ;) It was a phenomenal spot, too -- a sand wedge from the stadium.
Dog & a Water at the ballpark
$7.50
Ticket
$28.00 (including fees & charges)
Total Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $739.74.
Travel day tomorrow. A little site-seeing, and then on the road up to Massachusetts. If time allows, I might just wander into Boston & try to scalp a ticket. Whatever. We'll see what happens...
I didn't want to get wet tonight as I did last night, so I visited the ballpark in between rain showers over Philly tonight. That meant that I only actually watched about 4 innings of baseball. I also felt a little like a bad-luck charm -- Phillies pitcher Brett Myers had a no-hitter going before I got to my seat. An inning later, Reds infielder Joey Votto breaks it up.
I was also impressed by the Phillies fans. Much different from the apathetic fans of other stadiums I've visited. They hung on each pitch, even after the no-hitter was broken up. They were also smart -- last couple games I've attended there have been loud-mouth amateur announcers that pointed out every obvious detail about the game. Tonight, anything I overheard was intelligent.
The one thing that was real frustrating, though, were the sight-lines from the 4th terrace where I was sitting. Anytime somebody stood up & walked all the way down the aisle, they obstructed the view of play. That was pretty annoying.
The tab...
Tolls
$ 5.00
$ 4.00
$ 2.00
$ 1.80
$ 3.00
=====
$15.80
Lunch
About $5.50
Ice for the Cooler
$1.80
Hotel
$60.16
Parking
FREE... because I got there late. ;) It was a phenomenal spot, too -- a sand wedge from the stadium.
Dog & a Water at the ballpark
$7.50
Ticket
$28.00 (including fees & charges)
Total Pilgrimage Tab now stands at $739.74.
Travel day tomorrow. A little site-seeing, and then on the road up to Massachusetts. If time allows, I might just wander into Boston & try to scalp a ticket. Whatever. We'll see what happens...
GAME 2: St. Louis vs. Washington at Nationals Park
Today was my first ever day exploring our nation's capital. I dodged segways, TONS of kids on summer vacation, and liberal protestors as I hoofed my way around a lot of national landmarks, including Capitol Hill, the Smithsonian, the Washington Monument, and the White House.
I was impressed. Washington is clean & well-kept. In fact, it struck me that the two-mile-or-so stretch from the Washington Monument & White House over to Congress felt like a big, fancy college campus. There were several quad-like areas where you could sit under a tree & read. There is a lot of ornate architecture that holds a consistent asthetic theme, like a university campus. Only difference: everyone's wearing suits. Won't see that at college. And I felt woefully underdressed.
It was fun to see everything live & so up close. I was a bit rushed this afternoon, so there are even some things that I missed -- Lincoln Memorial & WWII Memorial chief among them. And it'd be easy to spend a couple days wandering through all the museums. I certainly got a foretaste of touristy fun that I could have whenever I come back to D.C.
I rode the Metro train back over to the Nationals ballpark in time for the game. It is a nice, new stadium. Big thing that jumped out at me was the red, white, and blue color scheme. It is used in a very classy way & has "pop." And like all new stadiums, there are plenty of distractions for people who don't like baseball -- a Playstation arcade, restaurants, bars, and the like. They have some well-named food items that I did not sample -- Senators Sausage, Steak of the Union (a Philly-style cheesesteak), etc. I do wish that I had tried the Senators Sausage, because the Nats Dog was totally generic. I'd give it a 4 or 5 out of 10. I just wasn't impressed.
Just as soon as the game was scheduled to start, about 7:07 PM, the bottom dropped out of some ominous-looking clouds above the stadium. There was a steady rain all the way through the first half of the game. Fortunately, my tickets were so far up in the RF upper deck that I was covered by an awning. But the Nationals weren't covered, and they made two errors on balls that should have been caught in the top of the first inning. It looked like amateur hour there at the start. Catcher Yadier Molina made the Nats pay, too, with a 3-run homer that was just a roped line drive that barely made it over the fence.
The ump called for a delay when the rain became torrential in the 5th inning. After sitting around for about 40 minutes, right as the rain started to let up, I decided to go hoof it back to my car. Again, I didn't want to keep my host up too late waiting for me, and the players in the starting lineup for this game were just a bunch of no-names. With Washington's pathetic lineup (most of their best players are currently on the DL), the game was pretty much over after the first inning. Not a game worth sitting through a downpour for.
Its really a lovely stadium. If only the Nationals could build a quality team to match their home field then it might be worth coming back to see.
I think I accidently threw away all my receipts. But I'll try to recall as much as I can from memory:
Gas
$38.15 @ $4.099/gal.
Lunch at Wendy's
$4.50ish
Gatorade at the Washington Visitor's Center
$2.00
Metro Fare from "The Triangle" to the Naval Yard
$3.00
Dog, Chips, & Small Drink Meal at the Ballpark
$7.00
Another drink when the small drink didn't quite get it
$4.50
I realized that "the meal deal" was a bit of a racket. They give you a salty dog & back of chips with a small drink. OF COURSE you're gonna have to get another drink. Very crafty, Nats executives. I'm impressed.
Parking
$15.00 -- AND I was about 4 or 5 blocks away from the stadium. NOT worth it. Next time I'll park at a buddy's house & ride the Metro rail system.
Ticket into the Park
$10.00
+$5.50 "Total Convenience Fee"
+$3.50 "Order Processing
======
$19.00
Add it all up & The Pilgrimage tab now stands at $620.98.
Next up on the docket is Reds @ Phils from Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park. Forecast currently calls for a 90% chance of rain. So there's a 90% chance that my Thursday no-game day will get moved to tomorrow as I wait until Thursday for a chance to see the ballpark in Philly.
Help me out: what is "MUST SEE" in Philadelphia? What can I not leave Philadelphia without having seen/visited?
I was impressed. Washington is clean & well-kept. In fact, it struck me that the two-mile-or-so stretch from the Washington Monument & White House over to Congress felt like a big, fancy college campus. There were several quad-like areas where you could sit under a tree & read. There is a lot of ornate architecture that holds a consistent asthetic theme, like a university campus. Only difference: everyone's wearing suits. Won't see that at college. And I felt woefully underdressed.
It was fun to see everything live & so up close. I was a bit rushed this afternoon, so there are even some things that I missed -- Lincoln Memorial & WWII Memorial chief among them. And it'd be easy to spend a couple days wandering through all the museums. I certainly got a foretaste of touristy fun that I could have whenever I come back to D.C.
I rode the Metro train back over to the Nationals ballpark in time for the game. It is a nice, new stadium. Big thing that jumped out at me was the red, white, and blue color scheme. It is used in a very classy way & has "pop." And like all new stadiums, there are plenty of distractions for people who don't like baseball -- a Playstation arcade, restaurants, bars, and the like. They have some well-named food items that I did not sample -- Senators Sausage, Steak of the Union (a Philly-style cheesesteak), etc. I do wish that I had tried the Senators Sausage, because the Nats Dog was totally generic. I'd give it a 4 or 5 out of 10. I just wasn't impressed.
Just as soon as the game was scheduled to start, about 7:07 PM, the bottom dropped out of some ominous-looking clouds above the stadium. There was a steady rain all the way through the first half of the game. Fortunately, my tickets were so far up in the RF upper deck that I was covered by an awning. But the Nationals weren't covered, and they made two errors on balls that should have been caught in the top of the first inning. It looked like amateur hour there at the start. Catcher Yadier Molina made the Nats pay, too, with a 3-run homer that was just a roped line drive that barely made it over the fence.
The ump called for a delay when the rain became torrential in the 5th inning. After sitting around for about 40 minutes, right as the rain started to let up, I decided to go hoof it back to my car. Again, I didn't want to keep my host up too late waiting for me, and the players in the starting lineup for this game were just a bunch of no-names. With Washington's pathetic lineup (most of their best players are currently on the DL), the game was pretty much over after the first inning. Not a game worth sitting through a downpour for.
Its really a lovely stadium. If only the Nationals could build a quality team to match their home field then it might be worth coming back to see.
I think I accidently threw away all my receipts. But I'll try to recall as much as I can from memory:
Gas
$38.15 @ $4.099/gal.
Lunch at Wendy's
$4.50ish
Gatorade at the Washington Visitor's Center
$2.00
Metro Fare from "The Triangle" to the Naval Yard
$3.00
Dog, Chips, & Small Drink Meal at the Ballpark
$7.00
Another drink when the small drink didn't quite get it
$4.50
I realized that "the meal deal" was a bit of a racket. They give you a salty dog & back of chips with a small drink. OF COURSE you're gonna have to get another drink. Very crafty, Nats executives. I'm impressed.
Parking
$15.00 -- AND I was about 4 or 5 blocks away from the stadium. NOT worth it. Next time I'll park at a buddy's house & ride the Metro rail system.
Ticket into the Park
$10.00
+$5.50 "Total Convenience Fee"
+$3.50 "Order Processing
======
$19.00
Add it all up & The Pilgrimage tab now stands at $620.98.
Next up on the docket is Reds @ Phils from Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park. Forecast currently calls for a 90% chance of rain. So there's a 90% chance that my Thursday no-game day will get moved to tomorrow as I wait until Thursday for a chance to see the ballpark in Philly.
Help me out: what is "MUST SEE" in Philadelphia? What can I not leave Philadelphia without having seen/visited?
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
GAME 1: Red Sox vs. Orioles at Camden Yards
It was a day on the road & an evening at the ballpark.
I drove this morning & afternoon from Greenville, SC to Baltimore, MD -- about 550 miles. I'd like to thank loyal readers Lloyd & Jordan for thinking to call me and keep me company. And especially my sister, who called to talk with me & helped me with a travel-related issue over the phone -- love you, sis. And I'd also like to thank Bill Simmons, again, for his podcasts that kept me laughing & entertained the whole way -- especially "The Gregarious Raconteur" episode with JackO. (BTW, Bob Turner -- you are definitely the gregarious raconteur of recent Harding matriculators) I saved up podcasts for about 6 weeks, and that is almost all of what I listened to today.
I traveled through some great parts of America today. I passed through two Civil War battlefields: the Shenandoah Valley & Antietam. I passed near the Appalacian Trail, and swore to myself that hiking another section of that trail will be my next adventure. I did about 40 miles with some buddies after my first year of college. There was a section that met the highway at the border of Virginia & West Virginia that was absolutely gorgeous. I've got to do that again -- and whip my rear end in shape before I do it, too.
Speaking of Virginia & West Virginia... I can totally see how WV is viewed as the poor, ugly step-child. Virginia was beautiful & classy-looking -- just Americana at its finest. And the weather was OUTSTANDING -- like crisp, early spring-time. I had a conversation with Lloyd on the phone about how it was like weather viagra. I know that I was probably just really excited to be on vacation, but I was genuinely pumped about this weather. Anyway, back to West Virginia. When I crossed the border over into WV, the terrain around the highway looked like Virginia after a 7-year drought. A little like West Texas. That may be overly harsh, but it was a marked difference in highway scenery IMMEDIATELY after leaving VA.
Not only that, but about a mile into the state (and a couple more times following that), there was an alarming highway sign that read:
Awesome! I was so happy that West Virginians & their public servants would be so sensitive and eager to help if I happened to find a car accident. Fortunately I didn't have to find out exactly how sensitive & eager first-hand...
So I made it to Baltimore without incident. On the way to the ballpark I passed by the birthplace of Babe Ruth a couple of blocks away. Walking up to the stadium, even though attendance was light, it was a carnival atmosphere. Mainly there are just a lot of African-American folks that make hard-sell pitches to try to get you to buy their caps, peanuts, ice-cold water, program, or whatever. For a southern boy who's not used to being surrounded by so many folks, it is extremely uncomfortable.
I made it into the ballpark & slowly made my way through the concourse. Lots of attractions, food vendors, and souveneir shops -- everything looks very nice & attracting. Little did I know that the huge, scenic-looking warehouse out past right field is actually part of the stadium area. The Orioles' memorabilia shop is on the first level, and apparently their management have offices over in that building. The concourse area is actually between that warehouse & the stadium. So after taking in a little batting practice from the concourse area just beyond right-center field, I bought a dog & a coke and made my way to my seat.
A note on hot dogs before I move on: since this is a baseball pilgrimage, I'll be sampling the dogs at every stadium. I hear baseball fans compare & debate hot dog quality, like the Dodger Dog vs. the Fenway Frank. So I'll have to rank them.
The Baltimore hot dog was plentiful. And they offered to add onions & peppers for free. I added them, and it was an excellent hot dog. (Edit on 06/13: I give this dog a 9.5 out of 10. Not the perfect hot dog, but DANG close!)
As I made my way to my seat, I couldn't quite find my row. I was in row B of a certain section, and all I could see were rows "LL" and "KK." Usually that means row B is much lower. However, row B came after the double-lettered rows. Whatever!
Since I was confused, I asked the usher to help me find my seat. All I really expected was for him to point in a general direction & help me on my way. The man grabbed my ticket from my hand, said "This way," walked briskly to my seat, wiped it off with a towel, handed me my ticket, and said, "Here you go." As I settled in & prepared to sit down, he said, "You Boston people don't tip too good, do ya." Gotta love yankee hospitality. I firmly told him, "I'm not from Boston." And I actually didn't have any cash on me because (1) everyone takes credit cards (except grumpy ushers) and (2) I just haven't hit up an ATM yet. Not that he would have been getting any of my cash anyway. I've got a great idea: next time somebody comes forward after I preach a sermon at my church, after taking their confession, I think I'll hold out my hand & say, "You cry-baby confessors don't tip too good, do ya." Maybe I'll get an extra $20, avoid being slapped, and still have my job the next Sunday. Or not.
The next fun event of the night happened 10 minutes later. Part of the reason I was offended by the usher was that I wasn't wearing any Boston regalia. I was wearing a dark red shirt & crimson Alabama script-A cap, but I could have been an average baseball fan. Anyway, soon after I finish my excellent hot dog, I see a man emerge from the tunnel below with an Auburn cap on. After losing SIX in a row to Alabama's hated rival, I just didn't want to have to speak with this guy. And, of course, he brings his family up my way to sit in the row right in front of me. Oustanding. As he walks up, he notices the hat and makes an innocent remark. He seemed friendly enough. But we knew who we both were, and neither of us got too chatty.
About 5 minutes later, the guy looks back and asks, "Hey, can you take a picture of my family & I." Of course I would. So I flip my lid backwards so I can look into his camera. Some smart-alleck fan behind me couldn't resist saying out loud (and I emphasize the "loud" part), "THATS the only time you'll ever see Alabama & Auburn do anything together." Everybody chuckles, and then the Auburn guy doesn't miss a beat -- "except giving us 6 wins in a row." Everybody chuckles some more. Except for THIS guy, who's NOW holding said Auburn fan's expensive-looking camera. It was one of those moments where I wish I didn't have to answer to the Almighty on Judgment Day. Kidding, of course. I actually said in jest, "You want me to take the photograph or not??" Everybody laughed, I snapped the photo, and then I slumped back into my seat to sulk over my wounded pride.
BTW, the reason I didn't wear my Boston gear -- I'm not that proud to be lumped in with "Red Sox Nation." In fact, I'm ashamed of it. Red Sox fans take over anytime they go visit other stadiums. And we're rude & obnoxious. And we start the "Let's Go Red Sox" chant every inning. And people hate us. I wanted to be a considerate guest in Baltimore's house tonight.
Although, I did see some Sox fans get tossed in the outfield bleachers as I was making my way out of the ballpark. These two young punks were picking fights with everyone within 2 sections of them. One was wearing a Manny Ramirez jersey/t-shirt with a flat-billed cap turned about 45 degrees. The other was wearing a Tom Brady replica Pats jersey with a flat-billed cap turned about 45 degrees. Punks. And O's fans near these particular fans kept heckling their overt rude behavior. A couple of cops came over to escort these teenage idiots out of the stadium, and everyone from the left field foul poll to center field just started applauding. It was as if some pitcher was getting yanked after having gone 8 innings with some ailment and toughed it out like a warrior. I'm sure the rest of the stadium had to be wondering what was going on. Idiot representatives of "Red Sox Nation" was what was going on.
So, in short: Virginia beautiful; West Virginia not; yankee hospitality an oxymoron; and Auburn fans & Red Sox fans are classless & obnoxious (you heard me, Bueller).
It was a good ballgame. Mostly a pitcher's duel -- just the way I like it. I sat in the upper reserve seats behind home plate & not quite in line with the third baseline. I left early in the middle of the 8th after Boston took the lead so that I could make it to my friend's house without keeping her up too late. And that happened to be the perfect time to leave: right after Boston took the lead, and right before they coughed it up only to lose in the end.
On to the tab...
Gas at the Greenville "Raceway"
$30.15 @ $3.649/gal.
Gas at the Roanoke, VA "Dodge's"
$33.00 @ $3.799/gal.
Lunch at Mickey D's
About $4.50
Various healthy drink- & snack-type items at the Roanoke, VA "Dodge's"
$7.74
Dog & a Coke at "Aramark Oriole Park"
$9.75
Ballpark Parking
$10
Ticket into the Park
$20.00
+$4.50 "Total Convenience Fee"
+$3.50 "Order Processing Charge"
======
$28.00
So the Pilgrimage tab now stands at $527.83
Next up: I get to check out the Washington Nationals brand new ballpark Tuesday night! Should be fun. Dear God let there be no Auburn fans...
I drove this morning & afternoon from Greenville, SC to Baltimore, MD -- about 550 miles. I'd like to thank loyal readers Lloyd & Jordan for thinking to call me and keep me company. And especially my sister, who called to talk with me & helped me with a travel-related issue over the phone -- love you, sis. And I'd also like to thank Bill Simmons, again, for his podcasts that kept me laughing & entertained the whole way -- especially "The Gregarious Raconteur" episode with JackO. (BTW, Bob Turner -- you are definitely the gregarious raconteur of recent Harding matriculators) I saved up podcasts for about 6 weeks, and that is almost all of what I listened to today.
I traveled through some great parts of America today. I passed through two Civil War battlefields: the Shenandoah Valley & Antietam. I passed near the Appalacian Trail, and swore to myself that hiking another section of that trail will be my next adventure. I did about 40 miles with some buddies after my first year of college. There was a section that met the highway at the border of Virginia & West Virginia that was absolutely gorgeous. I've got to do that again -- and whip my rear end in shape before I do it, too.
Speaking of Virginia & West Virginia... I can totally see how WV is viewed as the poor, ugly step-child. Virginia was beautiful & classy-looking -- just Americana at its finest. And the weather was OUTSTANDING -- like crisp, early spring-time. I had a conversation with Lloyd on the phone about how it was like weather viagra. I know that I was probably just really excited to be on vacation, but I was genuinely pumped about this weather. Anyway, back to West Virginia. When I crossed the border over into WV, the terrain around the highway looked like Virginia after a 7-year drought. A little like West Texas. That may be overly harsh, but it was a marked difference in highway scenery IMMEDIATELY after leaving VA.
Not only that, but about a mile into the state (and a couple more times following that), there was an alarming highway sign that read:
CRASH NOTICE
If there are no injuries, move vehicles from the highway
Awesome! I was so happy that West Virginians & their public servants would be so sensitive and eager to help if I happened to find a car accident. Fortunately I didn't have to find out exactly how sensitive & eager first-hand...
So I made it to Baltimore without incident. On the way to the ballpark I passed by the birthplace of Babe Ruth a couple of blocks away. Walking up to the stadium, even though attendance was light, it was a carnival atmosphere. Mainly there are just a lot of African-American folks that make hard-sell pitches to try to get you to buy their caps, peanuts, ice-cold water, program, or whatever. For a southern boy who's not used to being surrounded by so many folks, it is extremely uncomfortable.
I made it into the ballpark & slowly made my way through the concourse. Lots of attractions, food vendors, and souveneir shops -- everything looks very nice & attracting. Little did I know that the huge, scenic-looking warehouse out past right field is actually part of the stadium area. The Orioles' memorabilia shop is on the first level, and apparently their management have offices over in that building. The concourse area is actually between that warehouse & the stadium. So after taking in a little batting practice from the concourse area just beyond right-center field, I bought a dog & a coke and made my way to my seat.
A note on hot dogs before I move on: since this is a baseball pilgrimage, I'll be sampling the dogs at every stadium. I hear baseball fans compare & debate hot dog quality, like the Dodger Dog vs. the Fenway Frank. So I'll have to rank them.
The Baltimore hot dog was plentiful. And they offered to add onions & peppers for free. I added them, and it was an excellent hot dog. (Edit on 06/13: I give this dog a 9.5 out of 10. Not the perfect hot dog, but DANG close!)
As I made my way to my seat, I couldn't quite find my row. I was in row B of a certain section, and all I could see were rows "LL" and "KK." Usually that means row B is much lower. However, row B came after the double-lettered rows. Whatever!
Since I was confused, I asked the usher to help me find my seat. All I really expected was for him to point in a general direction & help me on my way. The man grabbed my ticket from my hand, said "This way," walked briskly to my seat, wiped it off with a towel, handed me my ticket, and said, "Here you go." As I settled in & prepared to sit down, he said, "You Boston people don't tip too good, do ya." Gotta love yankee hospitality. I firmly told him, "I'm not from Boston." And I actually didn't have any cash on me because (1) everyone takes credit cards (except grumpy ushers) and (2) I just haven't hit up an ATM yet. Not that he would have been getting any of my cash anyway. I've got a great idea: next time somebody comes forward after I preach a sermon at my church, after taking their confession, I think I'll hold out my hand & say, "You cry-baby confessors don't tip too good, do ya." Maybe I'll get an extra $20, avoid being slapped, and still have my job the next Sunday. Or not.
The next fun event of the night happened 10 minutes later. Part of the reason I was offended by the usher was that I wasn't wearing any Boston regalia. I was wearing a dark red shirt & crimson Alabama script-A cap, but I could have been an average baseball fan. Anyway, soon after I finish my excellent hot dog, I see a man emerge from the tunnel below with an Auburn cap on. After losing SIX in a row to Alabama's hated rival, I just didn't want to have to speak with this guy. And, of course, he brings his family up my way to sit in the row right in front of me. Oustanding. As he walks up, he notices the hat and makes an innocent remark. He seemed friendly enough. But we knew who we both were, and neither of us got too chatty.
About 5 minutes later, the guy looks back and asks, "Hey, can you take a picture of my family & I." Of course I would. So I flip my lid backwards so I can look into his camera. Some smart-alleck fan behind me couldn't resist saying out loud (and I emphasize the "loud" part), "THATS the only time you'll ever see Alabama & Auburn do anything together." Everybody chuckles, and then the Auburn guy doesn't miss a beat -- "except giving us 6 wins in a row." Everybody chuckles some more. Except for THIS guy, who's NOW holding said Auburn fan's expensive-looking camera. It was one of those moments where I wish I didn't have to answer to the Almighty on Judgment Day. Kidding, of course. I actually said in jest, "You want me to take the photograph or not??" Everybody laughed, I snapped the photo, and then I slumped back into my seat to sulk over my wounded pride.
BTW, the reason I didn't wear my Boston gear -- I'm not that proud to be lumped in with "Red Sox Nation." In fact, I'm ashamed of it. Red Sox fans take over anytime they go visit other stadiums. And we're rude & obnoxious. And we start the "Let's Go Red Sox" chant every inning. And people hate us. I wanted to be a considerate guest in Baltimore's house tonight.
Although, I did see some Sox fans get tossed in the outfield bleachers as I was making my way out of the ballpark. These two young punks were picking fights with everyone within 2 sections of them. One was wearing a Manny Ramirez jersey/t-shirt with a flat-billed cap turned about 45 degrees. The other was wearing a Tom Brady replica Pats jersey with a flat-billed cap turned about 45 degrees. Punks. And O's fans near these particular fans kept heckling their overt rude behavior. A couple of cops came over to escort these teenage idiots out of the stadium, and everyone from the left field foul poll to center field just started applauding. It was as if some pitcher was getting yanked after having gone 8 innings with some ailment and toughed it out like a warrior. I'm sure the rest of the stadium had to be wondering what was going on. Idiot representatives of "Red Sox Nation" was what was going on.
So, in short: Virginia beautiful; West Virginia not; yankee hospitality an oxymoron; and Auburn fans & Red Sox fans are classless & obnoxious (you heard me, Bueller).
It was a good ballgame. Mostly a pitcher's duel -- just the way I like it. I sat in the upper reserve seats behind home plate & not quite in line with the third baseline. I left early in the middle of the 8th after Boston took the lead so that I could make it to my friend's house without keeping her up too late. And that happened to be the perfect time to leave: right after Boston took the lead, and right before they coughed it up only to lose in the end.
On to the tab...
Gas at the Greenville "Raceway"
$30.15 @ $3.649/gal.
Gas at the Roanoke, VA "Dodge's"
$33.00 @ $3.799/gal.
Lunch at Mickey D's
About $4.50
Various healthy drink- & snack-type items at the Roanoke, VA "Dodge's"
$7.74
Dog & a Coke at "Aramark Oriole Park"
$9.75
Ballpark Parking
$10
Ticket into the Park
$20.00
+$4.50 "Total Convenience Fee"
+$3.50 "Order Processing Charge"
======
$28.00
So the Pilgrimage tab now stands at $527.83
Next up: I get to check out the Washington Nationals brand new ballpark Tuesday night! Should be fun. Dear God let there be no Auburn fans...
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Travel Day
About 450 miles from Panama City, FL to Greenville, SC took about seven hours to traverse this afternoon & evening. I drove through downtown Atlanta on my way through, and passed an empty Turner Field. That certainly wet my appetite. :)
I'd like to thank Max Kellerman, Brian Kenny, James Carville, & Bill Simmons for the podcasts of their radio shows that kept me awake & alert today.
Expenses for the day:
Gas at the Circle K
$31.50 @ $3.799/gal.
Purchases at the Circle K
(e.g. ice chest, ice, 12-pack drinks)
Total: $13.24
La Quinta Hotel in Greenville, SC
$44.00
Ate lunch & dinner for about $9.50
Pilgrimage tab now stands at $404.69.
I'd like to thank Max Kellerman, Brian Kenny, James Carville, & Bill Simmons for the podcasts of their radio shows that kept me awake & alert today.
Expenses for the day:
Gas at the Circle K
$31.50 @ $3.799/gal.
Purchases at the Circle K
(e.g. ice chest, ice, 12-pack drinks)
Total: $13.24
La Quinta Hotel in Greenville, SC
$44.00
Ate lunch & dinner for about $9.50
Pilgrimage tab now stands at $404.69.
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