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 :)