SeeAll30.com – My Quest To See Them All!

The road trip I am calling “Baseball, Beer… and DISNEY!” is 19 hours away from starting. I will be hitting the road no later than 3am in the morning for my drive to Oakland. That’s 755 miles I gotta drive tomorrow. I haven’t completely made up my mind, but I may or may not go to the game tomorrow night, just depends on when I get into town and how tired I am. If I miss tomorrows game, I will be at Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s games for sure. Then Wednesday evening I head to Los Angeles where I have a ticket for the Dodgers game on Friday, but might add a game there on Thursday as well. From the 21st -28th is Disney Week, with Angels games on the 24th and 28th. I may try to add the afternoon Padres game in on the 28th, we shall see. Then on my drive home I will pick up a Giants game on the 29th. On the 30th I make that long drive again, 755 miles, home. Should be a great trip!

Possible full schedule of games for me:
August 16th – Toronto Blue Jays vs Oakland Athletics – Marcum (10-6) vs Anderson (3-3)
August 17th – Toronto Blue Jays vs Oakland Athletics – Morrow (9-6) vs Morrow (7-8)
August 18th – Toronto Blue Jays vs Oakland Athletics – Rzepczynski (1-1) vs Gonzalez (10-8)
August 19th – Colorado Rockies vs Los Angeles Dodgers – De La Rosa (4-3) vs Lilly (6-8)
August 20th – Cincinnati Red vs Los Angeles Dodgers – TBD
August 24th – Tampa Bay Rays vs Los Angeles Angels – TBD
August 28th – Philadelphia Phillies vs San Diego Padres – TBD
August 28th – Baltimore Orioles vs Los Angeles Angels – TBD
August 29th – Arizona Diamondbacks vs San Francisco Giants – TBD

August 15th, 2010 | Category: 2010 Road Trip(s) |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

After dropping my rental car off I headed into the airport.  If you have never been to Milwaukee’s airport, DON’T GO!  To get to the ticket counter I had to go in from the rental drop off garage, up 2 levels, into the airport, down a level and clear to the other side of that floor to get to my airlines (Air Tran) ticketing counter.  Once I got checked in, I had to go back across the floor, up 1 level and walk a ways to get to security all while carrying that “Dead Hooker”.  I tell ya, I learned a valuable lesson already and that is if I am ever going to do just carry on luggage again it will have WHEELS!  I am not going to be hauling that over my shoulder ever again!!

Ben's Chili Bowl in NW Washington D.C.

Security wasn’t bad at all, much to my surprise because 2 days ago as I walked by on my way out of the airport, it was jammed!  Had a great conversation with the guys working there about beer (1 of them commented on my “Dick’s Manfish Brewing” hat) as I stripped down having to remove my shoes, brace, phone and belt buckle.  I was afraid my pants were going to fall off they were so loose!  When I went to put everything back on, and my laptop back into my carry on, I saw a sign there above my head that read “Recombobulation Area”… not THAT is just plain out funny airport security humor!!

My flight to Baltimore was just about 2 hours long and fairly easy honestly.  I only got about 15 minutes of sleep, sure wish it had been more.  However, once we landed I hit the ground ‘running’ yet again.   In Baltimore to get to the rental car counters you have to ride a shuttle bus from BWI to the rental facility.  Having done this a few times prior, I had no problem doing it again as I got on the bus and got to relax for a few minutes talking to a family from Chicago about the Cubs (I had my Cubs jersey on).  When we got to the rental facility I headed straight for Budget, saw their “FastBreak” sign, found my car and got out of there in less than 15 minutes… take THAT Milwaukee!

Having really not eaten anything since my wings at Psycho Suzie’s in Minneapolis yesterday afternoon, I headed straight for U Street in Northwest DC and Ben’s Chili Bowl.  Ben’s is famous and has been there for just over 50 years now.  Many Presidents have ate there, including President Obama on Inauguration Day.  Ben’s is also a favorite restaurant of Bill Cosby and his favorite item is the “chili half-smoke” so naturally that’s what I was having.  Not just because of him, but because of the 3 I have had before that were all soooo good!  This time I sat at the counter, right up front, so I could watch everything going on.  Along with the half-smoke I ordered a side of the chili.  I was surprised to see that the side of chili comes with beans, where the chili on the half-smoke doesn’t, as it’s more of a sauce really.  Either way they were both so good, but by the time I was done, I was also so full I didn’t want to move except for I had a ticket in my pocket for the 1:30pm tour at National’s Park I needed to get to.

At National's Park

I left Ben’s just before Noon and I figured I would go to Nat’s Park and see if I could jump into the next tour instead of waiting until mine at 1:30pm.  That would have been a great idea except for the fact that there was no more tours until the one I was in at 1:30pm.  So with almost 90 minutes to waste I texted my buddy Bob DeVries and asked for a suggestion on a sports bar to go hang out at and have a beer or 3.  He suggested “Capital City Brewing Co” so that’s where I went.  Capital City if a pretty cool place with a decent selection of their own beers on tap.  I asked if they had a hoppy IPA and was told that they didn’t, but their Pale Ale was “Good and hoppy”.  I smiled and said I would try it and holy hops batman, it was!  I had a couple of those and just before I left I was introduced to a new style of beer, to me anyhow, a Belgian-Style IPA.  I’m not big on Belgian beers because they are usually a bit sweeter and a tad creamy.  This was no different except that it had a great hop flavor to go with it.  I liked it but didn’t have time to get another cause I had a tour to get to!

As I arrived back at National’s Park I noticed the thermometer was reading 98*!  Nothing like a mostly outdoor walking tour in 98* weather with some seriously high humidity!  The tour itself was pretty cool.  We had a small group so our guide took us all over the park.  The only real disappointment is that the Nationals advertise that with their tours you get to go into the bullpen and throw a pitch off the mound.  We were unable to do that today because they were setting up the stage for a Dave Mathews concert that would be there in a few days.  That sucked, but our guide tried her best to make up for it and our 1 hour tour turned into an almost 2 hour tour.  We got to see the Clubhouse, indoor batting cages, Presidents Club (both inside and outside), got to go into the press box, a couple different suites and so on.  I learned that National’s Park is the 1^st and only ballpark to be certified “Green”.  That’s cool!  At one point our tour guide was telling us about their HD video board and said that it was just over 5000sq ft.  I got to thinking and I asked her if I heard that right and she said I did and I said, “My house is only 1808 sq ft!”  She laughed and replied, “So that video board is over 2.5X the size of your house.”  Holy cow that’s huge!   As the tour ended and I got to my car I took a quick peek at the thermometer, it was reading 105* now.  I betcha I lost 2 pounds, at least, on that tour.  No matter, my Sante Fe had AC and I was off to Baltimore for the game at Camden Yards.

Getting Soaked at Camden Yards

The drive up to Camden Yards was stop and go for most of it.  I knew if I didn’t get out of DC in time, and with the tour running long I didn’t, that the Beltway would be a mess and it was.  No matter, I still had plenty of time and I got to the ballpark, was parked and walked up to the gate on Eutaw Street before it even opened.  As I stood there, in the sweltering heat, I kept my eyes on the sky cause as the clouds rolled in I could smell rain coming and about 20 minutes after the gates were opened, as I was sitting in my seat in right-center, it started to sprinkle.  The sprinkles quickly gave way to a full on downpour! I just sat there in my seat because I figured that while I was going to get soaked, once it passed, the sun would come back out and I would dry fairly quickly.  At one point I took my glasses off and leaned my head back and just let the rain beat down on me.  Honestly, it felt quite nice as it was a rather warm rain.  Before long the rain had passed and the sun was coming out and an usher walked over to me to ask me why I just sat there.  I told her it felt good and should help me wake up considering I have been awake for almost 36 hours at this point.  I also explained to her how rain was nothing new for me there at Camden Yards because of the 4 times I have been there for games, this was the 3^rd time it’s rained.  She joked how it was my fault that it rained.  I can’t recall her name, but she was really nice, unlike a lot of ushers at ballparks I have been to.

Due to the rain there wasn’t gonna be any  batting practice, naturally since I brought my glove for my 1^st row seat in the bleachers, so I got up and walked out to Eutaw Street to look at things and wondered over to the Bud Light Warehouse bar.  Inside here is a bar, naturally, and they have a table set up on the right side where the Orioles pregame radio show is broadcast from.  Since I was there I figured I would check it out and ended up staying almost an hour watching them.  Partly because it was interesting and one of their guests was Baltimore great Boog Powel and partly because as I stood there it started pouring yet again outside!

Just before heading back to my seat I heard one of the radio guys mention how traffic was tight around the park tonight and if you were coming you better do it soon because the 1^st Lady of the United States would be here to throw out the 1^st pitch.  Wicked!  As I walked back to my seat I could see, rather obviously, several secret service members walking around.  A buddy of mine later told me they do that so you pay attention to those guys and not the ones in plain clothes… I guess that makes sense.

First Lady Michelle Obama walks to the mound @ Camden Yards

About 10 minutes before the game was to start they announced Michelle Obama and she was joined by a boy and a girl from her new “Let’s Move” foundation which helps fight childhood obesity.  Mrs. Obama didn’t actually throw a pitch, each of the kids with her did, which I thought was pretty cool.  Whether you like the current administration or not I found it very cool to be in attendance the night that the First Lady was there and being able to see her was a highlight for sure.  Just before the game started that usher lady from earlier came up to me and said with a big smile on her face “Any more rain and I am tossing you outta here!”.  I couldn’t help but laugh.

As for the game, Orioles vs Rays (Arrieta vs Garza), this was my 3^rd time seeing Tampa in Baltimore (I need to plan that better).  I was excited to get to see Matt Garza pitch, yet this night he had nothing.  He gave up 10 hits and 7 runs in 6 1/3 innings.  By the time the rain started failing again (with 1 out in the top of the 6^th inning) it was 4-2 Orioles.  As the rain kept coming down and really hard at times, I decided I was done with getting soaked, was freakin’ tired and needed to get me a bite to eat.  Honestly I figured that they were going to put the game in a rain delay at any moment, so I left.  As I got up to walk out I stopped by and told my usher lady, “I’ll make this easy on you and toss myself out!”

As I walked out of Camden Yards on Eutaw Street headed to my car, in a downpour, I felt something pop on my leg.  It was the strap on my leg brace… it broke!  There I am, 4 days into a 2 week trip, walking to my car in the rain, with a broken brace strap.  Lovely!

Chap's Special @ Chap's Pit Beef

For dinner I Googled the address for “Chap’s Pit Beef”, another place I have seen on “Diners, Drive-in’s & Dives” and headed over there.  I am not a big BBQ fan, but from what I had seen on their show, their sandwiches looked awesome.  I got the “Chap’s Special”, which is a hoagie stuffed with fresh turkey, ham and roast beef smothered in BBQ sauce and fresh onions.  It wasn’t much to look at, but it was awesome!  Big enough that I ate it for 2 meals!

I was listening to the game as I made my way to my hotel out by the airport.  I was shocked that they hadn’t even called it yet even though it was still raining, though not as hard as earlier.  Once I got checked in and up to my room, I looked for it on TV, couldn’t find it, so I followed the rest of the 13 inning affair online and was happy to see that the Orioles pulled it out 11-10 in 4 hours and 38 minutes.  I still think I made the right choice since I will be back at the game tomorrow.  Better to cut one short and get some much needed rest than to run super long at 1 and make the rest of the trip miserable.  As I said, there’s always tomorrow’s game…

July 20th, 2010 | Category: 2010 Road Trip(s), Oriole Park @ Camden Yards |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

I didn’t have to be at Target Field until 7pm so I had plenty of time to waste here in Minneapolis.  My problem is that I have never heard anyone say, “I really want to go to Minneapolis”!  That said, finding something to do is going to be a challenge.  I decided to just kick it at the hotel until I had to check out and then head to the Mall of America.  I have been to the Mall of America twice before and to me, well, it’s just a friggin’ large mall.  I don’t like shopping and I am not into the amusement park stuff, but I figured it would be a good way to kill some time.

Located at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN

I got to the MOA, parked and headed in to find a sea of teenage girls!  After walking around a bit, what I found out was that Zak Efron was going to be there in a n hour to do a signing and talk about his latest movie.  I decided to take my obligatory pictures of the old Metropolitan Stadium home plate and chair and get out of there.  Total time wasted about 20 minutes!

I figured that I might as well go ahead and get lunch at the 5*8 Club now, since I wasn’t that far from it, before I headed into downtown.  The 5*8 Club has been around since 1928.  At one time it was a Speak Easy.  Now it’s famous for its Juicy Lucy.  Just the same with Matt’s up the road, I had to try it.  As I walked in I noticed a difference right away and that is that the 5*8 is more upscale as compared to Matt’s.  It is also so much bigger than Matt’s.   Even though it was just after 1pm, I was able to get a seat at the bar right away, so I took my spot, ordered up my Lucy (identical to the one I had at Matt’s) with rings and slaw.  The beer choice wasn’t the greatest, like at Matt’s, so I opted for the Summit Pale Ale again.  When my burger came the first thing that hit me was that it was cooked more than the one from Matt’s.  As I took a bite, I nibbled to try and not have the cheese squirt out at me, like it did at Matt’s, but there was no need as this one wasn’t really juicy.  I had to squeeze, rather hard, to get the cheese to come to the surface.  The cheese was much more stiff and just didn’t have the flavor of the burger at Matt’s Bar.  There was an obvious winner here, sorry 5*8, Matt’s Bar has the far better Juicy Lucy!

After lunch I headed over to the Walker Arts Center.  This would be my third time there and of all the things to do in Minneapolis, I love this place.  They have several different art installations in a park that you can walk around.  In 2006 when I was in town my wife told me I had to go see the giant spoon and cherry.  I looked it up and found that it was at the Walker Arts Center.  I went, took a couple pix, and left.  In 2008 when we were both in town together, we did the same thing.  This time I decided to walk around and see more of the center and I was very glad I did.  While I wouldn’t call “Art” some of the things other people do, I had a good time strolling around looking at things.  When I was almost done I got a call from my wife and I told her how I still had a couple hours to kill and she suggested I head over to Psycho Suzie’s Motor Lounge & Tiki Garden and check it out. So after I finished getting some “culture” I headed across town for a cold beer.

Walker Arts Center

We originally saw Psycho Suzie’s on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives”.  I have over the past few years tried to get to some of these places we have seen when I am in these towns and I can check another off my list.  When I got to Suzie’s I was excited to see that they have Bell’s 2-Hearted Ale on tap.  I have heard so much about it that I was glad to finally get to try it.  It did not disappoint!  The atmosphere was different than any place I have been in a while.  It had a real party feel to it.  I wish I could have been there when there was a lot more people there, but you take what you get.  After a couple beers I ordered up some of their “Barracuda Buffalo Wings”.  The bartender told me right away how good they were and how his mouth was watering just thinking about them.  He then told me that they were “dry”, that they don’t come out smothered in sauce – STRIKE 1!  When my ordered arrived I saw that the sauce was on the side, for dipping.  It was a tequila buffalo sauce and it was awesome!  The wings themselves were breaded and deep fried to the point of almost too much, yet not.  They were so crispy and simply amazing!  I have to say that of all the wings that I have ever had, and there have been way too many to count, these were the 2^nd best, right behind the Anchor Bar in Buffalo.

After paying for my wings and $2 pints of 2-Hearted Ale, I headed out to Target Field.  Just the same as the day before I parked at the Midtown/Lake Street park & ride and rode the train in.  I got to the park before the gates opened and got in line.  My plan for today was to just get to my seat (section 139, row 5, seat 1 in the right field bleachers) and just enjoy the game from there.  Yesterday I walked around and took in as much as I could but today, I just wanted to grab my seat and enjoy the game, ballpark and crowd from my seat.  So this is what I did and since I got there early enough for batting practice, I brought my glove.  Sadly, there wasn’t a single ball hit into my section.  1 hit 1 section over and that was as close as one came.

Target Field - Minneapolis, MN

As for the game (Laffey vs Baker) it was a blow out.  The Indians pounded out 20 hits and beat the Twins 10-4.  The crowd was taken out of the game early and it was quite painful to watch really.  The biggest thing about this game, with the 32 combined hits, is that the game was moving along quite slowly.  I needed a fast game or at the very least, it needed to be under 3 hours in length so I could ride the train to my car and get to Milwaukee in time for my 6 am flight to Baltimore.  It was almost 10pm as the Twins came up to bat in the bottom of the 6^th inning and I decided I had to get going or I would be late.  So I got up from my seat as Jim Thome came up and was going to walk towards the gate.  I had just got to the plaza on the main concourse when I heard the crack of the bat and the crowd going crazy.  At that point I looked up and I could see the ball coming right at me!  I drifted a little bit, along with a group of about 15 people, and when the ball came down I was about 8 inches from getting it!  It was so close, I really thought I was going to get it!  I could see the stitches on the ball as it bounced around and then the ball just disappeared!  Nobody knew where it was.  People were scrambling around looking for it.  They were looking under the beer mans cart, by the stairs, in a storage area… nobody knew where the ball went!  Finally someone said they thought the beer man had the ball and he said he didn’t.  Nobody knew where it was as 3 security guys walked up and said to the beer guy, “If you have the ball, you MUST give it up now.  Jim Thome wants it!”  After repeating himself, the beer man reached into his ice chest, past a few bottles of beer, grabbed the ball and handed it to the security guy who tucked it under his jacket and took off with it.  Come to find out that it was Thome’s 575^th HR, I guess that’s why he wanted the ball.

As I was flying high on adrenaline from almost getting that ball, I exited the park, got on the first train (much easier than last yesterday) and headed for my car.  The train ride was about 15 minutes or so and easy breezy.  I made it to my car, loaded up, punched in MKE to the GPS and hit the road.  About 20 minutes after I got on the interstate I was sitting still, stuck in construction traffic.  It took almost 30 minutes before I was able to break free from the construction and put the hammer down.  This was the drive I was really worried about.  After running all day long a 5+ hour drive over night into morning isn’t really that smart.  However, I ended up having no problems at all.  As a matter of fact the first drive 2 days ago to Minneapolis from Milwaukee was much harder than this one.  I guess it was from the excitement of almost getting that ball. Whatever it was, I was doing great.  I made my 1 stop at the Black River Falls Oasis for gas and got back on the road and made it to MKE by 4:30am.  My scary drive was over and it was time to get on my flight headed to Baltimore…

July 19th, 2010 | Category: 2010 Road Trip(s), Target Field |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

We landed in Milwaukee just over 20 minutes early!  Man that’s awesome!  That means once I get off the plane, I can get to Budget’s counter, see what Fastbreak stall my car is in and get on the road… EARLY!  This will really help me out.  As I made the long walk to the rental counter, it was only long because, yet again, my gate was the very last one on the concourse, I started thinking about the long drive ahead of me.  It’s just over 5 hours from the Milwaukee airport to the Mall of America.  I plan on parking at the Mall of America since it’s free to do so and just ride the Hiawatha Light Rail train in to Target Field.  It’s a 40 minute ride, but its only $1.75 each way, so why not?

It was a ghost town!

As I get to the Budget counter, there is no signs of anything mentioning Fastbreak, so I go outside and there is nobody at their booth and no signs there of anything Fastbreak related.  I finally see a lady walking around the cars that looks like she works there and I ask her.  She tells me I have to wait for the counter to open first and lets me know that it wont open until 7am!!  ARE YOU FREAKIN’ KIDDING ME?!?  After a couple calls to Budget’s 800#, what I found out is that the rental companies at General Mitchell International do not staff anyone 24 hours, like most airports do.  As such, you have to wait for the counter to open.  That means from that point I had to wait 1 hour and 20 minutes!  So much for getting in early, instead of that being a big plus for me, it now just means I have that much longer to wait!  I was livid!

I finally got my car and was on the road headed out of the airport at 7:04am.  At that point my GPS was telling me that at best I would get to the Mall of America by 12:12pm.  With a 40 minute train ride, as long as I was on the 12:20pm train, I would get to the park by 1pm, 10 minutes before 1^st pitch.  That WASN’T gonna work.  With just over 346 miles to drive I knew that I was going to have to make at least 1 stop to get gas.  My plan at this point was to text my wife and have her get me the address of a park and ride lot on the Hiawatha line that was closer to Target Field.  I would  then try to make it only 1 stop and do some creative driving, as Mike calls it, and get there ASAP.

When I heard from my wife, I was about 30 minutes from where I wanted to stop.  She got me the address for the “Midtown/Lake Street” park and ride and I was good to go.  I wanted to stop at the Black River Falls Oasis in Black River Falls, WI.  The 2 previous times I had drive through here, the first being a few days after 9/11, I have stopped there.  Call me a creature of habit, or a Memory Lane kinda guy, but I wanted to stop there and see the orange moose and big mouse.  I took a couple pix as I pulled in and then I gassed up, went in used the facilities, grabbed a 6inch turkey sub from Subway, a coke (hoping the caffeine would help me as I still had about 170+ miles to drive) and I got back in the car and headed out.  As I got back in the highway the GPS was telling me that I would now arrive at the Mall of America at 12:23pm at best.  Since I had gained 6 minutes on the first part of the drive, that means I lost 17 minutes there.  I KNOW I wasn’t at that stop for more than 10 minutes, so I have no idea how its possible that the GPS says I lost that much time.  No matter, it was now time to make back as much time as I could and I reset the GPS to take me to the Midtown park and ride.

The second half of the drive was a tough one.  There isn’t much out there to keep you awake and since I only have 1 power port in my car, which I had to have the GPS plugged into, I was unable to plug in my satellite radio so I had to keep scanning the local channels hoping for something decent.  I had actually got pretty lucky as I found a few really good Country stations that played some great classics, including several from George Strait’s early years like “Maria Del Rey”, “Unwound” and “Amarillo By Morning”.  At one point I came across a station playing “I Can Only Imagine” by Mercy Me.  I have a love/hate relationship with this song.  It’s an amazing tune and it reminds me of my trip with my nephew Sean back in 2003 when he introduced me to it.  But it also reminds me of my Mom, as it was played at her funeral on December 12, 2008.  So naturally as I was singing along, I was also crying my eyes out.  I am not afraid to admit that cause of 2 things: 1) I was freakin’ tired! and 2) being out on the road, by yourself, especially when you’re tired like that, your mind plays with you.  If you have never been there, you wont understand it.   I always say that I LOVE being out on the open road and I do, there is no doubt of that.  I would much rather drive cross-country than fly, yet there are those moments.  This was one of them.

As I neared the Minnesota state line the adrenaline started kicking in.  At that point I knew I wasn’t much further, about 23 miles.  I had gained another 3 minutes at this point and should make it to the Park & Ride by about 12:20pm, depending on traffic.  I got a call from Bob (Mason) as I neared Minneapolis and we talked for a bit cause traffic had slowed down just by my exit.  I was 3 miles from my destination and traffic was at a stand still.  I finally made it and was parked right at 12:30pm.  I got out, headed to the train station, met some really nice people who weren’t sure how to use the machine to buy tickets and didn’t want to slow me down so were gonna have me go ahead of them.  I laughed and told them, “To be honest, this is my first time, so I was kinda looking over your shoulder to see how to do it”.  We laughed about it and he tried it again and we learned together.  It was their first time going to Target Field and I explained that it was mine also and gave them one of my cards. The “small world” moment for the day came when the lady, I cant recall their names (Sorry!), said after reading my card, “Oh, I know where Lacey is, I have a friend in Olympia and we have been through there a few times!” What are the odds of that?

After we got our tickets we headed up to ride the train.  We had to wait a few minutes but no biggie since there was a huge escalator or stairs, I took the stairs (which was good for me, but honestly, I only did it cause the elevator was shut down) because I don’t do big escalators, so it was nice to catch my breath.

I met a few people on the train that asked me if I had ever been to Target Field before and I said I hadn’t and neither had they.  Everyone that I have met so was going to a game at Target Field for their first time.  I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me since its only been open since April 12^th and they sell out routinely now, but it did.  The train ride was cool.  It takes you right into downtown, past the Metrodome (which was all decorated with Minnesota Viking stuff) and right to the corner of Target Field.  Pretty cool!  I suggest anyone that’s coming here to do this (getting on the train after the game is another story coming up later).

It was just after 1pm when we got there so I had only a couple minutes to get to agate and get in before 1^st pitch so I rushed in… and I MADE IT!  Take that Budget and your Not-So-Fastbreak!  Where I came in at was down the 3^rd Base line in the outfield.  I spent the entire game walking around the park, on the main concourse, checking out the game from various vantage points.  I will review Target Field in detail after my 2^nd game there on Monday.

The game itself, White Sox vs Twins (Garcia vs Blackburn) started off good enough.  The Twins jumped to a 2-0 lead fairly early, but it didn’t hold up and just before he was pulled Blackburn got scorched for 6 runs, 6-3 White Sox.  That’s where it stayed until the bottom of the 9^th.  At that point I was standing just above the bullpen talking with this nice couple.  He has season tickets and told me about coming in last October for the season ticket holders day and getting to walk around and check the park out from all angles with only about 1000 people here.  They were also playing Twins game “#163” on the big screen and he told me how awesome that was to sit here and watch that.  We talked about my journey to see all 30 parks and he asked if I was following the the Twins or White Sox and I said “Neither.  Just hoping for a good game”.   We both agreed that thanks to Blackburn, that was probably not gonna happen.  This was his wife’s first game at Target Field.  The White Sox had brought in their closer, Bobby Jenks, after a lights out 1,2,3 8^th by J.J. Putz.  Jenks started off walking the first 2 batters.  He wasn’t even close to the strike zone.  The next 2 singled, its now 6-5, with runners at the corners and no outs.  I thought that brought up Jim Thome, but forgot he had been pinch run for in the 7^th.  I was hoping to see him beat his former team.  His replacement, Reneko, walked to load the bases.  Once I saw that Thome was out, I called Delmon young to win it.  Win it he did.  He laced a single the deep centerfield, 1 run was in, and when Rios bobbled the ball, the winning run came in!  The Twins scored 4 in the bottom of the 9^th, with no outs, to win 7-6.  What an awesome finish and I got just what I hoped for, a great game.

After the game I headed back to the train, me and several thousand of my closest friends that is.  After being herded like cattle, it took just over 30 minutes to get on the train.  It probably wouldn’t have been so bad, had it not been freakin’ hot and we were standing directly in the sun.   After that and the 16+ minute ride back to the park & ride, I still think it’s the only way to go.  I just hope I can get on a train faster tomorrow night to make my get away and start my 5+ hour drive back to Milwaukee.

For dinner I had decided I wanted to partake in something that is very Minneapolis.  If you ever watch the Travel Channel or Food Network (which is porn for fat people like me) you have heard about the “Ju(i)cy Lucy”.  There are 2 places in town, Matt’s Bar and The 5-8 Club that have made these famous and they fight back and forth on who’s is the best.  I spelled it with the (i) because Matt’s bar says it’s a “Jucy Lucy” and the 5-8 Club says it’s a “Juicy Lucy”, so they can’t even agree on spelling.  Each claim to be the original.  I knew I wanted to go to one of these places so I plugged Matt’s Bar’s addy in my GPS and I was only 1 mile from it, so Matt’s is where I was eating dinner tonight.

I pulled up and was surprised not to see a ton of cars around the place as I was able to park right up front.  As I got out of my car the aroma of what I was about to experience hit me in the face!  As I got to the front door and walked in, I was met at the inner door by a long line of people waiting to get into an already packed place.  I was shocked.  No biggie cause according to the guy behind me, “It’s always like this, should only take 10-15 minutes to get a seat”.  He would have been right, however, since they were that busy and I was there alone, I didn’t want to take a 4 top table to just myself, so I waited for a counter seat…. And I waited…. And I waited… and I waited.  I passed up several tables waiting.  I would have felt bad taking a table to myself when it was that busy and there was a constant line of people coming in.  At one point the waitress, she was the only one, came over and asked if she could buy me a beer as I waited.  I told she didn’t have to, but she insisted and I ordered a Summit Extra Pale Ale and drank it while I waited.  Finally some stools at the bar opened up and I got me seat about 30 minutes after I got there.

The Jucy Lucy from Matt's Bar

As I sat down the waitress asked me, “So, have to had time to study the menu while you waited and know what you want?”  I said I did and I ordered my very first Jucy Lucy, a ½ order of fries and another beer.  Matt’s Bar is a small place and what most people, myself included, would call a “Dive”.  I don’t say that negatively, because this place obviously has character and is very popular.  Their kitchen is tiny, only has a really small grill (everything they serve is grilled, their burgers or their grilled cheese sandwich…except for the fries) and is in plain sight right behind the counter/bar just inside the door.  I was sitting at the opposite end of the kitchen, so I was able to watch everything going on.  Because the grill is so small, and as such there is only 1 cook, it takes time to get your order.  As such I had plenty of time to have a few beers.  Matt’s tells you to “Fear the cheese” and if you know what a Jucy Lucy is, you understand that.  If not, let me tell you that a Jucy Lucy is 2 burger patties put together, but with a couple slices of cheese in between.  As the burger grills, the cheese melts and it because a hot lava core.  When I got my burger I was careful not to take a big first bite.  I wanted to just pierce the core to let the cheese flow.  That didn’t happen and I learned in a hurry that the cheese is indeed freakin hot!  After my first bite I was ready for more.  You have to eat it carefully, but I gotta say that this was an amazing burger!  I got it with the grilled onions, which come diced up really fine.  The burger also has pickles on it.  That’s it.  You can put on ketchup or mustard if you want to, but I chose to eat it naked, with nothing else on it… and it was the right choice.  Each bite was better than the first as you make your way into the cheesey center.  But as I got about 2/3 of the way… and that’s where I hit the wall!  After taking a quick breather, I finished my burger and beer and gave up my seat for someone that was standing in the still long line trying to get in.

After dinner I made my way to my hotel, the Sheraton in Bloomington, which took me right by where I will have lunch tomorrow, the 5-8 Club.  After checking in, I got to my room, turned the Cubs/Phillies game on and it didn’t take me long before I was asleep cause minus the maybe 2 hours nap on the plane, I had been up and running for over 36 hours in which time I had won $ betting on the ponies, had a 3 hour flight, drove 346+ miles…. It was time to get some sleep!

July 18th, 2010 | Category: 2010 Road Trip(s) |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

My day actually started way earlier than it needed to, honestly.  I was up and doing things by 7am, even though my flight wasn’t until 11:52pm, I still had several things that need to done first, such as laundry and packing.  I also had to go get gas for the Sante Fe because by 11:30am, Barbara, Sanji and Mahesh would be at the house so we could all go to Emerald Downs to watch the horse races.

The reason we were doing the horse races on the same day that I fly out (and would normally just veg all day) is because it was Costco Day at the races, which means anyone who works for Costco can take the whole family and get in for free.  Along with admission you got a program, soda and bag of chips for free also.  Not too shabby.  The races were fun.

Due to my schedule we were only able to stay for 4 of the 9 live races and as such we all placed our bets on who we wanted to root for.  I chose my horse by going with my gut and I also picked the easiest way to win, “Show”. That way as long as the horse comes in 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd, I win.  Mahesh jumped out on the very first race and won as his horse (who *I* had to remind him he chose earlier but was going to change his pick just before he placed his wager) came in first and he chose him to “Win”.  He got a whopping $9.50 for his $2 bet.  My horse?  Well, he came in 4^th, naturally!  Mahesh won again on the 2^nd race as he picked his horse to “Win” also.  My wife, Yvonne, also won as her horse came in 3^rd for a “Show”.  My horse?  Not to sound like a broken record, but he came in 4^th, naturally! In the 3^rd race I chose “Wicked and Wild” because 1 week from right then my wife and I will be in New York City seeing “Wicked” on Broadway.  Again, I chose with my gut feeling and that one just seemed natural.  I also found out that everyone else in our group had picked him to either “Win”, “Place”, or “Show”.  When he came in 2^nd, I was over excited!  I knew I hadn’t won a lot, ($10.50), but it was just so cool to win!  The 4^th and final race I had chosen the #7 horse, “Ivory Man”, because… well… I’m a white dude.   As they were showing the horses before Post, I just got a gut feeling on the #4 horse “Youcan’ttellmeno”.  Looking at the reader board I could see he was a BIG TIME favorite, which meant that if I did bet on him my payout wouldn’t be that big if I did win, but I figured that since all I spent on wagering was $20, why not take that $10 I won and lay it on the #4 horse to “Win”.  If I lose it, I am still only down my $20.  I decided to do it, even against the wife telling me I shouldn’t, and went to place my bet.  As I stood there in line I got to thinking, “You can only really win, if you bet BIG!”  I had another $100 in my pocket, should I lay it on the #4 to win as well?  When it was my turn at the window, I just put $10 on him figuring I didn’t wanna lose that other $100 the day I leave for my big trip, just in case.  Well, needless to say the #4 horse came in with the “Win” and my original pick of “Ivory Man” came in 2^nd, so my “Show” bet was a winner as well.  2 winners on 1 race, gotta love that!  I ended up winning $23.50 on that race, combined with the left over $0.50 from my previous win means I won $24 for the day, so to be UP $4 after 4 races wasn’t too shabby I didn’t feel and since we were done, *I* was the big winner of the group.  My wife was quick to point out that I was also the big winner 6 years ago today, as today is our anniversary.

After the races it was time to get home, finish up the last minute things and get ready to head out to the airport.  Mike was going to be picking me up around 7pm and naturally he got there just after 6pm and I wasn’t ready.  After telling my puppies I would see them in 2 weeks (the longest I have ever been apart from them) we headed out.  After a couple long hugs from my wife, it was time to jump in the Sante Fe and be on our way.

Mike wanted to take some time and just hang out before my flight, so we decided to try and find a place we had heard about called “Jersey’s” in Federal Way.  After consulting Google and not finding it, we gave up and headed for the “Time Out Ale House” in Federal Way instead where we had a few beers, a huge plate of nachos and watched the Mariners lose to the Angels as once again League serves up a loss.  I really don’t understand why that guy is taking up a roster spot at this point.

After wasting more time just outside the airport which included us driving around just to see what all was in the area, after a a quick stop at the Safeway to get me some ear plugs, we found ourselves somewhere we had never been.  No biggie, we were just south of the airport so not to worry.  Then I looked up and in the distance I would see the Space Needle?!?  Um, what?  The Space Needle is a ways NORTH of the airport, Mike where the heck you taking us?  Something similar to this had happened to us almost 20 years ago and has been a good laughing point with us, so naturally, this cracked us up!

Mike dropped me at the airport about 10:30pm and refused to help carry my bag inside because it was so heavy he was sure I had a dead hooker in it!  After checking in, it was time to go strip for security.  Ever since the Shoe Bomber travelers have had to remove their shoes to get them x-rayed, yet I wear a brace on my right leg/foot that goes inside my shoe so it’s a royal pain to do that.  I understand why though, so I make it work.  If I wasn’t just taking a carryon bag with me today, not checking anything, I would have packed my brace in my suitcase and wore my Crocks to make it easier.  But I didn’t, so here we are.  What really sucked is that I had to unpack my laptop, which was buried in my duffle bag.  Ugh!  Between my brace, my laptop and taking everything out of my pockets, removing my phone, having to put my toothpaste out of my bag as well, I felt like I had to repack right there at security.  As all that went through the x-ray, I headed for the metal detector and it buzzed as I went through.  I had forgot my watch and the nice, yes I said nice about someone working airport security cause she was just that, lady reminded me about belt buckles too and I was wearing one for the first time ever at the airport, so I had to remove it as well and send it through.  So there I am.  Wearing jean shorts that are too big for me and wont stay up without that belt, no shoes (and no brace) so I am limping a bit, trying to get through the metal detector again.  As I walked through I held my breath and…. and… NO BUZZ!  WOOHOO!  The lady told me, “Good job, you did it!” lol

After getting dressed and repacking everything I made my way to my gate. I don’t know about you, but for me, my gate is always the last one down any given concourse I have to go.  I get that it’s probably because I fly the “low cost” airlines, like today with Air Tran, but still.  That don’t make it any easier to lug that freakin’ heavy ‘dead hooker’ around!

I got to my gate, A-14, and the flight before ours was just pulling away from the jetway, which means my plane wasn’t even there yet.  I took a seat and almost fell asleep.  I had to remind myself to wait to do that for when I get on the plane.  Once our plane got there, and the previous passengers deplaned, it didn’t take long before I was headed towards my seat.  As I always do when I board a plane, I stop for just a brief moment as I am walking into the plane, place my hand on the side of the plane and say a quick prayer.  I hate flying so much that I even have to take some pills to calm me down.  Not that I would freak out,  I just get very anxious.  If I could fit in the restrooms, I would probably just have a couple drinks and let that relax me, but I ain’t taking the chance.

I was darn near asleep before we started pulling away from the gate, but as the plane lurched, I was awake.  The taxi to the runway was a long one, I swear it had to be 8-10 minutes and during that time I did fall asleep, but just as we turned the corner and the pilot hit the gas, I was awake…barely, but I was.  I remember take off.  I did look out a little over Seattle, but then I was out!  It didn’t last long, but it was ok cause I was awake for beverage service and after getting my water, taking a few sips… GOOD NIGHT!  I slept for a full hour that time and couldn’t believe that shortly after looking at my watch, I was asleep again!  What woke me up that time was a little bit of bumpy air, but I noticed that the fasten seatbelts sign wasn’t lit, so I figured they weren’t expecting much, or so I hoped.  It wasn’t long after that I felt as if we had already started our decent into Milwuakee.  That made no sense cause it was too early for that.  For most flights that started right about 30 minutes before you land and this was too early.  So I nodded off again and was woke up to the pilot announcing to the flight crew to prepare for arrival.  Say what?  I had only been out for maybe 5 minutes that time, yet we were indeed on our approach.  Holy cow, that means we will be early!  At this point I got excited!!

July 17th, 2010 | Category: 2010 Road Trip(s) |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

I am about 12 hours away from heading to SeaTac airport to board my flight to Milwaukee tonight.  By this time tomorrow I will be about 30 minutes outside of Minneapolis.  I am hoping to get into town by Noon, so I can park at the Mall of America and ride the Hiawatha Train up to Target Field.  I hear its about a 40 minute ride, so if I can be in my rental car and on the road by 6:30am at the latest tomorrow morning, then I should be able to get to the Mall of America by Noon.  Its a 5 hour drive, doing the speed limit, so with minimal time off the road (which is how I travel), I should be good. There is still the chance that I wont be able to get my car until the rental counter opens at 7am (I am a Fastbreak member with Budget, just have never used it and never been to the airport in Milwaukee before), if that’s the case, I will probably be late for 1st pitch or get there right at game time and have to pay the big fee to park downtown, instead of going cheap and parking at the MOA and riding the train up which only costs $1.75, since parking is free at the MOA.   Checking the departure schedule at MOA, they run about every 10 minutes or so and as long as I can be there, parked and on the train by the 12:20pm departure, I will be at Target Field just in time for the 1:10pm first pitch.  So that’s my plan for tomorrow

Looking at the MLB schedule, no really great pitching match-ups are coming my way.  No matter, it’s still baseball

July 18th – White Sox vs Twins:  Garcia (9-3) vs Blackburn (7-7)
July 19th – Indians vs Twins:  Laffey (1-3) vs Baker (7-8)
July 20th – Rays vs Orioles: Garza (10-5) vs Arrieta (3-2)
July 21st – Rays vs Orioles:  Shields (7-9) vs TBA

See ya on the road!

July 17th, 2010 | Category: 2010 Road Trip(s) |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Can’t believe there is only 5 days left, and a few hours, before I head out on my trip.  After months of planning and waiting, it’s almost here.  I am almost ready but not quite yet.  I am putting together my “Trip Book” today with stuff I will need for my trip.  It’s a book with my schedule, all the confirmations for my hotels and rental cars, my tickets and other things I might need, like addresses to places I might wanna check out.  I know I am a geek when it comes to traveling, but I dont ever leave home without my “Trip Book”

I checked the MLB schedules today… only my 1st game shows the starters so far and that’s the Twins vs White Sox game at Target Field, Garcia vs Blackburn.  Will be nice to see the Big Chief again as its been a few years since we got to see him regularly in Seattle.   Too early yet to see who the others might be, but I will check it again in a few days and post the schedule.

Until then, it’s time to get my trip book finished, get some laundry done and continue getting ready as Saturday will be here soon enough!

July 12th, 2010 | Category: Tropicana Field |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Today was what I have been looking to as the official kick off to my Summer of Baseball 2010!  It couldn’t have been a better day today!  The sun was shining and it was freakin’ hot… I LOVED IT!

I started my day off by picking up Doug in Tacoma and we headed towards The Safe to meet up with Bob DeVries across the street at the Pyramid Ale House.  With my back still hurting from a couple weeks ago, as we got into town and started looking for parking I had to opt for a $35 spot as close as I could to the ballpark.  $35 to park, while $15 cheaper than Opening Day, is still highway robbery!  But, like I said, cause of my back I really didn’t have much choice in the matter this time.

Doug and I got lucky and were able to get a couple spots on stools in the bar at the Pyramid, as the place was quickly filling up with about 90 minutes or so to go before game time, so we ordered up some nacho’s and a pitcher of their newest IPA called “Grifter”.  I gotta say that it was awesome!

Bob DeVries is amid his second straight year of going to a game at all 30 Major League Ballparks in a season.  Seattle is stop # 19 for him this year and I am so glad that after having spent time talking on the phone, via email or texting back and forth as he made his ballpark chase last summer, that I would finally be able to not only meet the man, but attend a game with him during his Quest.  Last year Bob did his Quest as a way to regain his life after his wife passed away suddenly from SADS (Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes) on September 10, 2008.  This year he was doing it to bring awareness to SADS.  I fully admit that I have never heard of SADS until I met Bob online last year and I think what he is doing is just simply amazing.  For all of you that read this, if you would, please donate a little something to the “Shawn M. DeVries Memorial Fund”, you’ll be glad you did.

Bob had texted me a few times over the morning to let me know that his flight was delayed leaving Denver and now wouldn’t be into Seattle until 10:30am.  As I was driving to Tacoma to pick up Doug, I got another text saying it would now be 11am before he landed, which meant that he wouldn’t be into downtown until roughly Noon.  Despite having trouble finding parking and luckily getting one of the last $40 spots available, Bob, wearing his #10 “Every Park” Cubs jersey, walked into the pyramid just a little after Noon and joined us for a much needed beer!  It was great finally meeting him and hanging out for a bit, but we had to go find a high school friend of his, Joe,  who was meeting us at the game with his kids and get to the game.

The game was awesome.   King Felix vs Ted Lilly.  The Cubs jumped out front first with 1 run in the 2nd, before the M’s tied it up in the 4th.  In the 7th each team got a run and there we sat tied at 2-2 until the top of the 13th inning when Marlon Byrd singled to score Alfonso Soriano with the winning run, 3-2 Cubs.  This was the longest game I had ever been at in terms of innings (13) and time (4:02).  While my wife would have had a cow having been there that long, I was loving every moment of it.  Not only was it the Mariners vs Cubs, but I was sitting in the left field bleachers between Bob DeVries and Doug Miller, 2 guys that really know their stuff when it comes to baseball, the sun was shinning, my arms were burning… it was an amazing day!

After the game Bob, Doug and I made our way over to Jimmy’s on First for dinner and a couple beers before calling it a night.  Was really great getting to just sit there and talk with Bob about his adventures and just be able to take it all in.  I had so much fun getting to be a part of his Quest, even if it was only for a few hours.  We parted at the corner of 1st and Edgar Martinez Drive, just outside the Home Plate entrance to Safeco Field and as Doug and I waited for the light to turn green at the cross walk,  we watched Bob walking up the street until his #10 “Every Park” Cubs jersey faded away as he headed to yet another ballpark to continue his Quest…

The “Summer of Ken” continues July 11th as my brother and I will join the World Record holder Doug Booth for a game at Safeco Field as the Mariners take on the boys from the Bronx.  Looking forward to it.

Boxscore

June 24th, 2010 | Category: Safeco Field |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

1 month from right now I will be making my way from Milwaukee to Minneapolis for my first game of the trip at the brand new Target Field. It’s a 5 hour drive from Milwaukee to Minneapolis, so as soon as I get into town I have to get on the road. You might be asking why I didn’t just fly into Minneapolis instead of Milwaukee and adding a 5 hour drive, both ways? Simple actually, the flight into Milwaukee was cheaper. I was already going to be having a car for 2 days, no matter where I flew into, so that’s a wash. When you take into account the price of gas to make those drives, I come out better by a few bucks. However, with that aside, I could not get a flight out of Minneapolis into Baltimore without going through either Atlanta or Boston with a 4+ hour layover in either. That just don’t make sense to me! With flying back out of Milwaukee I leave MKE at 6:10am and have a non-stop to BWI arriving at 9:00am. That not only gives me time to make it to the Orioles game that night, but it also gives me a day of sight seeing. In this case I will be headed straight down to DC as soon as I get my car (more on that to come in a different blog). Had I flown out of Minneapolis, via either Atlanta or Boston, I would have spent the biggest bulk of my day sitting in an airport instead of being able to enjoy myself seeing the sights and would have missed the first few innings of the Orioles game. Makes perfect sense to me even with a 5 hour drive directly after a night game looking me in the face for July 19th. I will be channeling my inner Doug Booth for that portion, that’s for sure.

Over the next month I will be adding posts about the upcoming trip. It’s getting close, yet I am not completely ready for it, so I best start getting ready. Until then, I still have a Mariners/Cubs game (with Bob DeVries from “30 Ballparks In 1 Summer”), a Mariners/Yankees game (with World Record Holder Doug Booth) to get me through. Plus, Strausburg pitches tonight vs the White Sox… looking forward to him shutting the SouthSiders down!

My 5 hour drive from Milwaukee to Minneapolis and back...

June 18th, 2010 | Category: 2010 Road Trip(s) |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment