Days Three, Four and Five of the Baseball Trip

No internet access for the past few days (well, free internet access anyway)

Day Three--We arrived in Cincinnati by mid-afternoon. Not knowing what to do before the game starts, we decided to take a one-hour riverboat cruise on the Ohio River. This killed two birds by a) giving us something to do before the game and b) having the opportunity to go to Kentucky, which is where the riverboats were on the other side of the river. You see, there were two states east of the Mississippi I've never been to--Kentucky and Michigan. Cross Kentucky off the list.

The cruise was nice. I enjoyed it a lot. As we were cruising, we saw a sign, on the Kentucky side, advertising about parking there for the game and taking a boat to the stadium. Well, we were already there, so why not? So, after the cruise, we parked in their lot, and took a boat across the river where it dropped us off at the foot of the stadium. Perfect.

We got tickets to the game and they were by far the best tickets we got so far. It is going to be a great night for baseball. Until the third inning. Because that's when the rains came. Not a little sprinkle. A deluge. For two stickin' hours.

We had to be in Chicago for an afternoon game the next day so we decided we had to ditch the game. The problem was we didn't know when the boat was coming back to pick us over. And, we didn't have a phone number to call. So, we waited down by the river and prayed it would soon come. Talking about feeling out of control of a situation.

We waited about 10 minutes and the boat did arrive. On to Chicago.

Day Four--We had to get up early to get to Chicago for an afternoon game. This was the day that our timing was perfect. We got to our hotel before noon and checked in. Got our bearings for the subway uptown to Wrigley. And off we went.

It was a city series game between the White Sox and Cubs. The atmosphere was electric. Good nature razzing between both sides. And, we finally made it. Wrigley Field.

I've been to Fenway Park in Boston and expected something similar. I wasn't disappointment. Wrigley doesn't have the amneties as other stadiums. But, it does have charm. From my perspective, I think you either love it or hate it.

The White Sox won the game 4-1. It was a quick game. Too quick as I wanted to drink in the atmosphere some more. After the game, we walked around in the stadium until we were thrown out. Then, we walked around outside on Waveland and Sheffield to look at the seats on the roofs across from the stadium. I didn't want to leave but it was off to St. Louis.

Day Five--We are getting tired at this point. It's been a long week. From Chicago to St. Louis was the longest drive of the trip and I'm still trying to recover from my flu.

When arrived in the afternoon, we headed to the Gateway Arch because it was always something I wanted to see. So, off we went following the directions of our Garmin GPS to head on I-64 East into the city. Except its closed. ARRRRGGHHH!!! How do we get into town? Well, thank goodness for the Garmin because it has a detour feature. So, it took us down Forest Park Drive, which was a road parallel to I-64 and got us in no problems.

There was a huge contrast between our day in Chicago and St. Louis. The Chicago game, I was wearing a coat. In St. Louis, it was hot. Stinkin' hot. 92 degrees (F) hot. So, I did get to see the Gateway Arch but no time to go to the top. And, it was hot just walking around.

Luckily, the stadium was close by but it was hard to get out of the A/C of the car to watch the game. Busch stadium is nice. Very fan-friendly. Easy access to bathrooms and food. And, the hamburgers at the Hardees stand on the third level were delicious. It was a good crowd, though rather on the quiet side. We sat in the upper level third base side. Out of the sun. But, it was still hot. And, the Cardinals lost 6-3. We are now off to Kansas City for the last game.

Second Day of the Baseball Trip

We had a chance to 'get to know' a little bit of the Cleveland area, so, in the morning we took an hour's drive to Canton and see the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I asked my friend, George, what should I do next as I have now seen all four major sports halls of fame? (Basketball, baseball, hockey, and football). He said, well, there is always the golf and tennis halls of fame? True, very true.

In the afternoon, we went to the Rock and Roll HOF. Now, we said, without knowing the cities in detail, we were going to make stupid mistakes along the way. Yesterday's was a beaut. We found a great parking space right next to the museum on the street. It was only for max four hours long but didn't think we were going to take that much time. As it turns out, we did and expected to possibly see a ticket on the windshield. Which we did. To the tune of $250. Now, both of us, I swear, did not see we parked in a handicap spot. So, we didn't get the ticket because the meter ran out but because we parked in a handicapped spot. Still fee guilty about it.

If I was an Indians fan, I would be really mad at my team last night. It was a very looooooonnnngggggg game last night. 4 hours. 26 hits. 26 runs. The Indians were up late in the game 12-7 and blew it. Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers hits a grand slam in the 7th inning and the Brewers went on to win 14-12.

But, night wasn't a complete lost as we got a 'Rick Vaughn' bobblehead doll (a character from the movie 'Major League' which was a movie about the Cleveland Indians) and a wonderful fireworks display after the game. On to Cincinnati.

Day One of the Baseball Trip

We started off from my house Sunday morning at 7:30a. We had to get across the state of Pennsylvania into Pittsburgh by 1:35p gametime. Plenty of time. Or so we thought. As one Pittsburgh pedestrian told us as we looked for a parking space, 'we arrived on a nightmarish day.' You see, Pittsburgh is going through major renovation in the downtown section which are closing main arteries. On top of that, there was an Arts Festival around the area we were looking for parking. And on top of that, we thought there might have been a parade in town because the hometown Penguins won the Stanley Cup in hockey. Well, we were wrong about the reason but right about the parade. Apparently, a gay pride parade was tying up the traffic as well (not that there isn't anything wrong with that!)

We did eventually find parking in downtown and crossed the Roberto Clemente Bridge to PNC Park. The game was starting so we were anxious to get in. But, it was a beautiful day and so were a lot of other people waiting in line to get tickets. So, we waited. And listened to the game. Finally, we got the tickets (discounted to $11 a piece because the game started) and got in.

A beautiful stadium. Just wonderful. And we had a good time there though it was weird as it was 'Turn Back the Clock' Day to 1909 and there were no music at all during the game. It was kind of nice to be able to talk between innings.

We left a little early to get to Cleveland as we found out there was a game there that night as well. We made it. In plenty of time. And almost saw a no-hitter by Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians. He took a no-hitter into the 8th inning. Gave up a hit on the first pitch of the inning. But, he pitched a gem shutting out the Cardinals 3-0.

Off to the Pro Football and Rock and Roll Hall of Fames today and back to the Indians tonight.

Pictures later.

Back Home Just To Go Back On The Road

I'm back in the US now and ready to head out for my baseball road trip. This past week, something happened to me that never happened before. I got sick on a business trip.

I have been sick since Tuesday night when we were on our way to Plymouth, England. Woke up next morning with no energy and feeling sick to my stomach. I was like that the rest of the week which made for a painful flight home yesterday. I went to the doctor today and have been diagnosed with an unspecified flu-like virus. Not likely it was swine flu but not totally ruling it out. My luck. Anyway, luckily, I'm starting to feel much better since I leave for Pittsburgh tomorrow.

To the right is me on the London Eye with Big Ben in the background.

Postcard from London

I must be in England because I am sitting in my hotel watching Australia-Sri Lanka cricket highlights.

This is going to be a short entry as I am tired and my wireless internet connection is not the best. The 5k I did was an experience. Very similar to US events but there were subtle differences. Truthfully, not sure if it was US-UK differences or just this event was a little different. For instance, they did not have a water station but handed out water bottles that you took and handed to perfect strangers watching the event. Also, they had a men's and women's changing area before the start of the race.

The day started out with tremendous rain and was tempted to rollover in bed for an extra few hours of sleep. But, by 8a when I left the hotel, the day was filled with brilliant sunshine and remained so for the event.

The race was two laps around Battersea Park which is near the Thames River. Dummy me forgot my GPS watch so had no idea of the pace I was doing. I had an inkling of what it was as the clock was running at the finish area and you had to go through the finish for the second lap of the race. Another difference is there are no mile markers. Kilometer markers yes, but no mile markers.

All in all, it was a lot of fun. Below is a video of the start of the race. I was going to post other videos and pictures of the race but, currently, as I stated, not the greatest internet connection. I will later. Plus, it's midnight. Time for me to go to bed.

Enjoy.

Testing 1,2,3...Is This Thing On?

This is just a test video from my new Canon Powershot SD1200 IS. This camera is about the size of my cell phone but a little wider. I realized the resolution of the video from my camera phone wasn't that great. But, the pictures from my other Canon digital camera were great but it is a little bulky to carry around and the video feature wasn't that easy to use. I am hoping to use this camera to replace the mini-cam (farewell, mini-cam) and to do some video shooting around different races and runs that I will be doing. Chances are I won't be in the video as I like to shoot pictures but not be in them. Oh, from time to time, I may pull a 'Hitchcock' and make an appearance. But, only when necessary.

Anyway, the video below is a typical day around the house for three (of my four) dogs. Ellie Mae is the one who is missing in the video as she was at a dog show at the time.

I wanted to test what the quality of the video would be after I posted. (And to make sure it works). I saw the video on my computer and it looked great, especially in comparison with the video from my phone. Nice thing is this camera has video stabilization. Of course, I will test this video stabilization feature when I do my 'Where I Run' features.

Enjoy.

June is Bustin' Out All Over!!!!

The next few weeks should be (to quote Artie Johnson) 'very interesting'. (If you don't know who Artie Johnson is, well, go look it up in your Funk & Wagnall).

On Saturday, I will be leaving for England for a week. Next Sunday, I will be participating in my first 'international' 5k. A race in Battersea Park in London. I've been wanting to do this for awhile now. But, in never seemed to work out right. The times that I have gone over never seemed to coincide with a race that was near where I was staying over there. But, this time the timing is perfect. Battersea Park is not far from where I am staying in Kensington.

In truth, it's just another race, right? Probably. And, people from England speak English, right? Just like Americans. Right? Well, wrong. Winston Churchill once said that America and England are two countries separated by a common language. It is so true. That's why I am very much looking forward to finding out what the English do differently than an American 5k. I hope I will have time from work to give you a report. And, maybe a few pictures?

The week after that is my baseball trip with a friend of mine who also turned 50 this year. To view where I am going, there is a link to the 'Websites I Often Visit' on the right side of this blog. Under 'June Baseball Trip'. If you are wondering, this trip will take us to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City to watch a baseball game at those cities. Plus, we will be seeing a part of the US that I haven't seen before.

It will be Thelma and Louise. Except we're males. And, we don't plan on driving off a cliff in the final scene. (Maybe more like Dumb and Dumber?) At the end of that week, I plan on doing a 5k in Kansas. Thanks to Jennifer, blog author of Life is a Gift.RUN, I've been able to narrow it down to two choices for June 20th in the Kansas City area. The one that Jennifer recommended the Teri Tough 5k looks like a great race and is the one I will be aiming to attend. However, it's a bit further to get to from where I'm staying and starts a little bit earlier than Run the Good Race 5k which is the other race I'm looking to do. So, depending on the Friday before, which is our last baseball game, I will decide which race to run on Saturday before I fly back home to the Philadelphia area.

What about my tri training, you say? Well, that should be interesting as well. Yesterday, I tried to simulate the bike/run portion. I rode my bike for about 11 miles and then ran 2 miles right after that. I felt pretty good. (Of course, I went home to cut the grass in the afternoon and my riding mower went on me. I wound up cutting an acre of lawn with a push mower. Don't mind doing it. Just not after a training run.) So, I expect to be doing very little training on my bike for the next few weeks. And, probably very little swimming (of course, I have the whole English Channel to practice in). So, it will have to be running to keep me in shape.

So, my intention is to update this blog more than once a week while I'm gone. With pictures. Or, it will be the exact opposite and you will hear crickets from this blog for the next three weeks. And, then LOTS of stuff telling you what happened. It will be very interesting.

(Notes: One of the people I know, through the Bucks County 5k Spring Series, is riding a bicycle across the country following the Lewis & Clark Trail starting in Oregon and heading east. He left over the weekend and starts today. His name is Ed and you can follow his adventure on his Crazy Guy on a Bike website. I also have a link to it on the websites I often visit. )