Baseball-Related Program Activities

I got a "save the date" card for a cousin's wedding in Vienna, Virginia, on Memorial Day (yes, Monday, apparently). According to the preliminary schedules, the Nationals will be out of town for the weekend, but the Orioles will be at home. Hmm...

Labels: nationals, orioles, planning

Jason and I are taking a weekend trip to Phoenix in September (actually, we'll be staying in a motel in Tempe), and it's going to include attendance at a Diamondbacks game...



I bought a pair of tickets on stubhub.com. Can you believe a season-ticket holder would want to see the D-Backs play the Rockies so little that they'd be selling these tickets for half-price? (Half the single-game price, that is; there's a big season ticket discount that's already reflected in the price printed on this ticket.)

After the baseball game, Jason and I will be heading for the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe to see the ASU Sun Devils play our beloved Northwestern Wildcats in a game that starts at 7:00, but that's more of a topic of discussion for Football-Related Program Activities.

Labels: diamondbacks, jason kaifesh, northwestern, planning

Since I don't have high-speed Internet at my new apartment yet, I've been watching more TV than usual. That included tonight's Dodgers game, a 2-1 win over the Brewers. I wanted to mention this piece of trivia that fascinated Vin Scully, since I'm not sure how far it will be disseminated: with this game, the Dodgers have now played more games at Dodger Stadium than they had at Ebbets Field.

Incidentally, the best Vin Scully moment of the game was him reading Jim Tracy's lips during an argument with the home plate umpire, but not giving the exact translation: "Fertilizer, fertilizer." The second-best was his plug for the pre-game show airing before tomorrow's game: "I think you'll find it somewhat interesting, as it always is."

While I'm at it, it's looking like the plans detailed here for me and Jason to do a 4-city baseball trip next month are not going to come to fruition, since I will have only been in my new job for a month. We may do an overnight trip just to Phoenix, for a Saturday night game. But that leaves things open for me to ask: hey, Levi, how about a Western trip in 2006?

Labels: brewers, dodgers, jim tracy, planning, tv, vin scully

First of all, on last night's "Simpsons," astrology was described as "the Tampa Bay Devil Rays of the sciences." True enough.

Now, then, a while back, someone asked about baseball trips this summer. Sorry to say Levi and I aren't doing a big baseball road trip this year like we did last year. But -- unless gas goes above $4.00 a gallon -- Jason and I have a Western trip planned for July, involving fewer games than the trip last year...

Thursday, July 7: St. Louis at Arizona
Friday, July 8: Memphis at Albuquerque (Pacific Coast League, class AAA)
Saturday, July 9: Salt Lake City at Colorado Springs (another PCL game)
Sunday, July 10: San Diego at Colorado

We'd have done a slightly longer trip, but the baseball schedules didn't permit (for one thing, that's leading into the All-Star break for both MLB and the PCL).

Now, I also happen to know that Levi and Stacey are visiting New York next month with friends from the U.K.; I assume either the Yankees or the Mets will be in town, but their schedule might be filled with other plans. (The two minor-league teams in NYC won't be playing yet, since they're short-season Class A.)

And I have also suggested a fair number of potential itineraries to Levi and Stacey that would work if they wanted to visit southern California and see the Dodgers, Angels, and Padres. Now, Levi's predictable enough that I know his top choice would be the last weekend in July, when the Cardinals are in town to play the Dodgers, but he hasn't made a decision yet on whether or not he can make it then (or ever).

As far as I know, my first major-league game attendance this year is going to be two weeks from tonight, to see the first-place Dodgers play, that's right, the first-place Washington Nationals on May 2nd. Well, maybe they won't be in first place in two weeks, but whatever. The post-Opening Day column in the L.A. Times about how horrible the Dodgers were going to be this year is now but a distant memory.

Original comments...

Levi: I just this morning purchased several tickets in a terrible, distant-from-the-plate (maybe not even in Queens!) section of the upper deck of Shea Stadium to see the Cardinals play the Mets on May 14th.

Jim: From what I know about Shea Stadium, sounds like you'll have a very good view of the underside of airplanes.

Labels: devil rays, jason kaifesh, planning, simpsons

Since I never scanned it before, this is (part of) the chart I used to plan the trip. Possible teams are on the left and dates are across the top (starting with April 30, with an "M" indicating Mondays). Home games for each team are indicated by blue (night game), red (day game), or gray (unknown, because some teams didn't have game times posted in January, when I made the chart). The teams are numbered so I could follow them all the way across.



They Might Be Giants ticket stub from the night before I left for the trip. And I wish I'd known my flight was going to be delayed two hours, so I could have gotten two extra hours of sleep!



Why my flight was delayed two hours: a rainy Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport (and it had been a lot worse earlier in the day, I heard)...



A 2:30 P.M. boarding time was wildly optimistic. I think this flight ended up boarding at about 4:40 P.M.



Illinois Railway Museum ticket. For an extra $4.00, I could have ridden on the Thomas the Tank Engine train with a bunch of screaming kids. I chose not to pay extra.

Labels: brpa, photos, planning, road trip

One of the headlines on my Yahoo! home page earlier today was "Goofy Double Play Helps Expos Beat Giants." That's the kind of thing I want to see on the trip!

Earlier tonight, John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants started describing "The Wave," and then chastised someone in the audience who was wearing a baseball cap (no, not me) who had a blank look on his face, as if he'd never heard of The Wave before. ("He's never been to a sporting event in his life, ladies and gentlemen -- a true They Might Be Giants fan.") Eventually, following some ridiculously complicated directions, the audience at the House of Blues did a surprisingly good wave, which makes sense, since a lot of the folks in the crowd have probably been to a Dodgers game or two. If the Johns Flansburgh and Linnell had tossed beach balls out into the crowd, there no doubt would have been some excellent beach ball batting.

I have to get up in less than seven hours now to catch my flight.

Original comments:

Steve: Did they form a circle in the crowd or at least a semi circle? Me thinks a critical element of the wave is having some sort of stadia type setting for the wave to crash around.

Jon Solomon: What was the goofy double play, anyway?

Levi: I just got a message from Jim: an inauspicious start to the trip--his flight is delayed already.

Jason: Next time, take the train.

weathergirl: at least the weather looks auspicious:

saturday: davenport: clear, 74/54
sunday: st. louis: scattered clouds, 86/65
monday: detroit: scattered clouds, 81/64
tuesday: toronto: partly cloudy, 75/60
wednesday: montreal: scattered clouds, 78/53

levi, don't forget to bring socks.

Levi: 75 in Toronto, 78 in Montreal?

That's in Canada, so it must be Celsius! We're gonna fry!

Jim: Finally, I remembered to respond to Steve's comment above: there was a semicircle around the upper level, and then the wave proceeded to the main level and went row by row front to back, then back to front, then the other way around the upper-level semicircle. Told you it was complicated.

Labels: brpa, planning, road trip, they might be giants

So, Levi, what are you doing after work tomorrow? If you're planning on doing anything other than meeting me at O'Hare Terminal 3 baggage claim, most likely American Airlines carousel #6, perhaps you should change those plans. Bring your driver's license.

Original comments...

Levi: Who's Jim?

Labels: brpa, planning, road trip

Hanger-on Luke e-mailed earlier tonight to point out that the Red Sox were playing the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field on Friday night, and wondered why we didn't start the trip with this game. I think it's a moot point now, because the game is sold out and I don't particularly want to pay premium prices for a game, given all the other games we still have to buy tickets to (we're planning on getting tickets at the gate for 6 of the 11 games, and I owe Levi money for the Cardinals game...although he owes me money for the other four games). Also, I'm told that Levi and Stacey are planning a farewell dinner, or something like that, at their place on Friday night.

But it's a valid question. I think what happened is that I just didn't see back in January, on the graph I made of when various teams were at home, that the White Sox were going to be home this weekend. So when I originally came up with this itinerary, as depicted in this post, I started with the Cardinals game on Sunday. Then, soon afterwards, I realized that it was stupid to start an itinerary on Sunday when, I assumed, I could easily add a minor-league game on Saturday. It turned out I could, so I didn't have any reason to go back over the major league schedules. And then when I made my flight reservations, I added a day on either side of the trip itinerary, just in case of delays somewhere, and came up with arriving Chicago on Thursday and leaving Chicago on September 1st. Then I sat back, relaxed, and made hundreds of posts to this blog over the next five months. Honorary hanger-on Jason asked me about going to a minor-league game in the Chicago area on Friday night at one point, but I decided it would be too hard to make it out to a suburb in time for a game after people had gotten off work Friday evening. I don't think I even checked the schedules for any of the local teams until just now (to save you the trouble, only the Joliet Jackhammers are at home Friday night).

I don't know what my point is, except that I really need to get to bed now. (For those of you who have just stumbled across this blog, it's not quite as bad as it looks, because the time stamps on the posts are in Central time, but I'm running on Pacific time right now.)

Labels: brpa, luke seemann, planning, red sox, road trip, white sox

I'm almost all packed. This is because tomorrow I have to get a haircut, visit an ATM, and go to a They Might Be Giants concert, although probably not in that order. In fact, the less money I have at the concert, the less likely I am to buy a bunch of T-shirts. Come to think of it, I should probably show up at my job tomorrow also.

Hey, remember this post from way back in June? I've got all that stuff, and more, including a mini pencil sharpener that was mentioned here a few days ago, and my Kroger brand nail clippers (safely ensconced in the suitcase that will be checked, of course). The coins are neatly rolled up, and may confound the security at Bob Hope Airport. I've got Tigers and Brewers tickets now, too, and those will be kept very close to me at all times (i.e., they're safely ensconced in the small carry-on bag). I even have a very important accessory I forgot about in that post: the USB cable to connect my digital camera to a computer. I'm hoping we can figure things out to put a few pictures up here as we go along.

I even got a working VCR since I wrote that post, and I have two videotapes, which include a baseball-related programming item and some game shows.

I'm not bringing a jacket, but I am bringing a sweatshirt, just in case. I hear it was only in the 20s in Toronto today! (That's a bad Fahrenheit/Celsius joke.)

I think that's it, unless someone can come up with something we haven't thought of. Obviously, if we have forgotten something, it should be fairly easy to buy any number of items in Chicago, or in many of the cities we'll be visiting.

Original comments...

Levi: You're bringing a videotape of Tiger Town? Or is it Rookie of the Year?

thatbob: Ooh, I hope you have _The Life and Times of Pansy The Wuss-Wuss Fish Who Couldn't Keep It Up_. Bob Costas narrates.

Labels: brpa, planning, road trip, security theater, they might be giants

The time of the Cardinals-Pirates game on Saturday, August 28, being changed from 7:05 to 1:20? What force could possibly make that happen?

Thanks to Maura's co-worker Allison for giving us the heads-up, via Maura passing the information along to us. Levi and I consulted via phone, and we'll still be able to make all the games on the schedule, but now we won't be able to spend the night with my aunt and uncle in beautiful Yardley, Pennsylvania (actually, they live in Lower Makefield Township but have a Yardley mailing address). We'll still see them at the Phillies game, though, of course. Instead, we'll be spending the night in Harrisburg, and Maura has promised us breakfast at Waffle House.

P.S. to Levi: Yes, I'll be arriving on Thursday.

Labels: bolands, brpa, Cardinals, maura johnston, pirates, planning, road trip

A scan of a ticket is worth a thousand words:



Also in the envelope was the promised $20 in concession vouchers, in the convenient form of four $5 vouchers. That should make it easier for the people who want to eat sausages with Secret Stadium Sauce to purchase them, and if anyone wants to search the catacombs of Miller Park for the stand that reluctantly sells veggie dogs, well, Levi can go off by himself and try to find it.

In other news, I discovered that the necessary files to operate an iTrip are freely available for download, so I will have no reason to connect my iPod to Levi's computer.

And finally, here's a quote from a Usenet newsgroup that I felt desperately needed to be posted here: "One of the funnier stories on ESPN radio was Rob Dibble talking about how he checked into a hotel and misunderstood the instructions on the TV screen -- he thought he was ordering a block of adult films. The only thing more embarrassing than having the adult films show up on your bill is having to call down and ask the nice girl to please take the block off so you can watch some."

Original comments...

Toby: Just don't go to the concession stand during the 7th inning stretch while they're having the sausage race. Randall Simon is back with the Pirates, you know... There could be another incident...

maura: actually, he was released over the weekend, shortly after he found his SUV riddled with bullets.

Levi: Now, I don't get releasing Simon right now. You don't save anything on his salary at this point. You don't really save an important roster space, because in two weeks you can call up everybody and his grandma. And you lose the fun of having Randall Simon on your team.

I could have understood releasing him the minute you signed him--coming to your senses and just getting rid of him so somebody else, anybody else, could play first base for you. But now that you've carried him all this way, why not hold onto him the rest of the year?

Toby: What kind of season is his grandma having in A ball, anyway?

thatbob: When I was freeloading with Angie in San Diego for the librarian convention, we made the same mistake with the "Adult Block" feature. Except we weren't actually trying to order the adult block, we just wanted to look at the funny movie titles. Really!

Labels: brpa, planning, road trip, rob dibble, tickets

(I'm referring to the trip, not Hurricane Charley, in the headline.)

Posted in advance of the weekend: Levi, can you think of any preparations you think I may have forgotten about, some items you want me to bring that I need to dig up in my apartment, or at a store? Things are going to be pretty busy in my life for the next few days, up until the time I leave for the trip on Thursday, so I'm hoping something doesn't slip my mind.

Original comments...

Levi: Only this: I'm considering replacing my iPod radio adaptor because it's an aftermarket model that chews through AAA batteries like the Devil Rays chew through AAA players. Your iPod and mine, I think, are the same model now, or at least the same time period, so the Apple one ought to work with both, right?

And you don't already have a transmitter, right?

Jim: If your iPod has the rectangular "dock connector" on the bottom (which means it would also have the "touch wheel" and the four buttons in a line above it), then any accessories should work equally well with both.

Apple doesn't make an FM radio transmitter for the iPod, so they're all aftermarket. Here's what's available, although I don't know which of these are most readily available (i.e., they'd have them at the Apple Store, Best Buy, or someplace like that). Although I've heard good things about the Griffin iTrip, it would be problematic to use with both our iPods because of the bizarre way in which works, but it looks like any of the others should work fine. If it were me, I might look at the Belkin TuneCast II, plus their Mobile Power Cord to run it off car DC power, but that might be a little pricey for you.

If we're lucky, the rental car will have a cassette deck, and all we'll need is the cassette adaptor I'm going to be bringing (it's what I use in my car, which is why I don't have a transmitter already).

Levi: The Griffin iTrip is what Tony has, now that I see the photo. It's so well-designed that I thought it was an Apple accessory.

I'll probably try to pick one up next week, if only because lately my luck with rental cars and tape decks has only been about fifty-fifty. And they look at you really funny when you request a tape deck instead of a CD player.

Jim: To use the iTrip, you put audio files onto your iPod representing the various FM frequencies, and play one of them whenever you want to change stations. I'd be a little bit reluctant to attempt to download the files to my iPod from your computer, because of the ever-present danger of accidentally telling your computer to sync my iPod with your music library, thus wiping out all of my music for the rest of the trip.

Levi: Nah, my computer is never set up to automatically synch. That has always seemed like a really useless feature to me--my home computer is always going to have far more songs on it than my iPod can hold, and if I can't take ten minutes to put what I want on there, I must be a heartless CEO or something, and then wouldn't I only want, like the Chariots of Fire theme?

Jim: I do auto-sync because 33 gigs of music on the computer plus a 30-gig iPod (actually 27-point-something gigs of actual space) would equal me spending me all my time micromanaging my music collection if I didn't auto-sync. Besides, it's fun coming up with the various playlists and smart playlists to populate the iPod with exactly what I want.

It looks like I'm going to have only about 15 MB (yes, megabytes) of space left on the iPod, and now I'm wondering if that's enough space for the iTrip audio files.

thatbob: Some other things for Jim to bring along:

-reference works on popular culture (to make a point or settle a bet)
-fresh milk (to wash down the Hostess Baseballs)
-live cow (source of fresh milk)
-life savings converted into cash

That's all I can think of right now.

Toby: How about several sharpened pencils for keeping score at games...

Jim: Keeping score is Levi's department, although I do have a mini-pencil sharpener I might contribute to the cause. I just have to remember not to put it in my carry-on luggage...its metal edge is sharp enough to shave a thin piece of wood!

maura: jim, do you think you could burn some of your baseball songs to cd? i'm not sure if i'll be able to plug your ipod into the wprb board. (i'll do some sleuthing about this, though, this week.)

Jim: I already had the "Baseball's Greatest Hits" CDs set aside to bring with me in case of emergency. Let me know if there's anything on the list that's not on those two CDs that you definitely want to play on your show.

Does the WPRB board have line-level RCA inputs? I'll bring the dock and the appropriate cable.

Jim: It turns out that everything not on the "Baseball's Greatest Hits" CDs fits onto two CDs, so I now have the entire baseball song list in CD format.

Jon Solomon: You should be able to run the iPod into the board with an iPod to RCA adapter. I can rig this to go into the mixer. I'll also pull several baseball 45s to play, and bring some of my sports records if someone reminds me. Get Metsmerized!

Levi: Awesome!

maura: yeah, get metsmerized is awesome!

Jason: Hey! 'Awesome!' is Dan's line.

Stan Lee: Excelsior!

J.J.: Dino-mite!

Richard Nixon: Sock it to me?

GW Bush: America is more safer.

Labels: brpa, planning, road trip

Monday, August 30th happens to be one of the dates on which Brewers are offering their "Mastercard Grand Slam Ticket Pack," which is four $28 tickets and a $20 concession voucher for $75 total. So it would be nice, and money-saving, if Levi and I could find two people to join us for the 7:05 game. (It's a little unclear whether or not you can get that deal at the stadium, or if you have to buy them in advance..."seats are limited," they say, but how many people are going to show up for a non-pivotal Brewers vs. Pirates battle on a Monday night? Nevertheless, let us know as soon as possible if you want to go.)

If you wanted to also join us for the 1:05 game in Chicago involving the White Sox and Phillies, so much the better, although the Sox don't seem to have any promotions happening that day to make their tickets cheaper. I think our plan as of now is to head straight to Milwaukee immediately upon the conclusion of that game; however, if you can't make it to the Sox game but can make the Brewers, we'll work something out.

Original comments...

Levi: I'm sure my wife, for one, will attend the second game, and a second person (especially at less than $20 for a seat and some food!) will be easy to find. So go for it!

stacey: levi's right. i Would like to attend the second game. i probably can't get off work for the day game, sadly.

Jim: Does it ruin the road trip magic if we take the 'L' to the Sox game? I guess it shouldn't, since it's an "extra" game anyway.

Steve: as far as special promotions, that's a half price monday.

stacey: if you're going to take the 'L' to the sox game, i could drive the rental car to work (in hyde park) and then pick you guys up after the game at comiskey and we could shoot up to the city that beer made famous. anyone else who wanted to go could either get picked up along the way or meet us at sox park.

Jim: Thanks, Steve! I missed that. Hooray for cheap tickets! Stacey: Sounds like a good plan. I won't tell Hertz if you won't.

thatbob: Count me in for both games. BOTH games. Levi will just have to wait a couple more weeks for that money I owe him.

Jim: Yeah, you can give your money to ME instead. I have to say, we got two hangers-on faster than I thought we would. I'll go ahead and order the Brewers tickets.

Levi: I assume we'll pick up Sox tickets at the window?

The only caveat is that back before they began their current stretch of Oreck XL-quality sucking, the crowds at the walkup windows were impressive enough to cost those (like me) unprepared for their size a view of the first inning.

Jim: Even for a 1:05 P.M. game on a Monday? If Lee Elia taught us anything, it's that it's Cubs fans who don't go to work, not Sox fans.

Fear not, because I can already predict that one of the themes of this trip is going to be me attempting to get us to games ridiculously early.

Levi: Is that why I'm posting this from the Wireless Intenet kiosk in front of the Davenport Swing ballpark?

Luke, hanger-on: Have you ever had a post get to 12 comments?

Levi: I would leave Jim to answer that, if you hadn't just done so.

Labels: brewers, brpa, phillies, pirates, planning, road trip, tickets, white sox

1. I used the L.A. Times web site to stop my subscription for the two weeks I'm going to be out of town. As Levi might have expected, I'm fully intending to buy a local paper every day of the trip, except perhaps when we're at my aunt and uncle's house (because I think they get the Philadelphia Inquirer) and when we're at his parents' house (because they get the Carmi Times).

2. I finally remembered to call the Hilton Pittsburgh to request a rollaway bed, so that Levi doesn't have to sleep in the bathtub, or curled up in a dresser drawer. Up to this point, I had been a little worried about the ability of the AAA web site hotel booking interface to actually communicate successfully with the various hotels' computer reservation systems, but the Hilton did have my reservation in their system, so I guess we're all set. "See you August 28th," said the woman on the phone. Maybe I should have requested a room facing PNC Park, too, but I'm not sure they even have such a thing. (I think this is the only hotel on the trip within possible sight distance of a ballpark...I think the Holiday Inn Express in Detroit is a little too far from Comerica Park, with too many tall buildings in between.)

Original comments...

Toby: That's the first time in the history of the U.S. that The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Carmi Times have been mentioned in the same paragraph.

thatbob: Actually, Jim, there is an ordinance that allows you to burn down tall buildings in Detroit if they obstruct a view and haven't been used for anything in 50 years, so, you know, bring some matches.

Levi: Knowing Jim, I expect him any time we travel together, to have exact change for any tolls.

I'll be more impressed if he also has exact change for any newspaper honor boxes he needs to use along the way.

And Toby, if you can schedule the pull-out section of the Times about Baseball Related Program Activities for the Monday, August 23rd edition, that would be great.

Toby: OK, but I'm going to need you to proofread it. In my last section (on the local summer baseball and softball teams), I forgot to mention the names of two of the businesses that sponsor the 40-some-odd teams in their respective cutlines and got a call from one of the omitted businesses, during which I was reminded (in a threatening manner) how much advertising that business buys with our paper.

I'm sure the same thing's happened a million times at The Philadelphia Inquirer, don't you think?

Jim: What the Philadelphia Inquirer has is the CEO of Citizens Bank calling the CEO of Knight-Ridder every time they don't use the full name of the Phillies' ballpark, I'm sure. But then it takes a while to trickle down to the people who actually work at the newspaper.

Labels: brpa, carmi times, los angeles times, philadelphia inquirer, planning, road trip

With all the excitement over the songs earlier today, I forgot to post something else that's related to the trip. Today, I bought a rain poncho. Sorry, Levi, it's blue, not red, so if it rains at the Cardinals game, I will stick out like a sore thumb, or perhaps I should say a bruised thumb. But I'm all set for rain at the Expos game.

I also bought a new set of luggage. My former luggage was a high school graduation present, and if you remember luggage technology from 1992, this will sound familiar to you: the two big suitcases from the old set have tiny little wheels on the bottom, and I've never been able to adequately roll them along when loaded because they have a tendency to tip sideways, and the attached straps you're supposed to lead them with are way too short. So I pretty much ignored the wheels after a while.

But thanks to the great strides in luggage technology over the last 12 years, the new set is of the type with the big wheels and the telescoping handle, and from trying them out on the way to the cash register at Target, and then through the parking lot to my car, they seem to be working great. However, we'll see what happens after American Airlines gets their grubby hands, and their grubby conveyor belts, all over them.

My only regret is that if I was going to buy a new set of luggage, I should have bought it before my trip to New York last month, where I had to schlep my possessions through such scenic locales as the stretch of 8th Avenue in Manhattan between 50th Street and 48th Street, Grand Central Terminal, and the halls of the Marriott in Trumbull, Connecticut (okay, Grand Central actually is scenic, but it's better when you don't have to carry two pieces of baggage from the subway station to Lower Level Track 107 via the men's room). There's going to be much less walking with luggage on the baseball trip, I predict, unless the car breaks down and we decide to abandon it and walk to the next baseball game, rather than waiting for Hertz to send a mechanic out.

Anyway, the new set of luggage includes one bag that's the perfect size to hold all the materials from AAA, it turns out, although it is still to be determined what exact configuration of luggage is going to accompany me on the trip. I realize I'd better leave some room for souvenirs, for one thing.

Original comments...

Levi: Jim, you mean those old suitcases weren't specifically designed to tip over? I can't imagine what else they were designed for, since they must have failed perfectly in every laboratory test.

Labels: brpa, planning, road trip

Maybe we should have picked the first or second itinerary options, because then we would have beat the Pennsylvania Turnpike toll increase that takes effect Sunday.

But at least we're not going to be driving a vehicle weighing 100,001 pounds or more! I think our Pennsylvania Turnpike toll is going to be $16.25; the heaviest of trucks would pay $636.00 between the same two interchanges. Actually, based on my previous experiences, if that toll rate keeps a few trucks off the turnpike, it's good, because driving between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh gets very tedious when you're having to pass hundreds of trucks that are going very slowly up the hills.

Original comments...

Luke: Ah, fond memories of how Sandy and I decided to take the turnpike to get to Maryland. (Sorry the display is all munged up, and I can't link to the precise post. It's the fifth one.)

Jim: What was then a $6.50 toll (from the Ohio state line to Breezewood) is now $9.50.

I guess I can't compare the I-79/I-68 routing to Three Rivers Stadium anymore, since I-79 and I-68 are still in existence. Perhaps someday they will be replaced by or supplemented with high-speed railroad corridors, which I will then be able to compare to PNC Park.

Speaking of your 2001 trip, have I ever mentioned that I bought a Nikon 990 digital camera based on the loveliness of the pictures from that trip (which, alas, seem to have disappeared from your site)? Sometimes I wish I'd bought something a little smaller, but I have to admit it takes lovely pictures. Of course, it's way out of date now, much like my third-generation iPod that will also be making the trip. These kids today, with their 8-megapixel digital cameras and their click-wheel iPods...

Levi: If all goes well, I'll next weekend (at my brother's wedding) be getting my sister's extra iPod (She got one, then her husband won one), passing mine along to Stacey, who has less need for thousands of songs at her fingertips daily.

I don't know how big this one is, but it's bigger than my 5-gig one, that's for sure.

Jim: Won one by buying the 97,600,000th song (or whatever) from the iTunes Music Store? If so, awesome! If not, slightly less awesome, but still awesome! I can't even remember now how many total songs I won from Pepsi bottlecaps. If it's a third-generation iPod, it'll work with the car charger I'm bringing, so there will be no need to worry about having to charge up the battery in order to listen to Jack Benny.

Labels: brpa, pennsylvania turnpike, planning, road trip

I have been checking eBay occasionally to see if anyone is selling tickets for the games on the trip. Finally, that paid off, because I found someone selling his 18-rows-behind-the-plate season seats for the August 23rd Tigers-White Sox game. I gambled on not using "Buy It Now," and that paid off as well; I ended up being the only bidder, so I got them for his starting price, a significant discount from the face value. The tickets came in the mail today.



I didn't post anything about this before now because I didn't want any of the miscreants who read this blog to bid on the tickets and bump the price up. These will probably be the best seats we have for any game on the trip, except perhaps Davenport, or Montreal.

Labels: brpa, planning, road trip, tickets, tigers, white sox

I'm going to order tickets for game 2 of our trip tomorrow, once I know whether my brother is joining us. That's the game in St. Louis on August 22nd versus the Pirates.

So it's your last chance, potential hangers-on. We've got a group of 9 so far (Me, Jim, Stacey, Luke, my parents, Tony, Geoff Goldman and his fiancee). Want to join us?

Original comments...

Luke: Is our group big enough to get a group rate and get welcomed on the DiamondVision? Maybe the nine of us can be waiting out on the field when the Cu^^Cardinals come out to start the game!

Luke: Oh, and I sure hope Matt Morris is pitching that day and does as well as he is doing today. Hee-hee!

Luke: Umm, nevermind. I expect that by the time of our trip I'll be rooting for the Cards to keep the Pirates out of the wild-card race.

Labels: brpa, geoff goldman, luke seemann, planning, road trip, stacey shintani, stahls

With one month to go until the trip officially starts with me flying to Chicago, I thought I'd show you all the items I got from AAA...



Not all of these items will make the trip, because their weight adds up. Most likely to be left at home are the Tourbooks for Arkansas/Kansas/Missouri/Oklahoma and Iowa/Minnesota/Nebraska/North Dakota/South Dakota, since in both cases, we'll be in one of the included states for no more than a few hours.

Original comments...

Levi: I guess I'll make the reservation for a trailer rental now.

Labels: brpa, planning, road trip

...make it 11 games in 11 cities in 10 days. Clearly having our trip in mind, the White Sox and Phillies have scheduled a makeup interleague game for Monday, August 30th, at 1:05 P.M. at Some Sort of Cellular-Type Company Field in Chicago. If the game doesn't run too long past 3 hours, we should be able to see it, then drive to Milwaukee afterwards and see the 7:05 P.M. Brewers-Pirates game that's been on the schedule all along.

I'll update the itinerary later today. (Also, this would be a great day for Chicagolanders to take off work and become official hangers-on. We should have space for three of you in the car.)

Edited late Tuesday afternoon: As promised, the itinerary is updated.

Original comments...

Levi: I have to admit to proposing this addition to Jim with a bit of trepidation. I really do think that ending the trip with a two-city twinbill will answer, once and for all, whether I can possibly get tired of baseball.

Labels: brpa, phillies, planning, road trip, white sox

From the "Returning to the United States" portion of AAA's "U.S.-Canada Border Information" handout: "Articles considered detrimental to the general welfare of the United States are prohibited entry. These include narcotics and dangerous drugs, drug paraphernalia, obscene articles and publications, seditious or treasonable matter, lottery tickets, hazardous articles (e.g. fireworks, dangerous toys, toxic or poisonous substances) and switchblade knives."

Lottery tickets are detrimental to the general welfare of the United States? Have the various states been notified of this fact? Many of them seem to be depending on the sale of lottery tickets for a major portion of their budgets. (Hmm, maybe they specifically mean Canadian lottery tickets are detrimental to the general welfare of the United States.)

I guess this means we won't be able to blow any remaining Canadian cash on lottery tickets near the border. Guess we'll instead have to stock up on candy that's not available in the U.S., including Nestle Smarties and Aero bars. (Because we'll be in Canada less than 48 hours, we'll be able to bring back up to $400 worth of candy, or anything other than lottery tickets. If we wind with anywhere near $400 worth of Canadian money with which to buy candy, it will either mean an ATM went crazy somewhere or we were surprisingly successful buskers.)

Original comments...

Levi: Jim, if you buy anything in Canadia, the terrorists win.

maura: you can buy aero bars at the deli around the corner from my apartment.

Jim: Along with poutine, Kraft Dinner, caffeine-free Mountain Dew, and Anne Murray CDs?

(Yes, yes, I know Kraft Dinner is readily available in the U.S. under the name Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, or, if you prefer, Cheese and Macaroni. Leave it to the Canadians to just assume that dinner will involve macaroni and cheese.)

Levi: Also, $400 Canadian is equal to about $.28-$.35 American, depending on the prevailing exchange rates. We just might end up with that much money.

Jason: Don't forget to pick up some ketchup-flavored potato chips.

On second thought, I think you've tried them before, so, forget it, after all.

Labels: brpa, canada, planning, road trip

The Triptik arrived from AAA. Actually, it's a 3-volume Triptik because of how many pages they had to try to stuff into it, including a full-page explanation of how much the toll is on the Tappan Zee Bridge, even though we're traveling in the toll-free direction.

I've changed the driving times on the itinerary to reflect what the Triptik claims, and added the distances. The total distance, which I didn't list on the itinerary, is calculated by them to be 3259 miles. Some say that's a long way to go for a few baseball games. Others say it's not long enough. (Should be interesting to see what the actual mileage ends up being.)

I have also made reservations for the final two hotels. In Detroit, we will be staying at the Holiday Inn Express downtown, which is half a mile from Comerica Park (and I'm told that downtown Detroit is reasonably safe to walk through at night).

In beautiful Galesburg, Illinois, the four of us will be staying at the Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, which I guess is named for Gordon Jump's character Arthur Carlson on "WKRP in Cincinnati." A suite wasn't too much more expensive than a room, so I got one of those, which is supposed to have three beds and should keep people from tripping over each other. I assume Levi and Stacey don't have a problem sharing a bed.

This is all reflected on the itinerary, of course.

Original comments...

Levi: For some reason, Thursday the 26th is missing from the itinerary. That means no Boston.

I know Jim's incapable of making a mistake, so I assume this is the fault of the Internet.

Jim: Are you familiar with "Brigadoon"? Boston's like that, except that instead of regularly disappearing for 1,000 years, it occasionally disappears for a few hours. Thats's why it's taking so long for them to finish the Big Dig.

Jason: Hopefully today's earthquake hasn't destroyed any of Galesburg's accommodations.

Dr. Otto Octavius: If the earthquake hasn't, then I certainly will!

Labels: brpa, detroit, galesburg, planning, road trip

The Devil Rays have an off day, and since I've got the AAA Tourbooks piled up around me, here are some questions for Levi et al. to ponder...

1. After the game in Davenport, when there are going to be four of us, do we want one hotel room or two? One room would be somewhat cheaper and would be a fun slumber party, but two rooms would mean two bathrooms.

2. How is Stacey getting from Detroit to Chicago -- Amtrak? Greyhound? Teleportation device of some sort? The answer to this question may determine where we stay in Detroit, or perhaps I should say the greater Detroit area. (The one hotel that's definitely within walking distance of Comerica Park is quoting what seems like a ridiculously high rate, so I'm looking elsewhere.)

3. Does either potential laptop have an Airport card (or other wireless card)? At least one potential place of lodging I'm looking at advertises free wireless Internet access.

Original comments...

sandor: 3. My available laptop does not, but perhaps you could borrow a card from someone else. Or buy one and return it a week and half later.

Levi: Ours has wireless Internet capability, if I understand such things properly.

thatbob: No, I don't think you understand correctly. You'll still need an Airport card. Which you might have, you should just ask Tony. But "wireless Internet capability" is a little like saying that my computer is "printer ready," I would still need a printer.

Luke: One hotel room would be fine for this frugal hanger-on. More money for bowling.

Levi: Like, I mean that I've used it with the wireless internet here at work.

Does that mean I have an airport card?

sandor: Yeah, that means it's wireless ready. It means it'll pick up any wi-fi network it finds and allow you online, assuming it's a free network.

stacey: monroe (our computer) will pick up any available network. also, i'm not sure if i'm going to go all the way to detroit yet . . . i was thinking maybe of just heading back from carmi. luke, want to travel together? which do you prefer?

Jim: Heading back to Chicago from Carmi with Luke will involve getting shoved out of the car at the University Park Metra station, so be aware of that. Unless you're trying to keep your teleportation device secret from the government, wink wink.

Labels: brpa, planning, road trip

Things keep happening to thwart me from going to the AAA office on Monday, my day off, so today I went after work to get the Triptik and the various ancillary items, which I can't get from the AAA web site because this trip has too many destinations for it to work correctly.

They're going to mail me the Triptik, but I had, at one point, two AAA employees rummaging through filing cabinets looking for maps and Tourbooks for me. So now I have two plastic bags stuffed full of materials, including a map of Chicago and vicinity, just in case you don't know your way around in a car, Levi. In fact, it may annoy you to discover that the AAA cartographers titled one of the inset maps, with Lawrence and Ashland at the upper left, "Lincoln Park."

Original comments...

Jason: They might have been more helpful if you were going to any AAA parks, like Memphis or Albuquerque.

thatbob: And everyone knows that baseball-related Chase Park is actually at the corner of Lawrence and Ashland.



From www.chicagoparkdistrict.com:



"In 1920, the Lincoln Park Commission converted a deserted semi-professional baseball field into Chase Park. Known as Gunther Park, the ball field was home to the Niesen-Gunther team beginning in 1905. The facility went out of business in 1913, during the construction of Chicago's north side professional baseball field, Wrigley Field. A community member suggested the conversion of the old ball field into a park in 1914, and several years later the Ravenswood Improvement Association and some local officials petitioned for the park. The Lincoln Park Commission finally began land acquisition in 1920. Within the next two years, tennis courts, a playground, an athletic field, a wading pool, and a fieldhouse were constructed in Chase Park. In 1934, the Lincoln park commission was consolidated into the Chicago park district. The Park district demolished chase Park's original fieldhouse and replaced it with a new building in 1976."

Labels: brpa, planning, road trip

I thought I'd put this in the main body of the blog instead of in the comments to Levi's post, since it's important...more important for me, in fact, since it will be more inconvenient to turn back if I leave something behind before heading for the airport than if Levi leaves something behind before heading for Davenport.

You can't get a car that runs on biodiesel and is comfortable for four people, or so Hertz claims. However, I believe every state we'll be passing through will have cheaper gas than California, even Illinois, so I'll claim it's cheap every time we fill up. Ontario and Quebec will be more expensive, but it'll still seem cheap because the price will be listed in Canadian dollars per liter.

I tend to have stomach problems for unexplained reasons, not after eating things like the Schmitter. When I do have them, though, Tums doesn't cut it. I'm bringing Pepto-Bismol.

I'm pretty sure there is going to be a Canada-U.S. translation chart of some variety in the materials I'm going to get from AAA, if I ever manage to make it to their office.

Other things I should remember to bring:

1) The Red Sox and Phillies tickets for me and Levi.

2) Printouts of the hotel reservation confirmations.

3) My iPod and its various accessories, including the cigarette lighter charger, the AC charger and cable, and the cassette adaptor (on the off chance we get a car not only with a cassette deck, but with a cassette deck the adaptor will work in). In addition to the music (not solely radio station jingles), my iPod also contains my address book, and I'm going to put text files on it giving exact driving directions to the various places we'll be staying, plus public transportation directions to stadiums (where applicable), and anything else I can think of that needs to be on there.

4) My digital camera and its battery charger.

5) My cell phone and its charger.

6) A bunch of nickels and dimes I have lying around that may come in handy for paying tolls.

7) My passport.

8) Sunscreen, since I have a giant tube of Coppertone Sport that's still pretty full.

9) A rain poncho (which I need to buy unless I can find the one I thought I had).

10) Not directly related to the trip, but a videotape of television programming from a channel or channels that Levi and Stacey don't receive, since they'd be disappointed if I didn't show up with one. I've already got a 2-hour selection on my TiVo, although I have to get a working VCR between now and the trip. All I'll say is that it's not game shows.

Original comments...

maura: you are so organized! i started packing for my trip to seattle an hour before i had to leave my house, and i left my cell phone charger at home.

i did get to safeco field on monday night, though. it's a very nice park; the roof was closed over the field, but there were gaps providing vistas into the city. unfortunately, we weren't seated near the healthy food area, so we didn't have the veggie dogs or ichirolls -- we ate jumbo hot dogs. note to self: NEVER EAT JUMBO HOT DOGS AGAIN. not only were they, er, indelicately unwieldy, they were way too big. the garlic fries were great, though, and i had an iced latte as well (oh, whatever, it's seattle, it's okay there). also, i bought an action cam at archie mcphee, and i tried to take some photos of the game with it. we'll see if they came out soon, i guess.

semi-related: that night, joe and i were sitting in our hotel's bar/lounge area (we stayed at the w), and who should come walking into the lobby but: the entire blue jays team! i wonder if all the teams stay at this hotel, or if richer teams stay at the fancier places downtown.

Jim: You don't think the W is fancy? The only reason I've ever set foot inside one is because that's where Donna Cochener stayed when she was in L.A. for Maggie's wedding, and Levi and I visited her there. You know she's not going to stay anyplace non-fancy.

Did lots of trains go by while you were at Safeco?

maura: i saw donna on tuesday! we had lunch at noodle ranch. she is living in seattle now. anyway, the 'fancier' places i was thinking of were the boutique hotels with in-room jacuzzis and stuff. a-rod's gotta soak!

only two trains went by while i was at safeco. both were freight trains.

Jeremy: I used to feel stupid for not owning a VCR that works, until I just found out Jim doesn't either.

stacey: no game shows?

Jim: Sorry, Jer, I just bought a VCR on EBay. Of course, I still might not own a VCR that works, although the seller swears it's an open-box item returned to the manufacturer because it didn't work with RF cables, but it works great with RCA cables (which is all I need). Stacey: GSN, the channel formerly known as Game Show Network, has been very disappointing recently, even in the months before they shortened the name. I don't know, maybe they'll surprise me, or maybe some other channel will come up with some exciting game show(s), and I'll have to bring two videotapes.

Donna Cochener: Always strange to find your name on the web... especially in a post on a baseball site regarding your proclivity to stay in hotels that provide a greater number of creature comforts. Jim, just so you know, I've stayed in some truly awful places. I even have photographic evidence -- mushrooms growing from the ceiling of the bathroom, things like that.

If anyone has a desire to watch the Mariners lose a few games, you're welcome to come visit me in Seattle. Hotel Cochener has one small room available -- with en suite facilities, but no pool.

Jim: You can't fool me...only the most upscale hotels have mushrooms growing in the bathroom. That's the in-room salad bar.

Labels: brpa, planning, road trip

A discussion Jim and I had in the comments to the previous post led me to start thinking about what Jim and will need to bring on our trip. I'm going to leave out the obvious items (like clothes, money, and a toothbrush so that I can annoy Jim by brushing my teeth in the car, hotel room, and the stadium) that anyone would bring on any trip. So, off the top of my head, here are the items specific to the BRPA 2004 trip that I think Jim and I will need.

1) Our two iPods, including the snug St. Louis Cardinals iPod Cozy that Stacey crocheted me for my birthday.

2) Hostess Fruit Pies, because Doctor Octopus has already shown some interest in our trip, and neither Jim nor I is a superhero, so distracting Doc Ock is our only hope.

3) This collection of old radio shows about baseball, either on CD or on my iPod.

4) This collection of Jack Benny programs, to break up the nonstop radio station jingles coming from Jim's iPod.

5) My score book, pencils, and a sharpener. Because keeping score is one way to keep sane on a long baseball trip.

6) Several gallons of biodiesel from one of Uptown's greasy diners, because I'm sure the rental car Jim has booked can run on bio-diesel. Jim wouldn't let me down that way.

So what else do you think we need?

Original comments...

Jason: -A camera

-Some green, black & teal yarn for Jim to knit himself a Tampa Bay Devil Rays iPod Cozy

-Milk to wash down the Hostess Fruit Pies

-Spider-Man Underoos to further frighten Dr. Octopus away

-A Canada-U.S. translation chart, so you can convert from miles to kilometers and from saying 'about' to 'aboot'

-Hookers

Steve: -Tums (for Jim if he dares tackle the Schmitter)

-American dollar bills (because I hear Windsor has awesome strip clubs and American money is worth more than Canadian Money so you are more likely to be popular with the dancers)

-Stamps (to send postcards because even though digital cameras are cool and make for instant photos its hard to put a blog up on the fridge--don't forget the address book)

-Peanuts (cheaper outside the park)

sandor: Are either of you bringing a laptop? Or are you planning on doing all your updates from the road through some bootleg blog-by-email set-up? I'd love to see what kind of shorthand l33t-speak you come up with for, say, Albert Pujols.

In addition to a laptop, you'll need an account with some kind of nationwide ISP, so you can plug in in your hotel room and make a local or toll-free call. That's how we did it on our trip. The alternative is hoping for either a) free wireless access in stadium (which I hear exists someplace [probably SF] but which use I can't for the life of me see you condoning) or b) business centers in your hotels or c) extraordinary luck in finding Internet cafes. I actually have an extra, old laptop laying around if you don't want to bring yours on the road, Levi. You're welcome to borrow it.

Or are you planning on doing all your road blogging by postcard? I can see that. It'd be a good way to break up the tedium of all those miles: writing the same post over and over and over again on postcards and USPS'ing them to all of your fans.

sandor: Oops. I meant to say "... bootleg blog-by-phone set-up."

Jim: As far as I'm concerned, we'd love to borrow your extra laptop. My plan was going to involve writing down all the posts longhand while on the trip and then back-dating them when I entered them into Blogger after I got back, then pretending they were there all along.

I happen to be on the Internet via Earthlink, which could not possibly be more of a nationwide ISP (in fact, I'm pretty sure they have numbers in Toronto and Montreal as well). It's a DSL account that includes 20 hours of free dialup per month, which should be plenty for making posts to this blog, but the amount of time Levi spends looking at Cardinals-related news sites and blogs will have to be carefully rationed.

But I do like the blog-by-postcard idea. Hmm...

Levi: I was planning to bring our laptop, if only for the 9,000 or so songs on it.

But if Stacey thinks she'll need it while we're gone, I'll take you up on your offer.

Toby: Here's a shot in the dark, Levi - maybe a CAMERA??!!??

Toby

Jeremy: Thanks for posting a link to a website dedicated entirely to Hostess ads in comic books. I blew an entire afternoon at work before I knew what had happened.

Levi: Jer- If you want to waste more time and laugh Coke through your nose, open a can and check out that same guy's site about the comic Mr. T. and the T-Force. His commentary is a bit obvious, but the T-Force comic itself is hilarious.

spidey: I'm coming on part of your trip, so you needn't worry about Dr. Octopus until after Detroit. Also, I recommend Hostess Crab Pies. Dr. Octopus loves those.

Labels: brpa, planning, road trip

I'm surprised Levi didn't mention this in the previous entry: that Cardinals-Pirates game that was rained out on Tuesday is most likely going to be made up as part of a doubleheader when the Pirates next visit St. Louis...which happens to be August 19th through 22nd, coinciding with our planned visit on the 22nd. So what are the odds they'll choose to do a Sunday doubleheader, and we'll get to see two games?

Original comments...

Levi: Have you worked up a doubleheader itinerary, in case every game we see ends up being a doubleheader? Can we make all the games if that happens?

And, on a side note, you do have a passport, right? Because I don't think they let you into Canadia without one these days.

Jim: If every game ends up being a doubleheader? I don't think that's going to happen unless we get some "Day After Tomorrow"-style weather within the next couple of months but things clear up by mid-August. For now, the doubleheader plan involves getting up earlier and/or driving faster.

Yes, I have a passport. Don't you have every post on this blog memorized?

Levi: I know it's unlikely that every game would end up a doubleheader, but do you want to be caught short if that happens? What's the only thing more impressive than ten games in ten cities in ten days? Why, it's 20 games in 20 cities in ten days!

Jim: I think you mean 20 games in 10 cities in 10 days, unless you're thinking the doubleheaders are going to be long enough that the home team is going to relocate between the two games. Which is a possibility for the Expos, I guess.

Labels: brpa, Cardinals, pirates, planning, rain, road trip

Maura has invited us to drop by the studios of WPRB Radio in Princeton, New Jersey, and join her on her radio show on Friday, August 27. Quite a coincidence that Princeton is between Boston and Philadelphia, and she's going to have such a conveniently scheduled Friday afternoon time slot, isn't it? Anyway, the itinerary has been updated.

Original comments...

Jon Solomon: I suggest a show of nothing but songs about baseball. Speaking of which, Levi I have a gift for you when I see ya...

Levi: Maura: Will Tim Zarazhan be there? 'Cause I don't know if I can do a show without Tim around.

Jason: I onced listened in on Maura's show on WPBR through the courtesy of internet streamline broadcasting (or whatever you call it). I called in, and it took her 8 guesses before I told her who I was. I should probably keep in better touch.

maura: ooh, tim. shiver. i was hoping for an all-baseball-related show, actually. i thought that would be lots of fun. especially since i've had barbara manning's cover of 'joltin' joe dimaggio' in my head for a good portion of the weekend.

thatbob: Mr. Announcer and Nibbles, together again at last!

Labels: brpa, maura johnston, planning, radio, road trip

In Boston, we'll be taking the Green Line from our hotel to Fenway Park for the game. Therefore, this item is of particular interest: they are soon going to start random ID checks of transit passengers in Boston.

If this is still going on in August, as much as I'd love to protest against it, I think becoming a test case would ruin the rest of the trip. So I'll grudgingly present my ID if necessary, although the real problem may be convincing the officer that the digital camera I'm carrying is for the purpose of taking pictures in and around Fenway Park, since some transit authorities are being a little touchy about photography of their property.

Original comments...

thatbob: Too bad the MBTA will be checking the *identity* of people riding their trains, instead of the *bomb-carrying status* of people riding their trains. I guess they just want to make sure that, in case of a bombing, all of the corpses can be identified?

Anyway, if I were you two, I wouldn't set foot in an unfamiliar train. Very, very dangerous things, trains. Very dangerous.

Historically unsound.

Levi: Now, does Jim have high enough celebrity status among railfans that the ID check is going to hold us up because of the ensuing autographs, or is he just objecting on grounds of privacy, civil liberties, and silliness?

Jim: I'm certainly no Mike Schafer!

Labels: boston, brpa, planning, road trip, security theater

On Tuesday at Tropicana Field, I had a grouper sandwich; on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, I had a Dodger Dog (included with the "family pack" ticket package); on Sunday at Petco Park, I had fish tacos. I think on the trip I'm going to try some local specialty at most of the ballparks, because even though my digestive system is used to me putting a lot of items consisting of meat and meat by-products down the hatch, I'm not sure it can handle a hot dog a day for 10 days. I'm also not sure what Levi's going to eat on the trip, other than Tim Horton's doughnuts while we're in Canada, if he's still practicing vegetarianism.

Original comments...

Levi: "Practicing"? I think I've got this vegetarian thing down by now.

And surely there will be enough to eat. Ballpark pizza is one of the worst foods in the world, but in St. Louis, for example, they've got a stand that sells veggie burgers and another that sells reasonably good burritos.

maura: i guess that seals the identity of the person who's going to try the schmitter at citizens bank park, then....

Jon Solomon: There are GREAT veggie dogs to be had in Toronto at SkyDome. They've got a whole vegetarian stand down on the first level, in fact.

Steve: My long list of reasons why baseball should be contracted just got longer. Veggie dogs? inside domes? in Canada?!? Great American pastime indeed. There's plenty of things vegetarians can eat at the ballpark--french fries, nachos, pretzels, peanuts, pizza, sunflower seeds, beer, big league chew, ice cream (if you aren't vegan) lemon freeze (if you are vegan) free diced onions at wrigley....

Jim: A cheese steak on a Kaiser roll with fried salami, fried onions, tomato, and secret sauce?! There is nothing about that I don't like, except that if it's $5.25 at the actual McNally's, I shudder to think how much they're charging at Citizens Bank Park.

Levi: Let's all give a moment of appreciation to Jim Bouton for inventing Big League Chew. That's almost as great an achievement as writing Ball Four.

thatbob: My only quibble: I wish it had been called Big League Chaw. (God, it sucks to be me. I really can't enjoy *anything*.)

thatbob: Re: veggie dogs inside domes in Canada. You know what Yogi Berra would say to that: "Only in America."

Jason: You could always eat before the game...if you're a COMMUNIST!

sarah: jon's post brought back some very scary and sad memories of the near-deserted vegetarian food stand at the expos game we went to in montreal. the echo of fans banging empty seats followed me into the dark back alleys of the food court. the whole adventure took me close to an hour, since i believe they had to actually form the tofu into veggie-dog shapes by hand. plus, a mishap involving a foul ball spilled our whole dinner onto my shirt anyway.

good times. good times.

Labels: brpa, food, planning, road trip

Maura will be joining us for the game in Cleveland as well as the previously planned Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The itinerary has been updated. Hope she likes the Pennsylvania and Ohio Turnpikes!

Original comments...

Levi: Mo' Mo! Mo' Mo!

That's gotta be a good thing.

Labels: brpa, maura johnston, planning, road trip

While I was in Tampa, I got to hear my mother complain, "I can't believe you're going to (insert city here), but you're only spending one night there, and all you'll be doing is going to a baseball game!"

In between the kvetching, she did bring up another point: a cell phone might come in handy on the trip. But you, Levi, don't have one, do you? And I'm the only person in L.A. who doesn't have one. I may get one of those prepaid, pay-as-you-go deals.

Original comments...

Luke: What, do you have tickets behind the plate?

Levi: Now--apologies to the Holderbys--while I'm sure that many people have said, "I can't believe you're going to Detroit," I have trouble believing that anyone has ever said, "I can't believe you're going to Detroit, but you're only spending one night, and all you'll be doing is going to a baseball game."

Jim: No, I would absolutely not call someone from a baseball game to tell them to watch me on TV. And I definitely wouldn't get Nextel service, solely because their walkie-talkie feature is much more annoying for those nearby than a regular cell phone is (and I know this for a fact because of someone near me using the walkie-talkie feature at the Padres game I went to last year).

You're right, although my mother's family lived in the Detroit suburbs for some years, she was most concerned about Montreal, and to a lesser extent Boston and Toronto.

maura: ohh, i loathe those walkie-talkie phones. when i took the bus to and from work in philadelphia, they were like the plague.

i was debating leaving my phone at home for our trip, but then i realized that i needed a backup plan in case of train problems. alas.

Labels: brpa, cell phones, planning, road trip

Bob seems to have been spending all day reading this blog from beginning to end. He left a comment related to the very first entry which I might as well address. I listed the four potential itineraries and said, "I actually have reasons for liking all four of these itineraries, so I don't really care which one eventually gets chosen." Bob wondered what those reasons were.

All four included at least nine games in nine different ballparks, including the places I specifically wanted to go, Montreal and Pittsburgh, and the place Levi specifically wanted to go, Boston. And then there were also more specific areas of interest for each of the four.

Itinerary #1 was the earliest in the year, so I wouldn't have to deal with feelings of anticipation as long. It also included a scheduled day with no game, neatly placed on the itinerary between Boston and Philadelphia, which could have been used to see Stephanie D'Abruzzo in "Avenue Q," or go to the Baseball Hall of Fame, or see the Red Sox twice, assuming we could afford the tickets. It also went across Memorial Day, so I'd save a vacation day from my job.

Itinerary #2 was the only one to include all four of last season's League Championship Series participants, plus featured two games in the same city on consecutive days, which is neat even if one of the teams is the Yankees. And it was the only one with the Devil Rays, and the travel would be in the reverse direction of the other three.

Itinerary #3 included the Cardinals, which I knew would make Levi giddy with glee, as well as the only stadium that probably won't be around anymore within the next three years, Busch Stadium (unless they tear Olympic Stadium down the instant the Expos leave Montreal).

Itinerary #4 was the only one to include a game in Baltimore, in the first of the new retro ballparks, and it would probably have allowed us to economize by staying with my aunt and uncle in the Philadelphia suburbs for a full three days. It also was the only one to include a minor-league game as originally drawn up, although we ended up adding one to the beginning of Itinerary #3. It also went across Labor Day, so it was another potential vacation day saving.

It's probably a little late to be thinking about the alternate itineraries now, since we've been seriously committed to Itinerary #3 since February, when we got the Red Sox and Phillies tickets. I'm probably going to revisit them once the dates roll around and the games are played, and we'll have some "we could have been there!" hindsight.

Original comments...

thatbob: