Since last I blogged, we have had our first problem on the entire trip. It rained in Philadelphia and postponed the game. But Mike was able to figure out a way around it, even though it means a very, very long day ahead of us near the end of the trip. Here are some of my observations from our trip the past few days.
- It didn't take too long to drive from Washington to Philadelphia. And thanks to Jim Thome, it was totally worth it. He has to be the most underrated great player in the past 20 years. And he treated us to a walk off home run. He reminds an old timer like myself of the great Harmon Killebrew, who did nothing but play great baseball and hit home runs.
- The drive to Cincinnati was pretty uneventful. We motored through the length of Pennsylvania and got some sleep before the long day on Sunday. Growing up on the west coast, you tend not to worry about things like paying tolls. We have hit many toll roads on our trip, and the novelty of paying tolls wears off quickly.
- The game in Cincinnati against the Twins was pretty forgettable, except for the closer Chapman blowing the save for the Reds. The Great American Ballpark is nice, but it simply feels like so many of the other new parks. They are a huge improvement over the cookie cutter stadiums of the 1970's, but hitting so many of them in a row tends to blur them together. The Twinkies beat the Reds, which makes it another win for the visitors. By my count, with last night's Detroit mauling of Texas, we are at 12-5 for the visiting team. I would have thought it would be the other way around.
- Ah, the fast drive from Cincinnati to the Dallas area. It was a long, hot drive, but we stayed cool in the car. I have said it many times - the person who invented air conditioning needs to be sainted. He has saved so many lives. I have lived out of the northwest for the past 35 years, and I honestly could not have survived without the blessing of air conditioning.
- Texas gets hot like nearly nowhere in the country except for maybe Arizona. It's a different kind of heat than the heat we felt in the Northeast last week. It was well over 100 when we got to the Ballpark in Arlington. It just overwhelms you at times. And it isn't anything you totally get used to. We have lived in Austin since 1986, and it has always been a very hot place that I will never get fully used to. I know that Mike and Shawn have to be melting.
- Mike can have the two foot long hot dog. That's too much hot dog for me. The Rangers got blasted last night by Detroit. As I said earlier, it's another win for the road team. I drove into the stadium area, since I am most familiar with the area in Arlington. We saw Jerry World next door to the Ballpark in Arlington, and gave it the appropriate salute.
- And for a brief few hours today, Steve and I get to play host to Mike and Shawn in Austin. We are planning on stopping to see Mike's niece Joy, who will be thrilled to see him. She hasn't seen Mike or Shawn for over 10 years. She likely won't recognize Shawn, but she will immediately recognize her Uncle Mike. Then after a far too short stay at home, we will hit the road to Houston.
- We are now in the dog days of our trip, with extremely long drives ahead of us. One of the longest ones is tonight after the game, as we drive all the way to Miami from Houston. The bad weather they have had in Florida with Debby will hopefully not affect us too much. And the trip rolls on.
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