I Miss Omaha!

I mean I REALLY miss Omaha.

This is College World Series week (as though you didn't already know!), and I should be in Omaha. This (psuedo-)annual trip is one in which the planning for the following year begins on the plane ride back. For me, I am never ready to leave when the trip is over - so, I am most gung-ho about going back right when we leave.

I have been talking about this year's Omaha trip since college baseball season started. I caught games in Houston (Rice vs. Long Beach State) and Nashville (Vanderbilt, with MLB's #1 draft pick David Price pitching, versus Florida). I went to the ACC Baseball Tournament in Jacksonville. Heck, I am a college baseball FAN. I planned the trip with my buddy who is heading off to law school in the fall at Louisville. We are both UNC fans, and we always suspected that UNC may make the trip to Omaha with us, but neither of us ever expected Louisville to be there, too. I feel bad for my friend because I bailed out on him at the last minute.

And now I miss Omaha.

I miss the "Greatest Show on Dirt."

I miss my annual steak dinner at Johnny's Cafe. While we are on the subject, I also miss Lo Sole Mio (I would have never expected to find one of the best Italian restaurants around in Omaha!) and the Bohemian Cafe.

I miss the carnival-like atmosphere around Rosenblatt Stadium.

I miss the Henry Doorly Zoo.

I miss the Jesus water people.

I miss getting a free Slim Jim with the local paper every day on the way to the game. Hey - you need the water to wash down SOMETHING, don't you?I miss the brisk walk up the hill - usually in temperatures north of 90-95 degrees - with throngs of baseball fans all hoping to witness some of that CWS magic.

I miss the Titan House. For that matter, I miss all of the rented houses along 13th Street that have people partying from early in the morning until long after the last out is recorded at night.

I miss Zesto's.

I miss staying in the team hotel. One year we stayed in the South Carolina host hotel and one year with LSU. I will never forget having breakfast one morning with the entire South Carolina team. The starting pitcher was sitting about three feet behind me. Cool stuff.

I miss the LSU fans - and the Horns, too. These guys know how to travel. LSU folks all caravan with their giant RVs; hosting large tailgating parties - whether LSU is playing or not - with crawfish boils, jumbalaya, etc. The UT fans have the grills out smoking meats "low and slow" early in the morning.

I miss the eight flags flying over Rosenblatt - the ones that are lowered one at a time, as each team is eliminated from contention.

I miss Harold Reynolds.

I miss the "ball girls" - the ones whose responsibility include retrieving the foul balls hit onto the screen straight back over the grandstand. If the ball is caught - cheers from the crowd; if the ball hits the ground (for ANY reason) - unmerciful boos. One of the great Omaha traditions.

I think Harold Reynolds misses the ball girls, too.

I miss the live organist.

I miss how the whole town embraces "their" event - how when you walk into a restaurant, they don't ask what you want to drink, but rather who won the early game.

I miss the ticket scalpers - they actually seem nice and friendly - and you can still get reasonably priced tickets.

I miss Sammy the Owl - the only real mascot I have seen in all my years in Omaha.

Mostly, I just think I underestimated how much I would miss being a part of it all.

And, if for whatever reason, I am not able to make it back next year, I am going to be really bummed again.

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Say It Ain't So!

Once again, history in baseball means absolutely nothing when focused on the future and the almighty dollar. Baseball America is reporting a pretty major shake-up among the AAA baseball ranks. AAA is the level closest to the major leagues; affiliates are usually located in larger metropolitan areas; and don't shuffle major league affiliations quite as often as some of the lower level.

All the moving around started when the Phillies announced that they were moving their top affiliate from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to Allentown, via Ottawa (they purchased the Ottawa franchise, and are remaining in Canada until the new stadium in Allentown is ready next year). That left the Scranton area as a desirable destination, and the Orioles, previously located in Ottawa looking for a home. In most years, the simple thing that would have happened is that the Orioles (who, right about now might be wishing that they were still affiliated with the Rochester Red Wings) would move to Scranton. Ummm...not this year. Enter the New York Yankees.

The Yankees affiliate had been in Columbus, OH since the late 70's. Scranton is a lot closer to the Yankees fan base, so they make an attractive courting partner. The problem is - Yankees fans are EVERYWHERE. They have a great fan base built up in Columbus. They don't need a nearby affiliate for injury rehab assignments, as they have teams in Staten Island and Trenton, NJ. In a year in which the Mets are not conceding any back page headlines to the Evil Empire, they also decide that Scranton would look pretty good, so they tell Norfolk (their AAA home since **1969**) that, well, they love Norfolk, but they think they might want to see other people. If you are Scranton, who would you rather have - the Yankees or the Mets? Duh. Most people wouldn't even blink before taking the Yanks.

The Orioles (remember them?) will likely jump into bed with Norfolk. That leaves the Mets and Columbus (the former Yankee affiliate) without dance partners. OK...enter the Washington Nationals, who have been relegated to AAA purgatory in New Orleans the last few years. The Nats jump on Columbus - leaving the Mets to toil in AAA hell...New Orleans. Ugh.

I always wanted to go and see the Mets in Norfolk. I understand that the ballpark there is a top-notch minor league facility. Instead, I am left to mourn the loss of another part of my childhood.

RIP...

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Tom Hanks Reads My Blog?

What else could explain this?

On a rainy Wednesday night in Cincinnati, a glittering Hollywood trio of Tom Hanks, Ron Howard and Dennis Miller was in the house, and they even stayed through a two-hour rain delay. Three show-business buddies on a cross-country baseball trip.

This was their night to see the Mets. Hanks said all a guy needed to get on their traveling bus was "to be a baseball fan and be funny."

News will be forthcoming about my own upcoming travels, but I suspect that my own trip won't draw the same media coverage.

But, you never know!

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The Perfect Woman

It's been awhile since my divorce, and I have softened my "I am never getting married" stance to something more like "I am not likely to ever get married again." Baby steps, friends, baby steps. If I thought I could find someone like this, I might consider it.

"Cyclone relief pitcher Grady Hinchman, 24, is the only player on the team who is married (for all of a month!), but he had a good feeling about the Kerpen-Fisher nuptials.
“If he’s found a woman who will get married on a baseball field, he’s found the right girl,” he said.

So, I sent an email out to some friends earlier today about this article. I don't usually use this forum to share my personal email exchanges, but this one was notable. My very first email back was from a recently married friend of mine who simply said his wife would have nothing of that. I wrote back:

"Nor would the former Mrs. Travelin' Man. :-) Which is why if there ever is to be a FUTURE Mrs. Travelin' Man, she should plan on her nuptials to take place in one of two environs: home plate at the mutual ballpark of our choosing (sure as hell ain't going to be Yankee Stadium) or VEGAS Baby - at the Elvis Chapel of Love, where we will be married by an Elvis impersonator -- and not some thin 1950's Elvis. I want the authentic, 1970's coke-riddled, obese, fried peanut butter and banana sandwich eating Elvis!

If I find a woman who would endure that - then I know that she won't ever leave!"

Surprisingly, one of my very attractive, single friends wrote back and said that she would "totally" do this. It took all I had to not write back in my Joey Trebiani voice "How YOUUUUU doin'?"

Who knows if there is a perfect woman, though? Yet another guy apparently got tired of waking up next to every man's fantasy, Christie Brinkley.

I realize that I can count the number of supermodels with whom I have slept on....ummm....well, no hands, but that doesn't change the fact that this is Christie Freakin' Brinkley. How hard must she be to get along with? This was Husband Number Four - and he would rather schtoop a 19 year-old?

On the other hand, I guess it means that Christie Brinkley is back on the market. I wonder if she is a baseball fan?

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No Love for the KC Royals?

I was asked why we arranged our previous trip through Kansas City, but didn't go to a Royals game. The primary baseball focus on this trip was twofold -- the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis and the College World Series. If scheduling would have worked out better, we thought about doing an interleague game there - Pittsburgh was in town. Since we only had a few days in Omaha to soak in as much as we could of the CWS, when we saw the limited scheduling opportunity, we decided to pass.

We attended a game at Kauffman Stadium during our first trip to the College World Series back in 2003. You will have to use "attended a game" in the most broad sense, as we got much more of a story than a game that night. Get a quick look at the sky -- it isn't poor coloring on the photo, it is ugly weather rolling in.

We secured tickets outside the stadium from what appeared to be a season ticket holder, who just didn't want to be bothered with the impending weather. Total cost for two excellent seats was about $20 (less than 1/2 the face value of $24 each). My general rule of the thumb when going to a new ballpark is to buy the cheapest ticket I can find, and then see what better seats are available. I like walking around a park anyway, and this way almost forces me to wander. I am sure we could have purchased cheaper general admission tickets (or their equivalent), but this worked out well. Surprising as it may sound, not that many people turned out for a rainy night to see the Royals play the Diamondbacks (not exactly one of those marquee interleague matchups).

I was surprised at how much I liked this ballpark, considering how sparsely attended the game was, the horrible weather, and the incorrect perception that this stadium was similar to the other cookie-cutter stadiums of the same era in Cincinnati, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh. The fountains, seen often on TV (as often as the Royals are on TV) are pretty cool, and they also had a mini-park just outside the main stadium where kids played with the team mascot.

Kauffman is also home to the worst Hall of Fame in the history of sports. George Brett is a worthy candidate. Name another Royal worthy of induction to ANY Hall of Fame. This one contains the likes of Dennis Leonard (no All-Star game appearances), Freddie Patek (a career .242 batting average), Lary Gura (won 18 games twice, All-Star once), and Paul Splittorff (never an All-Star appearance). Ouch.

Three-plus innings into our game, the sky opened up like I have rarely seen. We get some powerful thunderstorms here in central Florida, and this one gave any of ours a run for the money. If you are a fan of storms, this was one to watch. Our seats were not far from the nearest overhang, so we got a good view of the storm, and stayed relatively dry. Since our goal is not to watch bad baseball, but rather to "collect" stadiums, we were OK with taking calling our visit complete and making a run for the car at the earliest sign of a weather break. After about a 45 minute wait, the game was called. The picture was taken before 8:30 pm - still light at this time of year. The weather was just that ugly.

On our way out of town the following day, we decided to exchange our tickets for an upcoming game. It turns out that the Yankees were coming to town soon, and we would be able to exchange our tickets and then list them for sale on eBay. They exchanged our tickets (remember, these were season tickets) for some cheaper seats (there was no exact match for pricing purposes) and gave me a $6 refund, to boot. So, now I have two $21 tickets to the Yankees one and only series in town, and I only paid $14! The tickets sold for about $20 each, making Kansas City one of our more profitable stadium excursions.

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Trip Log, Day 6; Omaha

Note: This is one of a series. You can find the complete series index here.

One of the biggest lessons that I learned from typing this trip journal is that I really need to do a better job of daily writing when I am on vacation and then just put it into proper format and add pictures. On the other hand, this is a great way to relive a wonderful vacation, so maybe it is not so bad that I am still writing about my Omaha adventures almost a week after the College World Series ended (unhappily, I might add).

This shaped up to be a weird day. One of the things that we tossed around for an agenda prior to the trip, was the idea of seeing the early game in Omaha, then driving back to KC to see a game between the two worst teams in the majors (Pittsburgh was in town), catch one more meal in KC, and fly out the next day. The scheduling gods were not with us, though, as the "early" game was scheduled for 4 pm local time. There would be no chance to see any part of that game, and then make the drive to KC for a 7 pm start. Instead, our new plan would be a late lunch at the famous Johnny's Cafe, and then a day and evening of baseball, with evening food consisting of ballpark fare.

We got to Johnny's (4702 S. 27th St.) a little before 2 pm (good thing, too -- their lunch service ends at 2!). Johnny's is an old cattleman's hangout, just outside the Omaha stockyards. Greeting you at the entrance is a larger than life photo of Jack Nicholson, grinning ear to ear (naturally) in that way that only he does. Nicholson filmed "About Schmidt" here, and, even as shy and demure as he is, apparently had his arm twisted into taking a photo for the wall. The dining room is decorated in what can only be called 1950's chic - a dimly lit room with big leather chairs and booths. The server, a robust midwestern woman, takes her time greeting the table, but she is always moving. You definitely feel like you have taken a step back in time. Lunch is served with a somewhat pared down menu, but they note that dinner steaks are available for lunch, as well.

We both had our hearts set on two things - the filet and the hash browns. Our server told us that the hash browns would be an upcharge for the lunch-sized 6 oz. filets, but come as an standard side to the 9 oz. dinner cut filets. Hmmm...more steak? OK. As for the photo, no there is not a mirror splitting the middle of the table - but, when you know what you want, why order something else? Split open, there was a significant difference between my buddy's medium rare and my medium. Actually, I would be amazed if these guys EVER had a steak sent back. The hash browns lacked the crispness that I prefer. I recall them being a little crispier the last time, but I am not sure if I ordered them that way, or if at dinner time you just get better hash browns? I am not much of a wine drinker, but their house Cabernet was delicious, and I thought a bargain at $4.75/glass. The bread plate is pretty pedestrian, but the spread that was served with the bread was cottage cheese-like, and pretty tasty. Suuficiently stuffed, and wallets emptied ($70 lunch for two), we made off to Rosenblatt.

The beginning of the first game was lightly attended, so we were able to walk right in again (no general admission line) and secure decent seats behind home plate. Today's session was two games long, so unless you had the desire to see one of the two teams playing the early games, you didn't need to arrive particularly early. Knuckleheads like us, on the other hand, were able to get good seats! My favorite thing about Tuesday in Omaha is that it is "Elimination Day!" Both brackets have both of their teams with one loss play each other. Since this is the double elimination part of the tournament, the losers go home. The first game was Cal State Fullerton against Clemson. Two of the top seeds in the tournament, who had each lost a game to North Carolina. I thought this was going to be a great game - two of the top teams, and each looked better than at least three of the four teams in the other bracket. It was a shame that someone would no longer be playing after this contest.

The reality didn't live up to my self-promoted hype. The game was sloppy and long. It took over four hours before Fullerton came back and broke the hearts of these guys sitting behind us. As a matter of fact, it was the second or third longest nine inning game in CWS history. What that meant for us was sheer baseball overload. We'd seen enough. I wasn't looking forward to sitting through a 50-minute break to see Oregon State-Miami, a replay of the lone blowout in the entire CWS. It seemed Miami would have it in the bag (hmmm...have I been RIGHT yet?). Instead of catching the late baseball game, we could just grab one more good meal in Omaha, and that is what we decided to do.

The Bohemian Cafe is another of the legendary Omaha restaurants that most people just assume you hit when you tell them that you went to Omaha. I had never been there - heck, I wasn't really sure that I liked Czech food, but what the hey...I'll give it a shot. The recommendation that we got was to order the duck and pilsner. I like duck and I like beer - should be a winner. Again, we walked in the door just about as the place was closing. I wouldn't think that a Tuesday night in Omaha would be all that hopping, but 9 pm seems to be when the whole town shuts down. We were seated, graciously, and next to us was a father/son duo who had clearly made the same bee-line for the place as we did from the stadium. They must have had better seats or a better parking spot, because they already had their food. I also let the sight of their meal talk me out of the duck.

I ordered the jaeger schnitzel, sort of czech veal cutlets in what tasted like a very thick marsala sauce. It came with a cup of their chicken and dumpling soup, which was fabulous and two of the thickest and tastiest dumplings I have ever had the pleasure of consuming. My buddy stuck with the roasted duck, and was not disappointed. The Pilsner Urquell is served on draft in a frosty ceramic mug. Homemade bread accompanies the meal, but there is enough carbs in those dumplings to get anyone with even the slightest sense of watching their carb intake to take heed. For the first time on this trip, I could not finish the meal. I couldn't come close to finishing this meal. I left a whole dumpling, some of the veggies, didn't touch the bread, and it was even tough to finish the beer.

Needless to say, this was the perfect ending to a great trip. The flight the following day left little room for anything but a wake-up and a drive south to the KC airport. Fortunately, we were back in first class on the way home, so even though MCI-ORD (O'Hare) offered little more than a bag of pretzels, our flight from ORD-MCO would at least give us a similar snack to the flight up. Refer back to the first post in this trip report if you must, but this is a great vacation for any true baseball fan who has had it with the typical spoiled professional athlete!

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Trip Log, Day 5; Omaha

Note: This is one of a series. You can find the complete series index here.

At this point in the trip, life is very good. I am in Omaha, for the College World Series, and my team is 2-0 and holding some serious chips heading into the midweek games. Having been to Omaha previously, I have developed some favorites. Knowing that this trip was short on time here, we had a finely planned operation to make sure that we hit all the favorite places, and still make the ballpark for a decent number of hours.

This day was to be prime ballpark day. We got an early start because the area surrounding the stadium is something to simply soak up. I wanted to get some serious soaking time in. Merchandise tents line 13th Street, stretching a solid mile in front of the stadium. Vendors hawking t-shirts, pizza slices, and aluminum bats all stake out their spots, while religious groups hand out bottled water, the local paper is given out free, and supporters for legalizing gambling in Nebraska all try to mark time with passers-by. It is an all-out street carnival, with a serious baseball theme.

We entered the ballpark around noon for the game scheduled to begin at 1 pm. By now, I had developed a stroke of hunger. In planning our day, we planned to grab "something light" at the ballpark, and gorge on a meal in between the two games. The food scene at Rosenblatt is something to behold. It is a veritable food orgy, and for stadium food, is surprisingly affordable. After doing a bit of a recon mission, I decided on a salt pretzel ($3). This was a huge mistake. I don't know if the problem was just the time of day, but it was awful. It was soft -- too soft, as though it had not even been baked. The salt, applied upon ordering, was excessive. I ate about half and tossed the rest. Blech. The food that I had previously had at Rosenblatt had always been very good. They have an excellent chicken fingers platter for about $7 which comes with four chicken fingers and more fries than most can finish. The nachos are always a hit with fans, as are the onion blossoms and funnel cakes (which seem to come from an outside vendor).

There is always a confluence of food smells in and around the stadium -- the burgers, sold inside, are grilled out in the open (don't see that anywhere anymore). Outside the stadium, Omaha Steaks sells their products, as does Famous Dave's BBQ. One of the more baffling treats to be considered a hit in Omaha is Dippin' Dots. Yes, it is hot, and anything cold is a welcome respite. But, I have never seen any place as crazy for Dippin' Dots as the midwest, and Omaha, in particular. They advertise themselves as "The Ice Cream of the Future," but it seems as though the future has been coming for a long time. I doesn't even look the least bit appetizing to me, but folks scarf this stuff up.

Eight flags representing the teams in Omaha fly over the centerfield fence. One of the new traditions at Omaha this year is the lowering of the flags for the eliminated teams. After Oregon State beat the University of Georgia in a pretty poorly played game, UGA's flag joined the Georgia Tech flag as those flying at half-staff.






Our late afternoon meal (again, I would only call this dinner at the AARP Early Bird specials in Florida) was at a place we discovered our first year in Omaha, Lo Sole Mio. Back in 2004, we were sitting in the upper reaches of the grandstand, chatting with a local family. We told them of our ballpark adventures and mentioned that it was our first time in Omaha. They asked us where we were planning on eating in town, as we had mentioned that food was an equal part of our ballpark journeys. We, of course, asked for their suggestions. The woman in the group turned to me and asked if we liked Italian. I kind of shrugged my shoulders, as if to say "sure, but why would I come to Omaha to eat Italian?" She told me that she could refer me to the "best Italian meal I have ever had." I gave her the raised eyebrow, and politely told her that I grew up on Long Island, and have had a pretty good fair share of decent Italian meals. She conceded, but still offered that it would be the best Italian I would have in a solid 300 mile radius. Fair enough - and we had the afternoon free, so we checked it out. Well, the lady was right....it is VERY GOOD Italian, and it has been part of our regular stops since then.

On this trip, I (the less adventurous eater of the two of us) ordered the chicken marsala and my buddy ate the Pasta Con Pomodori Secchi, a dish of sun dried tomatoes, grilled chicken and some veggies served over pasta. Both meals were enormous. Unfortunately, we didn't have a fridge in our hotel, so leftovers would be a waste. Successfully, gorged, it was time to head back to the ballpark.

The evening matchup was one that we really looked forward to. University of Miami against mighty Rice U. Since UNC was in the other half of the bracket, I felt like it was OK to root for Rice - besides, the last time we saw Rice in Omaha, they brought their mascot, and I was able to get my picture taken with the Rice Owl! Since they were the only team to bring a mascot that year, they were able to secure my support. That was the year Rice won the championship - the only championship in their school's history.

More basbeall...and some really good steak in the next post!

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Trip Log, Day 2; St. Louis (continued)

Note: This is one of a series. You can find the complete series index here.

We decided to grab a late afternoon meal (only in Florida would a meal this time of day be considered dinner) before heading out to the ballpark to limit the intake of lips and snouts. Our first choice was Connelly's Goody Goody Diner, but they were closed by the time we arrived. Before we spent our entire time trying to figure out what would be the best substitute, we quickly decided on using some serious "foodie nose" to get the job done. Sometimes, you just have a feel -- with no guide book or anything.

Located right in front of the Bel-Nor City Hall, we found The Breakaway Cafe (8418 Natural Bridge Road). Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this place, but you can trust me, the food was tasty. Breakaway Cafe serves a number of pasta dishes and other varieties of comfort food. This was my first experience trying toasted ravioli, and they did not disappoint. I don't know how much better they could have been at the more well-known Italian institutions on "The Hill," but these served this novice pretty well -- a crusty exterior, and a well-seasoned filling, all dipped in homemade marinara. Appetizers were generally under $6 and entrees could be had in the neighborhood of $10.

For us, one of the most important reasons for choosing The Breakaway Cafe was the proximity to the MetroLink station at University of Missouri-St. Louis. Taking the MetroLink downtown the ballpark was very inexpensive ($1.75/each way), but very crowded. I have taken the subway to Shea and the El to Wrigley, so I know crowds, but this was pretty crowded (the reverse trip was even worse!).

We arrived early at Busch. There were three of us, and we only had two tickets. Needing one, we set out around the stadium trying to find a scalper with singles. Funniest thing, though -- there were hardly any scalpers. I knew that the games were sold out -- St. Louis fans are rabid for baseball, and they finally have a new stadium to enjoy. Still, the freakin' Rockies were in town, not the Cubs. As we dragged past the box office, I stopped to see if they still had an standing room tickets -- they told us THOSE were sold out, too! The clerk told me that they did have some single tickets, but that was all. Single tickets? Why, we NEED a single ticket...what have you got? $34 later, I was on my way into the stadium.

There are a couple of quirky things about this ballpark. For one thing, there doesn't seem to be much of a "front." Supposedly, this is the front of stadium, with the statue of Stan Musial moved, by crane, over from the old ballpark. People have a convenient place to "meet at Stan," but it surely appears that one of the corners would have made a better front of the stadium. The area is still under a lot of reconstruction, so maybe as time passes, and more peripheral businesses develop, it will become more evident that this is, in fact, the front.

In the past, I have had decent $34 seats, and I had some really bad $34 seats (Dodger Stadium comes to mind). These were not good $34 seats. They were located in the outfield, in the second deck, all the way in fair territory in left field. They called it Big Mac Land, named after the juiced (errr...allegedly juiced) slugger, and sponsored by the place that serves crappy hamburgers. My understanding is that if someone hits a home run up there, everyone in those seats gets a crappy hamburger named after said juiced slugger. My guess is that second prize is TWO hamburgers named after said juiced slugger, but that may just be the cynic in me. These seats were a kind of limited view seat -- nothing too pretty for that kind of money. I didn't even take a picture from my seats...they were THAT bad.

My buddies 2/$11 deal ended up netting them standing room access. Anyone with any kind of sports acumen knows, though, so long as the ushers are not overly vigilant, after a few innings, you can scout out where there are available seats, and plant yourself until someone asks you to move. By the fourth inning, we were sitting in seats about 12 rows up off the field right behind the visitor's dugout. My opinion of the stadium changed immediately with the better seats. The key to this place is definitely the view -- and these seats had THE view. The photo is the standard panoramic behind home plate shot, but you can see what we saw -- beyond the left field fence, is a great view of downtown St. Louis. The Arch is visible from almost every seat in the stadium -- a big plus, because the Arch gives you a unique view from almost every different angle.

Overall, though, I didn't find the major's newest stadium all that remarkable. There are a ton of ads EVERYWHERE. Seating sections, as mentioned above, are sponsored, as are the scoreboard, outfield walls, and just about any place else they could plaster a placard. I know that all stadiums have advertising, but some have more obnoxious advertising than others - and this stuff is pretty obnoxious. One of my favorite things about the "old" Busch stadium was the unique way the retired jersey numbers were memorialized. Here, they are just plastered on the outfield wall....boring. I may want to revisit this park in a few years, but for now, this place would probably end up somewhere in the middle of the pack, in terms of favorite stadiums. One serious plus for the stadium is the enthusiasm of the St. Louis fans. They did have this in the old ballpark, too, though...so, it only goes so far. There is a nice Cardinals history done on the outside promenade in brick. If so many of the Cardinals highlights hadn't come against the Mets, I might have enjoyed that a little more.

Cards won big...and we can check this new stadium off the list! Day 2 complete.

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The Greatest Show On Dirt

Having spent the last three days in baseball nirvana, the NCAA's trademarked phrase, which I blatantly stole as a thread title, is so true. Stand back, kids....I am about to make an incredibly bold statement...

The NCAA Division I Men's Baseball College World Series is the single greatest live sporting event held annually in this country.

Soak that in for a second. Go ahead. I'll wait.

Yes, there are a few parameters in place, but I am not going to get into an argument with the World Cup freaks out there. Me, I would take the CWS over the World Cup anyday. But, the World Cup is a four-year worldwide event - and one that celebrates the world's most popular sport. That's tough to beat. I wouldn't trade my tickets in Omaha for a Group E undercard in Dusseldorf, but to each his own. The Olympics are also a unique series of events, which bears some merit in the "Greatest Sporting Events to Attend" competition. But, the Olympics stroll around every other year -- alternating winter and summer gatherings. Interest in the Olympics, domestically, waxes and wanes with the United States' athletes on the field.

Why does the CWS rank ahead of the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the Major League Baseball World Series -- heck, all of the professional sports championships, the BCS, the Kentucky Derby, the Indianapolis 500, and anything else you want to throw my way? Well, I'll tell you -- but, you would know, if you made just one trip to Omaha.

Come to think of it, Omaha is probably the Number One reason why the CWS earns this title. The CWS envelopes Omaha each June, and Omaha embraces "their" event like no one else would. This championship has been played in the same city for the last 57 years, and Omaha wraps its collective arms around this 10 (or so) day tournament as though it were their own child. The people here are so friendly, it almost seems fake -- until you realize that everyone is genuinely THAT nice. I live in an area that gets overrun with tourists and snowbirds. Most locals resent, if not hate them. Please spend your money and then leave quietly -- and try not to break anything -- that's what we'd tell our tourists, if we had the nerve. Here, we were invited to someone's home to have some brats and kebabs -- after meeting the guy in the stands for one of the games between two teams in which none of us had a rooting interest. These folks want to show you around -- share with you their pride in what they have to offer. Folks will ask you "Have you been to the Zoo?" (yes); "Did you make it to Johnny's for steak?" (hell yes); and my favorite, after arriving for a meal at a local restaurant in between two games at the stadium, our server greeted our table and didn't ask us what we would like to drink or tell us the day's specials -- she asked us simply, "Who won the early game?"

Still need more convincing? Check below the break....

Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium hosts this event. Seating capacity is just over 23,000, but there are always standing room/general admission tickets available, and I have personally been to a few games where attendance has exceeded 25,000 people. How do they draw 25,000+ people to college baseball games, often hundreds or thousands of miles away from where the schools are located? EVERY ticket to every game is affordable, that's how! Anyone can purchase a book of 10 general admission tickets for $60. These tickets are good to ANY game in the CWS. You want to go to the finals for $6/ticket -- go ahead. All you need to do is wait in line. I have never actually been to the finals -- I prefer to go to the early round games, usually culminating on Tuesday. Affectionately known as "Elimination Day," four teams play in two different games, with the idea simple -- win or go home. One day, two games, two teams moving on to live another day, two going home unhappy. Ticket scalpers hawk their wares outside the stadium, so there are usually plenty of tickets available to the early round games. The general admission tickets get you an unmarket seat in the bleachers, but veterans know that not everyone will show up in the seat-backs. Given that temparatures can make it oppressively hot (even for this Florida boy), the best seats to be had are under the shade, a little higher up, so that the breeze kicks through. Total cost -- SIX bucks (and the desire to move around a little if someone comes along and claims your seat) -- and if that isn't the kind of thing that is affordable to most anybody, I don't know what is. How much would that Super Bowl ticket cost you?

Parking can be a little tricky, but if you know where to look, you can even avoid paying the $10 or $20 per game that local homeowners garner selling off their lawn as parking space. Believe it or not, there is plentiful street parking around the stadium. This does fill up fast, and the more you are willing to walk a distance (uphill going to the game, but downhill coming back!), the more likely you are to find free parking. For me, part of the added thrill is the walk through the neighborhood - people out grilling burgers and brats, locals hawking sodas or bottled water (remember, I told you it was hot), the local paper is handed out free to all fans, and then a tent city of companies selling shirts, hats, and other logoed knick-knacks. It is quite the festive atmosphere. Of course, all the while, fans line the street decked out from head to toe in their college's colors -- or even wearing the logos of schools not in attendance. I saw my fair share of displaced LSU and University of Texas fans these past few days.

Hotels fill up fast, so going at the last minute is not the best plan of attack. Still, I have NEVER come here without being able to use points accrued from some hotel chains loyalty program for free nights. Most of the people who decide to go at the last minute are people with a rooting interest in one of the teams that made it. These people get soaked on hotel rooms and flights. Planning in advance is the way to go, and if your team happens to make it (Go Tar Heels!), then just be pleasantly surprised. One more affordable way to go can be to stay in nearby Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is right across the Missouri River. Just try getting a hotel room on points for the days surrrounding the Kentucky Derby in Lexington.

Accessibility to the players is unmatched, from a fan's perspective. Last night, we sat one row behind five guys from the Carolina baseball team. Chad Flack, who hit the two decisive home runs against Alabama in the Super Regional chatted with me about baseball. In years past, we have stayed in the same hotel as the University of South Carolina and LSU. Both times, we had breakfast two tables over from either the starting pitcher, head coach, or former star players. Do you think that Heat fans in Dallas had breakfast with Shaq this morning?

If you haven't bought in yet, you don't have a sports pulse -- or, you are just so hung up on professional sports and being spoonfed whatever networks want you to believe is the best.

Don't believe me? Head to Omaha, and prove me wrong!

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Worst Stadium in the Majors

Long before The Sporting News suggested a "Baseball Buddy Roadtrip," a buddy and I have been doing much the same for the last four years or so. Our trips were very similar to the ones that they suggested, and we have gotten so far along in our quest to see every major league stadium, that between us, we have seen 28 of the current 30 major league stadiums. Next month, we have a date with the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis, and in July, we will make a trip to Toronto to see the Rogers Centre (Ugh...what a name for a ball park -- we may still have to call it 'SkyDome').

Since we will have visited all the active stadiums, we decided that one of our projects before the end of the summer will be to rank them all -- 1 to 30. We're guys -- lists simplify things for guys, so it seemed like a good project. Even though we know that we have to see all the stadiums before we start the ranking process, there are some natural biases, so the first two on the list have already been filled in.

1. Wrigley Field -- it's a no brainer. I am not going to get into the whys and hows of the ranking system now...maybe that will make for a summer's worth of posts. But, for now, just know that Wrigley is the best of the major league stadiums.

2. Fenway Park -- also a no brainer. If you are a Red Sox fan, you would probably rank this #1, and a Cubs fan would go the other way. Since I am a fan of neither, I can say - objectively - that Fenway is a solid #2.

I think picking these two as #1 and #2 is the easy part -- picking the bad ones could be just as easy. This weekend, I had the errr....pleasure...of seeing my beloved first-place New York Mets play in Miami against the Florida Marlins. The Mets won, so the park is secondary, but ProPlayer....err...Joe Robbie....err...Dolphins....ummm....Dolphin Stadium may well be the worst stadium in all of major league baseball. I figure this stadium is so bad, they couldn't even sell the naming rights.

So, what makes a bad stadium? Well, a number of things...like perpetually empty seats:

It doesn't help that all those empty seats are a hideous orange color, either. Obtrusive, omnipresent advertising is a pretty big strike against. Also notice...MORE empty seats:

I am not even sure I know who the Miccosukee Indians are, but their ads are all over left field. Yes, that is a 'Benihana' ad ON THE CLOCK! This is just a representative sampling, but the whole stadium is like this. Plus, this is a football stadium that happens to host baseball games in football's offseason. Evidence of that is everywhere -- the Miami Dolphins have actually been good, and have some all-time players. The Marlins have been sporadically good, but they have no all-time greats, because whenever they win, ownership sells off all the good players and "rebuilds," because they cannot compete revenue-wise (in such a crappy stadium). Below is the view from our seats -- eighth row. We were still pretty far away from the action (all things are relative -- we are not as far away as the folks sitting above the 'Tire Kingdom' ad), and for a $40 ticket, this is pretty far away from the action. Also, check out the empty seats.

OK...so, you're thinking that I am harping on the empty stadium thing. Well, the Marlins were playing the first place team in their division, and there are quite a few New York transplants in the South Florida area -- and, the Marlins best pitcher, Dontrelle Willis was pitching against a future Hall of Famer, Tom Glavine. You would think that there would have been some folks that would come out to the game. Still, the Marlins drew about 15,000 fans on Friday night (less sun, maybe that keeps people away?) with the Mets pitching Pedro Martinez. For our game, a Saturday afternoon, on a holiday weekend, with the pitching matchup mentioned earlier, drew all of 13,000 fans. For comparison's sake, the last place Pirates drew over 30,000 fans to their park. A snoozer of a game in Minnesota (versus Seattle, in another awful place to watch baseball) drew over 25,000 fans. Two teams with below .500 winning percentages (the Angels and the Orioles) drew over 43,000 in Anaheim. The point is -- people went to baseball games on Saturday in rather large numbers -- some even saw some bad baseball teams. But, the Marlins may get the worst support in all of baseball - and it makes their ballpark that much worse.

Another asthetics issue -- there is no "front" to the stadium. It is just a big, concrete circular structure. In short, it has no personality.


I like to think that I can find SOMETHING that I like about every ballpark -- this one, I don't think that I can. On top of all the things that have physical photo evidence, I can also tell you that the food was expensive ($7 for a bottled beer, $6 for a foot-long kosher hot dog), the home town fans were outnumbered about 3-1 by the visitors, it was blistering hot (no, the Marlins have no control over the temperature, but they should have a retractable roof stadium, like Houston, and/or they shouldn't play games at 1 pm in the middle of summer), the mid-inning promotions and graphics were beyond cheesy (airboat ride race, with the damn Miccosukee Indians sponsoring the thing -- more ads, and, last, but surely not least....the Mermaids.

Yes, the Marlins, in an effort to whip their fans into a frenzy, have the only "female rally" team in all of major league baseball. Cheese factor? 10+! Cheerleaders? Yes, Miami is a football town, but, cheerleaders in baseball -- I think not.

All of this adds up to the worst stadium experience in the bigs. So far, we have identified the following...

1. Wrigley Field
2. Fenway Park
.
.
.
30. Dolphin Stadium

The parameters have been set, and we just need to fill in the other 27 stadiums!

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715*

:yawn:

'Nuff said.

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Stuff You Oughta Know About Boycotting Major League Baseball

Me? Not hardly. I made Opening Day this year in Houston (saw them "raise" the National League pennant -- see the photo, you'll know what I mean) and plan on visiting Shea Stadium later this week. I had a comment left on an old post that I knew warranted a reply, but knew that no one, including the guy who left the comment would ever see it.

I guess the real reason I'm commenting on this entry goes back to '89 and the time I spent 6 months working in Huntsville, AL. The Huntsville Stars were a AA affiliate of Oakland. I went to an early season game which had little attendance. We sat down in the first row of seats where during warm-ups you could actually hear the "sssssssssssss' sound as the balls rolled through the grass. You mention the pop as the ball hit the mitt, but I'll never forget the "sssssssssssss." At a game later in the season I managed to snag a foul ball on the fly along the third baseline. This game was pretty well attended as the reigning Ameican League MVP was doing a rehab assignment in Huntsville with his brother Ozzie. Jose Canseco didn't hit the ball I caught but I'll never forget it.

One of my favorite baseball moments ever involved Ozzie Canseco. I was dating a girl who not only tolerated my obsession with baseball, but actually supported it. She was a fan -- a Red Sox fan, but a fan nonetheless. We had a long distance relationship, but she was down visiting me during spring training. We went to a game when Ozzie Canseco was trying to make the Expos (I think that this was just following the strike season). My girlfriend was fascinated with Ozzie. He was standing on the dugout steps and she wanted him to turn around and pose for a picture. Ozzie, thinking that she was goofing, was having no part of it. Well, she wasn't goofing (well, she was eventually goofing, but it could have been avoided if he had just taken the darn picture) - she really thought he was cute.

Ozzie was steadfast in his refusal (if I were that good at ignoring her, we may still be dating??), and now she is getting a little ticked -- not to mention a little pickled courtesy of the ballpark beer. So, the gang in our section (who are also now trying to get Ozzie to turn around for the picture) becomes amused when she says "Come on, Ozzie...your brother would turn around!" Needless to say, Ozzie didn't turn around....and things got worse. I think by that point, Jose had around 300 major league home runs, and Ozzie had none. She felt the need to point that out. Now, the whole crowd is in on the act -- "Hey, Ozzie, does your wife look as good as Jose's?" Of course, the one that finally got the poor guy to turn around came from the girl I should have married -- "Hey, Ozzie, does Jose send you an allowance?" That got the picture...and one that is surely worthy of a nice frame.

The other point the commenter made was that he no longer attends major league baseball games, just minor leagues. It sounds as though he is still bitter from the 1994 strike that eliminated the World Series that year. I guess I can understand, but the notion of athletes being spoiled or taking their lives for granted doesn't surprise me - never did. While I am still a Mets fan, the reality is that I go to baseball games as more of a stadium "collector."

A few years ago, a buddy and I started an aggressive effort to get to every major league stadium. We are progressing nicely. I have been to 22 of the 30 active major league stadiums and a few that are no longer in use. This year's travels will give me the new St. Louis stadium, Cleveland and Toronto, and I will only be missing five (Colorado, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Washington, and Seattle). Toronto is the last major league ballpark that both my buddy and I are missing. After the summer, I will still be missing the five above, and he will only be missing Pittsburgh and Texas. We have enjoyed the journey much more than the baseball. I remember only a handful of the specifics of the games, but I can still see some of the details of the ballparks etched into my memory. If you haven't been to a major league game since 1994, you are missing out on some GREAT ballparks -- PNC in Pittsburgh, Miller Park in Milwaukee, Comerica Park in Detroit, Turner Field in Atlanta, PETCO in San Diego, and AT&T Park (was PacBell and SBC previously -- can't get these phone company mergers and takeovers straight) are all in my Top 10 Favorite Stadiums.

Of course, if you want to skip the pros, my single favorite sporting event that I have ever attended is the College Baseball World Series, held every June in Omaha, NE. Rosenblatt Stadium is a PHENOMENAL place to watch a baseball game. The flags flying in the outfield represent the eight schools that make the trip to Omaha. The stadium seats 20,000+ fans, but feels as intimate as a lower division minor league ballpark. The food is good, the ticket prices are very reasonable, and the whole city embraces the event like nothing else I have ever seen. Go to Omaha -- you won't regret it.

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One of the Best Things About Living in Florida

For me, anyway, spring training makes that Top 10 list!

Today, I sat one row away from this....



Sitting that close and hearing the "pop" in the catcher's glove is an awesome experience.

I will also post soon about last week's experience at the World Baseball Classic.

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Less than a week until baseball...

My tickets for the World Baseball Classic arrived yesterday. I am now officially psyched.

The first game of the tournament in Orlando has the Dominican Republic team playing Venezuela. The amount of baseball talent that will assmbled on that field (even with the guys who have bailed out already) is almost inconceivable. The infield for the DR team will likely include Albert Pujols, Alfonso Soriano, Miguel Tejada, and Adrian Beltre. Their backups will include Rafael Furcal, Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo, and Pedro Feliz. The outfield is almost as stacked, and their pitching is pretty solid, too. The Venezuelan team is not quite as loaded, but their pitching may even be better than the DR team. Starters for Venezuela include Victor Zambrano, Johan Santana, and Freddy Garcia. Throw in a few position players like Bobby Abreu, Magglio Ordonez, Omar Vizquel, Miguel Cabrera, Ramon Hernandez, and more, and this is shaping up to be quite the first-round game.

The only downside to this great matchup is that it is the first of the six games that will be played at the Orlando venue. I have lawn seats, which are general admission. That's OK - I usually buy the cheap seats whenever I go. I am just not familiar with this venue, so I am not sure where to scope out the best "seats" in the lawn area. I suspect that some of the other games, we will be able to sneak into the actual seating area and find some empties. That tactic has been perfected after years of attending the College World Series in Omaha. The only tickets I have ever purchased for that have been the general admission booklets, and we have never sat out in the general admission area. Of course, we usually attend the early round games there, not the packed finals games.

The only plan I have for Tuesday is to show up REALLY early at the stadium. If anyone else has any ideas, I'd be glad to hear 'em.

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Don't they have bigger problems?

The Tampa Tribune reports that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays plan to change their nickname in time for the 2007 baseball season.

The team's president, Matt Silverman, told a group of Tampa business leaders Thursday that there will be "some sort of a change" in the Devil Rays name.

The club is looking at either dropping "Devil" from the name and calling the team the "Rays" or creating a completely new name, Silverman said.

Focus groups told team officials that there was a "negative association" with the terms "Devil Rays" and "devil."

Of course, the real problem is that there is just a "negative association" with an awful baseball team. Of the four most recent expansion teams (Florida, Colorado, Tampa Bay, and Arizona), they have had the least amount of success, both on the field and at the box office. The mismanagement of the team, consistently finishing last in their division, and infighting amongst the ownership group has led to the franchise's poor team image.

"When [new owner] Stu Sternberg came in, he said there was a need for dramatic change. One way for dramatic change is to change the name," Silverman said.

Apparently, Mr. Sternberg hasn't considered WINNING a dramatic enough change to enact.

Of course, we could just use this opportunity to submit possible new names for the team. But, maybe "Tampa Bay Bottom Feeders" isn't what the new ownership has in mind to shake a "negative association."

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Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Bear with me. A friend asked me for some information on our baseball trip last year, which included Phoenix and southern California. Even though baseball season seems a little far off, I found out today that I have two tickets to the World Baseball Classic games being played in Orlando. Our pool includes the teams from Italy, Australia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic.

Since I am a little psyched about baseball season coming, and posting pictures here is just as easy as creating one of those Yahoo photo albums, I figure I would just do this. Indulge someone one post pretty much just for one person. I won't bore the rest of you, and will place the bulk of this post under the fold.

Our trip was Orlando to Phoenix for an overnight and then from Phoenix to Los Angeles. Complicating matters was the fact that we flew on American Airlines on miles. I am pretty sure when Aadvantage members die, they have to connect through DFW to get to hell -- wait, DFW IS hell. So, our flight was actually MCO-DFW-PHX//PHX-DFW-LAX. Fortunately, I kicked in the extra miles, so we flew first class.

We stayed at the Spring Hill Suites Phoenix Downtown (under $60/night for a weekend rate out of season, with full Marriott Rewards points and privileges). The hotel offered a shuttle from the airport, and was within walking distance to the ballpark. It was August, so when I inquired about the walking to the game, the lady at the front desk made a point to remind me of the Arizona heat. When I told her that I lived in central Florida -- where days of 90 degree heat with 90% humidity were commonplace, she told me that we would be OK. She said that she gets concerned when people come from more temperate climates and expect to walk around in 115 degree heat.

This was the view as we approached the stadium:

The "classic" stadium view:

We had pretty good seats -- actually, we got the tickets from the hotel for half face value. I would have never paid $60 for these seats, as there surely seemed to be plenty of cheapies around, but we got such a good deal on the hotel (no car, free HSIA, free breakfast), it seemed like a good splurge:

There weren't too many cool things about this stadium, and (except for rare exception) I am no fan of stadium food. I didn't eat any of this, but I thought it was a great concept for a menu -- regional specialities defined by the teams:

The next morning meant another flight. Unfortunately, we weren't even in Phoenix long enough for a foodie stop this time around. I don't know that I would consciously make the decision to eat airline food over ANYTHING out of town, but sometimes, convenience takes over. So, a breakfast at the hotel followed by PHX-DFW-LAX, and food served on plastic trays would suffice for now.

We arrived in LA around 4 pm and spent the next two hours waiting in line at the rental counter for the car. This has to be the poorest run Thrifty I have ever seen. If it were me, I would do without them in your travel plans. I would have given my right leg to have used Hertz and my #1 Club Gold.

We finally got the rental car, a Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible, and were on our way. For all this Thrifty was awful, I will say that they did come through on the car. If you are going to do LA, it should probably be in a convertible. Off to the hotel for a brief check-in and then to dinner with our chef friend. This hotel was on points, but seems to be available on Priceline periodically.

Our dinner was at one of those places in LA, where it is more about the flash and being "seen" than anything about food. It took way too long for the food to arrive at the table, and I was underwhelmed. But, supposedly, they have filmed some scenes for HBO's "Entourage" there:

Stick to Killer Shrimp for a good meal! I wish I had gotten some good pictures there, but I didn't. The other place that I couldn't think of the other night when we chatted -- the Armenian chicken place, is called Zankou. Despite the strong recommendation from the Sterns, I would skip Cassell's Hamburgers. I thought the place was weak - they killed the burger by draining all the juice out of it with the spatula.

On our first full day in Los Angeles, we drove out to Anaheim for a day game at Angel Stadium. Let me say this about that -- get tickets in advance. I hardly ever do -- I am a big fan of getting tickets at the stadium and am rarely disappointed. You have the option of hitting the scalpers (usually good on rainy days or if a crappy visiting team is in town) or heading down to the box office, as games are rarely sellouts (Wrigley, Fenway, the Yankees as a road team, or a regional rivalry are notable exceptions). Well, we showed up for a game against the visiting Tampa Bay Devil Rays to find that Anaheim was in the midst of a 10-game home sellout streak. We lucked into a pair of decent tickets at/near face value, but if this is your only chance to get the ballpark, and you don't want to be shut out, I would try to snag these tickets in advance.

This is one of those stadiums just off the interstate. Here is the walk-up view:

The classic view:

The stadium and grounds are beautifully landscaped:

Unllike a lot of the newer ballparks that have an outer concourse that you can walk around and see the whole park without missing the game, Angel Stadium has a path that cuts around behind the outfield wall. It has a very fan-friendly family section back there, as well as some activities along the way. This is a shot of a wall mural featuring modern-day pics of current players with a copy of a baseball card from their youth. It also includes personal information that would appeal to families (favorite foods and such):

One just for artistic sake:

Los Angeles is not a great walking city, but there is a pretty good walking tour in the AAA Guide Book. I am used to the concrete jungle that is New York as my point of reference for what a big city should be. But, LA is different. It is green and lush. There are some roof-top parks scattered throughout the city that are really cool. They seem like an especially good place to grab a bite to eat and camp out and eat and people watch for a little while:

We also discovered the Grand Central Market on the walking tour:

Try...oh, try to make it to Phillippe the Original:

I was really looking forward to Dodger Stadium, and it was a little bit of a letdown. It IS a classic ballpark. All the things that I don't like about the cookie-cutter new ballparks are not there at Dodgertown. But, it is a late arriving crowd, that is not all that into watching the game. Also, we got seats (not at all cheap ones) that were out in the outfield in a not-so fan friendly section of the park. It is not very easy to move around the stadium -- especially one level to the next. Once you are on your ticketed level, you are pretty much destined to remain there. Again, you might choose to get better seats, in advance. The classic shot:

You would expect something like the "Hollywood" sign, wouldn't you. If you want a view of this, get seats more towards the home plate area:

I told you about the LA Coroner's Office gift shop, "Skeletons in the Closet":

Nothing says "tacky" like LA -- and nothing says tacky in LA like the La Brea Tar Pits (make sure you rrrrrroll your rrrrrr's when you say that, too!):

OK...almost nothing:

My favorite park during the whole trip was the last one, PETCO. We were seeing the Padres play my beloved Mets on my birthday -- so, I kind of figured this would be a highlight. The Mets won 9-0 (Kris Benson pitched a gem) the night before Carlos Beltran and Mike Cameron plowed into each other, ending Cameron's season. This was another sold out game, and tickets were tough to come by outside the stadium. We luckily ran across a guy attending the game with his family who just happened to have two extra tickets. We ended up with field box seats for about $20/each -- not bad at all.

We stayed next door at the San Diego Gaslamp Marriott. We knew someone who worked there, so we got a very favorable Friends and Family rate of around $60. Parking was a hammer, but if we had stayed somewhere else and drove to the game, we would have spent almost that much to park anyway.

The hotel has a rooftop bar that overlooks the stadium. The drinks are way overpriced, but it is a great view. I didn't get a picture, but the view on the other side of the stadium is the water. Who would want to look at scenery when there is a ballpark? I would never know:

There are some very cool things at this park -- like the "Park at the Park":

The stadium is built into the wall of an old warehouse. I think that is where they house their luxury boxes:

Without paying any admission fee, you can spread out a blanket and watch the game on a giant television right outside the stadium:

And, of course, the classic view from PETCO:


Those were about all the worthy pictures. The only notable eating that we did in San Diego was Hob Nob Hill, as reviewed by the Sterns. We ate their once for dinner and stopped by on our way out of town for some breakfast pastries. Not quite walking distance to the Gaslamp Quarter, but close.

All in all, not a bad week in SoCal. It was about all I could handle. The last night there, I got my requisite In-N-Out fix, and I was good to go home! A double-double and more fries than I could eat. I passed on the shake, but I wanted one. Either way, it was better than what we had coming on the flight home -- first class just ain't what it used to be.

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