Ups and Downs in New York
We left Boston on Friday to drive to New York for an afternoon game on Saturday, or so we hoped. Because of traffic it took three hours to return Pat’s rental car and get the minivan we were going to drive down to New York in. We strapped luggage to the top, loaded up the back, and crammed the seven of us into the van. My dad was nominated to drive and Jimmy navigated next to him. Pat and Danny took the middle with JJ, Daniel, and myslef in the back 2.5 seats. It was 1:45 before we left for what is a 4 hour drive if things go well.
Daniel immediately noticed how swervy the van was any time we went left or right and we had lots of speeding up and slowing down too. The van had a dvd player and Danny had Old School and The Big Lebowski with him which were lifesavers (or time buyers) for making the trip bearable. We pulled over once to stretch our legs, restock on drinks, and for the bathroom.
I got stuck in the rear middle after that. Sucks being the littlest one there. About this time JJ started to loudly let us know how bad he felt and that he was going to throw up. He certainly didn’t look well and would pass out or sit still for a while before another brief outburst. Eventually we made our was close to NY and things really slowed down. Uncle Ken called to let us know that he’d made it and check on us. When I told him that we were just getting to New York, JJ moaned that, “we were in hell”. At this point I was still amused and laughing hysterically. It took about 1.5 hours for the next ten miles. Our hotel was actually next to the Newark airport in New Jersey so we had to go all the way past New York City. When JJ found this out he’d had enough and hurled into the bag we had. Me and Daniel were both starting to feel a little upset by this point too.
JJ was convinced that we didn’t know where to go and we pulled over to let everyone out to cool off and get rid of the bag. Eventually, we all got back in and were at the hotel 30 minutes later, just before 8:00. About a 6 hour ride. We all started feeling better soon thereafter and a few went to return the van. Despite being right next to the airport this was still a two hour ordeal because they make it nearly impossible to get back to the hotel, one way only. We all ended up at the hotel bar for some appetizers and a drink or two, and another round of poker to finish off the night. I ended up donating $60 over the three nights to Pat’s kids college funds.
We had to be on the road at 10 the next morning to take the public transportation to the stadium. Everyone was up and ready, the earliest yet, but JJ had to make a pit stop and missed the shuttle from the airport. We didn’t make any wrong turns and got to the stadium at noon for the 1:00 game. JJ ended up on the hotel limo for $50 and beat us there by an hour, just the way things go for him. We went into the stadium and found out that we were in the family section. NO Alcohol allowed and you are stuck in that area. Can’t go around to see the rest of the stadium or buy beer elsewhere. A bit of warning for anyone who goes this covers the entire right and centerfield bleachers. Jimmy and JJ about to explode and decided to leave for a beer and get different tickets from a scalper. They went off with Dan and the rest of us grinned and beared it.
The seats were similar to Fenway outfield bleachers, but not as high up. Thank goodness for the clouds most of the game it was still warm and tight quarters. The game was a blowout though with the Yankees winning 14-3 over the White Sox. Lots of White Sox fans in the bleachers and a few of the Yankee fans were being jerks once they got ahead. Expected I suppose. That was another thing that impressed me at Fenway, Pat had an A’s hat and shirt on and got a little grief, but nothing bad at all. We all made it through the game and met up afterwards.
People had different agendas after the game; beers, souvenirs, pictures, sight seeing so tempers flared, mainly me, when we started moving without my dad and uncle. Regardless we pushed on to downtown where Jimmy headed back to the hotel and the other 5 of us went sightseeing and bar hopping. Eventually we wore out from all the walking, late nights, and tension. We took the train back to Newark and helped another lost tourist from LA staying at the hotel next to us. Thought that is was funny that you can buy and drink beers in the subway station as long as you stay right where you bought them. That was an offer we couldn’t pass up as we waited for the train.
The Dans needed a late night snack and I tagged along. This was about as diverse a menu as you get; fried chicken, pizza, seafood, Chinese food, pasta, people kept coming in and it seemed like the place to be and it was good drunk food. Still not a carnes asada burrito though. Danny wasn’t as hungry as he thought and ended up with an extra plate of fried chicken which he gave to the bum outside. That meant a round of hugs for all of us from him.
Unfortunately, I had an early morning flight and was out the door of the hotel at 6:15 with my dad and uncle who were driving me there. I sailed right through and made it back to Minneapolis no problems. My dad and uncle were heading to Baltimore to get my mom who flew in overnight so she and my dad could visit relatives on the east coast for a week.
Overall if was a fun trip, but way different than the other sporting events we’d done. Primarily because of the number of people, but also trying to get in two different cities made things way more complicated. It was difficult just to kick back and have a good time because someone always wanted to be doing something different or doing it a different way. No permanent disagreements though and we are all still friends so I’ll take that. There was plenty that could have gone better, primarily the minivan, and the beer free zone at Yankee, but we aren’t from there and didn’t know any better. Surely, next year’s sporting event will be a one city deal and will go smoother even if we have a larger crowd again.
No regrets, just some learning experiences and the first trouble I’ve had of any sort on the larger portion of my trip. Four weeks without work so far and I have no doubts that I’m doing the right thing. Getting to see and do stuff that I never would have been able to with 2 or 3 weeks a year and I’m still just getting started. I’m about to start heading west across South Dakota to the Badlands and Yellowstone before my backpacking trip in Glacier National Park the first of August. This is the place to be if you want to know how it goes. Looks like lots of people are checking out the site and my email list keeps growing. Glad you’re enjoying it.
Take care one and all,
Brian
Fenway Park and Boston
My annual sporting event trip for 2006 is going to a baseball game at Fenway and Yankee stadium. My two best friends, Danny and Daniel, and I started this two years ago as a way to see some cool places and keep in touch with each other. 2004 was the Kentucky Derby and in 2005 we went to the Daytona 500. This year we had tickets to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan 2, but it was moved to Atlanta after Katrina hit and we decided not spend New Year’s in Atlanta. This year it did grow though and we there were 7 of us in Boston and 8 in New York. The same three, my dad, Daniel’s dad (Jimmy), his brother (JJ), JJ’s wife’s brother in law (Pat), and my dad’s brother (Uncle Ken) drove down from Pennsylvania for New York.
Just getting to Boston was an adventure due to rain on the east coast and Danny missing his flight from LA and losing his cell phone at the airport. Also, part of a tunnel in Boston had a roof tile fall the day before killing a lady which shut down all of the tunnels and made traffic a mess the whole time we where there. Regardless everyone but Pat came in Wednesday we were in good spirits. We had two rooms at a hotel right next to Fenway and got walk around it that evening. Daniel has a new job so he brought a sales script that he had to memorize for a training course starting on Monday. I think we all tired of hearing his speach, but it is great that he was making time to get it done.
The next day we rounded everyone up and took the subway downtown to walk around and see the sites. We followed the Freedom Trail and checked it out. I had been there once before, but saw lots of new things, Paul Revere’s house, the North Church. We all sang Happy Birthday to my mom in front of Paul Revere’s house. We ate in the Quincy Market which is a long building wall to wall with eateries inside and knickknack shops and street performers outside. They had any type of food you wanted. We settled on a seafood place for some clam chowder and Sam Adams. Notice the important stuff gets capitalized. We continued walking the trail and trying out the different pubs. The cool thing for all of us is just how old the stuff out East is. Six of the seven of us grew up in San Diego and everything is new compared to there.
We headed back for some downtime before the game. Planned to get to the game an hour early to wander around, but Pat, and the tickets to the game he was bringing hadn’t arrived. Thank goodness for cell phones as we were able to get updates, but he had flown into Hartford and was hitting traffic on the way in. JJ was pacing like mad and after listening to the national anthem from the hotel Pat arrived and handed off the tickets. We sat down just before the first pitch. We were in the bleachers in center field, but could still see everything great.
Everyone had some beers and dogs and wandered around to check it all out. A very cool place to watch a game from. The place just drips baseball from every knook and cranny. An old place, but they got it right and I just kept thinking about all of the people that had watched a game from there over the years. When we returned to our seats around the 6th inning the high schoolers behind us were drunk and one girl woke up from being passed out and puked right behind Daniel’s seat almost immediately. That split up the group for the rest of the game as he and those near him went and found some better seats right behind the first base dugout. Lucky dogs. Oakland came back from a deficit and won in 11 innings so we got our money’s worth. Another couple beers and some poker that night and we were set to move on to New York the next day.
Boundary Waters Canoe Trip
Forget Disneyworld, I nominate the Boundary Waters for the most magical place on earth. Had absolutely amazing time on my trip. I was out for 5 days and 4 nights. During the middle 48 hours I did not see a single other person. I got loaded up on the water at 8am Thursday morning. Read more
Back In Civilization
Wanted to let everyone know that I am back from my Boundary Water canoe trip and had a great time. An absolutely amazing place and which I highly recommend. I stayed at a relatives house last night who lives near the Minneapolis airport. I’m flying to Boston in a few hours to see a Red Sox game tomorrow and then to New York for a Yankee game on Saturday. I’ll do a full update on the boundary waters soon when I can do it some justice and the baseball too of course.
Brian
Day Before the Canoe Trip
Greetings all, I’m not actually still in Ely, but its my blog so I can do what I want. Been a busy, busy week. I had a day to kick around in Ely before my canoe trip started. I went to the International Wolf Center which has a bunch of educational displays and presentations there. They also have an enclosure with 5 wolves in there. During the day they were hiding out in their den keeping cool which was a disappointment. I went back that evening and they were out and about then. I was really surprised at how big they are, about 100 pounds. Enjoyed seeing them and was able to take some pictures then. The rest of the stuff there is ok, but the highlight is seeing the wolves.
That day I also got together with the outfitter, Timber Trail, for my trip and got a big pack of food for my trip along with the canoe. I had found the outfitter through the internet and everything worked out great. I tested the canoe out that afternoon and was wondering what I was getting myself into. It was an 18-foot long Kevlar canoe which weighed about 18 pounds. They also said it could be a bit brittle to sudden impacts so don’t band it on the ground or hit any rocks with it while on the water. I was doing fine in it, but could tell it was going to be a lot of paddling to get anywhere. After going through their pack and leaving all the camp gear that I already had I was down to the canoe my backpack with gear and clothes, a dry bag for my camera, and the big pack with food and water. More than enough as I was to soon learn.
In the town of Ely they have a bunch of knick-knick shops, restaurants, and a photo gallery I wanted to see. The artist is Jim Brandenburg who has taken photos for National Geographic for years. He does animal and landscape shots primarily from where he lives, near Ely. I’ve been lucky enough to see lots of great photos from my friend Michelle in Illinois and he is nearly as good as her. Some beautiful places and moments captured on the walls there. A little out of my price range though and not much room to hang them in my current house, I mean truck. After all that the outfitter had a local band doing a little show on the beach that evening so I went down there, had a beer (or two) and got ready for the big outing to start the next morning.
Still Doing Well
Greetings from up north! The trip continues to go well. I spent the 4th in Duluth, MN. My grandma grew up there so it was neat to see a little of that town. Before that I stayed at a few state parks working my way across Wisconson, lots of waterfalls. One big one and a few smaller. I took lots of pictures and can actually upload them this time. I also put in my pictures for the last update. There are some good ones.
I got pulled over about 10 minutes after my last update, I had missed a speed limit sign, but after checking out my info he let me off. Today was a beautiful drive up Lake Superior before cutting inland to Ely. Gorgeous country and am glad that I’m getting see it. Don’t know how long I’d want to stay in January though. On Friday I’m going on a 5 day canoe trip in the Boundary Waters. They are called that because they are on the border with Canada.
It will be just me and my canoe and whatever critters I come across, some will even be bigger than me. The day after I finish that I will be drastically put back into civilization and fly to Boston for a baseball weekend with friends and family there and in New York City. If it weren’t for that I’d probably be trying to spend another week up here.
I’ve driven about 2,300 miles so far. Gas has been the biggest part of the budget. Only paid over $3/gal once so far. I put that in just to make the California readers upset. This canoe trip is one of the first things added to my to do list on this trip and I’ve been looking forward to it ever since then. I’ll be sure to empty my memory card and probably fill it back up as long as my batteries hold out.
A few travel notes, the two items I haven’t figured out how to cook at camp are pizza and mexican food. I took care of the pizza at lunch/dinner today. Whatever my 3:00 meal was. I was unconsciously stocking up on Mexican the last week of work so I’ll put that craving off a little longer. I really haven’t missed sleeping in a bed as much as I thought I would. Although there were a few 6am rain showers in Wisconsin which sent me scrambling to put the fly on the tent. I’ve been leaving it off so I could see the stars through the top of the tent. It has been in the low to mid 80s during the day and 55-60 at night, plenty warm enough with my sleeping bag. Thanks for all the notes, can’t wait to share my boundary waters experience.
Cheers,
Brian
Slowing Down
I just finished a tour Lambeau Field and am at the library in Green Bay. They redid the stadium a few years ago and it is very cool. The tour went up to one of the luxury boxes and down onto the field. Well worth the stop. Definitely a place to add to the list for my yearly sporting events. I also stopped by the pub their for a beer and to make a few, I’m not working phone calls. Sure there will be many more of those. I will be making my way west across Wisconsin for a few days hoping that the camp sites aren’t full with the 4th of July coming up.
I spent a couple of days in Door County Wisconsin which is the peninsula northeast of Green Bay. It is a touristy area with lots of antique shops, orchards, and knick knacks. I was in the younger portion of visitors, but only spent one day doing a little of that. They also have 5 state parks, of which I hit 4 of them. Very cool forest areas, sand dunes and Lake Michigan on one side and Green Bay on the other side. The mosquitoes took over my camp one night so I was locked away inside my tent to get away from them. One of the big things they advertise to do is something called a fish boil. I called one place and was told they have them every night before 8, no reservations needed. I showed up at 7:15 and was told they were already cleaning up because it was so slow. It is supposed to be a fish platter cooked over an open fire with onions and potatoes until it boils over onto the fire, I think. Normally I wouldn’t even have bothered to call so it is funny that the one time I did that it didn’t work out.
It has been nice waking up and listening to the waves and birds without having to rush around. Lots of wildlife here, I got some good pictures of some baby raccoons, but can’t upload them at this library. I’ll try to get them up next time. Forgot to mention that some raccoons had emptied out my cooler in Missouri, that was my mistake not theirs though. They made a mess and helped themselves to my oatmeal cream pies, a turkey sandwich, and some breakfast bars. Score one for them. The cooler has been spending the nights inside the truck now. Hope all is well with all of you.
Brian