Finally On Our Way

After personally working nearly 60 hour weeks to get everything at work prepped for my temporary departure, we are finally on our way.

Last night we snagged some relatively healthy snacks from the grocery store and a 1.75 ML of Captain Morgan (it was on sale and it was a plastic bottle). My cooler looks like a tote bag. I got it from Target a couple months ago, and it is the perfect companion to this trip. It said it could fit 20 cans. We tried it once before, and I think we fit a 12-pack in it, so I don't know about the can limit, but it fit our Diet Dew, Dragonfruit Vitamin Waters, jerky, pretzels, almonds, natural granola, and bananas just fine today.

We packed last night too. I had my itinerary out, checking my selected outfits against the day's events / games. I had a flash of Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets as he is packing for the trip north with his neighbor and waitress, carefully examining every item that neatly folded and displayed on his bed. In the end, we packed a single hockey bag with all of our stuff for 9 days on the road, plus Brad's laptop bag so he can work on school work during the down time, plus my messanger bag to carry my laptop and the remaining snacks, plus the cooler tote, plus my purse. It really looked like a lot of stuff when we put it all together. We were able to travel to Costa Rica for 8 days on 2 carry ons and 2 personal items, but somehow we needed 150 lbs of "stuff" for this trip, and I thought it would be the easiest trip ever to pack for.
We are currently on the last leg of the trip from Des Moines to Chicago. Our last stop was in Utica, IL, about an hour and a half from the city. The bus is running behind schedule by about 30 min due to all of the construction. When the guys at work were making fun of my tight itinerary, I defended it and said it wasn't that agressive. However, now that we are facing a 30 minute delay, I wonder if I planned in enough down time to accommodate these unforseen issues....Slight update, we are actually at the hotel now. The bus wasn't that late and we got to the hotel exactly when I estimated we would. Freaky.
Earlier on the trip I thought I heard a cricket on the bus, however, I think it is actually someone's cell phone alert. And there is a girl that is trying to be quiet with her snack wrappers, but in her effort, she prolongs the inevidable noise past what would be acceptable and seems to have no concept of the actual noise she is creating. But that is it, the most "unusual" riders on the Megabus. This is what I love about this transportation, these are regular people, not the quesionable people you might encounter on a Greyhound.
Our first game is tonight 8/22/2012 - Yankees at White Sox, with tickets in the Upper Box 531, Row 6.
The Megabus will drop us off at Union Station. About 2 blocks from this location is a CVS that sells the Unlimited 1 Day Pass for the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority). This is good for the "L" and the Bus. They are $5.75 and is a really good deal when you consider it only takes 3 rides to see savings.
We're staying at the Silversmith Hotel & Suites. It has an amazing lobby, old mission charm, great view (assuming we get a lake side view...update, we didn't...view of a wall instead) and is literally right next to a train platform. I know they have a fridge (which is important if you want to have a few beers without having to pay ballpark prices) and they are right across from yet another CVS (which takes every corner that a Starbucks or 7-11 does not in that town.
Before the game, the plan is to hit up Schaller's Pump for a bar food dinner and a beer. After the game, the plan is to stop in Shinnick's for a tapper. If there are closer bars that look hoppin' after the game, we may stop there instead. Afterall, Shinnick's is a mile away in an area of town I don't know.

Cleveland Chooses Which History to Save

Cleveland has been mentioned recently on National Public Radio (NPR) for restoring the downtown area and making it the place to live, work, and play. What is most unusual about the story that I heard on June 11, 2012 is that it featured all 3 cities we are visiting other than Chicago. However, Cleveland was the city with the most focus. This revitalization has been evolving over the last decade. It is no surprise that this spirit has spread outside of the downtown area to other historical neighborhoods and landmarks.

The League Park, located at East 66th and Lexington in Cleveland, is one of those landmarks that is getting $5 million to renovate the park. The city has decided to restore the old ticket house, the bleacher wall and the baseball diamond. They will also build a museum and a field for football and soccer to make the park more useful and accessible to the community. The decision was made in January 2012. 

All that is left at the site today is the ticket office that was at the corner of the right field, the first base side wall, and an open field. The wall is held up by steal beams and the arches have been bricked in for stability, but it has been standing for more than 120 year. In a country that likes to tear down buildings after a couple of decades, making it to a century is a huge milestone, let alone another 20 years on top of it. 

The park opened on May 1, 1891 and was used by the Cleveland Spiders and Cleveland Shores before the Cleveland Indians became one of the charter members of the new American League in 1901. In 1910, the wooden bleachers were replaced by steal and concrete. This park and Comiskey were the only 2 parks in the American League to open/re-open that year with steal and concrete.

The park closed on September 21, 1946, but not before visitors witnessed some of the best ball players and historical events in baseball:

• Cy Young pitched the first game played in League Park on May 1, 1891
• 1920 World Series
• First grand slam in World Series history (1920 series)
• First unassisted triple play in baseball history (1920 series)
• Babe Ruth got his 500th home run at League Park on Aug. 11, 1929
• Used only for the Indians weekday and Saturday day games from 1934 to 1946

• Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller's first game (1936)

Living in Iowa, I have a special place in my heart for Bob Feller. He played for the Indians from 1936 to 1941, went to war, and then came back to play for the Indians from 1945 to 1956. 

I personally signed the Petition Online to save League Park for League Park Society. I think it is too late, considering the Cleveland City Council has already agreed to spend $5 million for restorations, but I wanted to make sure they knew they made a good decision.

In 1931, a super large stadium that seated 74,000 people was built as part of a failed bid for the 1932 Olympics. During the Great Depression, the city of Cleveland spent $3 million to build Municipal Stadium. It was coined the "Mistake by the Lake", but it was used until 1993. Until the end of World War II, there wasn't enough fan support to use the Stadium full time. It was only used for night games on the weekends.