The Last Inning: Seattle, WA - Safeco Field

On Saturday, September 10th, we made the drive from Boise, Idaho to Seattle, WA-our final destination on our journey of a lifetime.  We were greeted by our dear friends, Mike and Emily Kennedy, who were going to join us for our final baseball game.  They treated us to a wonderful dinner at Jimmy Mack's Roadhouse, where we all had a chance to catch up on each other's lives since the last time we saw each other in the middle of June.

On Sunday, we all enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at Roxie's Diner -a New York Deli-style establishment.  Mike and Kevin enjoyed a Bacon Bloody Mary as an eye-opener and Tina and Emily celebrated the day with a double Peach Bellini.  The food was awesome, but the company was even better.

After gorging ourselves, we made our way to Safeco Field to watch the Seattle Mariners take on the Kansas City Royals.  Unfortunately, the Mariners lost by one run, with the final score being 1 to 2.

It was a very special day for many reasons.  Prior to the start of the game, the entire stadium became silent to observe the victims of the September 11, 2001 tragedy. It was yet another reminder of how much we love our country.

After the game, the four of us walked around downtown Seattle to explore the wharf area.  We enjoyed shopping at the local tourist shops and socializing at Ivar's, where we enjoyed their famous Clam Chowder soup and a couple of cold adult beverages.



We then made our way back to our hotel for our final evening on the road.  It is so hard to comprehend the magnitude of our adventure this summer. We are both overwhelmed at our accomplishment and will forever be grateful for the opportunity that we were presented with.  To all of our family and friends with whom we met along the way: thank you for being a part of our adventure, thank you for your support and hospitality, and thank you for becoming a permanent part of our lifelong memories.  We love and appreciate you all.

Boise, Idaho: Homecoming

On Wednesday, September 8th, we made the drive from Salt Lake City, Utah to Boise, Idaho- Kevin's hometown.  We had a very enjoyable visit with Kevin's Uncle Dale and Aunt Mary Ownby.  They treated us to a wonderful Italian dinner at the Olive Garden restaurant.  We then went back to their home in Meridian and enjoyed dessert, good conversation and the Green Bay Packers season opener.  Uncle Dale was also nice enough to give us a comprehensive tour of his garden without leaving out ANY details!  He takes so much pride in his flowers and vegetable gardens and it shows.  Tina was so jealous because she can't even keep a silk plant alive in our home.

We thank you both for your generosity and are most appreciative to have you as family.

On Thursday, September 9th, we enjoyed a full day of family, friends and food.  We enjoyed lunch at Cobby's, a submarine sandwich shop that has been in Boise for years.  Our meals were delicious and brought back some fond memories from Kevin's youth.  We then made our way to the Boise State University, home of the Bronco's.  We enjoyed shopping at the SUB- Student Union Bookstore where Kevin purchased a BSU sweatshirt to show his support of the team.

Our next stop was Grandma Taylor's home in Eagle, Idaho.  She recently lost her husband, John, in July and this was the first chance we had to see her.  We had a nice visit and shared some of the highlights of our baseball adventure with her.  She was most appreciative of our visit.  We miss you Grandpa John.  Rest in Peace.

At 4:00 PM it was off to meet the "Boise Boys", Jason, Bob, and Todd for pizza at the Flying Pie Pizzeria.  Pizza from the Flying Pie is a must have anytime we're in Boise.  We all enjoyed catching up on each other's lives while pigging out.  We had lots of laughs and are both thankful for the opportunity to reunite with Kevin's lifelong friends.

Denver, Colorado- Coors Field

On Monday, September 5th, we made the ten hour drive from Kansas City, MO to Denver, Colorado.  We enjoyed a nice Mexican dinner at Garcia's and then turned in early.

On Tuesday, we decided to spend the afternoon exploring the downtown Denver area.  We found a trendy little area called the 16th Street Mall.  This was basically a one mile strip that consisted of restaurants, shops, theaters, and various local attractions.  Due to an afternoon rain shower, we decided to pursue an indoor activity.  We chose the Lucky Strike Lanes for our first stop.  We bowled  5 games each and now have the blisters to prove it.  At least we'll both be ready for our upcoming Fall bowling league which starts on September 20th.  (We took first place last year and are hoping for a repeat performance with our teammates Mike and Emily Kennedy).

We then walked around to look at some of the interesting shops.  Tina was happy to find another Hard Rock Cafe and added two more pins to her collection.  A portion of the proceeds from both pins went to charity (Breast Cancer and Autism) so it was very easy for her to justify her purchase.

At 5:00 PM we headed back to our car and made our way to Coors Field for the 6:40 PM Colorado Rockies game.  It started to rain again and we worried that we might have to deal with a rain delay or a game postponement.  Luckily, the game went on without delay.

We had great seats in the second row right near 1st base.  There was a pretty sparse crowd due to the weather and the fact that the Rockies are not doing too well this year.  The weather was a little spotty and it began to drizzle at about the third inning.  It was cold and wet for the rest of the game.  We braved the rain for a few innings, but then headed for some seats that were sheltered from the rain.  The Rockies scored 7 runs in the 8th inning to come back and beat Arizona 8-3.  Since the Rockies scored 6 or more runs Taco Bell gives away tacos the next day and the crowd seemed just as happy about the tacos as the Rockies victory.

Kansas City, MO - Kauffman Stadium

On Saturday we drove from St. Louis to Kansas City.  We had to leave early so we could get to our hotel for our Fantasy Football Draft.  We had an early dinner at Fiorella's Jack's Stack Barbecue in downtown Kansas City to celebrate Kevin's 41st birthday.  We had some KC Burnt Ends and some great steaks.  Definitely one of the better meals we have had on our journey.  After the dinner we went back to the hotel and watched the Boise State vs Georgia and the Oregon vs LSU football games and enjoyed the convincing Boise State victory.

We left for the Sunday afternoon KC Royal's game at about 11:00am.  There are massive amounts of parking available as the baseball and football stadiums share the same complex.  $10 to park and we parked pretty close to the stadium.  It was actually a little cool in the morning and by game time it was a very comfortable 75 degrees.  It was an absolutely picture perfect afternoon for baseball with plenty of sunshine, warm not hot, and a nice cool breeze.  There was a very nice crowd in Kansas City.  They have a bunch of family activities out past the center field area, including a nice looking baseball themed miniature golf course.  Kauffman Stadium is 40 years old now but still looks amazing.  The fountains in the outfield are a great touch.  From our front row seats near 3rd base we could hear the water in the fountains.  The KC fans are very supportive for having a team that has not been very good for such a long time.  The Royals lost to the Cleveland Indians 9-6.  The game got very exciting as the Royals had a chance to get close in the bottom of the ninth.

St. Louis, MO - Busch Stadium

On Thursday we drove from Greendale, WI to St. Louis.  We stopped at Crown's Candy Kitchen where Kevin attempted the Milkshake Challenge that he saw on the Travel Channel.  The goal of the challenge was to finish 5 24oz milkshakes in 30minutes.  Kevin gave up after 3 and a half shakes and was cold (even though the outside temperature was about 100 degrees) and miserable for a couple hours after the attempt.  We were told that only 30 people have successfully completed this challenge since this restaurant opened in 1913.

On Friday we had a nice lunch at a nearby Granite City Brewery and then Tina had a business call to make and Kevin went to get the car's oil changed.  We headed for the stadium at about 5:00pm.  We arrived downtown at about 5:30pm and there was very little traffic to deal with and we found a nice parking garage pretty close to the stadium for $10.

The exterior of the new Busch Stadium is all red bricks and is a nice looking building.  There are statues of all the Cardinal greats on the sidewalks outside the stadium.  Inside the stadium everything is red.  There is a very nice view of the downtown skyline, including nice views of the the St. Louis Arch.  The stadium is very new, but it still has a somewhat old feel.  The scoreboards are adequate, but nothing spectacular and they still play old time organ music.  It's a very nice game time experience.  It was 96 degrees at game time and it was slow to cool down.  The Reds beat the Cardinals 11-3.  After the game there was an excellent Friday Night Fireworks show that we stayed and enjoyed.  After the game we made the short walk back to our car and then headed back to our hotel.  It was very easy getting out of downtown and back on the freeway.

We Are Family,,, (August 24, 2011- August 31, 2011)

Throughout this week we had the pleasure of spending some quality time with Tina's family in Wisconsin.  We had some great meals in Milwaukee, including Butter Burgers for lunch at Solly's, pizza from Ricardo's (Tina's childhood favorite), and a great Italian dinner at Casa Di Giorgio.  We also had lunch with Tina's cousin, Rick, who was visiting from California and her Uncle David.

We were also fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend 3 days with Tina's brother, Tom, and his family in Cambridge, Wisconsin.  Tom and his wife, Sandy, were wonderful hosts and we had lots of laughs together.  Tina's mother, Elke, was also staying at Tom's home for the week.  Tina was able to enjoy a second visit with her mom during our summer adventure.

It is always hard to leave Wisconsin!  We are both very appreciative for the love and hospitality that was shown to us during our stay.  As always, we are anxious to return for another visit in the very near future.  We love you all!!

P.S.  Get well soon Auntie Marilyn.  We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers!

Milwaukee, WI - Miller Park

On Tuesday we drove the back roads to Miller Park and arrived at about 5:15pm for the 7pm game.  We happened to be one of the first ten cars in that particular parking lot and were awarded a Bob Uecker 'First Row' parking spot for $1.

We walked across the pedestrian bridge and arrived at the gates just as they opened.  We went to the Brewer's store and Tina found a nice Brewer hoodie.  We walked around the lower level concourse checking out dining options.  Kevin had decided to do the Sausage Tour - one of each of the sausages featured in the Racing Sausages.  (See the Grand Salami page for further details)

We had great seats in the front row of the second level right over first base.  The roof was open when we first arrived at the stadium, but they closed the roof right before game time due to rain.  Miller Park is a great stadium and works perfectly for the people of Wisconsin.  It was a very exciting game as the Cardinals scored two un-earned runs to beat the Brewers 2-1.  After the game we worked our way back to the parking lot and slowly worked our way out of the stadium.

Minneapolis, MN - Target Field

On Thursday we drove from Milwaukee to Minneapolis, MN.  It was a moderately long drive of about 350 miles.  We arrived in Minneapolis just around the start of rush hour and there was quite a bit of construction throughout the area making the drive seem a bit longer.  After we checked into our hotel, we had a sensible dinner (for once) at Panera Bread that was just across the street from where we were staying.

On Friday we went to get haircuts in the morning and then had a nice lunch at the Granite City Food and Brewery.  We decided to spend the afternoon before the game taking a cruise on the Mississippi River.  We took the Minnesota Queen River Boat Tour which was about an hour and a half sternwheeler cruise that went through the Victorian Fall Locks and provided some very nice views of the Minneapolis skyline.

After the boat ride we worked our way downtown and parked near the stadium.  We walked around downtown and stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe and bought a pin for Tina's collection.  We then stopped at a nearby restaurant for a quick beverage before the game.  We then walked a couple blocks to the stadium.  We entered the stadium directly from the street.  From downtown you don't really see the stadium until your basically at the gates.  This is definitely one of the nicer stadiums.  The concourses and stands are well conceived.  All of the seats seem to provide a great view of the game and like most of the new stadiums you can still get a good view of the field from the concourses.  The downtown skyline view from the stadium is spectacular.  This is just a fantastic place to watch a game and, even though the Twins lost to the Detroit Tigers, we still very much enjoyed our time at Target Field.  

Chicago, IL - Wrigley Field

On Monday afternoon we had lunch at Miller's Ale House in Lombard, IL near our hotel and then headed to North Chicago. We arrived near Wrigley Field at about 3:00pm for the 7 o'clock game and the area was already hopping with Cubs fans of all ages.  We parked at the McDonalds directly across the street from Wrigley Field for $25 and then walked around Wrigleyville looking for someplace interesting to have something to eat and drink before the game.  We had a of couple drinks and a nacho appetizer at Redmond's which is actually a Wisconsin Badger bar.

We walked back to Wrigley Field at about 5:30pm.  Wrigley Field is definitely a step back in time.  There was a Dixie Land Band playing outside and lots of kids and families along with the usual crowd of rowdy Cubs fans.  There are no fancy Jumbo-Trons and no fan interaction during the game.  Dick Vitale of college basketball fame was in the crowd and walked right down our aisle and was taking pictures with fans between innings.  The Braves beat the Cubs 3-0 as the Cubs left something like 15 men on base without scoring.  Darwin Barney, our  dentist's son from Beaverton, was awarded the Cubs player of the game after making two great defensive plays at shortstop.  After the game we worked our way back to our hotel and then prepared to head to Tina's hometown of Milwaukee. 

Chi- Town (Chicago, Illinois) - US Cellular Field

On Saturday, we made the 8-hour drive from Pittsburgh to Chicago.  Upon arrival, we went to Portillio's for their famous Italian Beef sandwiches.  We were not disappointed.  There are so many wonderful restaurants in the Chicago-land area, it will be difficult to choose which ones to visit during the next couple of days.  Oh well,  we could have worse problems to solve.

On Sunday morning, August 21st, we started our day off with a wonderful breakfast at Eggstasy, a local eatery known for their spectacular menu.  We both enjoyed a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee.  Kevin was feeling adventurous and decided to try the "Chocolate-Covered Bacon".  This was served cold with whipped creme on the side.  He enjoyed this treat and then also had an omelet and pancakes.  Tina enjoyed a spinach and mushroom crepe with Brie cheese.  We spent $50.00 for breakfast, but felt it was well worth the experience.  We will definitely go back during future travels.

Chocolate Covered Bacon - For Breakfast?

After breakfast, we drove to the south side of Chicago to find a place to park for the 1:05 PM Chicago White Sox game.  We found a cute little dive called, First Base on 32nd and Normal and decided to have a cool one before the game.  We were greeted by "Carrie", who made us feel most welcomed.  She offered to give us a free parking pass and saved us $20.00.  The ballpark was only a couple of blocks from this establishment.  We chatted for a while and shared our baseball adventure with her before making our way to the game.

It was perfect weather for a Sunday afternoon baseball game.  Game time temperature was 74 degrees and it was mostly sunny.  We made our way to our club level seats, stopping to admire some of the specialty food items available.  Our seats were in the shade, but since the stadium was about half full, we walked to another section and enjoyed the game in the afternoon sun.  The White Sox were playing the Texas Rangers.  The Sox scored early and often and ended up winning the game 10-0.  Paul Konerko had two hits early in the game to get to 1,999 career hits with the White Sox.  He came up three more times with a chance for number 2000, but failed to get that milestone hit.  US Cellular Field is still in great shape, but somewhat generic compared to most of the modern stadiums, but it still is a great place to watch a game.

After the game ended, we walked back to "First Base" to have another cool one while the game time traffic subsided.  We were greeted once again by "Carrie" and now also by "Devon", an off duty Bartender at the same establishment.  We quickly struck up a friendship and enjoyed two hours of laughter before deciding to leave.  If you are ever in Chicago, please patronize the "First Base."  You won't be sorry.  We made two new friends today and will look forward to seeing both of them again in the future.

We were both incredibly hungry (imagine that!) and decided to try "Gino's East" for deep dish pizza for dinner.  Another winner!  We turned in early after reminiscing about the great day that we once again enjoyed.

Pittsburgh, PA - PNC Park

On Thursday we drove from Washington, DC to Pittsburgh.  We checked into our hotel and then decided to have dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant.  Pittsburgh doesn't seem to be the best place for Mexican food as we both had very poor to mediocre meals.  Later in the evening we went to Rita's Ice for the 4th time in 4 days.

On Friday we drove around some of the outlying Pittsburgh suburbs.  We then worked our way towards downtown to take the Incline up to the top of Mount Washington which has spectacular views of the Pittsburgh skyline and offers views of the football and baseball stadiums.  The Incline is a very old cable car that was originally used in the late 1800's to take commuters from Mt  Washington to downtown Pittsburgh.  At the base of the Incline there were all sorts of shops and restaurants that we looked through and there is a Hard Rock Cafe where Tina purchased a couple of pins for her collection.

From the Incline, we then drove across downtown to an area known as The Strip for lunch at the original Primanti Bros Restaurant.  Primanti Bros are known for their sandwiches which are stuffed with coleslaw and french fries.  The Strip is just a few block from the downtown area and has many shops, open markets, and restaurants to explore.  As we were eating our lunch, there was heavy rain and thunderstorms so we did not get a chance to walk around.  We then worked our way back to downtown through the pouring rain and found a parking garage to park for the game.  Most of the downtown parking lots are $5 to park on game days and it is a very short, beautiful walk across the Clemente Bridge to PNC Park.

View of PNC Park and Clemente Bridge from Parking Garage

The rain was letting up by the time we walked to the stadium and the skies were lightening.  We circled the concourse a couple times mostly just for shelter.  The views inside and outside the stadium are spectacular.  This is one of the best, if not the best, stadium in all of baseball.  The game started about 45 minutes late due to the rain, but once the game started there were no weather issues.  The game was very exciting and the Pittsburgh fans were very loud and loyal despite the Pirates recent struggles.  The Pirates lost to the Cincinnati Reds 11-8 as the Reds scored 3 runs in the ninth.  They have a perfect amount of between inning activities to engage the fans including a 'Pierogi' Race and a 'We-are-Fa-Ma-Lie Feud' game that was amusing and entertaining.  The night time skyline views from the park are truly spectacular, but couldn't be captured on film.

Washington, DC - Nationals Park

We decided to take it easy Wednesday and just relax at the pool before the 7pm game.  It was mostly sunny that afternoon and it felt good to stay off our feet after two days of touring the museums and the zoo.

We decided drive to the stadium instead of taking the Metro.  The drive was fairly easy as most people were coming out of DC in the afternoon as we were heading in.  We found some free parking on the street about a half mile from the stadium.  There were parking lots right near where we parked that were $20.  This free parking seemed too good to be true, but we verified with a local couple that was parking in a similar spot that it was OK to park there for the game and then made the short walk to the stadium.  

The stadium is located really close to the Anacostia River and the Naval Yard.  We arrived inside the stadium and watched batting practice from the left field bleachers.  Kevin came close to catching a couple of batting practice home run balls.  We walked through the main level concourse.  Tina had her picture taken with the Thomas Jefferson mascot and then went to our seats.  We had first row seats down the first base line.  We were about 10 feet from the foul line and got a very close look at the right fielder.

There was a very good crowd, not full but not a great number of empty seats.  The Nationals were playing the -Cincinnati Reds, and it was a close, exciting game that the Reds ended up winning 2-1.  The Nationals loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but failed to score.  It was about a 12 mile drive back to our hotel in Maryland and was very quick and easy.

Washington, D.C.

On Monday, we took the Metro train from Maryland to Washington D.C. to take in some of the historical sights.  There were so many things to do and so many choices to make, given the amount of time that we had to spend.  We decided to make our first destination the Smithsonian Museum of American History. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that there are no admission fees to any of the Smithsonian Museums.  Thomas Smithson, the founder of the museums, had the stipulation that no admission fees were to ever be charged to visit these institutions.  What a bargain!

We spent several hours admiring the exhibits.  Tina enjoyed the First Ladies exhibit that featured the gowns of all the American President's wives.  She also enjoyed the Pop Culture exhibit that featured Dorothy's ruby red slippers from the Wizard of Oz, the set of the All in the Family living room, the original Muppets before they were on Sesame Street, the Charlie McCarthy ventriloquist doll, and Phyllis Diller's file cabinet of original gags that contained more than 50,000 jokes on index cards.

Kevin enjoyed the exhibits pertaining to Science, Technology, Transportation, and War.  We were both very touched at the September 11, 2001 exhibit that featured two portions of the metal structures from the World Trade Center and also the charred phone and identification card that were found on the remains of a Pentagon employee who lost his life in the bombing.

Other items of interest consisted of exhibits pertaining to Slavery, the History of American Presidents, and the History of the Media.


We left the museum with sore and tired feet and decided to get a quick bite to eat.  We headed back to Union Station and were pleasantly surprised with all of the food and beverage offerings.  Tina had one of the best Chicken Salad sandwiches in her life (at a train station!) and Kevin had a tasty BBQ Chicken dinner.

After dinner, we decided to take the Monuments By Moonlight trolley car tour.  This was an absolutely breathtaking tour and featured sights that included the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial,  the Korean War Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial, and the Arlington National Cemetery.  We took some awesome pictures and received a great history lesson regarding our Nation's Capital.  We definitely want to return to Washington D.C. in the future to spend some more time going through all of the Smithsonian Museums.

Iwo Jima Memorial

Korean War Veteran's Memorial

Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial

On Tuesday, August 17th we returned to Washington D.C. and spent the afternoon at the Smithsonian National Zoo.  It was a gorgeous day and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Giant Pandas, Lions, Tigers, and Monkeys to name a few.  We both felt like kids again and enjoyed all of the exhibits.  Once again, we had the good fortune of taking some amazing pictures.

We then boarded the crowded, rush-hour Metro train to make our way to the Washington National's Stadium for the 7:05 PM game.  Imagine the look on Tina's face when the ticket taker advised us that our tickets were not for tonight's game, but rather were for tomorrow nights game instead.  No harm, no foul.  We were both tired from walking all day and decided to go back to Maryland for dinner.  We made another trip to Rita's Ice for dessert and then relaxed for the remainder of the evening in our hotel.

Baltimore - Oriole Park at Camden Yards

On Sunday, we needed to leave Philadelphia/South Jersey in the early morning for an afternoon game.  Kevin was under the impression that we needed to get to Washington DC for a National's game, but realized along the way that we just saw the Nationals in Philadelphia on Saturday night, so they wouldn't be playing in Washington DC. We stopped and looked at our tickets and then changed our destination to Baltimore, which was along the way we were heading, so no real damage done.

We arrived in downtown Baltimore earlier than we needed to, due to the slight itinerary confusion.  It was raining, quite heavy at times, on the drive to Baltimore and it was really coming down as we drove around the empty Baltimore streets on a Sunday morning.  We were genuinely concerned that this game would be rained out.  We had an hour or so to kill, and were thinking of stopping somewhere in the Inner Harbor area, but after we circled a few times looking for somewhere to park, we just decided to head closer to the stadium and find somewhere to park.  We found a lot very near the stadium for $10 and then stopped at a nearby restaurant for a pre-game meal.  By now the rain had let up slightly and the skies looked promising.

We walked across the street to the stadium and walked around the concourses and enjoyed the scenery at this beautiful stadium.  The grounds crew had the tarp off the infield, which was a very encouraging sign that the game would still start on time.  We made our way down to our seats about 45 minutes before game time and dried off the moisture.  We had fantastic seats in the fifth row, just past third base.  As soon as we sat down and got comfortable, the grounds crew started unrolling the tarp and it started to once again pour.  We hurried back to the shelter of the concourse, preparing for a lengthy delay.  However, the rain quickly stopped, the tarp was removed from the field and the game started on time without any other rain issues.

We ended up having a great time at the game.  The sun actually came out for most of the afternoon and it was hot and muggy.  The Orioles were playing the Detroit Tigers.  The Orioles pulled ahead and were leading 8 to 1 going into the ninth inning.  Detroit quickly scored 4 runs in the ninth and had the bases loaded.  Baltimore held on and won the game 8-5, but it was very exciting at the end.

After the game we wanted to get a local, authentic Maryland seafood dinner.  We found a place, Al's Seafood, that was located in nearby Essex, Maryland.  Kevin tried the all you can eat Maryland crabs and Tina had a seafood platter.  The crabs were small and a lot of work.  Kevin had six crabs that took about an hour to eat, and yielded about 1/8 of a cup of meat.  Nearby tables were going through buckets of crabs in the same amount of time.  Tina's seafood platter was not very good, either.  It included a small lobster tail that could have been the chewiest, most rubbery piece of food either of us have ever encountered.

Maryland Crabs

We left the restaurant very disappointed and headed to our Washington, DC area hotel.  We checked in and then looked for someplace for a desert as a palate cleanser after our horrible meal.  We found a place called Rita's Ice, which sold Italian Ice and Frozen Custard.  Tina had a cup of Coconut Ice and Kevin had Swedish  Fish Ice.  We both enjoyed these cool, tasty dishes.