The Sacred Corn Palace!

This photo was taken inside the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. Corn is
the chosen décor for this basketball arena. I'd say the NBA missed the boat on this one.

Bugs

Lots of dead ones splattered all over the windshield.

Update: I couldn't take it any longer, had to get a car wash.

My First Time...Indoors

Followed the Chi Sox up to "the Baggy" (Minny). Twins need to take
all three to make it interesting.

Update: Saw an interesting game tonight. But not just the game itself, but the experience of watching baseball indoors made it interesting. The Twins won 9-3 and got to within a game and a half of the Sox. The fans in Minnesota are really into their ball club. They all stand up when it gets to be two strikes on the opposing hitter and they don't need those stupid fan graphics to tell them when it's ok to cheer, which is refreshing. The Twins play a fun type of baseball too relying on pitching, fundamentals, and aggressive base running. With 35,000 rowdy fans in attendance it felt like a playoff atmosphere. (Although there's no reason I should know what that feels like)

There were several quirks about the game/stadium that should be pointed out. First of all, you feel like you're at a hockey game because it's so chilly inside. It also feels like you're in a completely sterile environment, which is not fun if you like Washington, DC humidity or really dry hot air. During the game a fly ball hit the roof of the stadium and somehow it was called foul, although I thought it was almost impossible to tell that high up whether the ball would have landed inside or outside the lines. Another exciting moment came when someone ran out onto the field and got chased by 20 of Minneapolis' finest , which was very entertaining.

What else? Because they pump air into the dome when you exit the stadium you get whooshed away when you open the door. It's quite exhilarating! I missed out on the excitement the first time I left because I used the revolving doors, but when I looked back and saw what a foolish mistake I had made I turned right back around and experienced the thrill. From speaking with several fans about their new OUTDOOR ball park that is supposed to be ready for 2010 I got the feeling that everyone hates the Dome, but from looking at the faces of kids and adults alike as they exited their Dome, you can't help but think how they will miss the "whoosh".

OK, now that concludes most of the MLB stuff I'll be doing on the trip. So now seems like a good time for me to post my official biased stadium rankings of the one's I've visited so far over the years:

PNC/Pirates (great views from the upper deck)
Camden Yards/Orioles (no explanation needed)
Great American/Reds
Tiger Stadium/Tigers (classic old time stadium with character)
Wrigley/Cubs
Edison Field/Angels
Fenway/Red Sox (definitely overrated, but I was there 9 years ago and have not seen recent renovations)
Citizens Bank/Phillies
Nationals/Nationals (almost identical to Philly, except with the terrible view of the parking lots)
Jacobs Field/Indians (too many club suites and the upper deck view of the field isn't as good as Phils/Nats)
Kauffman/Royals
Memorial/old Orioles
Busch/old Cardinals
Yankee/Yankees (if not for games that have been played here this would be further down...the stadium is a dump)
Shea/Mets (dump)
Metrodome/Twins (fun once, but just once)
Veterans/Old Phillies (dump II)
RFK/Old Nationals (no explanation needed II)
Cinergy/Old Reds (couldn't get down to the lower deck during batting practice w/out a ticket)

Sunday's Meal

BBQ and Blues at BB's BBQ in Kansas City. I'd post a picture of my
meal, but I don't want to get my Aunt Jan too upset about my
cholesterol. Let's just say the music was excellent.

For those interested in the ribs email me.

The Things You Find!

Found this in a display case outside Governor Culver's office. Looks
like he's not afraid to rep his hometown.

R e d redddd h o t hottttt ... The Barons are Red Hot.

This is Iowa?

Yep. Des Moines, Iowa.

Sunday Is Still For Baseball

Yesterday I saw the final regular season home game at Kauffman Stadium home of the Kansas City Royals. They took on the Chi Sox.

Overall impression: It was a beautiful stadium, but I wasn't completely blown away by the overall experience. They are doing some renovations on the place and as you can see from the picture there are sections that are closed off, which is not a problem for the perennial last place team. The renovations should ease the heavy traffic on the concourse and add some new party decks in the outfield. I've been told that Kauffman has become one of the more under appreciated ballparks in MLB, but it definitely had a few negatives. First of all, there are ads everywhere, especially on the outfield wall an in between the fountains. Secondly, the view from the upper deck is of the interstate, which is unfortunate.

Of course the fountains are very nice and bring a nice touch to the place. And I'm also certain that this stadium originated the idea of the open concourse that you now see in all modern day ballparks. They did it back in the 70's way before it became popular. Also, I can see why so many HRs are hit here as it was very windy during the entire game. That same wind however made it quite comfortable to enjoy the game.

Some other interesting aspects were that the PA announcer asked everyone to put their hand over their heart during the National Anthem. I've probably been to over a thousand baseball games and I've never heard that before. Also the big screen is MASSIVE and directly above the batter's eye in the shape of a rectangle standing straight up. I liked both of these unique features in addition to the organ player that played throughout the game and did "Take me out to the ball game".

The fans were great and they turned out well even though there was a Chiefs game on TV. Now my favorite moment of the day was hearing Mark Teahen come out to "Informer" by Snow.

I'll have more later, but I'm in hurry to check out of this fleabag motel im staying...

Mighty Mississippi

I was wondering why I was seeing motorboats for sale out on the prairie.

As soon as I crossed into Missouri gas prices dropped 30 cents.

Land of Lincoln

You can't get away from Lincoln out here. From Kentucky to Illinois there's Lincoln sites all along the way. With the help of two energy drinks, courtesy of Full Throttle giving them away right outside the stadium, I drove from Cincy to Springfield, IL all night after the game. Then spent the day at the Lincoln Presidential Library and some other sites in town including his gravesite. That photo is Abe's original desk, which seems small for someone 6'4". I was totally beat by 5 PM and retired for the evening. Next stop KC

Lincoln Desk