Some numbers:
4700 Miles (Roughly)
20 Friends and Family Who’ve Caught Up with Me on Tour
15 Cities
13 States (FL, TN, GA, MD, PA, CT, NY, IN, KY, TX, OK, IA & MN)
9 Planes
9 Visits from My Wife
8 Rental Cars
7 Cast Changes
5 Baseball Games (and 1 Rain-out)
4 Buses
4 Crew Changes
1 Wife who puts up with the Craziness
The wikipedia entry about Mickey's.
Mickey's is, of course, one of my Roadfood stops for St. Paul. As it is styled as a railway dining car, it's a tight squeeze inside. Three quarters of the restaurant is dominated by the counter with four small booths at one end. That's it. Seating for about 30 folks.
I stole this photo from Roadfood.com (I wouldn't have been able to take a picture, it was far to crowded!)This place was a classic diner, both inside and out. The menu was all staples, and all of them are available 24/7/365. The woman next to me at the counter was eating liver and onions at 11 AM. The "Potatoes O'Brien" were a meal unto themselves: hash browns with diced ham, onions and green peppers. The waitress was the right from central casting (a'la Alice's sidekick: Flo - "Kiss my grits"). Needless to say I enjoyed myself immensely and took a milkshake to go.
While I was there, my father was in Chicago driving in circles. He cashed in the Andretti Racing School gift certificate we got him (Casey, Sheila Marie, Mom & I) and was learning to drive an Indy car. He turned in a very respectable top speed of just over 150 MPH. In both the message he left me and then in our later conversation, he sounded like a kid in a candy store. The gift certificate was a long standing gift idea, but hanging out with Mom and Dad at the racetrack in Indianapolis in May really cemented the idea.
Dad in Winner's Circle
Monday night, I put together a Spamily outing to the ballpark. We invaded the Metrodome and watched the Twins beat up the Royals. The game was fast-paced and really fun. We got to introduce Julie to baseball. She's a Brit, and though she'd played softball, she'd never been to a baseball game. There were 14 of us and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Again, though, it was weird to sit inside and watch a baseball game. (It was a beautiful night for baseball in Minneapolis, but I can understand why they might need a dome in April and October.)
The Metrodome was clearly built with football in mind. The rightfield wall is all weird as it is where the seats have to be retracted to make room for the field. There's the normal baseball fence with a 16 foot plastic sign above. The sign is in play, though it's not rigid - so anything that hits it just dies. They also curtain off a bunch of seats in center and right-centerfields. The sight-lines are also a little weird. The diamond is situated in what would be the corner of the football field, so the seats around homeplate are great. As you move down the foul-lines, the seats are all still oriented toward what would be the 50 yard line. Fortunately for us, we were behind home plate, high up in the upperdeck, but behind home plate. We also got to experience that weird sensation of being "burped" out of the Metrodome. (The air pressure that supports the dome also sort of pushes you out of the revolving doors.) The trip brings my major league ballpark count to 6 (Tiger Stadium, Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, Minute-Maid Park, The Ballpark at Arlington and The Metrodome). I hope to add Kaufman Stadium in a couple of weeks.
The rightfield "baggie" wall.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
I'm so desperately behind in my blogging (I started this post a week ago!) that I'll cut off this post here, just to get it online. I promise I will catch up soon! Sheila Marie's here through Tuesday afternoon, so there'll be lots to write about.
JV
No comments:
Post a Comment