Louisville Bats

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Another day started with some more moderate hiking, about 5 miles.  At the top I had a nice view of the lake formed by a TVA dam.  A nice viewing area you could drive too as well.  But after that, hit the road towards Louisville.  Some nostalgia here- going up I75, I passed by Caryville, TN, where I went on ASP in ‘95.  Ah, back in the simpler days. 

The past couple of times I have done this minor-league trip, I have had a notebook in the truck to take notes on as I am driving, or at the end of the day.  I like to take note of funny things I see, pieces of Americana that are as much a part of this trip as baseball.  It makes me a bit sad that I may be losing a bit of handwritten history in favor of this e-history.  What could we have known about history if Thomas Jefferson had a blog?

Anyway, the other crazy part of my drive was in my rear mirror.  All of a sudden, I see a pickup careening all over the road, then into the median grass at 70mph!  He keeps swerving, and almost goes into the oncoming side of traffic.  He stops after a bit, and I kept driving.  Yikes.

The game- a bit humdrum.  Bats won, 3-1. I usually don’t mind a pitching duel, but I didn’t even realize it was one until about the 4th inning.  Curtis Granderson was on rehab from the Yankees, he went 0-3.  Nice stadium, although it was in a odd neighborhood.  It seems like one of those ‘If we build it here, maybe this will make it better’ stadiums, but it hasn’t worked out.  Has a nice view of the I-65 bridge, and more $1 hot dogs.  I had only 5 tonight.  Good thing tomorrow isn’t that promotion again.  It says a crowd of 7400? 3500 at best I say.  It could be cool if they had more people in the stands though.  I guess Tuesdays aren’t hoppin in Louisville.

Another hat with purple. Yuck. And a ripoff of the old Greensboro Bats.

When I got to my campsite to pick it out, I heard a noise in the woods, and looked in 15 yards to see a deer turn, raise its white tail and bound away.  I chose that site.  Now I have a symphony of frogs, crickets, and who knows what else.

Tennessee Smokies

 

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I started the day by climbing Mt Pisgah, 6mi round trip from the campground.  A tough uphill, and it was a foggy mountain top.  I was thinking on the hike, ‘It isn’t always about the destination, but about the journey.’  I don’t know who said that first, but it is a good philosophy that can be taken towards so many different aspects of life.

Mileage starting:93411

Tent takedown: 5:36

Tent up:8:22 (a regression… not good)

Uneventful trip to the next campground, which isn’t totally tent friendly(sloped sites better suited to popups) but with a little bit extra time before the game, I went to visit UTennessee in Knoxville.  Very underwhelming, honestly.  Average architecture, no central area that I could distinguish(like the quad at Illinois) and Neyland Stadium was kind of blah.  Good thing Knoxville has the sunsphere, or it might have been a waste of time. 
Onto the game… When I was waiting in line to buy my ticket, some lady came around with an extra ticket to give away.  I got it.  That is karma for giving the free tickets I won on last year’s trip to some little kid. Tennessee is the Cubs’ AA affiliate, which is the first Cubs minor league game I have ever seen.  The stadium is another one with a hilly backdrop, although I’ve seen better.  Low attendance, but maybe it is the in between of UT being in session and summer’s vacation rush to nearby Dollywood. 

$1 Hot dog night was a godsend, although they start to get expensive when you eat 6 of them.  Another perk of being a Cubs affiliate- Old Style on tap. I’m not sure I am a huge fan of the tricolor hat, kind of reminds me of the Expos.  Especially when the alternate hat has a growling bear on it.  But I like the script TS, and it is associated with the Cubs, so it is ok.

The Smokies won 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth, on a sac fly after being down 2-1 going into it.  The crowd, who had been rained on for the 5th-8th innings, finally got into it.

Asheville Tourists

Mileage starting the trip: 93207

Well, I got off a little bit later than I wanted, but only missed the top of the first inning. It was a wild game, Asheville won 13-11 by scoring the last 9 runs. Decent stadium, but small dimensions, only 373 to center. There was a 15 foot wall though, and they couldn’t make it any bigger because there is a mountain in the way! I caught a t-shirt from the slingshot. Actually I picked it up off the ground after someone else dropped it.

Another odd thing was that both teams were wearing red. Kannapolis had their away reds on, and Asheville had their Sunday alternates on. It was very confusing. After I figured Kannapolis had black sleeves, it worked out better. Great hat. Trees, a river, big A. Cool.

Camping at Mt Pisgah Campground off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Nice site, very empty campground. Made a nice fire, cooked a steak and potato, then had S’mores. Life is good. And it is getting cool at night, which is nice. I realized a couple things I’ve forgotten. A pillow and a chair for by the campfire. Oops.

Tent setup time: 7:11 (slow, but I haven’t done it in a year)

Greensboro Grasshoppers

So this is my hometown park, of course. So these comments will be more about all of it. Enough with the woo-woos every two seconds. They lost 11-5. But the park is beautiful as always, with a nice view of our skyline. The seats are good, they keep you entertained in between innings. I don't have any pictures here, because I went after work and didn't have my camera. It rained a bunch late in the afternoon, so the game started a little late. We had fireworks after, and they were loud and sparkly and a lot better than Winston-Salem (as most stuff in GSO is) So now I have to pack and get on the road, start doing the fun part of the trip. I'm not sure I am totally ready, but too bad. The time has come!!

Winston-Salem Dash

So tonight was the first game, at the new stadium in Winston.  A few things to say.  I know W-S is only half an hour away, and each time I go there, I know why I don’t go there much.  No matter where I’ve been in WS, it always seems sketchy.  The park is on the outskirts of downtown I think, and maybe it will spur an urban revival.  Let’s hope so.  The park is great, has a quirky outfield wall.  A little Fenway-ish.  Not too many nice concession stands it seemed.  Worst pretzel ever.  Very dry, and it didn’t help that I didn’t have a beverage.  The game was good, they won 13-3.  A scary moment at the end though.  With one strike left to go, the Lynchburg batter got beaned in the head, and dropped like a sack of potatoes.  He got up after a minute, and walked off under his own power. Fireworks after, 7 minutes worth.  Not bad, but no turkey killers.

Road of Dreams Trip, May-June 2010

So I am starting my string of 21 parks in 20 days tomorrow night. Here is the schedule:

Fri, May 21 Winston-Salem Dash

May 22 Greensboro Grasshoppers

May 23 Asheville Tourists

May 24 Tennessee Smokies

May 25 Louisville Bats

May 26 Bowling Green Hot Rods

May 27 Huntsville Stars

May 28 Nashville Sounds

May 29 Memphis Redbirds

May 30 Arkansas Travelers

May 31 Frisco Rough Riders

June 1 Round Rock Express

June 2 San Antonio Missions

June 3 Corpus Christi Hooks

June 4 Houston Astros

June 5 Mobile Bay Bears

June 6 Montgomery Biscuits

June 7 Gwinnett Braves

June 8 Greenville Drive

June 9 Thomasville HiToms

I am cheating a little bit by doing Winston-Salem, Greensboro and Thomasville (a college summer league) around home to pad the stats. 10 states(1 new: TX) , probably 4000 miles, at least 8 State Parks, at least 4 National Parks. Dont ask about the budget. I will try to post a bit each day. I'm not sure if I will feel like doing it at 11pm, or if the computer will let me, but hopefully I will try.

Until tomorrow night....

Baseball travelling

So this is going to become a "I've just been to a ball park and this is what it was like" page. It might be a while until my first one this year. Thanks to work for a laptop and 3G access.

So yesterday I went to a Greensboro Grasshoppers game. Not my first, since I live here. But it was an exhibition against their parent club, the Florida Marlins. The Marlins had there starters in for 5 innings, then stopped caring. Apparently, the umps did too because in the bottom of the 10th, the ump blatently blew a call to let the Grasshoppers win, rather than a tie and ending the game, which was going to happen if he had called him out. Whatever, a good show put on, good weather, ready to start some real baseball now. Oh, and Cantu of the Marlins hit the furthest homerun I have ever seen here, over the Natty's lawn (and sidewalk and beer vendors and maybe another hill and sidewalk and fence) in left field. I can't build in Iowa in June, so I am contemplating my summer road trip options..... I've never been to Texas, it is Rosenblatt's last year, but that's a big drive. We'll see