Category / Travel

by admin

Travelling The 50 States – Pennsylvania

Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 2nd state to be added to the Union: Pennsylvania.

State: Pennsylvania
Joined the Union: 1787
Visits: 2

I’ve made two visits to the Keystone State, first in 2003 on my way to New York and then again in 2005 to take in some afternoon baseball.

My first trip to, or rather through, Pennsylvania came on the last Saturday in March of 2003.  While heading east on I-80 on a road trip to New York. we stopped somewhere in Pennsylvania for lunch at an Arby’s.  This particular Arby’s happened to have a breakfast buffet, which was not something I had seen before or seen since.  The customers of this Arby’s seemed like they would have been more at home in the hills of Appalachia then in Pennsylvania.  One in particular was wearing overalls with no shirt underneath (at least that’s how I remember it) and was waiting patiently for a new batch of bacon to be brought out to the buffet.  Once it was, this hill person got up, emptied the whole tray onto his plate, and returned to his seat to chow down.  Watching in awe, we finished our processed meat sandwiches and headed back out on the road.

I returned to Pennsylvania in May of 2005 to see the Cubs defeat the Pirates 3-2 at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park.  Southwest Airlines was introducing service from Chicago to Pittsburgh and was offering fares for $30 each way, so, with a businessman’s special on the schedule for an early Thursday afternoon, plans were made for a quick daytrip out to Pittsburgh.  We arrived in town and took a bus from the airport to the stadium, where we ate a pregame meal of ribs at the in-stadium Outback Steakhouse.  Yeah, you read that right.  There was an Outback Steakhouse in the stadium.  After the game, there was another bus trip back to the airport for the flight back to Chicago, which seemed to be made up strictly of people who were at the game, as a rousing rendition of Take Me Out To The Ballgame broke out mid-flight.

Will I return?  I certainly hope so, as I still need to add Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park to my collection.

by admin

Travelling The 50 States – Ohio

Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 17th state to be added to the Union: Ohio.

State: Ohio
Joined the Union: 1803
Visits: 1112 (I think)

Over the years, I’ve made at least eleven trips to the Buckeye State, first in 1996 and most recently in 2019.

My first trip would have been in early May of 1996.  At the end of finals week, a group of us headed out from West Lafayette for a day trip to King’s Island amusement park.  Things I remember from this trip: stopping at or near the campus of Miami of Ohio for food, I’m assuming on the way there and a group of Ferengi characters chasing after the ladies in our group and asking them to stroke their ears.  I don’t remember any particular rides, though I’m sure we partook.

I would return to Ohio on Friday, April 7, 2000 to see the Cubs battle the Reds and their newest acquisition, Ken Griffey Jr.  An eclectic group started the morning way too early with Krispy Kreme donuts at the house before heading towards Cincinnati.  Along the way, there was a brief stop in West Lafayette, because why not, and further along in Indiana for the trifecta of a KFC/Taco Bell/Pizza Hut for lunch.  We arrived in Cincinnati well before the stadium opened, so some time was spent walking around the bustling metropolis that was, and continues to be, Cincinnati.  Our tickets were in the upper deck and, to be honest, I have little to no recollection of the game itself, which the Cubs won 10-6.  My one and only memory of the game is losing my balance and tumbling down 5-10 rows, landing on a group of fans below.  Certainly not my proudest moment.

I returned to Ohio, and the Cincinnati area, in at the end of April in 2003.  My friend Scott had moved to Ohio at some point, and I went for a weekend visit.  Aside from a trip to the local comic shops, the highlight was visiting the brand new Great American Ball Park.  The Padres were in town to battle Reds and we got to check out what the new stadium had to offer.

The next season, the Cubs opened their season in Cincinnati against the Reds, so another trip was in order.  My friend Pete and I headed out early in the morning, meeting up with Scott and walking across the bridge from Kentucky back to Ohio to get to the ballpark.  Vice President Dick Cheney was on hand to throw out the first pitch, and the Cubs pulled out the victory.

I returned to the Cincinnati area in August of 2005, where I attended the Reds game against the Diamondbacks, kicking off a string of three stadiums in three states in nine days.

In 2006, the Cubs once again opened their season on the road against the Reds and again it constituted a road trip down to see, where this time President George W Bush threw out the first pitch.

I made a return trip that summer for interleague play to see the White Sox battle the Reds.

In 2007, when the Cubs were looking to clinch the division, I made the trip down, but missed it by one day.

The next year, I made my final, to date, trip down to Cincinnati and saw the Rockies defeat the Reds. Continue reading →

by admin

Travelling The 50 States – North Carolina

Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 12th state to be added to the Union: North Carolina.

State: North Carolina
Joined the Union: 1789
Visits: 1

My one visit to the Tarheel state came in 2016, as part of my roundabout road trip from Chicago to Disney World by way of Roanoke, Virginia.  Nothing specific about North Carolina sticks out, but considering we made only 300 miles of progress that day, we must have stopped once or twice.

by admin

Travelling The 50 States – New York

Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 11th state to be added to the Union: New York.

State: New York
Joined the Union: 1788
Visits: 3

I’ve made three visits to the Empire State, two to New York City and one upstate.

My first visit to New York came in March of 2003, when the Cubs were scheduled to open their season in Queens against the Mets.  After arriving at our Newark hotel, we took the train into Manhattan, meeting up with a friend of my traveling companion and grabbing a late dinner at the Tick Tock Diner across the street from Madison Square Garden.  During the meal, plans were made to meet up again the following day for a tour of the city.

After a morning in Jersey, it was back to Manhattan, where we ditched the rental car at a church and headed out on foot for a tour of the city.  Our first stop was Ground Zero, where we saw what remained of the World Trade Center a year and a half after 9/11.  From there, we headed to Chinatown, where we hooked up with our friend from the night before, who scored box seats for Monday’s opening day tilt from the nuns that lived in her building, a welcome upgrade from the upper-level tix we had scored on eBay prior to leaving home.  The rest of the day was spent walking around and seeing the sites, including a trip to St. Mark’s Comics.  Eventually, we found our way back to the car and headed back to the hotel.

Monday morning was the big day and meant traveling from New Jersey across Manhattan, and then onto Long Island and into Queens to get to Shea Stadium.  We listened to Howard Stern on his flagship station while working through traffic.  Eventually, we arrived at Shea Stadium, where the newly acquired Tom Glavine, a future Hall of Famer, was on the mound for the Mets.  He made it through 2 pitches before the crowd turned on him.  Things quickly turned south for the Mets as the Cubs scored 4 runs in the top of the first on their way to a 15-2 victory, behind two home runs from Corey Patterson.

Following the game, it was time for the long drive home.  Unfortunately, we were stuck in Queens and had to work our way west again with the afternoon’s traffic at its peak.  We passed through the Bronx and Yankee Stadium as the hosts on sports radio WFAN were discussing the new YES network and the attempts to get picked up by cable networks in New York before the Yankees opened their season the next day.  Eventually, we made it out of New York and were on our way back to Illinois.

My second trip to the state of New York came in 2015 as part of my vacation to Toronto.  After a morning jaunt along Niagra Falls, my travelling companion and I headed back to the good old US of A, towards Cooperstown, NY, where the Baseball Hall of Fame beckoned.  After heading to the center of town and parking at fabled Doubleday Field, we entered the museum.  There aren’t enough words to describe all that was seen at the Hall of Fame.  All of the baseball history you could shake a stick at, except for the portion covering the 70s through the current day, which had closed down for renovations that very day.  Finally, we entered the Hall of Fame Gallery, housing the plaques honoring each player voted into the Hall.  My first destination, after the centrally located first class, was the previous year’s electees, where I found both Frank Thomas and Greg Maddux. Continue reading →

by admin

Travelling The 50 States – New Jersey

Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 3rd state to be added to the Union: New Jersey

State: New Jersey
Joined the Union: 1787
Visits: 1

I made my first, and only, visit to the Garden State back in 2003, as the base of operations for my opening day trip to New York.

A long drive on a Saturday in late March of 2003 dropped us in Newark, at the Howard Johnson near the airport.  After getting settled, we opted for a brief nap and a few episodes of the Chappelle Show, before trying to head into Manhattan for the evening.  Despite an airport shuttle claiming to stop at the hotel every 15-20 minutes, we waited for over an hour before catching a ride to the Newark airport, where we were finally able to take the train into New York City!  After catching the last train back to New Jersey, we made it back to hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Sunday morning started with a trip out to Red Bank, New Jersey for a trip to Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, the comic book store owned by Kevin Smith.  We were a little early, so we went down the block to the Broadway Diner, where I enjoyed a pretty decent breakfast of strawberry and banana pancakes. Once the Stash opened, we looked around for a bit, made our purchases, and then headed out for another trip into Manhattan.

We checked out the next morning before heading to Queens for exciting Mets (and Cubs) baseball.

Will I return?  Maybe?  Nothing is currently drawing me there, but nothing is keeping me away either.

by admin

Travelling The 50 States – Nevada

Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 36th state to be added to the Union: Nevada

State: Nevada
Joined the Union: 1864
Visits: 2

Nevada has been a mecca for adult entertainment since the 1931, when Nevada legalized casino gambling.  Those casinos in Las Vegas were responsible for both of my trips to the Silver State.

My first trip to Nevada came in 2007, when I spent most of a week in Las Vegas.  Staying at the Luxor, I did some light gambling, took in some shows, saw the funeral procession of Robert Goulet as it went down the Strip, and saw a stand-up performance by Howie Mandel.  To save money, I checked out of my hotel on Friday despite heading home first thing Saturday morning.  I do not recommend this.

My next, and most recent, visit came in 2018 for the IBM Think conference.  I arrived in town on a Sunday, where I headed to Caesar’s Palace to see a little show called Absinthe.  The conference began the next day, with sessions at both the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay.  Tuesday night’s entertainment was a Barenaked Ladies concert, while Wednesday featured a post-conference concert by The Chainsmokers.  The conference wrapped up on Thursday.

Will I return?  While I have no plans, I’m sure I’ll get there again someday.

by admin

Travelling The 50 States – Missouri

Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 24th state to be added to the Union: Missouri

State: Missouri
Joined the Union: 1821
Visits: 23

Despite being right next door, I’ve only made two visits to the Show Me State, first in 2001 and then again in 2018.

My first trip occurred in June of 2001, where a weekday day game between the Cardinals and the Cubs convinced my friend Pete and I to take a road trip.  Standing room tickets were all that was available, so we stood with the riff raff to watch the Cubs defeat the hometown Cardinals 5-2, despite Todd Dunwoody getting the start in right field over Sammy Sosa.

My second trip across the Illinois border came in 2015 while heading to Memphis for an Elvis-themed trip.  On the way to Memphis, we made a brief stop in Sikeston, Missouri for lunch at Lambert’s Cafe, where they throw dinner rolls at you, and so Michael could cross another state off his list.

My most recent visit came on my birthday weekend in 2018, when I headed down to St. Louis, with the rest of the family, for an exciting marching band competition.  After spending most of the day at the former home of the Rams, we found a late-night diner to celebrate birthdays alongside a population of drunks looking for Halloween fun.  Sunday morning breakfast, across the street from the Chess Hall of Fame, ended the trip before a long drive home.

by admin

2022: The Year In Travel

After two years of limited travel due to COVID, things opened up once again in 2022 and I actually found myself on an airplane or two throughout the year.  I thought it would be nice to look back at the trips I took this year.  Things started in late January, when I went to Hawaii for two weeks.  Things were still pretty locked down on the islands at the time, so I didn’t do a lot of activities, but a week relaxation at the beach and the pool followed by a second week of working remotely followed by afternoons at the beach did the body (and the mind) good.

The next trip came at the end of May, as the family headed to Boston for Angelina’s graduation.  The boys and I arrived late Friday night, where we basically went straight from the airport to the hotel to sleep.  On Saturday, we did some sight-seeing.  Sunday was graduation, followed by a celebratory dinner.  We all headed home on Monday, save Angelina.

At the end of July, I headed out to Denver for a quick trip to add a new stadium to my collection.  I arrived on Tuesday and high-tailed it out to Coors Field for that evening’s game, which the White Sox won against the hometown Rockies.  The follow-up the next afternoon was not as pleasant, after which I headed back to the airport for the flight home.

August brought a road trip to Indianapolis, to see Danny perform with the Troopers drum corps at the DCI World Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium.  What was supposed to be a two-night stay turned into three, when the Troopers unexpectedly made it to the finals. Continue reading →

by admin

Travelling The 50 States – Mississippi

Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 20th state to be added to the Union: Mississippi

State: Mississippi
Joined the Union: 1817
Visits: 1

I made my lone visit to the Magnolia State in 2015 as part of an Elvis-themed road trip.

 

During a road trip to see the sights related to the life of Elvis Presley, our group of intrepid travelers arrived in Tupelo, Mississippi on a Sunday night.  The next morning started with a trip to the former Tupelo Hardware Store, a present-day Ace Hardware, where Elvis purchased his first guitar as an 11-year-old in 1946.  From there, we headed to the two-room house where Elvis was born and lived until his family moved to Memphis in search of a better life in 1948.  That site also contained the Assembly of God church, where the Presley clan worshipped while living in Tupelo.  After that. we headed back north, away from Mississippi.

Will I return?  I don’t see any compelling reason for me to touch down in Mississippi a second time.

by admin

Travelling The 50 States – Minnesota

Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 32nd state to be added to the Union: Minnesota.

State: Minnesota
Joined the Union: 1858
Visits: 1

I made my one and only visit to the Gopher State in July of 2014 as part of a road trip to see the White Sox battle the Twins.

On a Friday in late July, Danny, Michael, and I took the long trip up to Minneapolis to see the White Sox take on the Twins.  After arriving at the hotel, we took the 1.2 mile walk over to Target Field, where the White Sox managed to defeat the Twins.  Saturday, we went to the Mall of America for some more mini golf, a mirror maze, and general traipsing.  After a search for lunch, we returned to the hotel for some afternoon swimming before heading back over to Target Field for another White Sox winner.  We called an audible on Sunday and decided to forego the last game of the series, so we checked out of the hotel and started the long drive home.

Will I return?  Probably, someday.  I’m sure there are other things to see in Minnesota.