The Busiest Trip Ever

When you're younger, you can take on more. This is how you can see two ball parks, two cities, and drive hours on end in just 60 or so hours. That's what we did for NYC and Boston on the very first trip. Now, we're all in our 30s and tired, so we do ONE park, one city, and as little driving as possible.

Well, the 2002 ball trip, we got a little crazy. The cities of Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Cleveland are pretty close together. So, why not see all three in the same weekend, right? One game Friday, one game Saturday, one game Sunday. Sure we'd get back around 8:00 Sunday night but hey we're young, we can do it without batting an eye.

If seeing three parks in three days wasn't enough, how about we tack on this: our alma mater (Milford) was in the state baseball championship final four in Columbus the same weekend. Naturally, we want to go see them play...but there is no way we can possibly do this and still see three ball parks. Or is there???

Thursday was a pretty calm day (except for the weather). Drive to Cleveland. Check into our hotel (typically an Embassy Suites..."manager's reception" here we come!!). Dinner. Cornhole and drinking all night.

Well, it almost went like that. The first two parts were simple enough. Dinner, on the other hand, was not. Seeing that Keith went to college at Akron, he spent a lot of time in the "lovely" city of Cleveland so he knew some of the local hangouts and restaurants. He suggested we have dinner at a local sports bar known to him as "The Alligator". So we go driving around Cleveland looking for "The Alligator". Can't find it. "Where the hell is it????"

After an hour or so of driving aimlessly, someone just happens to spot a restaurant called "The Winking Lizard"...to which Keith screams "that's it!!" And to this day "The Winking Lizard" is forever known as "The Alligator".

After dinner, back to the hotel to "try" to play cornhole. Only problem: tornado-like gusts of wind that make playing the game VERY difficult...especially for Keith who couldn't find the boards with a map. The screamed phrase "make an adjustment" was popular that night.

Friday...we wake to find out the baseball game in Columbus (Milford state semi-finals) has been rained out and moved to Saturday. Someone says "let's try to go tomorrow"...and it's dropped, for a while. Drive to Pittsburgh. See PNC Park. Beautiful place. Awesome backdrop. Great stadium. Couldn't tell you who the Pirates played or who won. Back to the hotel following the game. On the drive..."let's go to Columbus in the morning." rebuttal: "how are we going to make it to Detroit in time for the Tigers' game?" "who cares...it's our alma mater".

Saturday...depart at 8:00am (give or take) to drive back down I-71 to Columbus. Sure enough we watch our school win the semis to make it to Sunday's Championship game (we're coming back, for sure!!). Immediately, following the game in Columbus, we pack up and drive straight to Detroit. Make batting practice. Watch the Tigers play someone. Back to the hotel well after midnight.

Sunday...Jacobs (Progressive now...Jacobs then). Great park. Good food. Lovely batting practice. Left before the game started. We saw the park, right?? Back to Columbus we trek. Gotta see our school try to win State. Game started around 3:00. Lost by one run after a furious comeback thwarted in the bottom of the 7th (damn you, 8-foot-tall shortstop). Home around 8:00 like we expected.

That will forever stand as the single busiest ball trip ever. It will never be topped simply because we are all too damn old to try and top it. And there's no reason to because it was perfect. 3 MLB parks (2 official games), 2 high school games, dozens of cornhole games, one great weekend.