Picking up where we left off, I got out of Cincinnati early and made a beeline for Pittsburgh to celebrate the Fourth of July with Jill, Ali, Nick and the rest of the gang on Ali’s boat. Once again, it was an incredible day filled with laughs, fun in the sun, a trip to the local casino and enough fireworks to blow up a small country – cannot thank Ali enough for hosting what was one of the best days of the trip!

Over the next few days I finally had some time to regroup, relax and not worry about driving 5 hours to get to my next destination.

So I’ve been hanging out with everyone, watching the soccer world cup (I’ve got the fever), eating some great food and even got in a round of golf with Jill (shoutout Nick Hale), all whilst preparing for game 20/30 when the local favourite Pittsburgh Pirates would take on the Philadelphia Phillies in an ultimate showdown for Pennsylvania supremacy.

Oh yeah, there was also this bizarre “Furry” convention in town…. Still not 100% sure what it’s about, however it certainly wigged us out.

Nothing beats a Sunday afternoon baseball game with friends, except when that Sunday game is played in perfect weather, with the perfect people in what I consider a perfect city.

The city of Pittsburgh is based where three massive rivers (the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio) meet, creating a city with unique neighbourhoods and TONS of cool bridges connecting everything together. It makes for a picturesque setting and the local ballpark where the Pirates play – PNC Park – have taken advantage of this by designing what it arguably the best ballpark in Major League Baseball with unbelievable views of the city and bridges framed by the stadium.

Arriving at the stadium early for a few settlers, Jill, Ali, Nick and myself took our awesome seats and grabbed the giveaway for the day – a very cool baseball dartboard.

The game itself was a beauty, with Pittsburgh rocking their throwback uniforms and enough Philadelphia fans in the crowd to give the ballpark an exciting atmosphere.

The local Pirates would get the party started in the second inning with a strong base hit reeling in one run for the early 1-0 lead, however this lead would quickly be erased in the fourth with an absolute BOMB of a home run from the Phillies to tie it up at 1-1.

The Pirates would respond in the bottom of the fourth with a swashbuckling double to reel in two runs, then another single for a 4-1 lead that they would hold onto for the rest of the game for a triumphant victory.

It was such a great time it’s difficult to put into words. As I’ve said, I love both the ballpark and this city, so it would have been perfect had we just packed it in and called it right then.

Little did I know my day was about to get even better.

As Nick is a local Yinzer (someone from Pittsburgh) with Serbian background, he suggested we all check out the township where he grew up known as “Aliquippa”, grab a bite and check out the local Serbian VIP club.

Without hesitation we all agreed and our Uber driver (shoutout Jill), expertly guided us to a bar “Barney’s” where I enjoyed another Pittsburgh style salad (a salad with fries on top), and some of the best Moscow Mules I’ve ever had (in the spirit of World Cup fever).

We then made our way to the Serbian club, where Nick had to punch in a code to enter the establishment. Once inside the dimly lit bar, we enjoyed a couple of beers (costing about $1 each), and also Serbian favourite “Sokolova” (tasted a lot better than it sounds).

Again, this is a hard post to write because it’s tough to express how much fun I’ve had in Pittsburgh with the best people. Hopefully the pictures do it justice (they can’t), but like I said in my previous post, if you’re ever around the area I HIGHLY recommend a visit to this awesome town.

I’ve got another day to hangout before I make the long drive to the North East and another one of my favourite cities in the US Boston! I’m excited to get there and watch the RED HOT Red Sox take on their division rivals and friends from up North, the Toronto Blue Jays at historic “Fenway Park”.

Looking forward to sharing more of this crazy trip with you guys!

 

 

After a solid nights rest at the awesome Royal York hotel, I got up early and began my trip back to the USA and my mate Jay’s birthday boat party in the beautiful city of Pittsburgh.

The drive was an interesting one through Western New York and some cool towns along Lake Eire, before arriving back into Pennsylvania and the forest areas that surround the Western part of the state and Pittsburgh.

It was all systems go as soon as I arrived, with enough banter, beer and boating to keep us going until the early hours of the morning.

Highlights included tying up to a bunch of Jay’s other friend’s boats outside Heinz Field (home of the city’s NFL team the Pittsburgh Steelers), the awesome sunset (below) and of course finishing up the night with a visit to my favourite bar in the city “The Montour Hotel”!

The next day, it was time to catch up with my friend Ali and her boyfriend Nick by the pool for a recovery lunch and watch the World Cup (I’ve got the fever) and just hangout. Huge shoutout to Nick and Ali who were awesome hosts (and Jill for driving us around) – looking forward to the 4^th of July!

On Tuesday morning, it was time to drive out to Cincinnati (aka the Queen City) for game number 19/20. I left Pittsburgh at 6am and would drive back West to Ohio via West Virginia. Once in Ohio, I would make a quick pit stop in the capital city Columbus to also check out the Ohio State University and their awesome campus and football stadium (third biggest in the country after our friends [Ohio State’s biggest rival] Michigan and Penn State.

Arriving in Cincinnati at around lunchtime, I checked into another awesome hotel located downtown, and walked the 10 minutes down to the main river front where most of the cool attractions are.

These include the local NFL team’s (the Cincinnati Bengals) stadium, some of the older interesting buildings and coolest of all, the John A. Roebling bridge which connects the city of Cincinnati (located in Ohio of course) to the city on the other side of the river “Covington” which is located in the state of Kentucky.

I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve walked from one state to another which was cool, and you get an awesome view of Cincinnati from the Kentucky side!

Following this, it was time to visit the Cincinnati Reds baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (shoutout to the Reds for providing me with the free tickets).

Like I say every time I visit a museum, it is hard to put all of the exhibits correctly into words, as there is so much content and hundreds of interesting things to see.

I will say that once again this place exceeded expectations and gave a fascinating recount of the history of the Reds franchise and how it defined the city. It also had interactive exhibits on how to throw different pitches, batting stances and further information on Cincinnati being the birthplace of professional baseball!

After two hours in the museum, it was time to grab a bite to eat before relaxing before the game. I decided to go with a Cincinnati local and a place I’d heard very mixed messages about (shoutout Pardon My Take). I’m referring to of course, “Skyline Chilli” aka the “Cincinnati Original”, aka “we all know how this is going to turn out for your boy George”.

I’m not going to sit here and say it was terrible, because it wasn’t THAT bad (and I don’t wish to insult the fine people of Cincinnati who enjoy it on the daily). However, I will say that I probably won’t go back again and be a “one and done” guy when it comes to Skyline Chilli. If you’re ever in the area, for sure try it – who says Cincinnati has no culture?

Finally, it was time for the game (again huge shoutout to the Reds for hooking up awesome seats on the house) where the Reds would be taking on the Chicago White Sox in some Interleague baseball on Fourth of July eve (aka July 3).

Little did I know before arriving for batting practice (my first time attending a batting practice) that I would be in for another instant classic that resembled a home run derby more than an actual baseball game.

First off, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge how cool “The Great American Ballpark” (unfortunately named so for sponsorship reasons) is.

Whilst not a Wrigley in that it has the old world charm, the Reds home stadium is a modern classic perched on the river overlooking Kentucky and having some of the coolest features both inside and outside of the stadium.

It felt like a cross between Dodger Stadium and Tigers Stadium with a couple of distractions for kids but the focus still being primarily on the actual baseball game taking place.

Things got off to a HOT start for the Reds, who reeled in 4 quick runs in the bottom of the first inning. With the home crowd going ballistic, Chicago would hit a 2-run homer in the fourth to close the gap somewhat. The home run derby would continue in the bottom of the fifth with the Reds BELTING a 3 run home run to extend their advantage to 7-2.

In the top of the sixth inning however, the White Sox would hit not 1, but 2, solo home runs in as many at-bats (I told you it was a derby) as well as reeling in 2 additional runs (from Reds errors) to make it a close 7-6 heading into the eighth.

The White Sox would amazingly tie the game up in the top of the eighth, before exceptional base running from Billy Hamilton would allow the Reds to take a 1-run advantage heading into the ninth. Thinking to myself this would be curtains for the White Sox with one out in the ninth, of course Garcia of the White Sox would BLAST another home-run which the Reds could not answer and we were headed to extra innings to find a winner.

Following two scoreless innings in extras (the tenth and eleventh), the White Sox would go big reeling in 4-runs from Reds errors and also a HGUE triple. When the Reds could not answer, the game was over and the White Sox had incredibly turned things around to win an exciting game 12-8 (and with 15 minutes to go before July 4)!

It was truly an awesome experience to be there, and reminded me that when baseball is at its best, it is one of the funnest sports to witness (I don’t usually put the video highlights, however this deserves a watch).

I had a great time in Cincinnati, and although it was short, it certainly was sweet. I had to leave early the next morning as it was Fourth of July and I had a date with a boat and all my mates back in Pittsburgh (hence why this post is a little late).

I’ll attempt to do a write up about the Fourth; otherwise will just uploaded some pictures. More importantly, on Sunday I will be officially 2/3 of the way through with game 20 at beautiful PnC Park in the great city of Pittsburgh.

God bless baseball, God bless America and God bless YOU for taking the time to read this convoluted mess of a blog post.

Have a good one all!

 

 

 

 

Leaving Windsor Ontario (remember we’re in Canada now) following a decent night sleep and finishing up my blog post about the Detroit game, it was time to venture further East towards Toronto for game 18/30.

I’d decided early in the morning that I’d do another night sleeping in the “Casa del Nitro” so figured staying in the city of Hamilton (shoutout Johnny Football) would be a good bet before I made the 45 minute drive from there on Friday up to Toronto and the hotel I’d booked for myself in that city (more on that later).

There was also this small cloud hanging over me of importing my car to the United States so after some deliberation over the phone with my travel advisor down in Atlanta (shoutout Dave Cohen), it was agreed that I would try to import it that afternoon whilst I had the time and for a bonus (there are more bonuses to come in this entry don’t worry) check out Niagara Falls.

Long story short, the importation went well – pro tip, always buy American cars – so I filled up on the cheaper gas in the USA and returned to Canada to spend my afternoon wandering around and checking out the falls before driving up to Hamilton to find a decent spot to rest – check the pics below although they really don’t do this natural wonder justice.

HOWEVER…. As you’ll see below, I decided Hamilton was probably not the ideal place to sleep in a car for the night, so again decided to roll the dice and go slightly further North to the town of Burlington.

What a treat I was in for.

After having relatively low expectations after Hamilton, I found myself in a “lake-side” oasis, with beautiful neighbourhoods, a nice breeze and plenty of people out and about enjoying good food and quality atmosphere. It kind of reminded me of the beach side communities we have back in Aus (Port Mac etc.) so I found my spot to park and tucked in for the night.

Only to wake up to a GOD DAM PARKING TICKET – can someone analyse this and tell me I’m wrong here? (check photo of sign and citation of the ticket).

Anyway, I’m 50/50 on whether I actually pay the fine, so I’ll just send a sternly worded email in due course (after consulting my legal advisor Nick Hale – chip off the old block).

Despite this minor set back, I powered forward on the 45-minute drive up to the city of Toronto or “The 6” as it is now affectionately known by follows of entertainer Drake (as an FYI the new album dropped today and it is fire).

Arriving at my destination I was quick to check into my hotel, and let me tell you, it was certainly different to what I stayed in last night…

Wanting an early check in, the girl at reception said I could upgrade my room for an extra $50 and be in now. I asked for the fee to be waived and still check in and low and behold, it worked! So I showered (sorry Nitro – you make me stink), and got ready to hit the pavement of Toronto.

As per advice from my man Scott (aka Chug – you might remember him from an early blog post when purchasing the car in Vancouver), first stop was the NHL Hall of Fame.

So as you might know, I’m not a “hockey guy” per se. I mean, I like watching games here and there, and I enjoy the sport so in that sense I am, and given the game is basically rugby on skates most of my friends and I SHOULD be bigger hockey guys, but we simply are not (plus it is probably the most difficult of all North American sports back home to watch when we get daily baseball, NBA and a TON of NFL content).

As with most museums on this trip, I won’t bore you trying to explain it. It was really cool to see the history of hockey, its famous players and much like the “Pro Football Hall of Fame” in Ohio, just how much hockey has defined Canada and Canadian culture.

Check the pics above and below where I’ve also included my top 5 jerseys I saw (in no particular order).

BONUS 1 – I got to stand next to the coolest trophy in sports – the Stanley Cup! Fun fact: There are two Stanley Cups. This one, and one that is the same except the team who wins gets to keep it for a year and drink out of it etc.

BONUS 2 – shoutout Australian Ice Hockey – apparently we’ve made the big time and are now a “Division 1 Country”, beating out the likes of China and South Africa (although I’m not sure how accurate this is in 2018).

After checking out more of the city, I decided it was time to chill and went back to the hotel to relax (read: swim/sauna), before it was time to get ready and hit the Rogers Centre for game 18/30 where the Toronto Blue Jays would welcome our good friends the Detroit Tigers (fun fact – this would be the third game in a row I see the Tigers play).

Arriving at the Toronto Blue Jay’s home park “Rogers Centre”, there was a buzz in the air as it was the beginning of a long weekend for the locals. The stadium itself is a multipurpose dome so as you’ll se on the pictures below it appears very different most of the ballparks in the United States.

The game was a tight affair in the early proceedings, with Detroit building on solid hitting to score a run in the top of the third inning. The hometown Blue Jays wouldn’t have to wait long, with some excellent hitting of their own reeling in three quick runs in the bottom of the fourth. Despite more hits from both teams the score would remain 3-1 until the seventh when Detroit would tack on the run to close the gap to 3-2. It was a tense final few innings, but ultimately the Blue Jays would hold on and win the game 3-2 (hanging Detroit their 9^th straight loss in the process).

It was a really fun game to be at, and the little differences to the American MLB games made it unique and enjoyable – see photos of poutine below and also the “Ok Blue Jays” song that is played during the seventh inning stretch.

I’ve had an awesome time in Canada, and tomorrow morning I’ll be taking off South to once again hit Pittsburgh for a few days of boating and fun, before skipping across to Cincinnati for game 19/30, when I see some inter-league play with the local Reds hosting our friends the Chicago White Sox.

Approximately 45 minutes West of beautiful Ann Arbor, sitting right on the US-Canadian border is the main business hub of Michigan, the polarising city of Detroit – home to the Detroit Tigers and game 17/30 on this crazy trip.

As mentioned in my previous post, I elected to stay across the river in Windsor Canada as most hotels in Detroit were too far outside of the city and I was also able to use the border crossing as an opportunity to understand how to correctly import the Nitro so I could register and ultimately sell it when my trip concludes in the United States.

In stark contrast to the boarder crossing between Vancouver Canada and Seattle USA (way back at the start of the trip), this crossing was significantly busier with deep traffic running both directions, however, this time the customs agents (on both sides) were a lot more relaxed – go figure.

Anyways, after dropping my bags at my hotel (as a reminder from my previous blog it was BELTING down rain), I again made the crossing back to the USA to explore what downtown Detroit had to offer before first pitch at 7:00pm that night.

Like I said in the opening stanza, Detroit certainly is a polarising city and you can see there has been heavy investment in trying to improve specific areas to increase tourism.

For those unaware, Detroit was the United States main hub for automobile manufacturing and trade in the 20^th century, however due to jobs moving offshore (as labour is significantly cheaper), the city saw a steep decline as unemployment rose and many families who didn’t move away were left poor working whatever jobs they could (this is obviously a high-level synopsis of what happened so don’t go chirping at me if I’ve left out details).

Highlights for me in the downtown area included the financial district with its distinct “East Coast style” building architecture, the harbour foreshore looking out over to Canada (the flags remind you where you really are), the home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions “Ford Field” and the inner city communities of “Germantown” & “Greektown”, which offered some cool restaurants, bars and of course a HUGE casino.

The highlight and most WILD building I saw within the city was interestingly enough the actual baseball stadium where the Tigers play.

Obviously on this trip (prior to Detroit), I’ve visited 16 stadiums plus a few others on the East Coast in a previous life (sweet humblebrag) – so I’ve seen a couple. Major League Baseball ballparks are typically a fan friendly experience where you can get away from aggression and enjoy good fun with friends, family and strangers alike in a very welcoming environment. I’m not 100% sure that’s the case with the Detroit Tiger’s stadium.

This is no knock on the Detroit Tigers at all, however the stadium is decorated with statues of tigers everywhere you look! Not just tigers who are hanging out either, these felines are ready to attack at any minute and if you ask me would be more suited at an NFL (are you listening Bengals) or even a hockey arena (don’t get me wrong here, I think it’s really cool, just very unique for baseball).

Once I entered the stadium once the gates opened, I was treated to even more craziness with a crazy carnival like atmosphere that resembled nothing I’d ever seen at a baseball game. There was literally a Ferris wheel, Merry-go-Round and other games to play (where you had to buy tokens), with statues and characters littering the entire stadium everywhere you walked. Whilst this type of set-up within a stadium is not really for me, I could see the appeal for families as kids were going nuts for everything and in some ways it offered a distraction from some of the bleak neighbourhoods in the surrounding areas (in no way am I saying that all these people come from these parts, merely the inside of the stadium is a stark contrast to areas around it).

Despite all of the things going on, once I took my seat the stadium and city certainly turned it on for me. Again, a picture tells a thousand words, so check below to see truly spectacular views of an awesome ballpark and a suddenly thriving city in the background.

 

The game itself was a tight one, with a few early hits going to both sides as they struggled to make a breakthrough. Eventually, the Athletics would breakthrough with a hit to right field that was bobbled by Detroit allowing a score for a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Hits would be traded by both teams with the score remaining the same until the top of the ninth, before the Athletics would tack on 2 additional runs in the ninth inning (both off base hits with runners on the bags) to ultimately hand Detroit a 3-0 loss – its EIGTH in a row.

Following the game, it was time to drive back to my hotel in Canada (this time I had to go over the bridge as opposed to the tunnel as it was closed – weird), and get some sleep before my drive to Toronto today.

I’ve had a great time in Michigan and it has been really eye opening to see the varying contrasts in the areas of the states I’ve visited. It’s also been a real trip crossing the US-Canadian border multiple times in a day, with the next time doing this at a familiar crossing near Niagara Falls and the City of Buffalo (shoutout Simon Clarke).

With somewhat of a rest day today, I’m excited to get to Toronto and see the Blue Jays take on the Detroit Tigers on Friday evening (maybe I could offer some of the players a lift?).

Have a good one!

Feeling refreshed after a relaxing two nights in Pittsburgh with friends (check the Pittsburgh salad above), it was time to saddle up early ready for my next destination, Ann Arbor in Michigan (about 1 hour outside of Detroit) which is of course home to the University of Michigan and another cool college town to check out.

Before that however, I had the very important business of checking off another bucket list item in Canton Ohio (more or less on the way), which is of course “The Pro Football Hall of Fame”.

Being about two hours outside of Pittsburgh, I arrived in Canton after passing through parts of West Virginia (meh) and then back into Ohio (where I was fortunate to again see some of the Amish people doing their thing with horses and carts).

Overall it was a straightforward and scenic drive that set me up well for the Hall of Fame tour I was about to embark on.

 

Once again, I’m not the best at explaining museums / exhibits (a picture tells 1,000 words anyway right?), however I’ll give it a shot with the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The self-guided tour begins with Pro Football’s (not the sport but the inception of the professional era) humble beginnings with players being offered small amounts of money to appear for teams in what was the original NFL.

It then provides a timeline of particular rule changes to the game including the equipment to be used and standardised (e.g. the football, the helmet, pads, goalposts etc.), location and relocation of different teams in the NFL, through to the introduction of a “rival” league (the AFL) and subsequent merger of the two leagues that ultimately forms the NFL today (and of course the Super Bowl era).

It simply is a must see for both fans and non-fans of football alike, as it not only shows the imprint that football has had in American pop culture and on the psyche of the country, but also there are a lot of movies and interactive exhibits to enjoy which are a TON of fun (I ended up spending over three hours there).

Anyways, for a better description than I can write, check some of the pictures below (only a sample as I took about 1 million).

After leaving the Pro Football Hall Of Fame and refuelling both myself and the Nitro, I continued my drive West than a straight shot North to beautiful Ann Arbor Michigan.

My first port of call was of course Michigan Stadium aka. “The Big House”. Michigan Stadium is the home of the University of Michigan football team (note not “Pro”) and is amazingly the largest stadium in the United States (well not including Nascar). I had to sign up for a tour via email which was weird, so I’ve done that now and am hopeful of getting in there tomorrow to check it all out (I’ve included a Google image so you can get some scope of the enormity).

Following the stadium, I took my time walking around the awesome campus and checking out the vibe of the streets and nearby restaurants. Once again, College Towns continue to deliver with awesome people all about, a great vibe in the air and even a summer series concert on the main campus!

I’m writing this from Windsor Canada which is right over the river from Detroit after spending anther night in the “Casa del nitro”. It’s raining a little bit, but hopefully we still get some play in for game 17/30 when the Detroit Tigers take on the Oakland Athletics in a battle of two struggling teams who will be hoping to turn in around before the second half of the season begins.

Looking forward to exploring a new city and seeing what else this great state of Michigan and Canada has to offer.

Until then, have a good one.

Leaving Milwaukee early after an awesome night at the Brewers game, Phil and I strapped in for the 7 hour drive East to Cleveland Ohio and game number 16/30 (it’s all downhill from here guys)!

The drive was another very pleasant one, which began driving directly South of Milwaukee and sticking close to the coastline of Lake Michigan, bypassing the City of Chicago (providing us with an unreal view of the city’s skyline), and then a virtual straight shot to the classic “rust belt” city of Cleveland.

One fun fact about this drive was that it actually took us through FOUR different states – Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio – with us also coming dangerously close in some points to the state line of Michigan.

Upon arrival in Cleveland, the first thing we noticed to our right side was industry that appeared no longer in use. A sad reminder of what the city used to be.

In stark contrast, on our left you see the Cleveland Indians home field “Progressive Field” (kind of an ironic name for the field given the nickname “Indians” but I’m not politically correct enough to care) and also what is a decent looking skyline consisting of some tall buildings that have a very “East Coast” vibe in terms of their design.

After checking into our hotel it was time to hit progressive field to see the in-form Cleveland Indians take on division rivals (and fellow “rust belt” city) the Detroit Tigers.

 

Progressive field was one of the more interesting stadium designs I’ve seen in that one area is completely open and more or less at street level, with a sunken field so people can’t actually see the game from the streets.

Whilst you may think this would detract from the atmosphere it actually works really well as all the seats immediately surrounding the field go up a steep incline creating a ton of noise. However, because of this seating arrangement and open space, Cleveland actually has the second smallest stadium in the MLB seating 35,051 fans.

The game itself was another beauty, with a warm Saturday evening in Cleveland and with their team playing well ensuring a sell out crowd in both the standing room and seats. We took our seats on the first base line and settled in for a show from the home team who quickly took a 3-run lead by the bottom of the first inning.

Detroit would get a run themselves in the top second, before another run in the fourth from Cleveland would ultimately lead them to a 4-1 victory and party time with huge fireworks following the game and a carnival like atmosphere.

The game was also notable in that I was able to pick up a foam hand of one of my favourite logos in all of sports, none other than “Chief Wahoo”!

In what I believe is a sad turn of events (I’m not going to engage in the political correctness of the thing), the Cleveland Indians have agreed to retire this logo from all on-field references e.g. jerseys, hats, helmets etc. (which I think means they might still use it elsewhere but it’s only a matter of time before it’s completely phased out). It is an awesome logo and I had more fun than a kid with some bubble wrap putting it over my face and carrying it out with me to the bars after the game.

The next day, Phil and I got up to check out some of downtown Cleveland, including the “Factory of Sadness” aka the home of the Cleveland Browns NFL team who have won only 1 game in the last two seasons – let’s hope they can turn it around this year!

Despite what people say about Cleveland, the downtown area, specifically the area around Lake Erie (which is so big it kind of made me feel like Cleveland was on an ocean) is actually really nice with cool art installations, people jet skiing & playing games on the grass and also the “Rock n Roll” Hall of Fame which would be the next activity for the day.

Again, it’s kind of tough to write about the workings of a museum, however The “Rock n Roll” Hall of Fame was an awesome experience that gave a fascinating recount of the impact of not only rock music, but all different genres throughout different periods in American (and therefore the world’s right?) history. I thought it was interesting how opposed many parent groups were to the music in early days, and gaining further understanding of the hippy movements out on the West Coast was also a highlight. Anyways, check the pictures below and if you’re ever around Cleveland this place is a must do!

As Phil was flying back to Minneapolis that evening, we had one last milestone to achieve in Cleveland (well Phil more so than me but it was still cool), which was to visit the house of the famous and classic movie “A Christmas Story”.

Honestly, Phil and I have had some incredible times over the last 3 days but I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen him as happy as when we got to this house. Very cool to see, so nice one Phil and thanks for everything over the last few days – it’s truly been another highlight of the trip!

As I was now back solo, I realised I was close to one of my favourite cities in the US and could go down and see some of my old friends down there. So I made a phone call and would be driving down to Pittsburgh to see one of my close friends Jill Hundenski, and also my other mates who reside in the Steel City (shoutout Eric, Barb, Joe, Claire, Jay and Ali) before beginning the trek up to Detroit for game 17/30 on Tuesday.

I’m looking forward to relaxing in Pittsburgh as it’s been a whirlwind the last few weeks, and following the break I’m excited to check out the beautiful state of Michigan (including Ann Arbor aka home of the University of Michigan).

 

Picking up from where we left, I visited the Mall of America to replace my torn jeans and tick this location off the list. Calling this mall massive would be an understatement. In fact, even calling it a mall doesn’t do the place justice. It is more an amusement park with an attached aquarium, cinemas and every dining experience under the sun (I went with Buffalo Wild Wings – we all know how that’ll turn out).

Following this, it was time to drive north of Minneapolis to catch up with my old mate from my Santa Monica Rugby playing days, none other than Phil who is about as mad as a cut snake but always an awesome time.

Phil and I picked up exactly where we left off and had a hilarious night at the local dives before retiring to bed to begin the next leg of the road trip down to Milwaukee.

The drive would take us from Minneapolis down South to the state of Wisconsin and then East to the city of Milwaukee based on the lake. It was a fairly simple drive but what made it great was the fact I had good company and was also able to split the load – so thanks for that Phil!

Arriving in Milwaukee at 3:00pm, we went directly to the must see attraction of the city which is of course the Miller Brewery tour aka the number 2 best selling beer in the country (the tour guides kept hammering this point home for some reason and never mentioning by name the number one seller – hint, it starts with “Bud” and it makes you wiser).

In all honesty, it was a really fun tour and I did learn some interesting facts about Milwaukee’s brewing history, the landscape and after sampling the Miller Lite (how it’s spelt) why Australian beer will always be superior.

Following our tour, it was time to get to our hotel, shower and be ready for what is the halfway point of the “Thirty before 30” trip, game 15/30 – to see the hometown Milwaukee Brewers (named after the brewing history, get it), take on division rival the St Louis Cardinals.

The stadium itself is very impressive and is the third (after Phoenix and Houston) that I’ve been to on this trip which has a retractable roof (on this particular night it would be closed). With the Brewers playing in their “throwback” yellow and blue uniforms, the crowd was pumped for a big Friday night classic at the ballpark.

Both teams were playing strongly with St Louis building a 1-run lead in the third inning. With the contest being tight, hits were few and far between however Milwaukee would eventually level the contest with a solo home run by the miracle man himself Jesus Aguilar (the home run also included the Brewers mascot sliding down a huge slide – again, I’m not sure why however Phil informed me that the two things the state of Wisconsin does best is cheese and water slides – so whilst it doesn’t make sense it totally does make sense so we’ll just go with it and watch the video below for some idea of how it looks).

With the scores tied 1-1 and tension building, it looked like we were headed for extra innings to ultimately decide a winner. Then, once again like what occurred at the recent Rangers game in Dallas, baseball happened.

Stepping up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, our man Aguilar would once again hit a solo BOMB that would have the crowd in raptures and ultimately win the game for the Brewers in dramatic walk-off fashion. It was awesome to experience this and see the hometown Brewers fans cheering as if they won the World Series (well I guess beating up on St Louis is pretty cool).

After the game, Phil and I kicked on for a little bit before retreating to our hotel for a (relatively) early night before beginning the next leg of our journey driving further East (and into a new time zone) to Cleveland Ohio to watch the red hot Indians (and coolest logo in sports) at their ironically named stadium “Progressive Field”.

It’s been awesome having Phil involved and I’m excited for the next part of this crazy journey in Cleveland Ohio – you can whet the beak with this tourism video below.

Until then, have a good one!

After another peaceful night sleeping in Kansas City (shoutout McKenzie & Tanja), it was time to saddle up and drive North to a city and state I’ve always wanted to visit – Minneapolis, Minnesota (well technically Minneapolis-St Paul or the “Twin Cities” as their commonly known as).

The drive was relatively easy, taking me from the intense heat of Kansas City through rainy Iowa, and eventually into Minnesota where the temperature was literally 10 degrees Celsius lower sitting at a beautiful 25.

 

I would also have my second car service and oil change and I’m happy to report that we’re still in business with no issues cosmetically or to the engine – onwards we go!

I arrived to my house for the next few nights and was warmly welcomed by my friend Michele’s mother Sheila (shoutout Michele).

As soon as I opened the door Sheila sprung into life, sitting me down at the counter, feeding me different meats, cheeses, crackers and drinks – basically the whole nine yards – as we exchanged war stories and a whirlwind get to know you session. I offered Sheila tickets for the game that night, and as soon as she accepted I had my date and was pumped and ready for game 14/30 at Target Field (aka the home of the Twins).

Upon arriving at the stadium, I was instantly taken aback by a number of things:

Firstly, the parking lots were unique in that they were stacked and huge. I guess this comes with the territory of being a “downtown stadium” but I hadn’t really seen this at any other cities so far.

Secondly, all of the parking lots and stadiums are interconnected through “skyways”. These are interconnected platforms from different buildings in the downtown Minneapolis area that allow people to move without having to brave the freezing cold elements in the wintertime.
For Sydney people, think of them as the old monorail that went from building to building except a LOT more of them and obviously no monorail vehicle moving through.

Lastly, the stadium (built in 2010), felt huge despite being ranked 24 in overall capacity. This was likely due to the compact nature and steepness of the higher seats (don’t worry, Sheila and I sat in the lower section by third base line – it was literally raining foul balls). The stadium also had awesome signage and one of the coolest logos in baseball with the two players representing the “Twin Cities” (Minneapolis and St Paul), shaking hands over the Mississippi river (see pic above).

With drinks flowing and Sheila & I enjoying the sights and sounds of a tight game, Josh from Iowa who was sitting in the adjacent seat joined us and we had an awesome crew for the evening.

Josh was an absolute champ (shoutout Josh), who had a similar mindset and wanted to hear about my travels. This is because each year Josh and one of his mates from Iowa also do a similar trip whereby they pick 5 or so stadiums and jump on their Harleys to check them out on a mini road trip (not everyone takes 3.5 months off apparently).

The game itself was another beauty, with the local Twins welcoming the always high drawing Boston Red Sox (my second time seeing these guys after the Houston game).

The Sox were favoured for the game, but despite this the scores were tied 0-0 heading into the sixth inning. In the top of the sixth, the Red Sox would finally put a run on the board with some power hitting, however this would be erased by the Twins getting two in to go up 2-1 by the top of the eighth.

However, with a huge Red Sox home run to tie it up at the top of the eighth, the home fans felt the collapse was imminent, before some power hitting and base running (combined with some Red Sox errors), allowed the Twins to put four runs on to take a 6-2 lead which they would eventually hold on to allowing everyone to go home stoked that their boys had taken down the Sox against all odds. Truly a memorable experience!

Following the game, more hysterics arose when Sheila and I got lost in the maze of “skyways” being unable to find our car for almost an hour. Eventually after receiving help from two security guards, we found the car and made it home by about 11:30pm where I met Sheila’s husband Mark who’s a College sports expert and all round great guy with a dry sense of humour (right up my ally).

The next day, I was excited to drive downtown and check out the sights of Minneapolis.

First stop was of course, the Minnesota Vikings new stadium and host of the most recent Superbowl in February this year. I can’t really remember the result of that game or who played, so I won’t go into too much detail there, however what I can tell you is that this stadium (which looks nothing like a stadium), was extremely cool and has been designed to eliminate the brutal winter elements but also make the fans feel as if they’re outside (hence the huge glass panels).

 

Following this, I took my time checking out downtown, some of the cool bars, a TON of skywalks and also tried my first ever Juicy Lucy (where they cook the cheese directly into the meat for a gooey experience on each bite). I couldn’t do a proper review in the restaurant, so for those playing at home I gave it a 7.9.

 

 

 

 

Once all the sightseeing was done, I went back Sheila’s place who had prepared me an awesome cocktail called a “sidecar” and also some of the best paella you’ll have this side of the Mississippi. I’m pretty sure I had four servings it was that good!

Thinking my day was done, I was happily mistaken as Mark and Sheila then took me on a driving tour through some of the lakeside suburbs of Minnesota (near the Kenwood area), The “Guthrie Theater” which had the most amazing views of the Mississippi River and surrounding bridges, and finally checking out the “Lake Monster” brewery in St Paul that is run by Mark’s nephew Matt (also a champion, the beer wasn’t bad either).

 

I have had such an awesome time in Minnesota and cannot thank Sheila and Mark enough for their generous hospitality and incredible times. I’m truly grateful and look forward to you guys coming back out to Sydney to share more laughs.

Finally, there’s been some change to the schedule with my old mate from Santa Monica, Phil Osborne, who currently resides in northern Minneapolis joining me for the next three nights. Together, we’ll be headed South to Milwaukee for the Brewers game, then making the drive direct to Cleveland for the weekend to watch the red hot Indians do their thing. This trip keeps on getting better and I’m pumped for a good mate like Phil to be able to share in the experience!

Anyways, longer post today because so much happened. Today, I’m quickly going to check the “Mall of America” (largest mall in the United States), where I can hopefully grab some new jeans as mine tore in Dallas (and totally not ruined by my recent poor diet).

Have a good one all!

Game 13 was a reminder why the sport of baseball is one of the best. When all looks lost on a hot Sunday afternoon, when it felt as if the visiting team would pull one over the locals, things can change in a heartbeat and the game is turned on its head.

Dave, “Matt 2” and myself arrived at a red hot Texas Rangers game following a tour of nearby AT&T Stadium (home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys), which was an amazing tour and a stadium unlike anything I’ve seen before – once again, I’m no wordsmith meaning I’ll screw up any description, so just check the pics below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As is tradition in these parts, we tailgated with our rental truck in the parking lot before making our way into the stadium for the Texas Rangers vs Colorado Rockies game.

Upon arrival in the stadium we did a couple of laps, avoided the heat and tucked in for what we thought would be a typical father’s day game on a hot afternoon in Dallas Texas (shout out to any Dads who may be reading this). With my new Texas shirt on, Dave in fine (read: vintage) form, and “Matt 2” keeping us hydrated, we were all witnesses to one of the funnest and exciting games of baseball I’ve ever been to.

With the home town Rangers trialling the visiting Colorado Rockies 10-9 leading into the ninth inning after a plethora of hits from both teams (super exciting stuff), all hope looked lost with Colorado tacking on 2 more to make it 12-9 and giving the feeling that the Rangers would ultimately come up short.

Then – baseball happened. [please hit play and continue reading]

In a magical turn of events, in the bottom of the ninth inning (and final in case you’re unaware), the Rockies closing pitcher Wade Davis would allow four walks (forcing in two runs – score 12-11 now), before giving up a bases loaded two run hit to send all of Texas into hysteria and a HUGE walkoff win that ended the game at 13-12 in favour of the Rangers.

Moments like these simply reaffirm my position that baseball is one of the best sports because it doesn’t have the clock element where a team who is leading can simply hide and play a style to run out time and lead itself to a win. “Man on man”, with no clock to hide behind always makes for an exciting spectacle and an “anything can happen” mantra that you don’t typically see with other sports.

Additionally, whilst in the stadium and perhaps somewhat under the influence (I also couldn’t say no to her), I decided to make an irrational purchase of a game worn jersey by former Rangers player/manager Josh Bonifay – who in one of the weirdest coincidences of all time actually threw a game ball to Dave back in 2002 during a minor league game – truly wild!

Other highlights within the stadium included a Texan sized dog with all the trimmings that fed the three of us (read: I’ll be sick for a week), an awesome indoor bar where we posted up, and just the great people of Dallas who welcomed us all and made it a very memorable experience.

Aside from all of the excitement at the ballpark, Dallas delivered in many other aspects with both Dave and Matt (the Matt from Chicago not Matt 2 who was at the Rangers game) visiting me and once again lighting it up and showing me an awesome time on Saturday night – also shout out Dave for coordinating the Air BnB + rental truck, and Matt (the god damn legend) who shouted me a hotel tonight on his points before I fly back to Kansas City to grab my car tomorrow morning.

 

 

The Saturday night also had a bonus appearance from another mate from Atlanta Mitch. Mitch was passing through Dallas on his way to Las Vegas where he is beginning a 6-year cadetship working with some of the world’s best plastic surgeons to kick start his career in this field – Mitch, it was awesome seeing you, and remember what we talked about (once he’s a big dog in the industry he’s going to make me into a modern Hercules).

This is a difficult blog post to write for me because not only the game but the city of Dallas was so much fun and I wanted to highlight it correctly (amongst other factors), however in two days I managed to cram so much into an awesome weekend and I can’t wait to get back here soon – they’ve for sure won a fan here!

I’m pumped for the next game in a city I’ve always wanted to visit – Minneapolis – so make sure you keep that dial tuned into GD Thirty before 30!

*editors note – these are getting harder to write so please excuse me if the quality is deteriorating, I swear I’m getting dumber or something!

After another hot night in the “Casa del Nitro”, I left Iowa City early headed South then West for Kansas City. The drive was similar to the previous days, with plenty of big sky, plenty of fields and enough heat to make the car feel like a sauna (there was also plenty of bathroom breaks with those damn nachos from the White Sox game continuing to plot their revenge – but I digress).

Arriving in Kansas City, I was to stay with friends of my friend Casey (noticing a common theme with accommodation yet?), McKenzie and Tanja. Who lived in a cool apartment complex close to the Missouri River and about a 10 minute drive to Downtown Kansas City (which for all of my Aussie readers is about the size of St Leonards on the North Shore – still really cool though).

I met up with Casey (who was in town for her brother’s wedding and staying with her family), and Tanja, before being dropped off at an awesome Hockey Bar called “The Blue Line” for a bite to eat and to meet my other room mate for the next few days McKenzie. The rest of the night was catching up / getting to know yous before I retreated to my room for an early night in anticipation for the tour Casey had lined up around the city.

Following a glorious sleep on a real bed (no disrespect to the Nitro – I still love you), Casey showed up at about 10:30am and began the tour of Kansas City, aka the tour of fountains and took in some AMAZING BBQ for lunch.

The tour also included some sampling of local Kansas City beer at the Boulevard Brewery, where we learnt about how beer is made, saw some night skyline views and of course sampled the local varieties (because it’d be rude not to).

We also visited a bar “Dave’s”, that I was at with Dave Cohen (shoutout DC) back in 2013, where we were both kicked out and Dave coined the now famous expression “YOU CAN’T KICK DAVE OUTTA DAVE’S” – fun times indeed.

That night after Casey returned to her family, I hungout with my hosts again McKenzie and Tanja, who took me back to the “Blue Line” before once again retreating home to rest up for game day tomorrow.

The day of the game, I drove out to McKenzie, Tanja and Casey’s hometown of “Lee’s Summit” (about 30 minutes outside of Kansas City), to see some of the sites there and meet Casey. Once again, a beautiful country town that was an interesting mix of large chains (Walmarts, Subways etc) but also small local boutique restaurants – not too dissimilar to country towns we have back home. Once this was all checked off, it was time to go home and get ready for game time.

Arriving at the stadium for a beautiful Friday Kansas City evening, there was a good feeling in the air as the struggling Royals were hosting the 2017 World Series Champions Houston Astros – well maybe that feeling was one of the people looking forward to the promotional $1 night – where all hot dogs and peanuts were only $1.

The Kansas City ballpark was another unique and interesting stadium that again continued the fountain narrative from the main city. It also had its own Hall of Fame museum, some really cool areas that for people to hangout in between innings and also one of the biggest jumbotrons I’ve seen yet.

Finding our seats after a few laps of the ballpark, a staff member from Royals HQ walked up the stairs and delivered me some quality goods. Included was some certificates congratulating me on my first game, a George Brett bobblehead, a Royals T-shirt, an official Kansas City Major League baseball and $40 worth of vouchers for the stadium! I was stoked and want to give a huge shoutout to Jonathan from the Royals organisation who had read my blog and teed all of this up for me. It truly made for a memorable experience and I am extremely grateful for everything provided.

The game itself was always going to be difficult for an out of form Royals team against the powerhouse Houston Astros, however the team went up 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning, before exceptional hitting in the fourth from Houston would tie it up leading into the fifth.

Kansas City would tack on a run to take an advantage leading into the sixth, before the Astros Evan Gattis hit an absolute BOMB Grand Slam Home Run to open the game up and give the Astros a 6-3 lead. Another run would be reeled in for the Astros in the eighth to ultimately give the visitors a 7-3 victory.

Despite the loss, we were all in good spirits and returned back to the house where we grabbed some food (Nashville Chicken Sandwich – 9.3/10), before retiring once again before I fly out to Dallas to meet the dream team of Dave Cohen and “Mad” Matt Reisinger on Saturday.

I’ve had an awesome time in Kansas City these last few days, so huge shoutouts to Casey, McKenzie and Tanja – you’ve all got a place when you (eventually) visit Sydney!

So until next time from Dallas, have a good one!