Happy Birthday America! It is our Nation's 237th birthday and I have no baseball to watch. I tried my best to make the tour schedule perfect, but I was not able to find a way to catch a live baseball game on July 4th. Rindler and I are now in Phoenix and the Diamondbacks are not home until July 5th.
Read MoreDay #36 - Travel from Denver to Phoenix
After 35 days of driving from city to city by myself I finally have a travel companion. This will be a change of pace from the hours of solitude I have become accustomed to during my travels. My goal to spend all 15,000 miles of this trip behind the wheel is still in tact, but at least now I have another human being to talk to on these long empty roads.
Read MoreDay #35 - The Colorado Rockies
This was by a wide margin the best day of my trip so far. Coors Field is a great place to catch a game. The tour they offer is enlightening and I got a chance to grab dinner with one of my old friends who is the Editor-in-Chief of Mile High Sports Magazine. To top it all off, I visited a baseball museum located down the street from Coors Field that may have the most unique collection of stadium memorabilia I have ever seen in one place. The National Baseball Museum (formerly B's Baseball Museum) is an absolute must visit for anyone who has even marginally enjoyed a baseball stadium. Please head over to their website at ballparkmuseum.com and find a way to visit there soon.
Read MoreDay #34 - Off Day
Today I met with my old business partners at Mile High Sports Magazine. For those of you reading this in Denver, or anyone who is a fan of Colorado sports, leave my site immediately and head over to milehighsports.com and subscribe to the best magazine about rocky mountain sports on the planet. I am serious. If you are still reading this right now and have not yet subscribed to MHS I will be very disappointed in you.
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Day #33 - Travel from Dallas to Denver
I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to meet my buddy Ryan Rindler in Denver. I have not seen him in a couple of years and we have a lot of catching up to do. Rindler and I went to high school together back in Michigan. He is one of the smartest men that I know and I am also aware that he will be very uncomfortable with me telling all of you that he is a genius. This is my site however and I get to brag about my smart friends.
Read MoreDay #32 - Travel from Dallas to Denver
It is time for another double digit hour drive as I head north towards the mountains. I debated whether or not I could make it from Dallas to Denver in one day, but after getting home at around midnight the previous night I elected to break this trip into two days. I drove as far as I could today before stopping in Pueblo Colorado for the night.
Read MoreDay #31 - The Texas Rangers
Apparently somebody has been listening to my belly aching about watching indoor baseball and decided to test my mettle. Today was a hot one in Arlington, Texas. I spent 11 hours at Rangers Ballpark beginning with a tour of the stadium, ending with a magnificent fireworks show with pretty good baseball game squeezed in between.
Read MoreDay #30 - Off Day
I have been living on the road for one month now. I wrote about how I came up with the schedule on a previous Off Day post, so today I will explain how I have set up the lodging accommodations thus far.
Read MoreDay #29 - Travel from Houston to Dallas
Another “short” four-hour drive today as I head north to Dallas. I am staying with a friend's sister whom I have never met, so I am excited to make a new friend on this tour. It has been nearly one full month since I slept in my own bed, but I am getting used to waking up in a new city every 48-72 hours.
Read MoreDay #28 - The Houston Astros
I am now one third of the way towards completing this tour. Minute Maid Park has always been one of my favorites to watch on TV. From the hill in center field to the ridiculously short left field porch this is one of the most unique parks in the country. I have wanted to see it live and was not disappointed. The Astros jumping over to the American League and making way for Interleague games everyday reeked havoc on my schedule making, but coming to this stadium washed away any ill feelings I had brewing towards the organization. Although for the third time I must ask...where is the sky?
Read MoreDay #27 - Off Day
For the first time on the tour I have back-to-back off days. I didn't realize how tired I was until I set up a massage at a place called Blossom Massage. I was in desperate need of a massage as my back was still in a tremendous amount of pain after Kansas City. I met a wonderful massage therapist named Jessica who really worked out my muscles and stretched me out perfectly.
Read MoreDay #26 - Off Day
After yesterday's marathon driving session I slept in today. Last night I was thinking about my schedule and I realized that I don't really have “weekends” anymore. My off days are generally taken up by writing these posts, recording the podcasts and researching the cities that I am in for things like food, massages and laundry services. When I planned this tour I gave myself an extra 24 hours in each city in case of rain outs, but I am really beginning to wish I had more time. If I were ever to do this tour again I most certainly would give myself more time in each city to explore.
Read MoreDay #25 - Travel from Kansas City to Houston
Another long drive today. I spent nearly 12 hours in the car driving from Kansas City to Houston I had originally scheduled myself two days to make this trip, but my time at Kauffman Stadium energized me to the point where I was able to make the trip in one shot.
Read MoreDay #24 - The Kansas City Royals
Watching the All-Star festivities in Kansas City during the 2012 season is one of the things that motivated me to do this tour. Kauffman stadium looked so beautiful and fun from my couch that I just had to go visit. Kansas City has a proud tradition of baseball that includes the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues. After the 1985 World Series their franchise has gone through a rough time. I am happy to see that although the team has not lived up to expectations quite yet, their fans are coming out to the park and are better than ever.
Read MoreDay #23 - Off Day
Today was a day that I wish I could get back. I worked out in the morning and pulled something in my back. My original plans included checking out the Negro League Museum, but I was forced to stay in bed for most of the day. It did give me a chance to do my laundry and catch up on some blog posts, but I am going to have to make it back here some day soon so that I can learn more about the history of Negro League baseball.
Read MoreDay #22 - Travel from St. Louis to Kansas City
I have been living in New York City for the past five plus years and have therefore had no use for a car. The fact that at this point a five hour drive feels short to me is an indication that I may be slowly going crazy.
Read MoreDay #21 - The St. Louis Cardinals Game 2
This was the perfect day of baseball and Americana. I kicked my morning by heading down to the Gateway Arch. So far I have not really had any time to do touristy stuff in most of the cities, but I made sure to make it up to the Arch so I could take some shots of the stadium from 630 feet in the air.
Read MoreDay #20 - The St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis is a city that gets quite a lot of love despite being in the middle of the country. Much of the attention is focused on the coasts with New York and Boston grabbing the majority of the headlines. Recently the Los Angeles teams have been making waves, but for the most part the National media tends to focus on the East Coast when it comes to baseball. Being the second most winningest team in the majors is one way to keep your name in the headlines, but having an extraordinary fan base is what makes St. Louis a city that every baseball fan needs to visit at least once.
Read MoreDay #19 - Travel from Atlanta to St. Louis
It was only a couple of days ago that I almost passed out after a long drive so this time I made sure to stock up on some real food (besides grapes) for the nine hour drive to St. Louis.
Read MoreDay #18 - Off Day: Creating the Schedule
No game today and no travel. I spent most of the day relaxing and running some errands. I went to Whole Foods to pick up some more supplies for the road. In the evening I went to meet my friend Noah, his wife Jen and their two beautiful boys Liam and Hudson.
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