Keep on Truckin'

We're in the middle of our craziest stretch of scheduling so far.  Seven games in seven cities in 14 days.  We left York, PA and settled in Lake Milton, OH.  Why Lake Milton, OH you might ask?  Because it's half way between Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

 We had a terrific time in Cleveland.  It was our first time to attend a Rangers away game.  We decided to get to the park early and watch the Rangers take BP (that's batting practice for you non-baseball fans)

We were surprised at how many Rangers fans we saw going into the stadium and I, along with many of them, waited patiently in the right field bleachers for one of the Rangers to hit one out into the seats.

My patience finally paid off and I was rewarded with a BP home run ball.  As you can see, the weather was great, in fact it was the first time in the six games this year that the weather forecast wasn't calling for at least a 50% chance of rain.  The stadium is great, the concessions were first class and there were lots of places to enjoy the food.

 

No wonder Jim Thome hit over 600 home runs, look at the size of that guy!!!!  And that bat is huge.

We got to see Cole Hamels pitch, it was an exciting game that went to extra innings and the only thing that could have made the day better, would have been a Rangers win. 

Since it was our only time to see the Rangers, we got seats about 10 rows behind the dugout.

Two nights later it was on to PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

                                                                                                 The statue of Roberto Clemente

PNC park has one of the best settings of any park in baseball.  On the shores of the Allegheny river, we could see the 6th St. Bridge and downtown, a beautiful view from our customary seats in the upper deck behind home plate.



 The next day it was off to another venue.  We drove to Niles, MI to spend one night.  The original plan was to be here for five nights, but meetings in Chicago this week forced a change of plans.  So, we decided to make the best of it and start celebrating Jane's birthday early by having dinner at Tippecanoe Place in South Bend, IN.

This was the home built by Clement Studebaker in 1889.  It is now a restaurant, but you can roam through it on a self-guided tour.  It has 40 rooms and 20 fireplaces, all made with Italian marble.  The craftsmanship is stunning.

 

 

I was in South Bend on business 30 years ago and had dinner here.  I remember telling Jane that if we ever got the chance I would take her to dinner there.  It's worth the experience.

 

You can't visit South Bend without a cruise through the campus at Notre Dame.

 

 

 The famous Golden Dome

 

Interesting note connecting Studebaker and Notre Dame:

Knute Rockne did promotions for Studebaker and had decided to quit coaching for a full time sales position with Studebaker making $10,000 a year.  12 days later he died in a plane crash.