A Very YOLO Trip: Ohio

We left Detroit early the next day to make our way towards Cleveland for the final game of our baseball trip. We did pass through Taylor, Michigan on our way, which is the hometown of former Atlanta Braves great Steve Avery. :) I'm sad to say there was NO statue of him by the city limit sign. Oh well. 

We had one scheduled stop along our way in Fremont, Ohio to see the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum (because- history!) To be honest, before we made the stop, I knew absolutely nothing about President Hayes. But, that's one reason I love stopping at places like this- I learn something new. And there was SO MUCH to learn at this one.

The house where President Hayes lived was next door to the library and museum, so we took a tour of that first. We had an amazing tour guide who knew so much about President Hayes and his wife, Lucy. You could tell this guide had a passion for the history of the president, and it wasn't just a script he had memorized. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the house, but we learned that over 90 percent of the furniture and artifacts inside the house belonged to the Hayes family. 

First Lady Lucy Hayes seemed like an amazing woman, I'm still determined to read up on her. She was the first First Lady to receive a college diploma. She was an advocate for African-Americans before and after the Civil War and she invited the first professional African-American musician to perform in the White House. She is known as Lemonade Lucy because the Hayes family didn't serve alcohol while they lived in the White House.

Lucy's college diploma

We were there on a Tuesday in early May, so it wasn't super crowded. Although I'm not sure how crowded it gets on a weekend or during summer months. If you ever find yourself near Fremont, OH, I recommend stopping. Even if history isn't your thing, I think you will find it interesting.

We continued on to Cleveland, where we got to Progressive Field two hours before the game started and just as the gates were opening. Oh, but wait. At Progressive Field, you are only allowed to stay in the outfield and Indians Hall of Fame plaque area until an hour before the game starts. This means you can't walk around the concourse or try and get photos of batting practice. Kinda dumb. 

Finally when they allowed us to walk around we went to the Indians side because Lisa wanted to try and get some autographs and I was hoping to see my high school friend Matt Belisle (who was a pitcher for the Indians at that time). She got a few autographs (but not the one she really wanted), and I saw Matt from a distance, but sadly not close enough to say hi. As we were heading up towards the team store, a Cleveland fan let us know that the Indians players would sometimes sign autographs at the gate by their parking area. We decided we would check that out after the game.

We had great seats behind the Rangers dugout. It was season ticket holder club level seating (and we got the seats for a great deal on StubHub). It was so fancy that the ushers checked your ticket multiple times to make sure you were supposed to be sitting there. We had access to the season ticket holder club inside but with a view like this, why would we want to leave our seats?

At one point during the game, Elvis Andrus noticed my Rangers gear and told the usher to give me a ball. Halfway through the game my phone starting blowing up because the Rangers telecast put us on TV and everyone had to tell me. Lol. Of course they didn't catch us smiling, but oh well.

The Rangers had a four-run lead going into the bottom of the 9th. SOMEONE (not me) decided to say that our closer was going to blow the game by giving up a grand slam. And guess what, that is what happened. Thanks a lot Kela. So, we got free baseball. Two innings worth of free baseball. BUT THANKFULLY, the Rangers were able to get a win for us in the 11th. 

After the game we decided to stalk, I mean, wait to see if any Indians players would sign as they were leaving, so we camped out by the Indians parking lot. There were a lot of other fans there, so evidently it's a well-known fact that they sometimes sign. While we were waiting, I noticed a Rangers pitcher (Jake Diekman, who is actually no longer on the team) walking out of the Indians parking lot. A few other people approached him, so I walked up in my Rangers gear, congratulated him on their win, and asked for a photo. As you've noticed, I go for a photo op over an autograph, it just means more to me. He was super nice (and his super nice wife took the photo for us). I told her she was a champ and she laughed and said she was used to it and she really didn't mind doing it. 

We were just about to give up and leave when the player Lisa had wanted an autograph from came out. SUCCESS!! At first we thought he wasn't going to sign because he got in his car, but he then backed it up closer to the gate and signed for several minutes. We were close to calling it a night when my friend Matt walked out (FINALLY). We hadn't seen each other since high school (we were on newspaper staff together), but we were able to catch up for about 15 minutes. It was good to see he was still the same nice guy that he was in high school- the majors hadn't changed him. He thanked me for waiting around so we could catch up. We had tried to meet up a few times before (once in Texas and once when I was in Minneapolis for a game when he played for the Twins), but it never worked out. 

Our flight home to Texas wasn't until late in the afternoon that next day, so we decided to squeeze in one last sightseeing option- the James A. Garfield National Historic Site. Fun fact- we were originally going to see the William McKinley presidential library, but our tour guide at the Hayes Library said if we only had time to go to one, to pick the Garfield National Historic Site. He said it was better than the McKinley library. Don't get me wrong, I will still make it to the McKinley library one of these days. Lol. The Garfield historic site was actually closer to the Cleveland airport, so it worked out better that we decided to go there. 

The only thing I knew about President Garfield was that he was assassinated, so it was interesting to learn a little more about his life and his short presidency. He was shot in July of 1881, just four months after taking office, but he didn't die right away (he eventually died in September 1881). It was stated that he most likely died from the treatment he received. If they had taken better care of him, he might have lived. We also learned that after his death, his wife added the Memorial Library wing to the house, which set precedent for presidential libraries. She felt the public needed to be able to see his papers and writings. So, we basically have Lucretia Garfield to thank for our presidential libraries.

The top hat in the top left corner is the one Garfield was wearing when he was shot. The chair on the far top right is one that Garfield would sit in while reading.

The tour of the house was interesting- again, the crowd was light. In fact, Lisa and I were the only ones on the tour of the house at that time. The tour guide at the Garfield house was also very good. There were sections of the house built after the president had died, so she also made sure we knew if we were in a part of the house that Garfield had lived in or not. I also recommend visiting this historic site if you are in the area.

This wreath was placed on Garfield's casket during the funeral. It was a gift from the Royal Family in England.

Obligatory photo on the front steps of a president's house

We got to the Cleveland airport a little early, but that gave us time to grab something to eat and just relax before boarding our flight. We finally got back to Texas on a Wednesday evening, almost a week after we had left. It was an exhausting, but fun trip. Lisa and I decided at that point that we traveled well together and made plans to take another trip in 2019 (which we have already done and I will eventually recap). Lol.

Again, if you have made it this far, I thank you for reading. Two more 2018 trips to go and then on to 2019. Maybe I'll get back into this blog thing after all! :)

40 Through 40 Update:
3. Visit three presidential libraries on my Presidential Library to Visit list (2) (3)

XOXO!

A Very YOLO Trip: Detroit

I know, I'm horrible. Yes, I'm STILL recapping my 2018 trips. **insert face palm emoji**. Yes, I've already taken a trip in 2019. I've had A LOT of people giving me guilt trips lately about letting my blog updating slide, so here I sit trying to at least wrap up my 2018 road trips. Here's hoping I'll get my 2019 trip recapped by 2020. Lol.

Okay, so the last time I updated we were in Toronto. I know it's been a little while (five months), so here is the last post I wrote if you want a recap. 

We left Toronto on a Monday morning to make the four hour drive to Detroit for the Tigers game that night. I'll spare the details of how we made a quick stop in a small Canadian town and the gas station restroom looked like something straight out of a horror film. I honestly don't think customers were supposed to be back there but the guy at the register took pity on us and let us use it. I swear I'm a 48 Hours episode waiting to happen. "After posting that she was leaving Toronto to head towards Detroit, she was never heard from again. Her cell phone last pinged in the small town of **insert the name of the town that I have now forgotten because this was 14 months ago**. 

I may have been humming America the Beautiful as we crossed back over into the United States (I don't really remember). We had to explain at the border why we were from Texas but were driving a car with a Pennsylvania licence plate (because the rental car we got in Baltimore had PA plates). The border patrol agent was pretty excited when she found out we had been traveling to see baseball games (she was also a fan- female sports fans unite!)  

I'm not going to lie, Detroit isn't the prettiest city, BUT I loved Comerica Park. So many people put it down, but I really enjoyed the ballpark experience there. I loved the design of the outside of the park.

Random side note (that has nothing to do with Comerica Park, but it does have something to do with the Tigers so I'm going to mention it): When I was a kid, there was a Disney Channel movie called Tiger Town that I absolutely LOVED (because it was about baseball and my baseball obsession started early in my life). I remember watching this movie when I was like 5. It starred Roy Scheider (from Jaws) and Justin Henry (the little brother in 16 Candles). The movie was filmed in Detroit and a lot of scenes were filmed at Tiger Stadium (which sadly was demolished after the Tigers moved to Comerica Park). Scheider plays an aging Tigers player named Billy Young who is on the verge of retirement. His dream of playing in the World Series is fading (because the Tigers aren't doing well and he has lost his ability to hit the ball). Billy is the favorite player of Alex (played by Henry). I could type out the rest of the plot but I'm lazy, so you can just read the Wikipedia recap here. It's not available for purchase, but I just checked YouTube and a copy is available here. I will be watching it after I finish this post. Aw, memories. Lol.

Okay, so sorry for getting sidetracked. For those who know me, it's not unusual for that to happen. :) ANYWAY- back to 2018 and Comerica Park. I loved it. Don't @ me. The concourse area was great- they have a carousel AND Ferris Wheel. We found Mickey, a baseball fountain, a giant bobblehead, and I got to sit on the Triple Crown throne. :)

Before the game, we walked around the whole ballpark (because we were not able to get there in time for a tour). They had a lot of statues just beyond the outfield (if you know me, I'm a big fan of statues). I liked the open concourse (which allowed you to see the field as you walked around).

They had a lot of food choices but if you know me, you know I'm NOT a huge foodie- I stick to "normal" foods when I go to baseball games. So, I'm sorry to disappoint if you were wanting some great food recommendation at Comerica Park. Oh, and yes, the Tigers give you a lid AND a straw with your souvenir drink. I don't know what the Rangers deal is by not giving us lids and straws with our drinks. The majority of the ballparks I've visited give you at least a straw. Sigh. Maybe in the new ballpark.

I don't know why the cup looks so tiny in this photo- it's a normal size souvenir cup

We had great seats for the game. We once again got to see the Rays play on the road. If you remember WAY BACK to last July when I first started this trip update (this is so embarrassing that it's taking me a year to recap this trip), we saw the Ray play the Orioles in Baltimore. If you would like a refresher, here is that post.

Obligatory selfie from our seats

We actually saw a pretty good game (if you like a pitching duel). The game was scoreless going into the 9th. The Rays scored three in the top of the inning and despite a good attempt by the Tigers in the bottom of the 9th, they came up short and lost the game 3-2. The Rays also won the game against the Orioles so evidently we are good luck for them.

This game was in April, and the temperatures got a little too cool for this Texas girl (okay, it was like 70 BUT BREEZY), so I had to put on my Rangers light jacket during the game. Fun tidbit- we ran into other Rangers fans as we were leaving. They had noticed my jacket during the game and they happened to bump into us outside afterward. They were excited to find fellow fans.

Like I said, I really enjoyed my time there. I would definitely go back. BUT next time I'll be sure not to get lost. We possibly made a wrong tour leaving the ballpark (there was construction and the detour signs were not well marked and our GPS freaked out and we ended up going the wrong way). We also ended up in a part of Detroit no one really needed to be in at night. We possibly made some illegal turns, but you know what, we didn't care. Lol. We finally got back to our hotel safe and sound (obviously, since I'm here a year later talking about it).

Okay, I have ONE MORE POST for this trip, and then my recap of A Very YOLO Trip 2018 will be DONE. It's late so I will post that tomorrow. At least I hope I will post tomorrow. Or maybe in five months, who knows? Lol. And I have two more trips from 2018 to recap after that. Sigh. I guess traveling has gotten in my way of blog updating. As always if you made it this far, thank you for reading. Much love!!

A Very YOLO Trip: Buffalo, NY and Niagara Falls AND Canada

My goal is to recap all of my 2018 trips before I take my first trip of 2019. I can't believe I'm still recapping my April trip from last year. I just have had no blogging motivation. I am currently on bed rest after having shoulder surgery on Feb. 1 (so I'm updating this post with one hand, which is fun-not). I am going to do my best. My apologies for any typing errors. :)

It's been several months, so refresh your memory here on where I left off. On our way from Pittsburgh to Toronto, we had a stop in Buffalo, NY on our itinerary solely because I wanted to stop at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site. Yes, I'm a nerd.

On our way into town, we passed by a baseball stadium. After some research, we discovered it was a minor league team called the Buffalo Bisons (and we both thought it was a great name). We decided we wanted to swing by and get a T-shirt on our way out of town. But first, we made a quick stop at the home where Teddy Roosevelt took the oath of president after the assassination of William McKinley (because I'm a history nerd and will stop at any place that has some historical reference). Unfortunately they only allowed guided tours in the home, and it was a 90 minute wait for the next tour, so we just took a look around the outside of the house. 

We had to look up the address of the Bison's ballpark, and when we did, we discovered that they had a home game that day. A day home game. And it had just started. Mind you, it was 37 degrees and drizzling, but we HAD to go. We were on a baseball road trip after all. 

We purchased cheap seat tickets and made our way through the gate. We were in luck- it was free ice cream day! It doesn't matter how cold it is-I will always take free ice cream. After a quick stop at the gift shop, we made our way to our seats. Well, actually our seats were in the far corner of right field (meaning they were getting drizzled on). A nice usher said we could sit under the covered seating area. We overheard a conversation in the gift shop that only 94 fans were braving the cold weather that day so there were plenty of seats.

In the gift shop we noticed they had stuffed celery toys, but we were so confused why (we later found out it was a mascot that used to race in between innings, he is now retired). Anyways, we hadn't been sitting long when Lisa grabbed my arm and screamed "it's the Celery!" And of course we needed to get a photo with him. We also got one with the official mascot- Buster the Bison. We became fast fans of the Bisons. And I have to give credit to the fans that were braving the weather- they were passionate. 

We left in about the 7th inning. We were supposed to go to Niagara Falls and we were already leaving Buffalo way later than we had planned. Since the weather wasn't exactly perfect for viewing the Falls, we didn't mind much that we had a detour.

Niagara Falls is one of those places that I've always wanted to visit. It's something that I've always seen in books and on TV and just wanted to see it in person. I definitely want to go back when the weather is nicer, I would like to take one of the boat tours. The day we were there was NOT a day I wanted to be on a boat right under the falls. It was dreary and cold. It even started to snow at one point while we were there. I will say that the Falls were a wonder to see. SOMEONE took one look at them and said "it's just water", but I won't name names. :) We were able to see Niagara Falls from both the New York side and Canada side. If you go visit, I highly recommend going to the Canada side.

After a quick dinner stop, we made our way to Toronto, which was less than two hours from Niagara Falls. After several late nights, it was nice to get to the AirBnb somewhat "early" and just have a relaxing evening.

The view from our AirBnb in downtown Toronto

The next day we made the short one block walk from our AirBnb to Rogers Centre to see the Rangers take on the Blue Jays. We lucked out and saw the Rangers twice on our road trip. There was no batting practice because it was a day game, but we were able to get photos with several Rangers players as well as the third base coach Tony Beasley. We also met Evan Grant, a beat writer for the Rangers.

The game wasn't that good (because we didn't win), but we still had fun. We were told that Rogers Centre wasn't going to be that great, but I actually thought it wasn't that bad. Everyone was so nice. The Blue Jays mascot and his sidekick were a little creepy looking, but overall, we enjoyed our visit there.

A friend spotted us on TV!

After the game, we ate at a wonderful Italian restaurant called Hey Lucy! (it was a recommendation from someone I follow on Twitter who is from Toronto). Fun fact. In Canada the meal portions are a lot smaller than in the US. Also fun fact: Canadian money has a clear portion you can see through.

Later that evening, I faced my fear of heights and we went up in the CN Tower. I will admit that the view was spectacular. I was even brave and sat on the "glass bottom" and was doing fine until some kid started jumping up and down on it.

Sadly this is the only "Mounty" I saw because The Royal Canadian Mounted Police doesn't police in Ontario. 

We left early the next morning to make the drive to Detroit. My visit to Canada was short and I hope to spend more time and do more sightseeing on my next visit.

I make no promises when I will post my next update. It took me almost a week and a half just to complete this post. :)

40 Through 40 Update:
2. See a game at six different ballparks on my MLB Ballparks To Visit list- this trip made ballpark #6
13. Travel outside of the United States (not including Mexico or the Caribbean)

A Very YOLO Trip: Pittsburgh

Yeah, I know, it's been four months between updates. I'm horrible. I'm STILL recapping a trip I took in April. Okay, time to get back on board this blog train and start posting again. I'm not even gonna make any excuses. Just bear with me. Maybe I'll get another post up this week, maybe it will take me another four months. Who knows? But, for now, enjoy day two of the awesome road trip I took with my friend Lisa earlier this year. :) It's been four months, so if you want a recap of day one, go here.

Despite a late night the night before, we were up bright and early and were on the road by 7am the next day. We had tickets for a tour of PNC Park at 3:45 that afternoon, so we were sort of on a time limit to make the drive from Baltimore to Pittsburgh. We did have a few planned stops along the way, so we made sure we started the day early.

Our first quick stop was in West Virginia in the town of Berkeley Springs. The only reason for this stop was so I could cross West Virginia off my states to visit list. Yup, we took a fifteen minute detour just so I could get THIS photo.

The "Welcome to West Virginia" sign was not in a place where we could stop and take a photo. A little further down the road, we saw this sign, and it was good enough for me. It had WV on it, that's all I needed. 

We were back on the road and took a slight detour to the town of Stoystown, PA. This is where the Flight 93 Memorial is located. I wanted to pay my respects to those who lost their lives on 9/11. The memorial was very somber but respectful. The Visitor's Center was closed, but we did walk down the path to the Memorial Plaza at Crash Site and took time to read the Wall of Names. There were flowers and wreaths by some of the names. To me, it was a very moving experience to be there. It was hard to walk through with dry eyes.

Our next stop was in Latrobe, PA, which was the hometown of Mister Rogers. I read online that there was a Mister Rogers exhibit on the campus of Saint Vincent College, and since I'm a big fan of Mister Rogers, we had to stop by. I will not confirm or deny that I possibly teared up a little bit in the exhibit. The exhibit included many items that belonged to Mister Rogers (sweaters and tennis shoes), as well as props from Mister Rogers Neighborhood. The trolley, Daniel's Clock, and many of the puppets from the Land of Make Believe were there. I will not confirm or deny that I was excited to have my photo taken by them (just humor me).

We had to hurry from Latrobe to get to Pittsburgh in time for our tour of PNC Park. I have to say that PNC Park is by far my favorite ballpark that I've visited (so far). The view was wonderful, and the history of the Pirates was fascinating. 

Once again, we were on a small tour, but I really like that better. The tour guides were great and so informative. We were on a "pre-game" tour, which meant we got to see the Pirates batting practice. It also meant that we were able to get the giveaway item ahead of time (instead of worrying about getting back in line). We got autographs and photos with some Pirates players after batting practice, which is always fun. I'm a big fan of getting photos and Lisa is a big fan of getting autographs, so it worked out great for both of us!

The giveaway item the night we were at the game was a Pirates umbrella. If you remember one of my trips last year, I went to Minneapolis with Lisa and our friend Michelle to a Twins game, and we got Twins "Purple Rain" umbrellas (recap here). I seem to be collecting MLB umbrellas now. Oh, remember that they gave out umbrellas at the game. This will factor in later on in my recap.

We found out during the tour that the Pirates were honoring a man named Phil Coyne before the game that night. He had been a Pirates usher for 81 years. Yes, 81 years, that's not a typo. It was his 100th birthday and they were holding a ceremony in his honor. He had retired the year before. They said he probably would have worked another season, but he took a bad fall last winter, and the doctor told him not to work anymore. Anyway, until that day, we didn't know that Phil existed, but we became instant fans. Cooperstown even sent a notice that they are going to put Phil's badge and shirt on permanent display in the Hall of Fame. He was adorable.

The game was a lot of fun. We sat in the upper deck, mainly to have a few of the skyline and Clemente Bridge. 

Isn't it beautiful?

The game was fun. Like I said, I LOVED PNC Park. There was a group of guys sitting on the row in front of us at a "Bachelor Party". They were... interesting but they weren't annoying or rude. We enjoyed talking to them and had great conversations. Once again, we had people impressed that two females were on a baseball trip (really people, it's the 21st century- girls can like sports). 

Remember how we got giveaway umbrellas before the game? Well, during the game, it started to rain. Hey- that's okay, I thought. I have an umbrella to use. Less than 30 seconds after opening the umbrella, a not-so-nice usher came over and snapped at me to close it. He was like, you can't have umbrellas in the ballpark. Really dude, because the ballpark gave it to me when I came in the gate. He said that I could have it, I just couldn't open it. EVEN IF IT WAS RAINING? I asked. He said he could eject me from the ballpark just for opening it. I thought he was kidding so I laughed. He wasn't kidding. He made a point to pull out his handy-dandy usher notebook and pointed to the rule listed. Sure enough, no open umbrellas allowed. So, in all my years of attending MLB games, I'm almost ejected for opening an umbrella. Go figure. Oh well, it made for a good laugh after the fact. You would think they might have mentioned to us when they gave us the umbrella "hey, don't open it, even if it starts raining." What's really funny is that there was no one behind me, so it wasn't like I was blocking anyone's view. Ah, Pittsburgh.

So, throughout the game, our new friends tried to convince us to go out with them afterward, but we politely declined. Several times. The game went to extra innings after the Pirates tied it up in the bottom of the 9th. Our new friends wimped out in the top of the 10th, but we stayed until the bottom of the 11th when the Pirates won on a walk-off hit. We got to see them Raise the Jolly Roger-which is their victory flag. I know, I wasn't sure what it meant when I first heard the phrase either.

We were only on day two of our trip and had already accomplished SO MUCH

We were exhausted as we were leaving PNC Park, but it had been a great day so we didn't even care. We decided to walk around and take photos of some of the statues outside the ballpark. We were in a hurry to get to our tour on time earlier that we didn't walk around the outside. We joked with each other, wondering what time Phil left (because the man is 100 years old, surely he left in like the 6th or 7th inning). We turned a corner, and who do we see waltzing out of the gate- PHIL. Looking like he had more energy than the two of us combined. I possibly grabbed Lisa's arm and mouthed "IT'S PHIL!" He was adorable and I had to have a photo with him. I went up to him and politely said hello and happy birthday. I asked if I could trouble him for a photo, and he said it was no trouble. He's obviously used to being a star. HE. WAS. A. PEACH. 

Me and Phil. Trip. Made. 

Once again we hadn't checked in to the hotel before the game, so it was well after midnight before we got to our room. Another long, exhausting day, but we didn't care. We were looking forward to day three!

I hope to give you the next update in LESS THAN FOUR MONTHS, but I refuse to make promises at this point. :)

Quick 40 THROUGH 40 update: 

2. See a game at six different ballparks on my MLB Ballparks To Visit list- this trip made ballpark #5

4. Visit three states on my States To Visit list- WV made state #3!