Not true, but you don't want to see all of those crappy shots.
site for pix:
http://picasaweb.google.com/makereadymusic
last post of pix was Nashville, I think.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Home Sweet Home
Monday, September 2
Home sweet home.
Whewwww … 16 days, 3000 miles (on the nose), 11 states. It’ll be nice to sleep in a familiar bed, but will be very hard to wake up and go to work on Tuesday.
Home sweet home.
Whewwww … 16 days, 3000 miles (on the nose), 11 states. It’ll be nice to sleep in a familiar bed, but will be very hard to wake up and go to work on Tuesday.
Day 17: Baseball, Food, Food, Baseball
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Miller Park/Pretty Lake, Wisconsin
By Craig
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Miller Park/Pretty Lake, Wisconsin
Can’t beat Bill and Tina’s downtown condo for convenience. After grabbing some Dunkin’ Donuts coffee a half a block away, we cruise up to the lakeshore to check out the (relatively) new (2001) Santiago Calitrava-designed addition at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Ahhh … gotta mix in a little bit of culture with the baseball. The addition is quite spectacular. I’d forgotten that the original part (1957) of the building was designed by Eero Saarinen. The museum has a pretty decent collection – well worth checking out if you’re in town. I was definitely impressed with the folk art/self-taught collection.
Enough damn culture. Now we’re off to Miller Park, which was built in 2001. Man, what a great baseball stadium. With each new park we visit, I’m dreading going back into the Metrodome to watch the Twins after this trip is over. (Not to mention that they’re continuing to lose – today it’s to Kansas City, tomorrow it will be to Cleveland again). Another pretty good game, Prince Fielder bangs out a 3-run homer (his 40th of the year) in the 6th inning and the Brew Crew beats the Pirates (arrrr … the pirate theme continues) 7-4. Highlight of the game: awesome bratwurst (Milwaukee IS sausage town), and a killer Italian beef sandwich with hot peppers.
After a smooth exodus from the stadium area, we’re headed about 20 miles west of Milwaukee and 15 minutes south to Pretty Lake. I haven’t seen my hometown buddy Eric Darling for about 11 years or so, but take advantage of this opportunity to see he and his wife Ellie and their kids Will and Katy. We’ve had wonderful hospitality at all of the stops we’ve made to visit folks, and the Pretty Lake visit is no exception. Ellie’s sister Sue and her husband Alan are visiting for the evening as well. There is much shrieking and laughter from the kids and the neighbor’s kids playing in the lake (while Bailey, the household dog goes nuts). The mosquitoes are pretty aggressive, so we take a pontoon ride on the lake. It’s gorgeous out there. Ellie and Alan stayed behind and by the time we return, there’s mixed grill on the table. More awesome sausages.
Then some more story telling (and, of course some joke telling – I’d forgotten that Eric probably should have ended up being a stand-up comic instead of a lawyer), and a bonfire on the beach. Eric and Will ceremonially burn their T-shirts. Eric coaches the all-star team that Will plays on. (Eric, you should have been a baseball coach instead of a lawyer). The early bedtime was much needed. This trip is wearing me out.
Miller Park/Pretty Lake, Wisconsin
By Craig
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Miller Park/Pretty Lake, Wisconsin
Can’t beat Bill and Tina’s downtown condo for convenience. After grabbing some Dunkin’ Donuts coffee a half a block away, we cruise up to the lakeshore to check out the (relatively) new (2001) Santiago Calitrava-designed addition at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Ahhh … gotta mix in a little bit of culture with the baseball. The addition is quite spectacular. I’d forgotten that the original part (1957) of the building was designed by Eero Saarinen. The museum has a pretty decent collection – well worth checking out if you’re in town. I was definitely impressed with the folk art/self-taught collection.
Enough damn culture. Now we’re off to Miller Park, which was built in 2001. Man, what a great baseball stadium. With each new park we visit, I’m dreading going back into the Metrodome to watch the Twins after this trip is over. (Not to mention that they’re continuing to lose – today it’s to Kansas City, tomorrow it will be to Cleveland again). Another pretty good game, Prince Fielder bangs out a 3-run homer (his 40th of the year) in the 6th inning and the Brew Crew beats the Pirates (arrrr … the pirate theme continues) 7-4. Highlight of the game: awesome bratwurst (Milwaukee IS sausage town), and a killer Italian beef sandwich with hot peppers.
After a smooth exodus from the stadium area, we’re headed about 20 miles west of Milwaukee and 15 minutes south to Pretty Lake. I haven’t seen my hometown buddy Eric Darling for about 11 years or so, but take advantage of this opportunity to see he and his wife Ellie and their kids Will and Katy. We’ve had wonderful hospitality at all of the stops we’ve made to visit folks, and the Pretty Lake visit is no exception. Ellie’s sister Sue and her husband Alan are visiting for the evening as well. There is much shrieking and laughter from the kids and the neighbor’s kids playing in the lake (while Bailey, the household dog goes nuts). The mosquitoes are pretty aggressive, so we take a pontoon ride on the lake. It’s gorgeous out there. Ellie and Alan stayed behind and by the time we return, there’s mixed grill on the table. More awesome sausages.
Then some more story telling (and, of course some joke telling – I’d forgotten that Eric probably should have ended up being a stand-up comic instead of a lawyer), and a bonfire on the beach. Eric and Will ceremonially burn their T-shirts. Eric coaches the all-star team that Will plays on. (Eric, you should have been a baseball coach instead of a lawyer). The early bedtime was much needed. This trip is wearing me out.
Day 16 part 2: Are we in New York? or is this Milwaukee?
Saturday night, September 1, 2007
Milwaukee
By Jamie
After a mighty fun afternoon of baseball (save for the bad experience at the Irish Oak) we have a slight change in plans for Saturday evening. We had planned to spend the night in Chicago after the game, but we couldn’t find a hotel for less than $350. Not worth it in our minds. Milwaukee is only an hour and a half away, and since the game was so early we decide to skip the night out in Chicago and head north. Craig is our designated driver for the day. (AKA, too hung over to choke down a drink.)
Once in Milwaukee we find my cousin’s place fairly easily. He (Bill) and his wife (Tina) are actually out of town themselves, but we’ve got a key to the condo. Nice place, great location. After unloading our stuff, we take a little break on the couches and watch “Clear and Present Danger.” Our tanks are pertnear empty. At this point, we’re pretty close to calling it a night. (Particularly hung over Craig.) I’m able to twist his arm a little and we do eventually decide to check out some of the local establishments.
There a smoky little dive bar called Jim’s Time Out right around the corner from Bill and Tina’s. Some good conversation with the barkeep, but it’s a little too smoky for me. My eyes are burnin’. After that, we do a little wandering around and find Mo’s Irish Pub. It’s an authentic Irish pub right across the street from Mo’s Trattoria, Mo’s Café and a couple other authentic places owned by the worldly Mo. It’s about as Irish an experience as we had earlier at the Irish Oak. It’s actually not a bad place. They pour a proper Guinness and the car bombs seemed right. However, instead of crappy non-Irish dance music out of a jukebox (a la Irish Oak), we’re treated to crappy non-Irish live music. The band was on break when we got there. As they came back, they say they’ve got a request for some Irish music and launch into Van Morrison. That was the entirety of the “Irish” portion of their set. An evening of pretty bad bar standards. I don’t know how many times we heard Mustang Sally on Beale Street, but it’s a bit too soon to hear it again.
One thought that had crossed my mind while in Chicago was how we hadn’t had any random sightings of people we know. This has been a fairly common occurrence in past travels and I’m surprised it hasn’t happened on such a long trip. The call was answered at Mo’s in Milwaukee. I ran into an old high school friend, Jeff. He’s in from Seattle for a bachelor party. (For some reason three bachelor parties came through Mo’s.) It was a very welcome surprise. Jeff is one of those guys you always wish you’d kept in touch with. Really nice and interesting guy. His crew is on the move, so we only have time to exchange a couple funny memories and email info. Good to see him.
After Mo’s we work our way back to B&T’s and make one last stop at a place called the New York Bar or something like that. It’s just like being in New York! Except not! Bad karaoke joint. Our karaoke senses have delivered us once again. It’s small, fairly empty, crappy sound and has a slim song selection, but it seems like an appropriate stop. I spew out Daydream Believer and Easy. Craig takes on Lay Down Sally. A fit ending to a (relatively) low-key evening.
OK, the actual ending was a snack at Dunkin’ Donuts and microwave sliders at Bill & Tina’s. Yes, sliders.
Bill and Tina are scheduled to get back into Milwaukee around 5:30 on Sunday. We had planned on staying there that night after the Brewers game. It would have been nice to actually see them, but it wasn’t meant to be. The road weariness is setting in and we decide that we’ll spend the next night west of Milwaukee at a friend of Craig’s. It will give Craig a chance to catch up, but it will also give us a head start on the long drive for Monday. Home is calling.
Milwaukee
By Jamie
After a mighty fun afternoon of baseball (save for the bad experience at the Irish Oak) we have a slight change in plans for Saturday evening. We had planned to spend the night in Chicago after the game, but we couldn’t find a hotel for less than $350. Not worth it in our minds. Milwaukee is only an hour and a half away, and since the game was so early we decide to skip the night out in Chicago and head north. Craig is our designated driver for the day. (AKA, too hung over to choke down a drink.)
Once in Milwaukee we find my cousin’s place fairly easily. He (Bill) and his wife (Tina) are actually out of town themselves, but we’ve got a key to the condo. Nice place, great location. After unloading our stuff, we take a little break on the couches and watch “Clear and Present Danger.” Our tanks are pertnear empty. At this point, we’re pretty close to calling it a night. (Particularly hung over Craig.) I’m able to twist his arm a little and we do eventually decide to check out some of the local establishments.
There a smoky little dive bar called Jim’s Time Out right around the corner from Bill and Tina’s. Some good conversation with the barkeep, but it’s a little too smoky for me. My eyes are burnin’. After that, we do a little wandering around and find Mo’s Irish Pub. It’s an authentic Irish pub right across the street from Mo’s Trattoria, Mo’s Café and a couple other authentic places owned by the worldly Mo. It’s about as Irish an experience as we had earlier at the Irish Oak. It’s actually not a bad place. They pour a proper Guinness and the car bombs seemed right. However, instead of crappy non-Irish dance music out of a jukebox (a la Irish Oak), we’re treated to crappy non-Irish live music. The band was on break when we got there. As they came back, they say they’ve got a request for some Irish music and launch into Van Morrison. That was the entirety of the “Irish” portion of their set. An evening of pretty bad bar standards. I don’t know how many times we heard Mustang Sally on Beale Street, but it’s a bit too soon to hear it again.
One thought that had crossed my mind while in Chicago was how we hadn’t had any random sightings of people we know. This has been a fairly common occurrence in past travels and I’m surprised it hasn’t happened on such a long trip. The call was answered at Mo’s in Milwaukee. I ran into an old high school friend, Jeff. He’s in from Seattle for a bachelor party. (For some reason three bachelor parties came through Mo’s.) It was a very welcome surprise. Jeff is one of those guys you always wish you’d kept in touch with. Really nice and interesting guy. His crew is on the move, so we only have time to exchange a couple funny memories and email info. Good to see him.
After Mo’s we work our way back to B&T’s and make one last stop at a place called the New York Bar or something like that. It’s just like being in New York! Except not! Bad karaoke joint. Our karaoke senses have delivered us once again. It’s small, fairly empty, crappy sound and has a slim song selection, but it seems like an appropriate stop. I spew out Daydream Believer and Easy. Craig takes on Lay Down Sally. A fit ending to a (relatively) low-key evening.
OK, the actual ending was a snack at Dunkin’ Donuts and microwave sliders at Bill & Tina’s. Yes, sliders.
Bill and Tina are scheduled to get back into Milwaukee around 5:30 on Sunday. We had planned on staying there that night after the Brewers game. It would have been nice to actually see them, but it wasn’t meant to be. The road weariness is setting in and we decide that we’ll spend the next night west of Milwaukee at a friend of Craig’s. It will give Craig a chance to catch up, but it will also give us a head start on the long drive for Monday. Home is calling.
Day 16: The day that Michigan football died (oh, yeah, the Cubbies won, too)
Sunday, September 1, 2007
Chicago
By Craig
Yep, sure enough, I’ve got a banging headache from my night out at Shuba’s. Nonetheless, I am up and at ’em, on-time for our rendezvous before the game. We actually have FREE tickets for today’s game, courtesy of Marie’s brother Mike. (Many, many thanks, Mike!). Since the Irish Oak isn’t serving breakfast yet (it’s part of Mike’s Wrigley routine, I think), we hit a perfect little diner for some grub. Personally, I’m quite pleased with this. Jamie, Brian and Mike are Celtophiles, but I am not really ready for potatoes and Guinness.
It’s another beautiful day at Wrigley. I’m functioning as the designated driver, so I’m not rocking the Old Style beer. The others buddy up with Alex the beer man early on, so all is good for our group. Jamie continues his home team streak as the Cubs beat the Astros 4-3.
Back at the Irish Oak after the game, all continues well for a while. Brian’s alma mater the Fighting Irish are not looking great, but he is elated that Michigan has lost to Appalachian State, a AA school.
I really should let Jamie write his rant here. This is not his best Irish Pub experience. Bad music, no meat on the chicken wings, and to top it off, the waitress tries to put the first round of drinks (which I paid for with cash) on Jamie’s Visa charge. Then she cops some serious attitude about having to fix her OWN mistake, and then it takes forever for us to wrap up the bill and get out of there.
Chicago
By Craig
Yep, sure enough, I’ve got a banging headache from my night out at Shuba’s. Nonetheless, I am up and at ’em, on-time for our rendezvous before the game. We actually have FREE tickets for today’s game, courtesy of Marie’s brother Mike. (Many, many thanks, Mike!). Since the Irish Oak isn’t serving breakfast yet (it’s part of Mike’s Wrigley routine, I think), we hit a perfect little diner for some grub. Personally, I’m quite pleased with this. Jamie, Brian and Mike are Celtophiles, but I am not really ready for potatoes and Guinness.
It’s another beautiful day at Wrigley. I’m functioning as the designated driver, so I’m not rocking the Old Style beer. The others buddy up with Alex the beer man early on, so all is good for our group. Jamie continues his home team streak as the Cubs beat the Astros 4-3.
Back at the Irish Oak after the game, all continues well for a while. Brian’s alma mater the Fighting Irish are not looking great, but he is elated that Michigan has lost to Appalachian State, a AA school.
I really should let Jamie write his rant here. This is not his best Irish Pub experience. Bad music, no meat on the chicken wings, and to top it off, the waitress tries to put the first round of drinks (which I paid for with cash) on Jamie’s Visa charge. Then she cops some serious attitude about having to fix her OWN mistake, and then it takes forever for us to wrap up the bill and get out of there.
Day 15: This is the way baseball should be played, HHH
Friday, August 31
Chicago
By Craig
I left Jamie in New Lenox so he could spend some quality family time, and headed into the city. Did a very short driving tour through the Loop area and a drive-by of Millennium Park. I’d hoped to spend some more time checking that out, but will have to do that on another Chicago visit. Headed straight to the Lincoln Park area, grabbed a parking spot and headed to Wrigley Field. After all, baseball is central to the theme of this trip, and Wrigley Field is certainly a shrine when it comes to the baseball experience. It’s a beautiful day, bright and sunny with a slight breeze. I score a nice seat and settle in. As I’m looking around, I see large patches of yellow in the crowd. I’d noticed a number of Hawkeye (University of Iowa, my alma mater) shirts, but had thought that was just the Chicago/U of I connection). The Hawkeye presence will be good to rub in Jamie’s face (he attended Iowa State University – Moo U), but quite frankly, I’m almost embarrassed by the size of this clique – and of course they’re all ripped and obnoxious by the 12:20 first pitch.
It’s a good game, when the last out comes around, I’ve blown our perfect home team record for the trip, with the Cubs losing 6-1. Rookie Hunter Pence of the Astros is almost single-handedly responsible, with 3 runs, 2 homers, and 5 RBIs. The guy behind me panicked at the 7th inning beer cutoff, bought about a dozen and offers up a free one to me. Not a bad day.
After a short stop at El Jardin for a margarita, I pick up some beverages to enjoy in my room (perfect location – Diversey at Clark) and chill out for a while. Then out for a little bit of neighborhood exploration by foot and a walk down Belmont to Shuba’s Tavern. The early show is Anders Parker – I’d heard of him, but hadn’t heard the music, so I thought It’d be a good show to see. And it was – Shuba’s can be a great place for a boisterous show, but it is absolutely perfect for a small, intimate experience. After the show I meet some locals and a couple of fellow tourists in the front bar, and after a few more drinks, decide to see the late show, a local band by the name of Camera. Not exactly my cup of tea, but they had a lot of projected visuals and the crowed was really inot it. Openers The Strange Young Lovers were some good shit-kicking cowboy rockers; the middle act Maradona was a pretty good time, too.
It’s been a long enough day at this point; I’m exhausted and head back to the room, dreading the 10 am wakeup call. Saturday’s Cubs game is a 12:05 start. Better have the aspirin ready.
Chicago
By Craig
I left Jamie in New Lenox so he could spend some quality family time, and headed into the city. Did a very short driving tour through the Loop area and a drive-by of Millennium Park. I’d hoped to spend some more time checking that out, but will have to do that on another Chicago visit. Headed straight to the Lincoln Park area, grabbed a parking spot and headed to Wrigley Field. After all, baseball is central to the theme of this trip, and Wrigley Field is certainly a shrine when it comes to the baseball experience. It’s a beautiful day, bright and sunny with a slight breeze. I score a nice seat and settle in. As I’m looking around, I see large patches of yellow in the crowd. I’d noticed a number of Hawkeye (University of Iowa, my alma mater) shirts, but had thought that was just the Chicago/U of I connection). The Hawkeye presence will be good to rub in Jamie’s face (he attended Iowa State University – Moo U), but quite frankly, I’m almost embarrassed by the size of this clique – and of course they’re all ripped and obnoxious by the 12:20 first pitch.
It’s a good game, when the last out comes around, I’ve blown our perfect home team record for the trip, with the Cubs losing 6-1. Rookie Hunter Pence of the Astros is almost single-handedly responsible, with 3 runs, 2 homers, and 5 RBIs. The guy behind me panicked at the 7th inning beer cutoff, bought about a dozen and offers up a free one to me. Not a bad day.
After a short stop at El Jardin for a margarita, I pick up some beverages to enjoy in my room (perfect location – Diversey at Clark) and chill out for a while. Then out for a little bit of neighborhood exploration by foot and a walk down Belmont to Shuba’s Tavern. The early show is Anders Parker – I’d heard of him, but hadn’t heard the music, so I thought It’d be a good show to see. And it was – Shuba’s can be a great place for a boisterous show, but it is absolutely perfect for a small, intimate experience. After the show I meet some locals and a couple of fellow tourists in the front bar, and after a few more drinks, decide to see the late show, a local band by the name of Camera. Not exactly my cup of tea, but they had a lot of projected visuals and the crowed was really inot it. Openers The Strange Young Lovers were some good shit-kicking cowboy rockers; the middle act Maradona was a pretty good time, too.
It’s been a long enough day at this point; I’m exhausted and head back to the room, dreading the 10 am wakeup call. Saturday’s Cubs game is a 12:05 start. Better have the aspirin ready.
Day 14: Didn't we pushpin Gary, Indiana?
Thursday, August 30
Cleveland to Chicago (actually New Lenox)
By Craig
We didn’t really allow enough time for proper analysis, but I might agree with a friend of mine’s (from the Cincinnati area) description of Cleveland as an armpit. Hoping to score a decent cup of coffee, we take city streets instead of the freeway out of town, but it’s not looking good. Plenty of dive bars to stop at, but we’ve got a pretty decent drive ahead of us and pass on those opportunities. Gas station java will do today.
The highlight of the day was almost getting a buzz haircut from a couple of crop dusting planes somewhere in the middle of Indiana. The Hoosier state fades by in no time.
Arriving in New Lenox, near Joliet, south of Chicago, we visit Jamie’s brother Brian, his wife Marie, and their 2-year old son, Cullen. It’s pretty cool to see how Cullen, who plays the shy game for awhile, warms up to his Uncle Jamie. It’s also a pleasure to meet Marie’s parents, Moss and Mary. They’re super-nice folks – both of them were born in Ireland and sport fairly thick (but understandable) accents. Marie was still at work, but got home early enough to hang out with the guys for awhile. This is probably the earliest bedtime we’ve experienced the entire trip.
Cleveland to Chicago (actually New Lenox)
By Craig
We didn’t really allow enough time for proper analysis, but I might agree with a friend of mine’s (from the Cincinnati area) description of Cleveland as an armpit. Hoping to score a decent cup of coffee, we take city streets instead of the freeway out of town, but it’s not looking good. Plenty of dive bars to stop at, but we’ve got a pretty decent drive ahead of us and pass on those opportunities. Gas station java will do today.
The highlight of the day was almost getting a buzz haircut from a couple of crop dusting planes somewhere in the middle of Indiana. The Hoosier state fades by in no time.
Arriving in New Lenox, near Joliet, south of Chicago, we visit Jamie’s brother Brian, his wife Marie, and their 2-year old son, Cullen. It’s pretty cool to see how Cullen, who plays the shy game for awhile, warms up to his Uncle Jamie. It’s also a pleasure to meet Marie’s parents, Moss and Mary. They’re super-nice folks – both of them were born in Ireland and sport fairly thick (but understandable) accents. Marie was still at work, but got home early enough to hang out with the guys for awhile. This is probably the earliest bedtime we’ve experienced the entire trip.
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