Southbound

After a drive that I vaguely remember from Minneapolis to Madison, I woke up the next day in a shitty bed in a not so great neighborhood in Madison. But the well needed sleep had me refreshed to drive the remaining hour or so to Milwaukee for a 3pm game between the Brewers and Giants at Miller Park.

Knowing that Milwaukee is the beer capitol of the US I felt it time to re-open Joe's Traveling Tailgate Bar and for after a slow beginning, business picked up and I cleared about $100 while meeting some very friendly people including a couple who were having their bachelor/bachelorette party at the game. Also, even though it was one of two clean shirts that I had, I felt it right to wear a Coors Light shirt to Miller Park even though I hate Coors.

Miller Park is another stadium with a retractable roof and even though it was overcast, the roof was open for the game and the huge crowd that attended for a Monday afternoon game. Before entering I wandered the walk of fame which was not all that impressive and consisted of commemorative home plates with famous Brewers.

Inside the park was more impressive. I sat up the first base line about 15 rows up. The outfield had limited seats, mostly of small specialized sections like the Toyota Tundra Territory, Harley Davidson Deck and Airtran Landing Zone. Yet, all seats had great views. Also the Bernie's Dugout in left field features a slide that their mascot goes down every time the Brewers hit a home run. Unfortunately, Bernie never got to slide. The Brewers held a 1-0 lead into the 6th, but then gave up 6 runs over the next three innings in a 6-1 loss. On a positive note for the Brewers All Star OF Corey Hart extended his hitting streak to 20 games.

After the game I hit the road to head to Dallas. Since I had to make up this game in Milwaukee I decided to eliminate the stadium tour in Kansas City, giving myself a couple of days to get to Texas. Yet, if I hadn't pushed my physical and mental limits on this trip already I was about to push my body over the edge. I decided I would drive to Arlington in time for the game the following day. This way I could push my schedule a day up and get to Tallahassee on July 9th and surprise my buddy on his birthday instead of the day after. (I hope he is not reading this and I just ruined the surprise). So I had 23 1/2 hours to drive solo the 1175 miles to the ballpark. And so I left . . .

The entire ride is a blur. However I did make it in time and here are a few things I remember:

I went through 3 Monsters and one 20 oz gas station Cappuccino

The world's largest rocker is in in Cuba, MO

I had and awesome lead car for over two hours that didn't go less than 80

I slept at a rest area in Miami, MO

Oklahoma was more picturesque than I thought. I figured it would be more like Kansas with flat fields the entire time, but it had lakes and hills and no corn.

St. Louis is not in St. Louis County

I might be getting three ticket from the Texas DOT. My GPS took me on a toll road that did not allow cash, just prepaid passes. So after I ran the first on one the on ramp, I ran a second at the next exit. Then I followed a frontage rd that ran parallel to the highway. But then without warning that road merged onto the highway and I ran another one. If everything is bigger in Texas, hopefully not their tickets.

I did make it just in time for the game, but am too tired to go into it at the moment. However, I will leave you with this "cliffhanger": I watched a guy fall 40+ feet over the ledge of the second tier reaching for a foul ball.

Additional Randoms:

1371 miles since returning to Minneapolis on 7/4, 400+ songs

Songs that made my ride: The Toadies "Possum Kingdom", The Exit "Still Waiting", O.A.R. "The Wanderer", plus most of Jay Z's entire catalogue.

Three former Hurricanes played in the game Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell and Ryan Braun

Why is the St Louis Rams in the NFC West and the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC east if Dallas is farther west than St. Louis?