Day 26: Leisure

Today was a nice relaxing day for us to take care of a few odds and ends, along with enjoy a brief period of rest before we head out West on the trip. After waking up, we watched a little bit of the matches from Wimbledon. Agassi played his last match at the "Big W" today, going down to Rafael Nadal in straight sets. What a career the man has had, and I'm sure he'll get quite the send-off during the U.S. Summer Hard Court season.

Then, Mr. Pauluhn helped us wash Ben's car, by helping us I mean he did most of the grunt work, while we helped out with some of the finishing touches. The juices from highway insects were pretty thick, but after an hour and a half the car was looking good as new.

Then, we got back inside just in time to see the penalty kicks in the World Cup game between England and Portugal. That was unbelievable, with Portugal winning 3-1. The pressure that is under each of those players is like nothing I can imagine. Literally, everyone in their nation is watching and expecting them to come through. The Brits were truly crushed, as they had thought this was their year to shine in the world's biggest sporting event.

Afterwards, we headed over to Ben's grandparents house to play some tennis. Ben and I hit for a little over an hour, and he took a set off of me by a score of 6-4. So, he is now 2-1 in sets against me on the trip. We cooled off by jumping in the pool. The previously mentioned successful St. Louis businessman (see Day 2), Kevin Lackey, also came over for the afternoon, and we had a good time catching up with him.

Dinner was excellent, as steaks were grilled along with baked potatoes and corn on the cob. It was a delicious dinner, so thanks to Ben's parents and grandparents for that feast. It's an early night for us, as we will be up early to head for Texas and our game in Arlington tomorrow night.

Here are the statistical updates:
1-end of day odometer: 26,409
2-miles traveled today: 0
3-miles traveled total: 9,766
4-states traveled in today: Missouri
bonus stat: Red and Yellow cards were not introduced into World Cup play until the 1970 event that was held in Mexico.

Day 25: Travel

Today was another travel day for us, as we have completed the Eastern part of our journey. Last night, following the Blue Jays game, we drove until we got to the border at Port Huron, MI and stayed at a Best Western. We woke up at 8:00am EST this morning, and watched a bit of Wimbledon, before getting on the road.



The drive to St. Louis was about 600 miles, and our only delay was about 45 minutes worth of traffic that we got caught in around Chicago. After that, it was smooth driving down I-55 until we made our way to Ben's house where we now have our only stretch of 2 consecutive days without seeing a game. It is probably a good thing, since the next 8 days will be the most grueling of the trip, making our way to Texas and then out West.



We stopped for lunch at Taco Bell, our 2nd appearance at the Mexican fast food chain. The service was pretty slow, however the tacos and bean burritos were excellent, and cheap as usual. The best part of the day though was the spaghetti dinner that was waiting for us, prepared by Mrs. Pauluhn. It was absolutely delicious!



We then had a few members of Ben's family stop by and make sure the trip was going well. Ben's Uncle Mike, who is a truck driver, answered many of our questions about life on the road, and we now feel even better prepared for the next 10,000 miles of the trip.

Here are the statistical updates:
1-end of day odometer: 26,409
2-miles traveled today: 629
3-miles traveled total: 9,766
4-states traveled in today: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri
bonus stat: Taco Bell is currently running a special where you can get any combination of 10 hard/soft shell tacos or bean burritos for $7.90. The regular price for each item is only $0.79. Heck of a deal.
*All pictures and information is now completely up to date!

Day 24: Toronto

Welcome to Canada, eh? Today we crossed the border for the only time on our trip and watched the Blue Jays host the Washington Nationals at the Rogers Centre. The Jays had their #1 man, Roy Halladay, on the mound tonight, so Ben went with the Blue Jays (minus 1.5). Halladay was effective, and solid relief kept the Nats silent late, as the Blue Jays bats pounded out an 8-4 victory. Ben gets the win and now trails 12-6 in picking games against me on the trip.

We were on our own for buying tickets tonight, which meant the cheap seats were in order. We sat in the upper deck, directly behind home plate for $10 US per seat, not a bad deal at all. We sat by the world’s biggest Blue Jay fan in section 524b. A woman with a thick Caribbean accent was the consummate fan, and was adamant that I give her a high-5 anytime the Blue Jays made a good play. It was quite the experience.



The Rogers Centre was a very impressive complex. It had a very new feeling to it, despite it being the same building that was used when Toronto won their World Series titles in ’92 and ’93. The hotel rooms that overlook center field looked amazing, unfortunately, they were a little too pricey for our tight budget. Getting into the city and finding our way around was a little difficult, as my ever reliable map program, and Ben’s trusty street atlas had limited information on the roads in Canada. After a short while, both before and after the game, we were on the right track without too much delay.



Crossing the border was not as difficult as we anticipated. In fact, on our way into Canada, we were only asked the following questions: 1) Are you U.S. citizens? 2) Where are you from? 3) Where are you going? 4) Do you have any goods with you besides clothing? After we sufficiently answered those questions, we were free to continue on, just like any other toll booth. On the way back, it was also rather easy. Although, after informing the officer that we had 1 birth certificate and 2 social security cards to prove citizenship, he replied, "Your Social Security card isn't worth a darn!" and then proceeded to let us go without any more questioning.



We had to buy some gas while across the border as well, and since we did not have any Canadian currency with us, we ended up paying a little more than usual. They are glad to take American Dollars, but they still charge the same price as Canadian Dollars. So, the approximately $34 dollars that was charged to our debit card, took $34 American Dollars out of our account, but we only got $34 Canadian Dollars worth of gas. The conversion is about $1 US = $0.71 Canada.

The drive up from Baltimore was a mental grind, as we were on state roads or US highways, for about 90% of the drive, as opposed to the much preferred Dwight D. Eisenhower Interstate System. Dwight must have gotten his idea for the Interstate System after driving north on 219 through Pennsylvania and New York. After leaving at 8:06 from the Crook’s, we made our 1st stop for lunch in New York around 1:30 at Burger King. Ben and I both agreed that Burger King’s hamburgers seemed better than usual, so maybe Subway will have a bit of a challenger for the remainder of our journey. Then, the drive continued north until we our car was parked by 5:45pm.

Here are the statistical updates:
1-end of day odometer: 25,780
2-miles traveled today: 670
3-miles traveled total: 9,137
4-states/provinces traveled in today: Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario, Michigan
bonus stat: teams are 4-0 on our trip when they score at least 1 run in both the 3rd and 6th innings

*pictures and all loose odds and ends should be fixed for the entire blog by tomorrow night...thanks for all the support everyone!

Day 23: Baltimore

Today we saw the Baltimore Orioles host the Philadelphia Phillies in beautiful Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The stadium was awesome, but what was even better was our experience during the game. We are staying in Baltimore with fellow Furman tennis player, Brian Crook, and his family. Brian's uncle, Bob Cecil, who works for the Orioles, was able to set us up with 3 tickets that were 3 rows behind home plate, the seats you see every game when you watch on television. The Orioles out-slugged the Phillies, taking a 12-5 victory. I picked the O's, and now have a 12-5 edge in picking games on our trip.



The highlight of the evening came during the 3rd inning rain delay, when the WBAL Radio Broadcast invited us to do a live interview with them. We were able to do a full segment, probably about 10 minutes worth of air time, where they asked us all sorts of details about the trip. Questions were raised from how we paid for the trip, where they were a bit surprised by our poker explanation, to logistics of making the schedule, to what places and amenities we had enjoyed the most. The situation could not have worked out better, as they were looking to fill time during the rain dealy, and seemed genuinely interested in our trip around the country. We hope to have the clip of while we were on air available from WBAL in the next few days, and will make it available if that happens. We would like to especially thank the Crook family for setting up this amazing opportunity for us.



After we finished the radio interview, we saw Jim Palmer, who does color commentary for the Orioles t.v. broadcast, standing in the hallway. After Katherine Dietrich, our radio tour guide, introduced us, we were able to get a picture with the Hall of Fame pitcher.



Also during the game, there were some festive fans sitting a few rows behind us, who did an excellent job of heckling the opposition. At one point, one of the drunken fans correctly called 6 consecutive pitchers, before the pitcher threw the ball, pretty impressive. They also started calling me "Roberto," and asked several intriguing questions about the trip that aren't quite blog-appropriate.



The day started out with Ben and me watching Wimbledon in the morning, waiting for Brian to get back from work. While we waited, we were treated to Dunkin Donuts courtesy of Mr. Crook. We then headed over to Chesnut Ridge Country Club for lunch and some tennis, which turned out to last the whole afternoon. After an hour or so, we called Brian's Dad to be our 4th for some doubles. The 1st matchup was Brian and me vs. Ben and Mr. Crook. Brian won the toss, deferred to the elder statesmen, and never looked back, winning 6-3. Then, Ben and I took on Brian and his Dad, winning 6-4 again. The results of these matches only confirm my superiority as a doubles specialist.



Before the game, we headed downtown for an excellent dinner at Bo Brooks, a crab house that was delicious. It was the 1st time eating crab for both Ben and myself, and we enjoyed the entire process. Thanks again to the Crooks for providing wonderful meals and housing for our 2 nights in Baltimore.

Here are the statistical updates:
1-end of day odometer: 25,110
2-miles traveled today: 0
3-miles traveled total: 8,467
4-states traveled in today: Maryland
bonus stat: teams are 4-0 on our trip when their no. 2 hitter scores 2 or more runs

Day 22: Travel

Today's guest blogger: Ben

Sorry for the missed guest blog yesterday but us being a couple of road weary people are finding it harder to keep track of what day it is. We left Coral Springs, FL at exactly 5:30 this morning, spent the rest of the day on Interstate 95 and arrived at the Crook residence in Baltimore, MD at 10:10. This was our longest driving day so far and if the rest of the trip goes as planned, will be our longest of the summer.



This may sound like an uneventful day however, the South Carolina highway patrol found a way to make it noteworthy. We were passing through Sumter, South Carolina about 8 hours into our trip today when a police car pulled up behind us. Scott was driving at the time and the cop rode our bumper for about three miles before finally turning on his lights. We pulled into the grass and the officer came up to my window on the passenger side. He asked for license and registration and naturally I could not find my registration paper. At this time he noticed the Red Bull in our cupholders and began acting suspicious of our travels. He asked Scott to step out of the vehicle for some questions while I stayed in the car. He proceeded to grill Scott about his life history at which time Scott told him about our trip. He came to the window and asked me the same questions as Scott to see if our story was legit.



He then went back to Scott and asked him if he had any drugs in the car. Heroine, meth, or marijuana just to name a few. He then came back to my window to tell me he issued Scott a warning for doing 74 in a 70. That's right, 74 in a 70. By this time I had found the registration sheet and gave it to him so I avoided a warning for this. To top it all off, the officer waited behind us to pull onto the highway at which time Scott, still rattled by the whole incident, killed the engine trying to pull out of the grass into traffic.

That is about all that happened today seeing as though we spent 16 and 1/2 hours in the car. We did find gas for under 2.70 all day so that was some good news (I guess).

Here are the statistical updates:
1-end of day odometor: 25,110
2-miles traveled today: 1,101
3-miles traveled total: 8,467
4-states traveled in today: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington D.C., Maryland

Day 21: Florida

Today we saw the Florida Marlins host the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at the massive Dolphin Stadium, which was filled to about 10% capacity. The "Fish," fueled by a 5-run, 2-out rally in the 5th inning, kept my D-Rays down by a final score of 8-5. It was Ben's turn to pick tonight, and he had the Marlins. Both teams are so bad that we each wanted to give the other a 1.5 run spread, but decided that straight up was the proper spread. The comeback is officially on now, as Ben has won 2 straight and is only down 11-5 in picking games on the trip.

The attendance, or lack thereof, was really quite sad, considering that this organization has won 2 World Series in the last 10 years. There were quite literally ZERO people in the upper deck, and no more than 3,000 people in the stadium as a whole. The vendors at Dolphin Stadium were very entertaining however, as they could be heard throughout the stadium. At times, it seemed as though they were trying to entertain more than they were trying to sell their product.



Also, a quick word to Josh Johnson, Marlins pitcher from tonight. Make sure you know how many outs there are before you pitch the ball. In the 3rd inning, a ball was hit sharply back to him with 1 out and a man on 1st. Johnson calmly tossed the ball to 1st and began to walk off the field, as if that was the 3rd out of the inning. Come on man, get your head in the game.

During our recent days on the road, the check engine light came on again, despite the car continuing to run smoothly. Ben woke up early this morning to take it into the local Mazda dealer, where it was determined that the car had a "faulty gas cap" that needed to be replaced under warranty. All was not lost though, as the shop had free "Pac-Man" for Ben to take part in while he waited. Hopefully the car won't have any more problems that require Ben waking up early and visiting the nearest dealership.

After he returned, we spent some time in the pool with Christopher and Emily, who are both becoming quite excellent swimmers. Then, Ben and I went to a local park and hit for about an hour in the humid summer heat. Before leaving, Tammy cooked an excellent feast, including marinated steak, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, and assorted fruits. It was absolutely delicious.




Special thanks to Barbara Messana for getting us 4 tickets to the game tonight. They were great seats, 16 rows back right at 1st base. My brother Al joined us for the game, along with my nephew Christopher, who was taking in his 1st Major League game. Welcome to the show kid!

Here are the statistical updates:
1-end of day odometer: 24,009
2-miles traveled today: 82
3-miles traveled total: 7,366
4-states traveled in today: Florida
bonus stat: teams are 5-0 on the trip when their no. 3 hitter walks or gets hit by a pitch in the 1st inning

Day 20: Tampa Bay

Well, we went from the "House that Ruth Built" to the "House that Needs to be Re-Built" as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays hosted the Atlanta Braves at Tropicana Field today. Both pitchers were excellent, but Chuck James was the victor for the Braves, going 8 innings and allowing only 1 run. Since I hadn't lost with them yet on the trip, I had picked the Devil Rays, but their 4-1 loss ended my winning streak, so Ben only trails 11-4 on picking games on the trip.



One of the very nice things about the D-Rays game though, was that the stadium had free parking. They are the only organization to offer that, which was a very nice perk. Actually, that allowed us to purchase some food in the stadium, so I had a foot long hot dog that was absolutely amazing, while Ben enjoyed a 1/2 lb. burger from Checker's.



We left Jacksonville at 8 this morning, and after about 3 and 1/2 hours, made it to the stadium for the game. Afterwards, it was about 4 hours to Coral springs, where we are staying with my brother Al, and his family. Special thanks to the Henderson family for giving us a place to stay last night, and also for the lively baseball conversation.

We also had our 1st casualty of the trip, as a small, black bird flew into the lower left side of the windshield while we were doing about 75 mph on the highway. I was sleeping, and the loud thump certainly made me jump. Ben looked in the rear view mirror and saw it bounce along the side of the road after ricocheting off the windshield and caromming onto an adjacent slab of concrete.



Driving to Coral Springs was a bit of an adventure, as a strong rain storm prevented us from going top speed through Alligator Alley in the Everglades. Other than the frequent tolls in South Florida, we have decided that Florida has some of the best interstate systems on the East Coast. They have a consistent 70 mph speed limit, mostly flat and straight roads, and very little construction compared to the other highways East of the Mississippi.

Here are the statistical updates:
1-end of day odometer: 23,927
2-miles traveled today: 515
3-miles traveled total: 7,284
4-states traveled in today: Florida
bonus stat: if the visiting team scores at least 1 run in the 7th inning, they are 4-0 on our trip
*Pictures are now up for Days 16-20!