Day 44: St. Louis

Today was our last day of the trip, as we got to see the St. Louis Cardinals host the Atlanta Braves at the new Busch Stadium. It was Ben's turn to pick, so he obviously went with the Cardinals and with the help of a Jim Edmonds 3-run homer, he takes the win. This means that after all the games we went to, Ben and I are officially tied at 15-15.

The game did not exactly go off without a hitch tonight, as a massive storm unexpectantly rolled through St. Louis just before the 7:10pm scheduled starting time. Extremely dark clouds came in quickly, and before too long we were unable to even see the other side of the stadium. Debris was being lifted straight up into the sky, rain was coming down very hard from all directions, and the tarp was even lifted off the infield despite being held down by the maintenence vehicles. After it was finished, the tarp had been torn almost the full length of the infield.



However, after 2 hours and 15 minutes, the game was finally underway. Our tickets were excellent, located in between home plate and 1st base, 17 rows back from the field. Thanks to Tim Sant for the tickets for tonight's game. Ben's parents joined us for the game, and as we have always said it is much more fun going to the game with other people we know, so thanks to them as well.



We left Oklahoma City at 7:30am, and despite a great deal of construction, we pulled into Ben's house in St. Louis at 3:10pm. Then after grabbing a quick bite to eat, and updating some statistical information, we made our way down to the ballpark, arriving at about 5:45.



Our journey is now complete, and while we certainly put a lot of time and energy into ourselves, we certainly could not have done any of this without the help of everyone who chipped in along the way. From providing housing, to tickets, to food, or just time on the phone to help pass the miles on the road, anyone who is reading this had a hand in helping us out during the last month and a half, and for that, WE THANK YOU! Most importanly though, we would like to thank our families, and especially our parents, who have had to hear more about this trip over the last 2 years than I'm sure they wanted to, and helped us out in so many more way than we could ever list in this blog. So, a VERY SPECIAL THANKS to you as well!

Over the course of the trip, we tried to keep track of as many stats and intersting information as possible, so here are the numbers we have compiled.

1-end of day odometer: 34,962
2-miles traveled today: 537
3-miles traveled total: 18,319
4-states traveled in today: Oklahoma, Missouri
bonus stat: teams are 30-0 when they score more runs than their opponent

misc. stats:
home team was 20-10
team that scored 1st was 19-11
team that scored last was 15-15
team that committed fewer errors was 12-7 (11 ties)
team that hit more home runs was 14-8 (8 ties)
team that had more hits was 25-2 (3 ties)
team that allowed fewer walks was 19-6 (5 ties)
team that struck out more batters was 14-14 (2 ties)
team that used fewer pitchers was 13-8 (9 ties)

cheapest beer (16 oz.): Phillies, Cubs = $5.75
most expensive beer (16 oz.): Yankees = $7.75
cheapest parking: Devil Rays = $0
most expensive parking: Yankees = $20
cheapest ticket: Rockies = $4
most expensive ticket: Yankees = $91

total gallons of gas purchased: 510.333
average price / gallon of gas: $2.93
miles / gallon of gas overall: 35.89

*we would rather not share the total amount that we spent on the trip, but we would like to brag a little bit about the following stat:
overall, we were 37% under our alloted budget, which did not include the money we spent in Las Vegas, and even with that we were still 21% under our alloted budget

Here are each of our respective lists of the baseball stadium. We made these without any knowledge of the other's list:
Scott - My list does not reflect how much fun I had at the stadium, but merely my impression of the stadium itself
1-Wrigley Field (Cubs)
2-Angel Stadium (Angels)
3-Fenway Park (Red Sox)
4-Ameriquest Field (Rangers)
5-PNC Park (Pirates)
6-Busch Stadium (Cardinals)
7-Safeco Field (Mariners)
8-AT&T Park (Giants)
9-Yankee Stadium (Yankees)
10-Citizen's Bank Park (Phillies)
11-Jacob's Field (Indians)
12-Comerica Park (Tigers)
13-Turner Field (Braves)
14-Miller Park (Brewers)
15-Camden Yards (Orioles)
16-Rogers CEntre (Blue Jays)
17-Dodgers Stadium (Dodgers)
18-Coors Field (Rockies)
19-Petco Park (Padres)
20-HHH Metrodome (Twins)
21-US Cellular Field (White Sox)
22-Chase Field (Diamondbacks)
23-Kauffman Stadium (Royals)
24-Dolphin Stadium (Marlins)
25-Shea Stadium (Mets)
26-RFK Stadium (Nationals)
27-Great American Ballpark (Reds)
28-Minute Maid Park (Astros)
29-McAfee Coliseum (Athletics)
30-Tropicana Field (Devil Rays)

Ben - Obviously, a lot of this is arbitrary but the important ones are the first six and the last seven. A great deal of this also depends on the experience I had at each park and could change if I went back there again.

1-Ameriquest Field in The Ballpark at Arlington
2-Busch Stadium (Bias opinion of course)
3-Wrigley Field
4-Yankee Stadium
5-Fenway Park
6-Oriole Park at Camden Yards
7-Angel Stadium
8-Coors Field
9-Miller Park
10-Safeco Field
11-Citizens Bank Park
12-The Metrodome
13-Chase Field
14-AT&T Park
15-Jacobs Field
16-PNC Park
17-U.S. Cellular Field
18-Comerica Park
19-PETCO Park
20-Turner Field
21-Kauffman Stadium
22-Dodger Stadium
23-Skydome
24-The Great American Ballpark
25-Minute Maid Park
26-McAfee Coliseum
27-Shea Stadium
28-RFK Stadium
29-Dolphin Stadium
30-Tropicana Field

***also note that we now have the MP3 file of our on-air radio broadcast in Baltimore. You can access it by clicking on the "Map and Itinerary" link, then clicking "Listen here to an MP3" on the right side of the screen. Hope you enjoy!

Day 43: Travel

Today was our 1st travel day in a while, and we used it to make our way from Phoenix, AZ to Oklahoma City, OK. During the drive we lost 2 hours in time zone change, drove through over 70 miles of construction with 45 mph speed limits, and had to encounter Texas’ night time speed limit of 65 mph. However, we pulled through and made the trek in about 15.5 hours.

We stopped for lunch just over the New Mexico state border at Subway, where we filled up for gas and then I took over the driving until dinner. Dinner was glorious, as we found our 1st Fazoli’s of the trip. For those who are unfamiliar with this restaurant chain, you are missing out on something great. It is Italian fast-food that is delicious and cheap. There used to be one about 1 mile from campus at Furman, but it closed after my sophomore year. So, anytime I get to enjoy some Fazoli’s it is a special meal.

Sorry about the large blob in the photo of New Mexico today. There was so much bird feces on the windshield that it was impossible to take pictures of the state welcome signs without including them in the photo. Just one of the little details from the road you can’t always plan for.



No exciting police stops from the road today, and the scenery was nothing too spectacular, aside from several huge mesas in western New Mexico. We are staying at a Quality Inn near Oklahoma City, OK, once again courtesy of frequent-stay points from my parents. Thanks!

Tomorrow is the last day of this spectacular road trip. We have been asked several times if we are ready for the trip to be over, as you might expect after 44 days and thousands of miles on the road. But, the honest answer is that neither of us wants the trip to be over. Sure, we are certainly a little tired from being on the road for so many days. However, I don’t think either one wants to stop traveling around the country and watching baseball games during the summer.

After the game tomorrow, hopefully we can pull together the plethora of statistical information that we have been keeping track of in order to give an even more in depth look into our travels.

Here are the statistical updates:
1-end of day odometer: 34,425
2-miles traveled today: 1,065
3-miles traveled total: 17,660
4-states traveled in today: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma
bonus stat: in Amarillo, TX, The Big Texan offered their customers the chance at a free 72 oz. steak, the stipulation being that you had to eat the entire piece of meat in 1 hour

Day 42: Arizona

Tonight's guest blogger: Ben

Hello again from the desert. Even though the high today was 115, it was our most relaxing day in weeks. After waking up without an alarm, I took the car in for its final oil change and we took care of some banking issues. After a day of relaxation at the Garcia residents, we left for Chase Field at about 4:00 pm. We arrived at the stadium about an hour and forty five minutes before the game and saw quite a lot of batting practice. Once the game got started, things began to go my way. After two quick runs by the Dbacks, the Dodgers tied it up. However, Arizona began to pour it on, scoring 5 runs in the sixth innning, including a 418 foot blast by Eric Byrnes to win it 8-3. Scott took the Dodgers so I pull to within one game, 14-15 with just the St. Louis game remaining.

The Diamondbacks were one of the three organizations which sent us tickets in response to us contacting them about our trip. The seats were in the left field bleachers, second row. They were great seats and good for batting practice and home run balls. Unfortunately, we did not catch any but would like to thank the Diamondbacks for sending them to us.



Chase Field, formerly Bank One Ballpark (the BOB), was a nice place to watch a game. It was especially nice for the food lover, as it included restaurants from McDonald's to Cold Stone Creamery to Panda Express and even TGI Friday's. The overall feel of the park was nice but Scott did complain that the bleacher seats were extremely uncomfortable so I guess you cannot have everything.



We again have found ourselves with more than gracious hosts as we had eggs, sausage and cinnamon rolls for breakfast and great hamburgers and fries for lunch/dinner. It was a well needed day of relaxation before our 1,000 mile day tomorrow.

Here are the statistical updates:
1-end of day odometer: 33,360
2-miles traveled today: 87
3-miles traveled total: 16,595
4-states traveled in today: Arizona
bonus stat: home teams are 4-0 when they score in both the 2nd and 3rd innings

Day 41: San Diego

Today we made our way farther South in California as we watched the San Diego Padres play the Atlanta Braves in Petco Park. Our tickets were directly behind home plate in the upper deck, the 2nd row from the top of the stadium. The Braves caught fire for a 6-run 4th inning, capped by a Chipper Jones home run and won 10-5. Ben chose the Padres over the Braves, so I take my 2nd win in as many days and move to 15-13 overall on the trip.

We were again joined by my cousin, Maryel, who provided housing again via her aunt in Los Angeles. We left at 9:00am, and were parked in San Diego shortly after 11:00. After lunch at Burger King, we walked down to the stadium.



During the game, we saw our 1st ejections of the trip. 2 Padres coaches were tossed for arguing balls and strikes after some very questionable calls by the umpire. This culminated with manager Bruce Boche throwing his hat on the ground and then having the ump step on it. Then, 2 innings later, Jeff Francoeur was ejected for arguing as well, and manager Bobby Cox came storming out of the dugout and was quickly tossed. It was about time we saw some coaches go toe-to-toe with the umps on our trip.

On the drive from San Diego to Phoenix, we stopped to play catch in the desert. We eased our way into the desert, making sure no scorpions or snakes were in the area, and threw until one of us made an uncatchable throw. This took about 20 minutes before I zinged one over Ben's head and off into the sand. Continuing on the drive, we skirted by a nasty storm, that had constant lightning, and what would have been very heavy rain if it had been in our path.



Here are the statistical updates:
1-end of day odometer: 33,273
2-miles traveled today: 534
3-miles traveled total: 16,508
4-states traveled in today: California, Arizona
bonus stat: teams are 7-0 if their 3rd baseman hits in the no. 3 spot and has at least 1 RBI and does not ground out to the shortstop

PS - we are sorry that it has been so long for pictures to be posted, they will be up as soon as possible

Day 40: Los Angeles (AL)

Today we were back in Los Angeles as the Angels of Anaheim hosted the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Angels Stadium. The Angels took advantage of the last place D-Rays, and went onto a 9-2 blowout with the help of a grand slam by Vladimir Guerrero. It was our 1st grand slam of the trip, so that was pretty exciting. It was my turn to pick, so I had the Angels and they now give me a 14-13 lead in picking games against Ben on the trip.

We were again joined by my cousin, Maryel, for the game in LA. There was 1 very nervous point prior to the game today when we pulled into the parking lot. A large sign said, "Event sold out today." We did not buy our tickets early to the game, since they were playing the lowly Devil Rays, but thankfully there were tickets still available at the ticket window. So, we are not sure why that sign would have been out before the game.



After getting into Maryel's at about 2:30 the night before, we went to a local restaurant for breakfast, and then got a tour of the Vandenberg AFB from Maryel. It was pretty neat to see the different facilities that are on base, which included a rocket launching pad that was unfortunately hidden by the fog.



After some Subway for lunch we headed down to the game. Our tickets were pretty close to behind home plate, in the third tier of seats. Angels stadium was really nice, with a fountain and rocks in center field that was cool.

Here are the statistical updates:
1-end of day odometer: 32,739
2-miles traveled today: 153
3-miles traveled total: 15,974
4-states traveled in today: California
bonus stat: this one come courtesy of the atlas in Maryel's car: the distance from Albuquerque to San Francisco and from Amarillo to San Diego is exactly the same at 1,111 miles