Saturday, June 30, 2012

Lambeau Field

In looking at my schedule, I'm scheduled to wake up in San Francisco on a Saturday morning, driving down the Pacific Coast Highway with Melanie that day, drop her off at LAX airport that afternoon, go to an Anaheim Angels game that night, and start heading back east.  I may make the four-hour trip to Las Vegas after the game.  From there, I have a decision to make.  I was going to spend an extra day in Vegas, go to Denver for three nights, Kansas City, and then Milwaukee.  Another option would be to go from Denver up to Mount Rushmore, go through the Badlands, see the world's largest six-pack, and on to Milwaukee.  Both routs put me in Milwaukee on Saturday to see the Phillies on Saturday night and a day game on Sunday.

Today I noticed something.  The Green Bay Packers have a home preseason game against the Cleveland Browns on that Thursday night.  Green Bay is two hours north of Milwaukee - certainly doable.  Being preseason, I'll be able to get a seat cheap.  Today i was on StubHub and could get a seat for $35.  On the day of the game, they'll be $10.  So the route isn't a problem and neither are getting the tickets.

The problem is time.  It's two days earlier than I was planning on getting to Wisconsin.  That would mean being in Los Angeles on Saturday night and getting to Green Bay by Thursday afternoon.  I also want to do several things between Los Angeles and Green Bay.  I don't want to short-change my time in Denver.  I've never been there and it seems like a cool town.

It's 37 hours driving from Los Angeles to Green Bay - 16 hours from L.A. to Denver and another 21 hours to Green Bay.  I hate driving so far in one shot because it seems like I'm missing out on a bunch of stuff on the way.  The answer might be to skip Vegas, try to make the 16-hour trip to Denver by Sunday night, stay there Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights, take off first thing on Wednesday morning to see Mount Rushmore, go through the Badlands, and drive until I'm tired Wednesday night.  That should leave me less than eight hours on Thursday to get to Green Bay for Thursday night's game.  I want to get there by the afternoon to get the full Green Bay tailgaiting experience.  That would also mean that I would be getting to Milwaukee by lunchtime on Friday for the full three-game set against the Phillies.  Beer, baseball, and German food all weekend baby!

You might be asking "Why is going to a preseason football game so important?"  On the surface, I agree.  Every year I get offered Eagles preseason football tickets and turn them down.  Preseason football is a bad product.  I usually have trouble watching it on TV for more than 15 minutes. 

But this is Lambeau Field.  I want to see all 30 Major League Baseball parks (and hopefully I will by next summer).  Baseball parks tend to have more character than football stadiums.  There aren't many football fields I have on my bucket list, but Lambeau Field is one of them.

It depends on how I'm feeling at the Angels game that Saturday night.  If I'm feeling well rested, think I can get to Denver by Sunday night, and motivated to go to the Packers game, it's on like Donkey Kong.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Something a Man has to do


This morning I was on the wonderful "The Art of Manliness" website.  There's an article on there about driving across the country.  It talks about how driving across the country is something that a man has to do in order to broaden his horizons and know his place in the world.  It's a great read.

For me, this trip started out as me wanting to do stuff that I haven't done before.  After reading this article, I'm realizing this trip is also about developing as a person.

I've always believed in being a well-rounded person and someone that has interests in a variety of areas.  This does not mean that a well-rounded person has to like everything, but it does mean that I want to be exposed to different experiences and have some knowledge about a broad range of subjects.  I don't like opera, but I'm interested in why people enjoy it and can appreciate the art form.  It's just not for me.  And that's OK.  When I go to a restaurant I've been to before, the first thing I look at is the specials or the insert menu in hopes of trying something I've never had before.

New experiences change us.  Becoming exposed to different cultures changes us.  Experiencing nature's beauty and mankind's ingenuity can humble us.

I can't wait to experience America and be transformed into the man I will be after the trip.  I bet he's a hell of a guy.