The Road: Heart of America

After a detour from my ballpark trip, I am on the road again to cross off 4 more stadiums from my list. I am headed down the middle of country and making my way back up stopping in Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, and St. Louis. This trip will take about a week and is my last vacation before I start work next Monday.

Today I am going to begin making my way down to Texas. I am splitting the 20 hour drive into two days. The second day will conclude by attending a Astros game at Minute Maid park. The next day, I will make the drive north to Dallas and meet up with a friend from college. We are then planning on going to the Rangers game on Tuesday, July 2nd.

My next stop will be in southeast Oklahoma to spend a couple days with my cousin who is a professor at a university down there. I don't know exactly what we will do but we have talked about going fishing one of the days. After Independence Day, I will continue with the final two ballparks on my trip. I will head to Kansas City for a night game on July 5th and then cross Missouri for a Saturday day game in St. Louis. I will meet up with a friend from high school and his fiance at one of these last two stops but we are not sure which one yet.

Cup Collection: Lake Michigan

Another trip down means another update to the Souvenir Cup Power Rankings! I have previously ranked and posted photos of the cups after both the West Coast trip and the East Coast trip. In this newest edition of the power rankings, cups from my recent Lake Michigan trip have been added to the cups acquired on the West Coast and East Coast trips. Additional details and photos are included for the newly added cups.

Rankings after the Lake Michigan trip:

1. Toronto Blue Jays
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. New York Mets
4. Washington Nationals
5. San Diego Padres
6. Oakland A's
7. Boston Red Sox
8. Los Angeles Dodgers
9. Baltimore Orioles
10. Minnesota Twins
11. Milwaukee Brewers
12. Los Angeles Angels
13. Chicago White Sox
14. San Francisco Giants
15. New York Yankees
16. Chicago Cubs

Notes on rankings:

• The Twins, Brewers, and White Sox all use the same cup style. The Angels also used cups style. While I have criticized this cup style as being a little flimsy, I have a little better opinion of the cup now. This cup style has small ridges along the bottom and a large printed area. I think having four cups of the same style unintentionally forces me to view theses four cups as a group.
• The Twins cup also has the schedule on the backside. This is what elevated the Twins cup over the Brewers.
• The Brewers cup says Cerveceros because I attended on Cerveceros Night. Cerveceros Night was the game where the Brewers thanked the hispanic community of Milwaukee for their support of the team.
• The Cubs cup is very, very flimsy. The graphics on the cup would put it in the bottom half of the rankings but the lack of structural integrity of the cup are what places it in last place.

Lake Michigan: Day 4 - 7

Days 4 -7 of my Lake Michigan trip were filled primarily with driving. On Tuesday (Day 4), I woke up early and drove from my friends apartment in Chicago to Minneapolis to attend a baseball game at Target Field. I got caught in traffic leaving Chicago and on the south side of Milwaukee, but it wasn't too bad because I was anticipating delays around these two cities. I stopped at a McDonald's/gas station between Milwaukee and Madison to get out of the truck and book a hotel in the Twin Cities area. I then hopped back in my truck and drove to my hotel on the eastern edge of the Twin Cities. I then rested for a little while before heading out to a park and ride lot for the Minneapolis light rail for the Phillies vs. Twins game that night. I was able to park for free at the park and ride lot and avoid some of the inner city traffic and downtown parking congestion. I have written about Target Field in a precious blog post. It is hard to believe that Target Field was my 18 ballpark this season! You can check my progress by clicking the ballpark map on the side panel. Unfortunately the game was a night game and I didn't really have time to explore the Twin Cities. However, after the game I stayed downtown to watch the 4th quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The bars Downtown Minneapolis had $2 beers with a Twins ticket stubs so I took advantage of that. After the game I got back on the light rail and drove back to my hotel.

On Day 5 of the trip the plan was to drive from Minneapolis to my families cabin in Michigan's UP. This was free lodging for me and gave me the opportunity to spend some time at the cabin this summer. Growing up I went to the cabin about once a year for a week. En route to the UP, I stopped at the Leinenkugel's brewery in Chippewa Falls, WI. The tour was free and it was interesting to see workings of an active brewery. More worth of mention is that I got a few free samples of their brews. After a sandwich at a deli in Chippewa Falls I continued to the UP. I bought food and a cooler at a Wal-mart in Rhinelander, WI and made it to the turn off for the cabin at around 6:30 PM. One thing I noticed traveling some of the back highways of Wisconsin is nearly every little town has a couple hole-in-the-wall bars.

When most people talk about going "Up North", they go to a summer home on a lake where they jet ski, boat, and just hang out. Going "Up North" to my family's cabin doesn't have these luxuries but I kind of like it that way. The cabin is essentially a hunting camp - a building with no plumbing and no electricity (we can actually turn lights on using a car battery and a dc/ac converter but there are no power lines near the cabin). We have a two-hole outhouse, old barn with some boats, and a fire pit. The cabin steps from a lake so I spend most of my time up there fishing. I spent Day 6 of my trip doing just that. I caught quite a few fish including two big bluegill (8-11 inches) and a big crappie (11 inches). I also saw a moose at the edge of the lake! By the time I rowed over towards the moose in a boat, she stepped back into the woods.

On Friday, Day 7 of the trip, I cleaned up the cabin and headed back to my parents' house. It took me a solid 8 hours driving to get home but I made it home for dinner. Although things are a little more laid back at home, I still have a lot of planning and logistics to take care of for my trip to England, my next ballpark trip, and finding a new place to live for August.

Ballpark: Target Field

The Metrodome was notorious for being an awful venue to watch a baseball game. On Tuesday, June 11, I attended the Twins vs. Phillies game at the Twins new home: Target Field. I took the light rail to the Target Field stop in downtown Minneapolis. The Target Field stop kind of boxes you into Target Field and it is a little difficult to walk around the stadium. I was able to buy a ticket from a scalper for $15, which was also the cheapest price at the ticket office before fees, and entered the stadium near the light rail stop. When I exited the stadium after the game, I went through the Target Plaza gate. The Target Plaza is a cool courtyard-type area beyond right field of Target Field and enclosed by the Target Center (home of the NBA's Timberwolves) and the corporate headquarters of Target. Once outside this plaza, there are numerous newly-built bars and another light rail stop. In hindsight, I should have gotten off at that light rail stop and gone through the Target Plaza gate to enter Target Field. I can imagine this area would be hopping before big games.

Much of the brick at Target Field is limestone from Minnesota. The tan color of the stone gives the ballpark a little different feel compared to the more "retro" ballparks. The limestone is most visible in two places from the field: a wall near the left field foul pole and the "flower box" in right field. The "flower box" is a seating section that overhangs the field about 5 feet, about 25 feet off the ground. This feature is may seem odd from a baseball perspective but I think right fielders should be able to handle the challenge with a little preparation. Even though the "flower box" overhangs the playing field, it doesn't make hitting homeruns easy. The distances to the fence are moderately long to all fields and the wall is roughly 25 feet from the right field foul pole to centerfield. There are several other cool feature of Target Field: a Budweiser Rooftop with an open fireplace, a throwback structure of two cartoon twins (Minneapolis and St. Paul) shaking hands, a long vertical video board which cycles through the MLB divisional standings, a downtown view of Minneapolis, bars right behind home plate in the upperdeck, and a neat-looking club level which extends on the 2nd level from the third base dugout to above the Target Plaza.

There is not much foul ground at Target Field leaving fans close to the action. There isn't really a bad seat in the house. I did notice that the upperdeck stands in left field are a little too close to the field and you cannot see the left field fence (similar to Citizens Bank Park but not as bad). My seat was about 8 rows up on the upperdeck above first base and gave me a great view of the ballpark. Instead of keeping a scorecard, I was given a TWINGO sheet. This game was like BINGO except the spaces were filled with possible scoring plays (e.g. E-7, 6-4-3, 1B, 3B, etc.). I found this was a unique and effective way to keep me focused on the game. I also have to complement the ushers at Target Field as they were all very nice and actually enjoyed watching the game. One underrated feature of Target Field that I love is the concourses. Even though the concourses are covered, they still feel open to the city. There were a variety of food choices at Target Field and I went for an authentic Polish sausage with onions and peppers per recommendation of one of my friends who is a native Minnesotan. He also recommended a microbrew but the game was so fast that before I knew it, they were about to stop selling beer and I had just bought my souvenir pop.

In a stark difference from the White Sox game, the previous night, this game was fast and entertaining. The game was a pitching duel between Cole Hammels and PJ Walters. The Phillies got on the board first with an unearned run in the 3rd inning. The Twins came back with two runs in the bottom of the 4th with 3 straight doubles followed by a single. The game remained 2-1 with only a scattering of hits until the 8th inning. Three hits by the Phillies in the top of the inning tied the game up, but Justin Morneau came through with a big two-out RBI single to give the Twins the lead back. Glen Perkins shut the Phillies down to save the 3-2 victory. It is interesting that I have seen the Phillies play four times on the season and they have lost every time.

My take-away from Target Field is that it has upped the ante for ballparks. Since Target Field is one of the newest ballparks, it has incorporated the best features of existing ballparks. Additionally, it introduces some new features that make it distinct from all other ballparks while keeping the baseball feel. 

Ballpark: US Cellular Field

On Monday, June 10, I met my friend Miso at "The Cell" to watch the White Sox take on the Blue Jays. US Cellular Field is located near an 'L' station so public transportation is easy but parking is also available. The first thing I noticed about US Cellular Field is that it is gigantic from the outside. I think this is because the field is at street level and you must go up a ramp to reach the field level concourse. In front of the main gate there is a large structure representing the past White Sox greats. In a circle around this structure are plaques for the individual players. Once through the main gate, you must travel up a ramp to the concourses. Only ticket holders of 100 level seats are allowed on the main concourse. Although we had 100 level tickets, restricting main concourses to only field level ticket holders is quickly becoming on of my top ballpark pet peeves. 

The main concourse is pretty typical of major league stadiums. I like how concourse was wide enough to walk around if the stadium had been full (it was about 20% full) and the field is visible from anywhere on the concourse. Our seats were 3 rows up in right-center field, next to the Blue Jay bullpen. As opposed to some ballparks where the bullpens take away from the viewing experience, these bullpens were small and the seats conform around the bullpens to provide good seating and sight lines. In general, the sight lines in this ballpark were pretty good with one big exception. Directly above the ivy and shrubbery that make up the hitter's eye in centerfield, there is an elevated patio porch. On this patio porch is a brick shed, for which purpose I am not sure. This brick shed is tall and unfortunately positioned that at least a corner of the scoreboard is blocked when sitting anywhere from the first base dugout to right field. Although there were three video boards (one each above the stands in left, center, and right) that gave all the desired baseball information, the one in center had most of the replays. There are some features to draw on the baseball tradition on the south side of Chicago. There are statues of some of the past greats on the concourse in centerfield. There is also a working shower in the outfield which is a historic hold over from Comiskey Park. 

The food at the ballpark was pretty decent. I had Cuban sandwich as recommended by Men's Journal and a sausage with peppers and onions recommended by Miso. I also had a fried dough but I couldn't handle all of the oil. Although the White Sox fans have a reputation for being a little rough, I found the fans to be fine. The entire stadium gave former White Sox and current Blue Jay, Mark Buerhle, a huge standing ovation after the first inning. Later in the game, the guy sitting right in front of me (and roughest guy in the crowd) proposed to his girlfriend and she said yes. Actually, I am not sure if she actually said the word "yes" but she wore the ring and they were kissing for the rest of the game. 

So far on my trip, there are only been a couple tough games to watch, and this was one. The Blue Jays started off strong as Jose Bautista hit a two-run homerun in the top of the first. As the fog rolled into the stadium, so did the runs. With the White Sox up 4-2 in the bottom of the 3rd, the game was halted because of the fog. It was definitely the right call to delay the game because I could barely make out the third base dugout. The fog affected the players as Bautista, the Blue Jays right fielder, was complaining about not being able to see the ball. After about an hour the game resumed. The teams exchanged leads as Bautista and the White Sox's Adam Dunn each hit their second homeruns of the game. The score remained 7-6 White Sox from the bottom of the 5th to the bottom of the eighth but threats by both teams caused several mid-inning pitching changes. This made a long, reasonably entertaining game feel long, drawn out, and difficult to watch. In the bottom of the eighth, two Blue Jay errors allowed the White Sox to add three runs and give them a somewhat comfortable 10-6 win.

My take-away from US Cellular Field is that it is a pretty typical MLB ballpark. There isn't any distinct feature to make "The Cell" standout and there are only a couple of negative. The neighborhood and the fans were not as rough as their reputation although the stadium was pretty empty. 

Ballpark: Wrigley Field

I met up with my friends from high school, Gabe and Alex, for a Sunday matinee game between the Cubs and Pirates at Wrigley Field. I was glad the schedule worked out and I was able to go to Wrigley Field for a day game because Wrigley Field was the last stadium to put in permanent lights. Keeping with tradition, the Cubs play more home day games than any other team in the MLB.

Watching a baseball game at Wrigley Field feels like stepping into a time machine. Wrigley Field is one of two 100 year old active ballparks in the major leagues (Fenway Park being the other). Wrigley Field is easily accessible by public transportation and is surrounded by many bars, restaurants, and merchandise retailers. One unique aspect of Wrigley Field is that the apartment buildings beyond the outfield fences are taller than the bleacher seats. Thus, the building owners have put seating on top of their buildings so they can charge people for a rooftop view of the game. Also surrounding the ballpark are statues of numerous Cubs greats including Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, and announcer Harry Caray. The iconic feature of Wrigley Field from the outside is the Wrigley Field sign which now has a small message board displaying the next Cubs home game. 

The nostalgia strengthens once you enter the ballpark. The main concourse is narrow and a couple flights of stairs lead up to the top of the field level seats. At the top of the field level seats, there is a walkway but no concessions. The seats in this area have a limited view: the scoreboard in centerfield is not visible and you may be stuck behind one of many poles that hold up the upper level. The view from the first several rows of the upper level might be some of the best in the ballpark. Even though they are in the upperdeck, these seats are close to the action and are not obstructed. A few rows back and the view may be obstructed from more poles that hold up a canopy. The only seating in the outfield are bleacher seats. The bleachers are general admission but you must enter through a specific gate which is separated from the main concourse from the ballpark (although I think I saw a walkway between the two). It was a battle to find seats online and determine if they might be obstructed or not. I decided on seats that were in the lower level about 15 rows up from the left field foul pole (about 50 yards up and further out from where Steve Bartman sat). We had a good view of the infield, outfield, and scoreboard. The ivy on the outfield wall might be the most iconic feature of any ballpark in the world. As someone who always thought the ivy was somewhat overrated, consider me now a fan. The ivy gave the ballpark a lush and natural feeling. Above the ivy-covered walls is a manually operated scoreboard. The runs for every inning of every game in the majors are hung on the scoreboard manually. The only electronic element to the scoreboard are the balls, strikes, and outs as well as a small video screen showing the name of the batter. There is a larger video board built into the right field wall that gives some pitcher and hitter statistics. The tradition of the ballpark carries over to the atmosphere. There is a lot of organ music, the 7th inning stretch is made into an event, and "Go Cubs, Go" is sung and a 'W' is hung if the Cubs win. I kept with the tradition by eating a Chicago dog and having a beer.

The Pirates scored first with a double and successive RBI single. The Pirates' starter, Jeff Locke, walked 7 batters and gave up one run through 5.2 innings but hadn't surrendered a hit. Dioner Navarro broke up the no-hitter with a single and the Pirates went to their bullpen. The next Cubs offensive inning, Cody Ransom gave the Cubs the lead with a 3-run homerun. The Cubs relievers shut the Pirates down in the later innings to give the Cubs a 4-1 win. After the last out, nearly all the Cubs fans participated in the Wrigley Field tradition of singing "Go Cubs, Go".

My take-away of Wrigley Field is that it is filled with tradition but it lacks modern amenities. The number of obstructed view seats is astounding and it is actually pretty hard to follow the game without keeping a scorecard yourself. The traditions and the iconic features are pure baseball and shouldn't be discarded but renovations would improve the ballpark experience.

Lake Michigan: Days 1 - 3

On Saturday, I made the trip across Michigan and through Indiana to the north side of Chicago. Although the Cubs were playing an afternoon game, I quickly picked up my friend Chris and we drove to Milwaukee to watch the Brewers play the Phillies in a night game. I blogged about this game in a previous post. We then drove back and were able to find a free parking spot where I could park for multiple days only about 5 blocks from his apartment and Wrigley Field. On of Chris' former college roommates was in town so the three of us walked down the street to one of the many Wriggleyville bars.

The next morning, I didn't have to travel too far to get to the Cubs game; Chris lives literally across the street from Wrigley Field. In fact, his building is one of few in the neighborhood that has seats on the roof and charges people to watch the game from there. I stood outside his apartment in hopes that a player would hit a ball out of the stadium onto the street. A few balls were hit onto the street but not near me and they were quickly snatched up. I then met up with two friends from high school I had not seen in a while, Alex and Gabe. We then walked around the stadium and watch the game. My Cubs game experience is coming soon in a blog post. After the game we went to a bar with good thin crust pizza that Gabe had heard about but hadn't tried yet. The pizza was of Neapolitan style and very good. After a quick break back a Chris' apartment, I accompanied him to a local rib festival. I only had a couple of bones since the pizza was filling but the ribs were excellent.

On Monday, I was on my own during the day because all my friend had to work. I took the 'L' down and walked a lot of the Magnificent Mile and Navy Pier. I have done the Magnificent Mile a few times before but it is cool to walk from skyscraper to skyscraper. I ate lunch at the original Billy Goat Tavern under the bridge next to the Tribune Tower. Of course I got the 'double cheez'. I was originally planning on going to the Museum of Science and Industry in the afternoon. However, en route to the 'L' station I decide to walk along the Chicago River, around the marina, and towards Millennium Park. I was nice to walk around this area because when I was in Chicago for the Big Ten Tournament in March everything was absurdly crowded thanks to St. Patrick's Day. I then took the 'L' to the University of Chicago and walked through their campus on my way to the Museum of Science and Industry. Once I got to the museum, I didn't have feel I had enough time to make the admission fee worth the cost. Additionally, I didn't know how long it would take me to get to US Cellular Field, home of the White Sox. I ended up getting a free tour of the Burlington Zephyr, the first streamlined diesel locomotives. That was interesting and I felt I got a miniature taste of the museum without having to buy a ticket. After the tour, I headed back up to US Cellular where I met up with my friend Miso. Miso now works in Champaign, IL but was able to work from Chicago and come with me to the game.  I will write about this game in its own blog post. After the game, Miso was gracious enough to drive me back to Chris' apartment to complete my long day.

Ballpark: Miller Park

On Saturday, June 8, my buddy Chris and I went to the Brewers vs. Phillies game at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Different from many of the ballparks on the east coast, we actually we drove to the stadium and parked in the stadium lot. The parking cost was only $10 and the parking lot was the place to be prior to the game. Part of the Miller Park experience is tailgating in the parking lot before the game. Although Chris and I did not tailgate, we walked by many tailgates where people were grilling up brats, downing beers, playing corn-hole, and talking Brewers. I was also impressed with the number of people who had Brewers gear. This may seem like an obvious observation but in many of the ballparks I have been to not everyone is decked out in team apparel. We were two of the first 10,000 fans through the doors and got a free Brewers t-shirt, so we added to the amount of fans wearing Brewers gear.

Miller Park is a retractable roof stadium and the roof was open on this nice but slightly chilly evening. The concourses of Miller Park are industrial modern. In between the exposed structural beams and HVAC ducts, the concourse is filled with concessions, souvenir shops, and attractions for kids. The variety of concessions available at Miller Park is probably the greatest of any ballpark I have visited thus far. Besides the conventional stadium food, there is a variety of sausages (including a sausage of the month), a baked potato bar, many different types of craft beer (including Bell's Oberon), and luxury items like Mahi Mahi fish tacos. I got a bratwurst and a poutine (fries topped with beef gravy and cheese curds) along with my souvenir cup. The souvenir cup was extra special because it was Cerveceros Night. Everything from the cup to the players jerseys said Cerveceros (the Spanish word for Brewers). The attractions for kids is equally impressive: there were radar guns, batting cages, McDonald's-esque play places, and even a rock wall. 

There are four levels of seating to Miller Park. The field level seating is a little limited and small, but the second (lodge) level is very large compared to other parks. The third level is club seating and the top level is standard upperdeck seating. Chris and I sat second row of the upperdeck right behind home plate. These were very good seats because we could see the entire field and had a very good perspective on fly balls. The key feature of Miller Park is the big yellow slide in left field that runs from the upperdeck to the the lodge level. The Brewers Cerveceros mascot, Bernie Brewer, slides down the slide every time the Brewers Cerveceros hit a homerun. Another distinguishable feature of Miller Park is the seating just beyond the outfield walls. As I mentioned before, there is very little field level seating. This is very true in the outfield as there are only about 4 small sections in left and in right; there is no seating at all in centerfield. At the lodge and upperdeck level, the sections have more rows but they are exactly over the field level outfield seats. Catching a homerun ball a Miller Park would be a rare and impressive feat. Arguably most well-known aspect of Miller Park is the sausage race. Similar but predating the racing presidents at Nationals Park, five mascot sausages (Hotdog, Bratwurst, Polish, Italian, and Chorizo) race around the stadium. The fan favorite Chorizo came away with the victory for this game.

The first several innings of the game were marked with hard hit balls. Thanks to several great defensive plays (including Brewers Cerveceros Carlos Gomez robbing a homerun), the score through 6 and a half innings was 1-1. The only scoring was a courtesy of solo homeruns by promising young stars, Domonic Brown of the Phillies and Jean Segura of the Brewers Cerveceros. In the bottom of the sixth, a string of hits gave the Brewers Cerveceros a 3-1 lead. The Brewers Cerveceros extended their lead to 4-1 until Domonic Brown doubled in two runs in the top of the 8th. With two outs and Brown on second, former Phillies MVP Ryan Howard grounded out to end the inning and end the Phillies last scoring chance in the game. The Brewers Cerveceros won by the final score of 4-3.

My take-away from Miller Park was that it is a great fan experience and a good place to watch a baseball game but the retractable roof made the field feel boxed in. This feeling not unique to Miller Park but is shared with many other stadium type ballparks (Chase Field, Yankee Stadium, etc.). I am just thinking out loud, but this feeling would have been greatly reduced if the large panels on either side of the centerfield scoreboard had the ability to open up. The other take-away was that there were a lot of fans that came to Miller Park to party. While the fans in our section were collectively probably the knowledgeable among all the parks I have been to, there were many fans who just talked and drank on the concourse all game. And after the game, it looked there were many fans who had a few too many.

The Road: Lake Michigan

Tomorrow I will take off on my most densely packed trip of the summer: 4 games in 4 days. I am headed to the opposite side of Lake Michigan to see the Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, and Twins all play in game at their home ballparks. This trip will be shorter both in time and mileage than my previous two trips but should still be exciting.

Tomorrow I will drive from my parents' house in DeWitt to Wrigleyville in Chicago to pick up my friend Chris from U-M. Although the Cubs play an afternoon game tomorrow, we will drive north to MIlwaukee to watch the Brewers play the Phillies. Interesting enough, this is the same matchup I saw in Philadelphia less than a week ago. We will then drive back to Chicago after the game and I will be able to crash at Chris's apartment right next to Wrigley Field.

The next day, I will make the short walk across the street to watch the Cubs play. I am going to the cubs game with a couple of friends from high school who I haven't seen for a while but now live on the north-side of Chicago. On Monday, I am planning on walking around Chicago during the day while my friends have to work. I have been spoiled in that I have been to Chicago about a half dozen times in my life but there is always different to do right off of Michigan Ave. In the evening I will make the trip on the 'L' to the south-side of Chicago to meet up with another friend from U-M and watch the White Sox play. I might have to break my rule to root for the home team as the White Sox are one of the Tigers' main rivals.

On Tuesday, I leave Chicago for Minneapolis. I am planning on parking near the Mall of America and taking the light rail to the Twins new downtown, open-air stadium, Target Field. That will complete my 4 games in 4 day journey but am extending my trip to do something non-baseball related. I will be spending an extra day at my Grandparents' cabin in the Upper Peninsula. This is a special place for our family and we tried to visit the cabin every year while growing up to fish, hike, have campfires, and just get away for a couple of days. I return to civilization on Friday and only have a couple of days before I take off again: this time of England for my academic conference

East Coast: Day 11 and Day 12

Day 11 of the my east coast trip was a long and busy day. I started the day by driving from my hotel in Oxon Hill, MD to the nearby Metro station. I took the Metro, the subway for the greater Washington D.C. area, to the National Mall in the heart of Washington D.C. I first walked around the U.S. Capitol Building. I then decided to walk across the National Mall to get my bearings, find a map, and see many of the historic memorials and monuments. From the Washington Monument, I walked around the tidal basin to the Jefferson, FDR, and MLK Jr. Memorials. I then walked through the Korean War, Lincoln, and Vietnam Memorials. I then completed my trek around the National Mall by going through the Constitution Gardens and the World War II Memorial. At each of the monuments and memorials, I got a cancelation stamp in my national parks passport. I then walked toward the White House. I stopped at the White House visitor center and watch a video on the history of the building.

At this point I needed to find a FedEx Office to print the ticket for the Nationals game that I had bought on Stubhub the night before. The nearest FedEx Office was right next to the Old Post Office Tower and Ford's Theater. After I printed off my ticket, I went to the top of the Old Post Office Tower. The view from the top of the tower was pretty awesome as you could see the entire National Mall. I also went through the museum at Ford's Theater and kind of relearned the events that lead up to Lincoln's assassination.

I only had time to go to one of the many Smithsonian's museums. It was a pretty easy decision to go to the National Air and Space Museum. I made sure I went through the exhibit on jet engines in my limited time. It was also cool that there was a autonomous drone at the museum that was powered by a Williams International engine. I could have spent an entire day at the Air and Space Museum but I only ended up spending 2 hours at the museum before I took off for Nationals Park. I have previously blogged about my experience at this ballpark. After the game, I took the Metro back to my car and drove to my hotel.

The last day of the trip (Day 12) was purely a travel day. I drove from my hotel in Oxon Hill, MD back to Ann Arbor. Despite the internet prediction of a 8.5 hour drive, the drive ended up taking me almost 11 hours thanks to heavy traffic around D.C. and Toledo, OH. Even though I had a blast on the trip, traveling was exhausting and it was good to finally relax.

Cup Collection: East Coast

This blog is exclusive home of the 2013 MLB Season Souvenir Cup Power Rankings! I have previously written about the cups from the west coast. I have now updated the rankings to include the cups from my recent east coast trip. I have also color-coded the rankings based on trip: East Coast and West Coast. Pictures and notes for the cups acquired on the east coast trip are included below.

Rankings after the east coast trip:

1. Toronto Blue Jays
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. New York Mets
4. Washington Nationals
5. San Diego Padres
6. Oakland A's
7. Boston Red Sox
8. Los Angeles Dodgers
9. Baltimore Orioles
10. San Francisco Giants
11. New York Yankees
12. Los Angeles Angels

Notes on rankings:

• The Blue Jays, Phillies, Nationals, and Red Sox all use the same cup style. It is also the same style that the Padres and A's used I have a personal preference for this style since the graphic extends the length of the cup.
• The Red Sox cup was good for unlimited refills and the Blue Jays cup was good for 1 free refill.
• The Phillies cup has some biography information about the Phillie Phanatic written on the inside of the cup.
• The Mets cup is the souvenir draft cup since the souvenir soda cup was really small (about 12 oz). 
• The Yankees had 4 different cups for sale. My ranking is based on a combination of the two cups I have: the souvenir cup and souvenir draft. I did not get the souvenir jumbo or souvenir soda (12 oz).
• The Orioles cup is larger than all the other cups - roughly the same size as the Yankees jumbo cup which I did not buy.
• The Yankees and Orioles cups are low on the list because they are not as rigid as the other cups, giving it a cheap feeling. This is the main reason why these two cups (along with the Angels) rank in the bottom four.