Buckeye Blog

Today my traveling party increased by one as I met up with my brother, Josh, in St. Louis.  We came from different places and by different means of transportation—he flew in from Ohio and I drove over from Kansas—but now we’re reunited at last.

Earlier in the day, before I arrived in St. Louis, I continued along highway 70 East and passed through Manhattan, Topeka, and Lawrence, Kansas; as well as Kansas City and Columbia, Missouri.  It was great to pass through so many cities that I’ve actually heard of.  I stopped in Lawrence to see the University of Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse and in Kansas City to see the Royals’ Kauffman Stadium—#21 on my list!  It was cool seeing Allen Fieldhouse in the same year in which the Jayhawks won the national championship game (which I witnessed in person).  And seeing Kauffman Stadium turned out to be one of the more exciting stadium visits that I’ve had because I had to sneak past security to get inside haha.

When the day started I had no plan as to how to get into Kauffman Stadium, since the Royals were playing in Baltimore and the ballpark is off limits for tour groups while it is undergoing renovations.  But I still wanted to go to KC and try anyway.  My first attempt to get in involved me pleading with a security guard on the basis that I came all the way from California and didn’t want to leave without a photo.  He ended up letting me inside the left field gate for a distant picture (and was nice enough to give me a batting practice ball that had landed in one of the fountains as a souvenir!), but he did not allow me to go all the way behind home plate like I wanted because he was being watched by a security camera too. 

But I was not about to give up.  I wandered around the perimeter of the ballpark until I found an unlocked gate that was marked as a construction entrance only.  I then proceeded to do what any good baseball stadium enthusiast would do—I made a mad dash through the gate, went behind home plate and snapped a photo, and then ran back to my car lol.  Even though the fountains were not turned on, I still liked what I saw and gave the ballpark a decent ranking of #13.  It does not, however, have the modern stadium amenities necessary to get a higher ranking (the ballpark opened in 1973).

After I picked up Josh at the St. Louis airport we went to the Cardinals-Mets game at Busch Stadium—#22 on my list!  I was VERY impressed with the ballpark and ranked it a strong #4.  The outside is made from beautiful red brick and the backdrop behind center field is highlighted by the Gateway Arch.  The Mississippi River is also visible from certain parks of the ballpark.  More specifics to follow in my facebook album later.  Down to just 8 stadiums remaining now!

And after 8 more hours of driving today, the total for the trip now stands at 33.

After a grueling day of driving yesterday, today was mainly a day to rest and enjoy Denver.  I thought downtown Denver was pretty cool and I hung out there most of the afternoon.  For a big city it sure did have a small town feel.  But of course the highlight of the day was going to the Rockies-Padres game at Coors Field—stadium #20 on my list!  It’s not everyday that I can see a new baseball stadium in person, so when it does happen it’s a very big occasion.  Whatever trepidation I felt about this trip yesterday was gone as soon as I saw the ballpark.  Going to baseball stadiums make it all worth it—it’s what I do (see my blog posts under the category of “Stadiums”).

I went to Coors Field two hours before gametime to see batting practice.  I walked all around the stadium taking pictures from all different angles, which helps me to rank stadiums later on.  Once the game started I drank a Coors Light because…well, it seemed like the appropriate thing to do there haha.  I also found out that stadium employees here allow fans from out-of-state to try out different seats during games for an inning or two if they are persuasive.  ;)  I thought Coors Field was nice, but I have seen better.  Unfortunately the ballpark does not face downtown Denver, so the backdrop is not that great.  I will be ranking the stadium as #14.  I also plan on writing more specifics about the ballpark at my baseball stadium facebook album later in the week.

After I left Coors Field I hit the road again on 70 East to get a little closer to Kansas City, where I will be going in the morning.  I ended up driving 5 hours to Hays, KS, bringing the trip total to 25 hours.  It was pretty obvious that I’m at the Plains states now, as the highways are flat and straight and there’s a lot of farmland.  It sure does make for an easier drive, so I’ll take it.  I also appreciated the fact that there are lots of towns and rest stops along 70 East.  I had cell phone reception the whole way and there were plenty of opportunities to exit the highway for gas and food.  I won’t take that for granted anymore after driving through Nevada and Utah yesterday! 

Tomorrow I’m also going to a Cardinals game in St. Louis after picking up my brother at the airport.  Big day ahead!