crosscheck

I am mortally embarrassed that I have not finished this report, and alas, I have forgotten most of the details, but here goes:

DETROIT -
Not an exotic destination, but the most relaxing stop on the trip because we stayed with relatives in Grosse Pointe where we did laundry, barbequed, swam, etc. There were also severe thunderstorms, which gave us license to stay in and read, play games and watch movies without feeling guilty (Here in SoCal, land of perfect weather, there's always pressure to be active.)

Rain miraculously let up minutes before the game.

TIGERS VS. ROCKIES -
Did I mention that I did not actually attend the game? Our teen cousin's boyfriend had amazing seats behind the visitor's dugout. The boys went without us, got autographs and caught a ball. I believe the Tigers won. All in all, a peak experience.

DETROIT INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS -
Must do a plug for the fantastic Diego Rivera murals, and the whole museum in general, even though we did not visit it on this trip.

NEXT: CLEVELAND

Mamaw

crosscheck

I wish you would have detailed my city a little more and as for staying in Grosse Pointe which part did you stay in? The park, woods, city, shores or farm? DIA is fantastic. The re-vamp is better than I thought it ever would be. Comerica Park was voted one of the top ten parks in the country. Did your boys like it? Did you ever make it over to the BLVD to see the Motown museum. Where you in GP while Clint Eastwood was there filming? My Brother is the Sup. of the DPW in GPP and had his pic in the paper with Dirty Harry.

Look forward to hearing your info on Detroit/GP

crosscheck

Mamaw,

I wish I had more to report about Detroit, but on this trip, we barely left our relative's home (in Grosse Pointe Park), except for wonderful walks on the lake.

My kids, of course, would never describe Comerica, but I did see the exterior recently (on another trip) and it looks extremely cool and retro.

crosscheck

I was just reading something about the World Series and realized that I never finished this trip report. I hope I don't get penalized.

Two days before we were scheduled to return home, Older Son found out on Facebook that he was missing a camp reunion in LA, so he ended up changing his ticket and flying home a day early from Detroit. We left him at DTW (a foreshadowing of what's to come when he leaves for college - suddenly there were just three of us) and drove to Cleveland, passing through Oberlin on the way to give me material for my blog (a college visit without the prospective student).

CLEVELAND:

ROCK 'N ROLL HALL OF FAME - A trip highlight for me. You can see John Lennon's and Jim Morrison's report cards, Jimi Hendrix's childhood art work, Janis Joplin's Porsche, and hear actual broadcasts of the DJ's you grew up with. We all felt that five hours was not enough. Left the museum in a torrential downpour, certain the game would be cancelled.

Stayed at the Renaissance - old world elegance which seemed incongrous in Cleveland, lovely suite at a bargain price, looking out on a faux European courtyard. Too fancy for baseball tour, but lobby was full of beer-drinking Cincinnati fans, the same ones we had seen a few days earlier in New York.

Everyone we met in Cleveland was exceptionally nice. Concierge walked us into an indoor mall adjacent to the hotel to make sure we were headed in the right direction to the game. This was the ultimate all-American expedition: Hotel through mall to baseball stadium, all without ever going outside. As we emerged from underground, prepared for the last game of our trip to be cancelled, the sun came out.

So amazingly, although it rained the entire week of our June baseball tour, we didn't miss a game.

Indians vs. Reds
Can't remember much about the game except:
- we had great seats (through Ticketmaster, no broker)
- the Indians lost
- obnoxious college students behind us
- blatant un-PC Indian logo all over
- live marriage proposal on video screen.
- many enthusiastic fans in interstate rivalry, but happy laid-back midwestern vibe prevailed.

The next day, Younger Son and I enjoyed an easy flight home. But Mr. Crosscheck, who had to go to NY, was stuck at the Akron airport all day because of thunderstorms.

WRAP-UP:
Every family with sports fans must do a version of this trip. There are so many stadiums that we still haven't seen, that we are considering making it a yearly father's day tradition.

This will give me the option of opting out on occasion and checking into a spa.

CAPH52

No penalties, just high marks for coming back to finish!

Very nice report, crosscheck. Thanks. I'm glad it turned out to be such a good trip for all of you.

JJ5

Nice report. And I love your enthusiasm.

We are about 2/3rds of the way through all the ballparks. I wish I could have done it when my boys were young.

Baseball people are just the best, nearly everywhere you go.