Day 10: Major League Baseball Trip.

DATE: Tuesday, September 10, 2013. Day 10.
LOCATION: Manhattan to Baltimore, home of the Orioles.

After spending five nights in Manhattan we left for Baltimore at 8:30 AM. We arrived in Baltimore at 2:30 - checked into the Hilton, located right next to the Orioles and Ravens stadiums. We could see both stadiums from our window. Brad did a good job of lining up the hotels. John did the Manhattan stay with his time-share membership but Brad did all the rest. We were hungry so we went across the street to Frank and Nic's West End Grille. The server suggested we try a local brew called New-Bo. It was only $4.00 for a 16 oz draw. (This was more like Anamosa prices.) We all tried one and it was pretty good stuff. The food was great.

We walked to the stadium at 6:45. The stadium was called "Camden Yards" when built 15-20 years ago but now it is called "Oriole Stadium at Camden Yards." Camden Yards refers to the warehouse area that this once was. In fact, there is a huge ten story restored warehouse right next to Oriole Stadium. The bottom floor is now full of restaurants and gift shops.

The Orioles played the Yankees - Yankees won 7-5. Mariano Reveira pitched the 8th and 9th innings. Alex Rodriquez did play and didn't get booed like he dud at other stadiums.

We met a lot of interesting people that night. Here they are:

- The first bunch were three guys from Duluth, Minnesota. One of them was a marine who was stationed near by. The other two were friends visiting him. The guy named Paul told us his grandparents had a restaurant in Duluth. They were famous citywide in Duluth for their for pasta sausage recipe. When they died only three family members knew the secret ingredients in the recipe - and that is all that still know it today. Paul is one of the three and once a year he and the other two will make this pasta sausage, advertise it and sell it all over Duluth. People in Duluth still remember it and want some every year. Interesting story.

- Brad wore his Hawkeye shirt and cap and I wore my Hawkeye cap. As a result we were stopped by a couple from Winthrop and Jesup, Iowa. Had a nice visit with them. Then two other guys saw our Hawkeye stuff and they stopped and talked to us. It was a father and son-in law from Denison, Iowa. It was another great visit.   It's fun to talk to people from Iowa. They are some of the best. IT'S GREAT TO BE A HAWKEYE.

- At the game we sat by three guys from Lousiana, all three were Yankee fans. They were in Baltimore on a business trip. Their company made boots for the Coast Guard. One guy said he became a Yankee fan as a young kid when his Grandpa made him listen to Yankee games on the radio. He said he had no choice in the matter. His Grandpa was a diehard Yankee fan and his grandson was going to be one also. And he was a Yankee fan. He said his Grandpa would be happy.

- This next guy was not so friendly. Brad walked down the steps to the infield to get some close-up photos of Mariano Revira. When walking back up the steps some idiot sees his Hawkeye stuff and hollers to Brad, "SIT DOWN HAWKEYE." Brad said he ignored the idiot.

- One of the beer vendors saw Brad's Hawkeye stuff and says to Brad, "How many counties in Iowa?" Brad said "99." The vendor said, "You are correct."
The next time the same vendor sees Brad he says, "Only 8 states have more than 80 counties." Brad got a kick out of the guy.

- One of the fun things we saw during the game was the "kiss cam." When a couple saw themselves on camera they had to kiss. The fans loved it, especially when one guy kissed his wife and he put his hand on her right boob. That was good for a big laugh.

- After the game we went back to Frank and Nic's West End Grille. We met Tim and Jeff - two more Yankee fans. We visited for over an hour and found out they were civilian MPs for the Department of Defense. We remarked there sure a lot of Yankee fans at the game for being in Baltimore. They said that is pretty normal as they referred to "Oriole Stadium at Camden Yards" as " YANKEE STADIUM SOUTH."
These two guys were good friends. In a couple of weeks Tim was getting married for the third time. Jeff was going to be his best man. Tim was going to have another bachelor party. Jeff said he had been to all three of Tim's bachelor parties and it would be the third time he had been Tim's best man. That was good for some hearty laughs.

- Our server was a gal named Kate. She was an Ohio girl and a graduate of Ohio University, (not THE Ohio State)  She was doing HR work for a firm in Baltimore. The firm was just bought by Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids. She was worried about losing her job because of the takeover. So Brad gave her the name and email of LeAnn First, who works at Rockwell. LeAnn is a former student of mine, a graduate of Anamosa High School and is pretty high up in the company. Brad had talked business with her one other time when he was home and thought that a little personal connection like this might help Kate's chances of keeping her job. Brad  told her to contact LeAnn at Rockwell in Cedar Rapids and tell her she had met us and visited with us. He said, "Kate, it can't hurt anything."

It was a fun night in Baltimore.

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