It's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses...

Ok, my love of food is hardly a secret and fortunately shared by Dustin. For the first six days of our epic road trip journey, our culinary adventures were limited to sampling stadium snacks, which were sometimes quite yummy but hardly classy. On Sunday, we moved on to the Chicago week of our trip, and fine dining moved to the forefront. We are on a slight baseball hiatus until Saturday, so if you’re looking for stadium pictures, come back then. :-)

On Sunday night, Dustin and I ate at Table Fifty-two, home to chef Art Smith (he’s been on Top Chef, Iron Chef America, and apparently Oprah likes him). It’s Southern food, but upscale. On Sundays and Mondays only, the restaurant features famous fried chicken, which we were eager to try.
Our dinner was very good, including watermelon gazpacho; pizza with chanterelle mushrooms, baby squash, and balsamic reduction; fried chicken and garlic mashed potatoes (Dustin); pan-seared grouper with faro, currants, and baby greens (Skye); macaroni and cheese; fresh blueberry pie; and an excellent bottle of Pinot Noir. Everything was delicious (especially the chicken - a review had described it as being able to "heal the world," and that's not too exaggerated). It was also very rich and filling. We walked around Chicago for a bit after dinner, and then we returned to Dustin’s family’s house for the night.
On Monday, we took the train into Chicago for the Taste of Chicago. It was hot but not terribly crowded, and we enjoyed a number of “tastes” from the various booths, including spinach stuffed pizza, an enchilada, a fried steak sandwich, lemon ice… we had a fun time eating and hanging out in Grant Park and Millennium Park.

Try not to judge my free visor... it was hot!

In the afternoon, we walked over to the Field Museum, where we saw the famous T-Rex, Sue, as well as various other animals, jewels, and artifacts. Overall, the Chicago leg of the trip is off to a great start!

“…o’er the la-and of the freeeeeee…”

Oh, the national anthem. Typically unremarkable, sometimes awesome, and occasionally worth blogging about.

The Cincinnati Reds game was a mixed bag overall, but the singing of the national anthem had to be the worst I’ve ever heard in person. It was a church choir, and bless their hearts they tried, but whew, that is one church where the “joyful” noise must not be an “enjoyable” noise. People were audibly cracking up during it. Many people started singing, I think trying to cover up the awfulness. When it was finally, mercifully over, most of us just sort of stared at each other, bemused.
Backing up a bit, Saturday was an especially long drive (we lost an hour going into the Eastern time zone, too, so we had to leave extra-early), but we finished Harry Potter, listened to some music, and it went pretty quickly. Our hotel was right downtown in Cincinnati, as is the stadium, so we took up our bags and headed over. We got to the stadium well before the game, got our free giveaway pennant (which we collect, so the freebie was a bonus), and that was when I discovered… bleacher seats.
Now, I should take this opportunity to point out that Dustin did the hotel/game planning for this trip, and for the most part, he did an exceptional job. Other than the one sketchy hotel (which, really, looked fine online!), our accommodations have been good, and the seats so far have been great without breaking the bank. Most of you are probably aware that Dustin’s pretty fantastic, but I should publically acknowledge it anyway.

See, I had been forewarned that we are sitting in the bleachers for this coming weekend’s games (Cubs and Cardinals – both day games, by the way… imagine the heat, in the bleachers… sigh). This, however, was unexpected. It seems that Dustin’s love of the bleachers at Wrigley moved him to get seats in the bleachers at several other stadiums, too. It was very hot and muggy, the bleachers were in full sun, we had zero view of the jumbotron, and I was not an especially happy camper (side note: Dustin has informed me that “jumbotron” is a specific brand, so perhaps I should switch to “video screen” or something? He said everyone probably knows what I mean, like calling all tissues “Kleenex,” but still…). Ok, so back to not-happy-camper-but-trying-to-be-pleasant Skye sitting on the radiating-heat, metal bleachers, unable to see the lineup info. to fill out her scorecard. Just as the game started, it got even better: the guy two rows back spilled his beer, splashing me impressively across the right side of my back. Great.
Lest you be worried that the evening was ruined, fear not. I bring you tidings of chili-cheese dogs and FUNNEL CAKE FRIES! Indeed, by about 8:30, the sun had dipped behind the stadium, I had found tasty food, a breeze was rolling off the water… and the game was again good, as the Reds came from behind to beat the Indians. The crowd wasn’t as good as the crowd in Kansas City, but the game was pretty full and entertaining. The stadium itself had a few weird elements – a “riverboat” thing that only large groups could use, a strange gap in the left-field corner, and it seemed very large and spaced out. Dustin gives it a “B,” which seems about right (the skyline view is pretty, though). Our streak of home team wins is still unbroken, too.
Game 5: A slow start, but ultimately… Success!!!

A "Royally" Good Time

You guys. Picture it. The 4th inning is about to begin. The stadium is full, the home team has just scored 3 runs, the crowd is amped, and suddenly… there, on the gigantic, crystal clear jumbotron… Dustin and Skye. That’s right. It may not have been our most flattering angle, but there we were, projected in all our glory, beaming and waving goofily while staring slightly sideways. We are awesome. Alas, there is no photographic evidence of this monumental achievement, so you'll just have to envision it for yourselves. Go ahead, take a moment. :-)

To backtrack somewhat, we once again spent all day Friday in the car (we are so good at this by now that we are able to make sandwiches while at the gas station, thereby wasting no time whatsoever. Rest stops, schmest stops). We nearly finished the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows audiobook that someone I work with had generously loaned us (thanks, Linda Burnett!) – of course, we finally arrived at our hotel during an especially gripping moment. Alas, we had to set off for the game (Royals vs. Cardinals), so Harry had to wait.

The crowd was about 50% Royals/50% Cardinals, and the stadium was packed. We were sitting in the first row of the top level above home plate, which was a perfect view. On this stadium, Dustin and I were a bit divergent – Dustin settled on a B/B+ for the stadium (“It kind of looked like half of a spaceship”). He was not really a fan of the large fountains that dominated much of the outfield. I really liked the stadium – I’m not as into the “grading,” but I would probably give it more like an A-, actually. This may be biased because the crowd was great, the game was excellent, we had good seats, etc. I enjoyed the fountains, I liked the overall set-up, and I thought they had an excellent variety of food options (a bit pricey, but not outrageous).

As I mentioned, the game itself was very entertaining, and the overall experience was probably our best so far. After building a 4-0 lead, the Royals gave up 2 runs in the top of the 9th, and the Cardinals’ fans smelled blood in the water, but their lusty cheering was in vain and they lost 4-2. Ha. Naturally, Dustin was sporting a Cubs shirt and was pleased to see his archrivals defeated – we are clearly good luck for home teams, as they are undefeated in our first 4 games.

Game 4: A success on many levels

Cowboys and Rangers

Before attending Thursday’s baseball game (Rangers vs. Pirates), Dustin and I toured Cowboys Stadium, which is conveniently located right next to the baseball park. We got to visit the field, cheerleaders’ locker room, regular locker room, press room, etc. – and we got to see the roof open up while we were there!



This place is HUGE and ridiculous, which is just what you’d expect, really. I’ve never been to a pro football game, so it was pretty cool to see everything – and I had Tony Romo and Jason Witten on my fantasy team last year, anyway, so we kinda had to go. ☺



After hobnobbing with the lockers of the rich and famous, we made our way to Rangers Stadium. We quickly discovered one of the weird quirks of this ballpark when Dustin bought a beer and then we tried to go up to our seats, only to be told that the bottom level and the 2nd floor operate with different liquor licenses, so you can’t take drinks between them. The only way to get up and down is to use large escalators that are being guarded by harassed workers trying to explain this bizarre policy to irate drink-holders. I think this system is stupid.


After killing time on the lower level so Dustin could have his beer, we headed up to our seats on the 2nd level (1st base side). No one was around; the place was deserted (it was maybe 30 minutes until the game started at this point, but still… not like our other experiences). The stadium feels almost small because the seats go right to the field, kind of intersecting the 1st base line. It would feel kind of nicely quaint if not for the HUGE, glaring advertisements in the outfield, which kind of kill the atmosphere a bit. Dustin gave it a “B.” I found the food options a bit lacking, although good quality, but the overall experience was a little "meh."


I should point out that the fans were lame. There were maybe 10,000 people there, and they were pretty dead – the “MAKE NOISE!!!” sign would come on, and there was no noticeable difference. Now, I’m not really a fan of the “MAKE NOISE!!!” sign, as I don’t like to be told what to do and I find it’s an excuse for small children to scream very, very shrilly, but still – if you won’t even cheer when blatantly instructed to? Weak.


The game itself was a good one. The Pirates scored 4 runs right off the bat, and it seemed like they’d win… until Texas came back and tied it later in the game. Before the bottom of the 9th, Dustin predicted that Vlad was going to win the game (we were cheering for him even though I wanted the Rangers to lose since they’re in 1st over the Angels). He was right! Add psychic to the list of his admirable qualities…

Alamo, Astros, & Arlington

After a long and unrelenting day of driving on Tuesday, the intrepid Marciniaks were ready for a bit more entertainment on Wednesday. When we hit San Antonio, we visited a “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” restaurant called the Tip Top Café, where we filled up on good old-fashioned comfort food (onion rings, country fried steak, chicken & dumplings, buttermilk pie). The portions were ginormous, and the food was as good as advertised. Mmm.


From there, we headed to the Alamo. I was insistent that this would be a “quick stop” because I did not want to get sunburnt and didn’t want to put on a ton of sunscreen. These are the things you have to consider when you are as pale as bedsheets. (I got somewhat sunburned THROUGH THE CAR WINDOW on Tuesday, so I was taking no chances.) We were pleased to discover that the Alamo’s main attraction, the “shrine,” is indoor and air-conditioned, so we were able to linger a bit.


After the Alamo, it was off to Houston. After our last hour of driving was marred by horrendous traffic, we made it to our hotel, which was… well, let’s just say I decided not to shower there and leave it at that.

Minute Maid Park was quite pleasant. There were several similarities to our experience at Chase Field: the roof was on, the home team won, and we also saw a couple get engaged during the kiss-cam segment (this is apparently the thing to do, although I don’t understand how the guy can know the girl won’t decide to go get a snack or visit the bathroom at the break… this would worry me if I was proposing…).


The park itself is very nice, nicer than Chase Field. Although he felt that this stadium was “almost trying too hard” by adding TOO many quirks, Dustin awarded it an “A-.” We had two seats in our very own little row, the corner, front row overlooking right field. But of course, the big news is that we had the all-you-can-eat seats, aka “seats of glory and gluttony.” Surprisingly, we just had to turn in our voucher for a nondescript blue wristband, and then we got to walk up to the counter and take whatever we wanted. I had my fair share of hot dogs, popcorn, peanuts, chips and jalapenos (I don’t go in for day-glo orange cheese sauce, thank you), and lemonade. The seats were fun, the food was plentiful, and again we saw a good game with lots of action (final score = Astros: 6, Giants: 3) – another success.



We have now made it to Arlington, Texas (just outside of Dallas if your Texas geography is as fuzzy as mine was). We’re staying within walking distance of tonight’s Rangers game as well as Six Flags Over Texas, which I suspect Dustin would have liked to visit… and now, we’re ready for our third game.

Why would anyone live in the desert?

Road trip: On!

The first day's drive was uneventful, which is always a good thing. Dustin drove, the ipod provided the music, I read a book, and we made it on one tank of gas. Other than a brief stop at a desolate rest stop for our picnic lunch, we just drove straight through.

We arrived in Phoenix to discover that IT IS HOT. We briefly considered a dip in the hotel pool until Dustin did some recon and discovered that it was full of middle-aged, overweight, hairy men. Ugh. Never mind.

After relaxing in our very nice room (although it's the handicapped room - we seem to get the handicapped room about 75% of the time. Does something about the name "Marciniak" suggest that we need weird shower arrangements and no closet doors?), we walked over to the stadium.



Our thoughts on Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks: Dustin deemed the stadium "too symmetrical," but overall said he'd give it a "B." I thought it was nice, if a bit bland. We were present for the very first time the Diamondbacks hosted the Yankees during the regular season. As a result, we were fully surrounded by Jeter nation. They were about as pleasant as you'd expect Yankees' fans to be. Seriously, though - where does Arizona get 30,000 people in Yankees' jerseys? I mean, it's not like they play here regularly, so...

Anyhow, Dustin got a beer, we got some garlic fries (the recommendation for this stadium), and then we climbed... and climbed... to our seats. "It's a good thing you aren't afraid of heights," Dustin remarked. The game was a sellout (thanks, Yankees!), so we were just happy to be there. It was a great game - 3 home runs in the first inning alone, a final score of 10-4, and the Yankees lost, so all was well. We even saw a couple get engaged during the Kiss-Cam segment! :-) Day 1, Game 1: Success!

Now for a full day of driving, followed by another day of driving and then a game in Houston... with... wait for it... ALL YOU CAN EAT SEATS!

A few final pictures of Chase Field:

Modern Marvels: How does Dustin know so much?

Departure: 2 days. A snapshot of the afternoon:

It is 5:00. We are watching the Modern Marvels: Baseball Stadiums show that Dustin Netflix-ed for us. Stuffed mushrooms, glasses of wine, and an almost-Caprese salad (no fresh basil) sit, nearly finished, in front of us. As the DVD finishes, I ask Dustin, "How do they have money for baseball-only stadiums now when they didn't in the '60s and '70s?" You see, I am well aware that Dustin will know the answer to this. Dustin knows most things. Between the two of us, we make a formidable trivia team. (Honesty compels me to admit that Dustin is formidable on his own... don't even attempt Trivial Pursuit against him. Seriously. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Anyway, I have carefully arranged our tickets so I can take a picture. This is necessary since I need to practice uploading blog pictures. I should note that our friends in Chicago have our Cubs tickets, but here are the rest of them... assuming this picture loads properly. :-) If this works, you can look forward to pictures of our packed car, various baseball stadiums, and (if you're lucky), maybe a course or two of our 26-course dinner at Alinea in Chicago. If this doesn't work, you're stuck with my amazing powers of description.

The car has black interior. Shudder and crank the A/C.

Most travel is best of all in the anticipation or the remembering; the reality has more to do with losing your luggage. ~Regina Nadelson

Anticipation. Two weeks from today, our epic road trip begins. Naturally, I am full of questions. Will we be able to stay on track with our color-coded, spreadsheet-ed schedule of driving times, baseball games, and meals? Will we be able to avoid car trouble, bad traffic, and speeding tickets? Will the "all-you-can-eat" seats in Houston live up to my ridiculously high expectations? Only time will tell. The good news is that it's a lot harder to lose your luggage on a road trip than when flying. The other good news is that I will have blog-writing to distract me from the many hours of trying to avoid seeing the speedometer while Dustin's driving.

For the baseball-minded, here's the lowdown:
June 21 - Arizona Diamondbacks (vs. Yankees)
June 23 - Houston Astros (vs. Giants)
June 24 - Texas Rangers (vs. Pirates)
June 25 - Kansas City Royals (vs. Cardinals)
June 26 - Cincinnati Reds (vs. Indians)
June 27-July 3: In Chicago... friends, family, food (more on the food later) - we may hit a White Sox game, too...
July 3 - Chicago Cubs (vs. Reds)
July 4 - St. Louis Cardinals (vs. Brewers)
July 6 - Colorado Rockies (vs. Cardinals)

Good times, everyone. Good times. Stay tuned.