Alta and I were connected to baseball even before we met. Alta started going to games with her dad when he was in residency in Kansas City. Alta was the designated son since she was the oldest of five daughters. They went to see the old Kansas City Blues, which back in the '50s was a Triple-A farm team for the Yankees. Hence Alta's continuing fascination with the Yankees.
My dad took me to the Denver Bears games in the '50s. They were the only professional team in Denver back then. The most fun I had was learning how to keep score. The Bears at the time were a Triple-A farm team for the Yankees too, so Alta and I must have been seeing these games during different years. I recall Don Larsen, Marv Thornberry, Tony Kubek and Bobby Richardson. I saw Larsen pitch in Denver before he pitched the only perfect game in the 1956 World Series.
Alta and I have seen a lot of games together since then. One of her goals (her bucket list, if you will) is to see a game in every MLB park. When I've gone on business to a MLB city she's come along; we've seen quite a few games that way. Or we've taken in some on vacation, like the Montreal Expos before they moved to D.C., as well as the Toronto Blue Jays. We've been to more than half the parks now, mostly on the two coasts and Chicago.
So, our trip this spring to six more parks. On May 3 flying to Kansas City and then rent a car to drive east about 1,500 miles, stopping at ball parks in St. Louis, Cincinnati, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Who knows how we'll get home, but probably a more southerly route through Louisville. Click on the headline to see a map of our route. It will vary from time to time on the spur of the moment.
Alta's been planning this trip for months, including not only gathering information about all the parks and the teams, but things to see and do along the way. This includes the best food at the park as well as best regional food in the towns and cities. We'll spend a week in Philadelphia in an Elderhostel class on Philadelphia and American history and also several days in Lancaster County and Amish country.
