Hey guys, I know it’s been a long time since I’ve written a travelogue – and this isn’t much of one – but I did make a little weekend trip to Kansas City to see the Royals play the Twins. I had a great time. I haven’t been to Kauffman stadium since the 1985 World Series and had forgotten just how awesome it is – much better than the Rangers. Now this doesn’t mean that I am giving up on my Rangers, but it IS easier to get to KC and easier to maneuver that stadium than in Texas.
The purpose of the trip was actually to take an elderly friend from Muskogee to visit her sister in Lawrence, KS. We left Tulsa about 7:00 yesterday morning and was making pretty good time until we had a blow out just south of the Kansas line. I was a little worried about Mrs. C making this trip any way and then when this happened I was concerned that it might be too much for her. But, she did great. She was so amazed by the fact that between my Blackberry and my GPS, I was able to get emergency roadside assistance and find a place in Coffeyville to get a new tire without even leaving the car!!! While we were waiting for help to come, a couple of jokes came through via e-mail so I read them to her. She liked one of them so much, she laughed until she cried and wrote it down to tell it to her sister. AND – the guy who changed the tire turned out to be a Rangers fan and he had watched the game the night before so we had fun talking about that. He was cute, too and I was about to fall in love until he started spitting tobacco!!!
Everything got resolved pretty quickly and we were back on the road in just a little over an hour. Then it started raining and rained all the way to Lawrence. Y’all know I don’t see too well in the rain anymore, but it was slow and steady so not too bad. After dropping her in Lawrence , I headed on to KC and it started raining really hard. I had to pull off a couple of times and regroup. It was raining so hard, I just knew the game was going to be called, but the minute I pulled in to the hotel, it stopped!!!
Now this is going to work out really great for me to go to games in KC – there is a Holiday Inn right across the street within walking distance of the stadium. And I have beau coups of points so I can stay free!!! Now even though it is walking distance, the street that you have to cross is I-70 (there is a covered walkway). Still, this was a night game and I decided that a half-blind, completely clumsy girl shouldn’t try that alone, so I opted to take the shuttle. And, the driver was very loyal Royals fan – I was wearing my Rangers tee shirt and tried my best to convert him, but no luck.
The hotel was CRAWLING with Minnesota fans as was the shuttle. They told me that is very hard to get tickets to the new stadium in Minneapolis so they just go to the road games instead.
The game was great!!! I really like that stadium – they have renovated it since I was there in 1985 – added a beautiful waterfall in the outfield that they turn on and light between innings. It rained most of the time, but my seat was under an overhang so I didn’t even need my umbrella. But, I also had an obstructed view of the screen so next time I will try to get one a few rows down. I was sitting right in the middle of some Minnesota fans – guys in their 30s who were having a little too much to drink and getting rowdy and foul-mouthed. I was beginning to get a bit annoyed. In the 6th inning, the Twins had a two run homer that tied the game and these guys got so excited that some of their beer ended up on me. They were VERY apologetic and kept saying how sorry they were. They really were nice kids – I just told them it was OK and I’d forgive them if they’d clean up their language a bit. They laughed and never said another bad word.
Now those of you who go to ballgames with me know that as long as the boys are on the field, I am going to be in the stands. I do not leave before the last out is called. BUT, last night’s game went to TWELVE innings and by the end of the 10th I was beat and not sure how late the shuttle would run so I headed on out. Dave, the shuttle driver, said he had already taken one load of people back to the hotel, but he came back to wait for me.
Got up early this morning and headed downtown. I spent a lot of time in KC in the early 80s so I just kind of walked around the old haunts and reminisced about what’s his name and the good times we had back then. Early Sunday morning there was no traffic, it wasn’t raining, not many people around – really nice way to kill a bit of time.
Then I headed on back to Lawrence to pick up Mrs. C. We had an uneventful trip back home – no rain, no car trouble – just some wonderful conversation and some quiet soothing music when she wanted to nap. For those of you who don’t know who Mrs. C is, she is the mother of Brenda, my best friend growing up. Brenda died in 1969, but I have stayed in touch with her mother all these years and have gotten to spend a lot more time with her since I’ve been back in Oklahoma.
WB – did you know your friend Ned Yost is with the Royals now? There was a nice picture and article about him in the program.
Texas friends – I’ll be in Dallas the weekend of May 8 for Bill’s birthday party and then again the weekend of May 22 in conjunction with a business trip. Would like to go to the Rangers game Saturday night – anybody else up for it?
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