TravelStream™ news feed for member dcashman on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/dcashman en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:48:42 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214669220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214669220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214669220/tpod.html Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:48:42 -0400 Baseball Roadtrip - Happy Graduation Mike!

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Rockfall, Connecticut, United States

We made it home!  It was an amazing trip.  2nd to last gas stop! We left early for us on this trip - around 9 and headed back downtown to Pamela's for breakfast.  Voted best breakfast in Pittsburgh every year.  It was the best for last. Awesome last meal.  We had strawberry crepes, bannana and chocolate chip crepes, egg sandwiches.  It was really amazing.After that we drove around the city a bit and saw some of the beautiful sites of the University of Pittsburgh .  Then we headed home, the end of our trip upon us.  I drove about 150 miles and Mike drove the final 325.  It was an awesome trip and everyone was thrilled.  We were also very happy to get home.   We arrived home around 8:30 and relaxed until the family got back from Caroline's birthday night out.  Everyone loved their presents.  The trip was a lot less tiring then I thought (except for the first day). I would do it again for sure.  My travel companions were awesome.  I am so proud of the graduates who are off to the real world after seeing a little more of our country.  Thank god for my Hannah - who kept me sane!  Thanks everyone for following along.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214581920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214581920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214581920/tpod.html Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:11:38 -0400 Baseball Roadtrip - Happy Graduation Mike!

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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Well the last real vacation day of the trip was here.  We hung around the hotel until about 12 then we took off for Pittsburgh. I had been to Pittsburgh maybe 10 years ago to visit a friend for college and really enjoyed it.  We stopped for lunch at the Primanti Bros sandwich stop which serves your sandwich, french fries and cole slaw all between the bread.   I was really good but not as good as I remembered.  We started to see signs that we were not alone in Pittsburgh.  Yankee fans started appearing all over.After lunch we headed over the "Igloo" where the Penguins play to get Mike a tee shirt for his favorite hockey player.  From there we went to the hotel which was on the outskirts of town and rested up before the game.We drove back over to PNC Park, over a bridge. The main bridge is blocked off before game time for pedestrian traffic.  We got in and went right down behind centerfield. right next to the yankee bullpen.  The team was warming up and was interacting with the fans.  We saw most of the pitchers including Mariano Rivera, Daryl Rasner, Edwar Ramierz and Andy Pettite.  Daryl Rasner signed Hannah's ticket.  They were really nice. Mike Mussina warmed up right next to us. The game started and the yanks got off to a 4-0 lead.  After 2 1/2 innings it started  pouring as thunderstorms approached.  Everyone retreated into the concourse where we intermidetly waited and went back out to seats 2 or 3 times as the rain stopped and started for the next 2 hours.  After all that waiting the game was called.  It was sad but at least we got to see a little of the game and the beautiful ball park.  We headed back to the hotel for the last night of our trip before heading home on Friday.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214490300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214490300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214490300/tpod.html Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:10:12 -0400 Baseball Roadtrip - Happy Graduation Mike!

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Youngstown, Ohio, United States

Thursday morning here and getting started for the day.  Yesterday we traveled from Monroe Michigan back to Cleveland for the Indians vs. Giants.  After the day we drove about an hour to Austintown OH.  We had another great day.We left Monroe around 11 and drove about an hour and a half back to Cleveland where we had been on Saturday.  We went to Slymans deli for lunch which is has the "Best Corned Beef in Cleveland" - it was amazing.  We got there around 2 pm and it was still packed.  It is a little off the beaten track.  We could only get carry out so we drove back over near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to go to the Great Lakes Science Center and ate it there.Along the way we saw some more Cleveland sites and then went and enjoyed the science center for a few hours.  Lots of interactive exhibits.  The kids actually wanted to go and enjoyed it. Around 5 we headed over to Progressive Field.  On Saturday, I had some road rage navigating the Cleveland streets.  Things were going well yesterday until I took a left turn by the stadium.  Uh oh.  Well the Cleveland cop was nice and he let me go with a promise to "pay attention to the signs while visiting town". Luckily we were right at the stadium so we moved on.I think it is my favorite so far.  Of course Wrigley is special and different but this place has all the amenities.  They have an awesome center field food court and bar and Heritage Park, which has plaques for all the Indian hall of famers and the top 100 indians of all time as voted in 2001 by the fans when the park opened.Before the game started the boys went down to the field.  Everyone was so nice.  I like the midwest.  They had a lucky trip. Bryan got Casey Blake's autograph on his bag and Mike got Tim Linecum of the Giant's autograph on a ball he ran and got. Our seats were in centerfield and SO close. Grady Sizemore, the Indians star was about 30 feet away from us.  He is awesome.  Every inning  he threw the warm up ball into the stands.  The first one landed  1 person away from Hannah. It was so fun.  He made an amazing catch. I haven't watched baseball tonight but I would imagine it was on top 10.  The Giants won, but it was such a great game.  The Indians did have a rally in the 7th and the drum guy was very close to us and had the beat going.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214405460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214405460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214405460/tpod.html Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:21:22 -0400 Baseball Roadtrip - Happy Graduation Mike!

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Monroe, Michigan, United States

Its Wed morning and we are in Monroe Michigan.  We traveled from Kalamazoo to Detroit yesterday for the Cardinals vs. Tigers at Comerica Park and after the game drove 40 miles to Monroe Michigan for the night.The day started out kind of late.  We drove from Kalamazoo to Ann Arbor where we stopped to see the University of Michigan. The stadium was under construction but we got to drive thru and it seems huge.  We drove thru the village, it is really cute and the school is very large, but we didn't get thru the whole campus.We stopped at lunch at Zingerman's Deli. It was featured in Esquire as having one of the best sandwiches in america and was also one of the five featured on Oprah. It is so cute, over 100 kinds of specialty sandwiches.  Bryan got the famous bbq beef brisket which was the featured sandwich. It was excellent.  We also had a Muffalato, macaroni and cheese and a Pastrami.  Very fun place.We stopped and got gas - $4.05, down a little from Chicago. Then onto Detroit for the game .  The parking was so close and the stadium beautiful. It is a very large field but the seats are so nice.  It has a very wide concourse and the bleachers where we sat were hardly bleachers.  They had seat backs and tons of leg room.  The seats are angled low and wide back so great views from everywhere. We got there early enough to see batting practice. Pujols was hurt but we got to see all of the Tigers stars, Pudge, Cabrerra, Ordonez.  The fans were so laid back and having a great time.  It was a great experience and so different from Wrigley.  It was 68 world series night and all of the guys from the 1968 world series were there including Al Kaline, it was very neat.  The stadium was packed.  The Cardinals won but we did see home runs by Sheffield our old Yankee friend, Pudge and Cabrerra.  Great times, great stadium.We then drove on to our hotel in Monroe, MI.  Easy morning this morning doing laundry and swimming.  Now we are now back to Cleveland for SF and Indians.  Hopefully the rain holds out.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214277540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214277540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214277540/tpod.html Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:01:45 -0400 Baseball Roadtrip - Happy Graduation Mike!

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Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States

Well we have settled down back in the Eastern Time Zone.  What a great day.  Beautiful weather for our day in Chicago. After our night at Wrigley, the kids slept in.  We didn't get going from the hotel until around 11.  We started the day by driving to the United Center , the home of the Bulls .  We had to stop off and see the statue of Mikes lifelong idol, Michael Jordan. .  The United Center is somewhat outside downtown.  It is HUGE.  I was surprised.Then we headed to a late breakfast at the world famous Lou Mitchells .The home of the "World's Finest Coffee" .  They serve their omlettes in a skillet and awesome waffles and egg sandwiches .From there we headed to Navy Pier, the number 1 tourist attraction in Illinois.  We took a cruise around Lake Michigan.  The kids weren't thrilled to do this, but it was only a half hour and I think they were happy we did once they saw the sites .  Chicago is an amazingly clean, beautiful and unique city.From there we hopped on the Chicago double deckers. You get on and get off anyone of 13 stops and it is a guided tour of the city.  The boys got off on Michigan avenue and went around the Magnificent Mile.  They like Nike Town best . Hannah and I went to the Water Tower , one of the few buildings to survie the Chicago fire and then to the American Girl Store and the the top of the Hancock Tower. It was pretty cloudy, but still a good view.  Then we toured the city where we saw amazing architechture. There were so many buildings they described I lost count.  Here is Oprah's house on East Lake Drive South. And the Deloitte building (kind of blurry). . It was very fun and we met up with the boys around 5. .  I think it is my favorite city I have visted so far.  From there we drove to Ed Debevics', the diner where the staff is rude to you.  Of course the boys loved this.  Good chili and original green rivers and cherry cokes.  We then headed east towards Detroit.  We drove for about 150 miles and 2.5 hours to Kalamazoo, MI, the home of Derek Jeter.  No visible signs of his history :)  We are off to Detroit St. Louis vs. the Tigers on Tuesday.  See you all on the road.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214189700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214189700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214189700/tpod.html Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:50:48 -0400 Baseball Roadtrip - Happy Graduation Mike!

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Chicago, Illinois, United States

Good morning everyone! I is Monday morning around 8 - CST.  The kids are still sleeping after our big night in Chicago.   Yesterday was a great day.  We got going and left the Holiday Inn Express in La Porte, IN around 10 or so.  The views right outside our hotel were pretty nice as you can see. We backed tracked a bit as we were so close to the University of Notre Dame. It had been getting dark on Saturday night as we went thru so we decided to go drive thru.  With all the national attention for football the school gets I forgot that the school isn't actually that big.  It is a nice campus, but I had built it up to be a lot more in my head.  I made sure to see the Business school that boasts such a proud accounting program and we drove by the football stadium and of course Touchdown Jesus. There were lacrosse camps going on so we couldn't get too close to the basillica but we did get a nice view from the road.  From there we headed back west towards Chicago.  The gas prices rose quite a bit closer to Chicago.  As you can see our day 3 price was $4.19. Getting close to CT prices.  Chicago is about 1.5 hours from South Bend. We arrived pretty timely, as the skyline appeared and we entered the Chicago Skyway. Then we hit  our first significant traffic of the trip with weekend construction.We arrived at Superdawg around 2:30. It is a famous hot dog drive in that is always featured on TV.  I t was really fun with the Superdawgs "Morrie and Florrie" looking down from atop the building.  They have car hops that come and deliver to you. The dogs were excellent, with all the traditional Chicago toppings, onions, neon green relish, green tomato, hot peppers and of course mustard. If you want ketchup you have put it on yourself.  They won't do it.  The fries were excellent too.From there we headed to check into our hotel the Days Inn Lincoln Park - the area is beautiful with walkups and shops.  The hotel was rated the best in the chain in 2004. It dosent look much from outside but the inside is beautiful.  We all rested for a while and then took a cab to Wrigley. We waited in line for about 45 minutes with the rest of the general admision bleacher bums.  I am so glad we got bleacher tickets. It was quite an experience. The Wrigley rooftops were right there as we waited.  These amazing builldings right behind the stadium feature bleacher seats that the owners rent out for games. They are so close to the field that I imagine you seem right in the game.  We got in and sat pretty much straight away center field under the scoreboard. Once you were in your seats it was hard to move. With the White Sox playing, there was lots of intercity rivalries and some very interesting teeshirts and signs. It reminded me a little of the Yanks/Red Sox games.  It rained for a while before the game started but it blew over pretty quickly and the game started on time.     The Cubs won handily.   Fukodome is by far the fan favorite.  Everyone had on his jersey and various references to his culture (samari headbands, rice hats and very interesting tee shirts with different references to his name and the Sox fans).   One White Sox fan, a rowdy girl in the bleachers, was entertaining the Cubs fans  with many had gestures and fake flashings. She eventually got tossed as she flipped off the security guard.  Fun times!! The kids loved it.  Wrigely is beautiful and I am not sure any other park will be able to top it.  We finished the night with some Chicago pizza.  Today we are going to see some sites around Chicago before we head to Kalamazoo for the night on the road again!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214095800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214095800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214095800/tpod.html Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:31:53 -0400 Baseball Roadtrip - Happy Graduation Mike!

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LaPorte, Indiana, United States

It is about 9 pm CST.  We just crossed into the time zone and settled for the night in LaPorte IN, about 70 miles from Chicago.  It was a long and tiring day, but fun.After our late night, the kids slept in and after we got moving, we didn't leave the hotel until around 10:30.  We got gas - went down again $3.97 per gallon. .  Then traveled the short 9 miles to Cleveland. We arrived at the Rock and Roll Hall of fame, after passing by the Huntington Bank Building - a Deloitte client Right aligned photo tag: and Browns Stadium. Then we arrived at the Hall of Fame. .  It is right on the banks of Lake Erie. . Really beautiful architecture by the same architect as the Vietnam Memorial.Unfortunately they didn't let us take pictures inside the Hall, just in the lobby.   The best sites were Beatles, Doors, Rolling Stones.  My favorites were the fashions, Janis Joplins psycadelic porsche,  Elvis's custom purple Cadillac and the ZZ top car. The most touching item was Paul McCartney's song notes for Hey Jude, that he wrote for Julian Lennon.  You can see "Jules" crossed out.  It was really fun.   Ironically, there was also a Baseball and Music exhibit.  As we left we got to see Johnny Cash's tour bus. Also a handwritten letter from Madonna when she was a college freshman at the University of Michigan, saying she wanted to move to NY and would probably "fail".  haha. We spent about 3 hours there and saw all the sites.  Lots of fun.  Then we headed to the Cleveland Hard Rock for a very late lunch. It was good, same as most Hard Rocks. It is right near the Quicken Loans arena and Progressive Field. We will be back to see the Indians at Progressive on Wed.  Also huge pic of Lebron   - across 3 buildings.   Even though there was no traffic, I had a bit of road rage, navigating the streets of Cleveland.Then we headed out for a 4.5 hour drive to LaPorte.   It was straight highway.  . Mike helped out and drove for an hour and a half or so.  Good times as we listened to many of the artists we saw at the Hall of Fame.  Indiana has beautiful farms.  Boring subway for dinner as the "Diners Drive Ins and Dives" place I planned closed at 8.  Oh well.Pretty low key day.  Lisence plates up to 33 states, New Brunswick and Ontario.Tomorrow - off to CHICAGO!!! - We are going to stop at Notre Dame in the morning and drive thru. then about 70 miles to Chicago.  Game is at 7, so hope to get some sites before then.  Will blog again tomorrow.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214047860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214047860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dcashman/1/1214047860/tpod.html Sat, 21 Jun 2008 08:45:15 -0400 Baseball Roadtrip - Happy Graduation Mike!

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Independence, Ohio, United States

Well here we are getting started.  We had a beautiful morning to drive.  We left Middlefield around 10 and made a last minute stop to decorate the car with our destinations.  Then off we were. We drove about 2.5 hours straight to Scranton, passing thru New York and into Pennsylvania.  The eastern PA farmlands are beautiful. And their must have been some big referndum to put this sign every 10 feet.  Literally.First leg of drive was fun and we started our lisence plate game.  NY was fruitful.  By the end of the day we had about 22 or 23.  I have to double check because my recordkeepers all fell asleep. When we arrived in Scranton, we missed getting a photo of  the "Welcome to Scranton" sign on the highway, but we did have "The Office" music playing as we drove into town.  And we did see the sign for Lake Wallenpaulpack the site of the "Booze Cruise". We stopped at the Mall at Steamtown where Michael Scott took the ladies for "Women's Appreciation".  In the food court they have the original Welcome to Scranton sign that is shown in the credits. and a giant Dwight head on the elevator. Other than these brief tributes to Dunder Mifflin, this was like any mall in America.  I am pretty sure people rolled their eyes at us as they must do many times a day.  The kids weren't as thrilled with it as me. Then we went to lunch at the Glider diner, as mentioned in "Goodbye Toby". The hot roast beef was excellent (as advertised). I couldnt finish mine but Bryan ate all of his and half of mine.  However, the pie was amazing.  We tried Coconut cream, Banana cream and peanut buttter cream.  No sign of Stanley stopping for a piece of pie :) First gas stop - $3.99 per gallon - not bad.On weather, we are really lucky.  It was nice the whole drive.  The second we walked into the Glider, it started pouring and stopped just as we were about to leave.  It washed away our window paint w/ our destination. Boo! From there we headed about 1.5 hours to Williamsport, PA.  Naps were had by the boys as Hannah kept me alert.  About half way on this drive my foot was killing me and i suddenly remembered cruise control. Thank god.We got to the Peter McGovern Little Leauge Museum at around 5.  It was empty which was good for us as the kids ran around. It is kind of old but very interactive.  They had pithcing and hitting cages where you could video tape your performance and watch it back. The thing they loved was the running track.  It was basically a basepath and it would time your run. Then we headed out to the famous field where the Little League World Series is played. It is very impressive.  The kids went down to the field and got upclose with the statue.  They may now be high school graduates, but as you can see they are still the same kids that used to play little league together.   Here they are in front of the field.   We always knew that they would get to this field.  Who cares if it is 6 years past their 12 year old selves :)  This made me think of all the days with the A's.  The kids really enjoyed this stop.Onto Penn State to drive thru (about an hour from Williamsport).  When I saw it was on the way, I was just thinking it would be fun to drive thru the campus.  I forgot about football.  The stadium is ridiculous, it rose out of the skyline.   It was so huge we were in awe.  While we are proud of our little D1 football stadium in East Hartford, that is what it is, little.  From there we drove thru campus, which can only be described as enormous, but the adjoining streets are charming.  Looks like it would be a really great place to go to school.Time for dinner at the "Quaker Steak and Lube" -  the boys had been referring it to the "Lube" all day.   Again, still kids.  Great wings, fun place - totally decked out in Penn State and Car memoriabilia.    - Fun deep fried pickle  That was the extent of the site seeing/eating for the day.  But the day was hardley over. From there we drove another 225 miles and 4 hours to Independence Ohio.  We arrived around 12:30am.  The kids all fell asleep after a rousing round of "Going to a Picnic".  With some McD's coffee I was good to go.  Everyone was exhausted and all fell right asleep in our two room "suite".  It sort of looks like a college apartment.   Its almost 8 on Saturday now and everyone is still sleeping.Itinerary for today Saturday June 21 - Target - 278 milesWe are about 10 miles from Cleveland - we are hitting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this morning and then see what else we might do. Then it is about 4 hours to South Bend where we are staying for the night before heading to Chicago tomorrow night for our first game.  Thanks for checking in on us and we will continue to updateWhen the kids get up we will get our Residence Inn breakfast
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Rockfall, Connecticut, United States

Its the eve of our big trip and finishing touches are being completed. Here were the big steps of the night:1) Pick up car - The Ford Edge - aka gas guzzler - each day I am going to note the crazy gas prices across the country. But it is rooomy back seat for the graduates.2) BJs run - we went a bit overboard as I tend to do. We got hooked up with a wireless card to make sure we can keep our blog going. We also bought way too many snacks. But we are all stocked up on gummy bears, gold fish and vitamin water amoung other treats. Oh yeah and some random fruit cups.3) Laundry and packing underway.Our Itinerary for tomorrowEstimated Departure: 9 am - pick up Mike and Hannah then over to BryansTargeted Miles: 575Target at end of night - Cleveland around 11 pm States thru - CT, NY, PA, OHProjected stops:-Scranton, PA to see the office sites (183 miles - appx 3 hours from Middlefield)-Williamsport PA - Little Leauge Hall of Fame- State College for Dinner and drive thru Penn State- Cleveland - hotel. Stop to get last minute supplies at best buyWe update tomorrow night with all the fun details. See you all in 10 days!!
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