Bronte Creek Provincial Park, Ontario

If the rest of the camping on our trip is as easy as this park was, we'll be in great shape. We even saw peacocks!

White Sox at Tigers, Comerica Park

We said goodbye to Ann Arbor and got back on to I-94 for the 45 minute drive to Detroit (pronounced dEE-troit). We were advised to avoid cheap parking and park close to the stadium if we want to have a car after the game. So we parked next to the stadium and wandered around downtown and eventually made our way to the infamous GM complex. We didn't realize you can go in the building and up to the top floor for an observation deck, so we got on to Detroit's public train, "The People Mover," and rode that back towards the stadium.

The stadium, Comerica Park, was a pretty interesting stadium. The stadium is surrounded by giant tiger statues and the lights give the stadium an industrial feeling. Our seats were very close to the left field foul pole.


We got to see a good game again. Just like at Wrigley, the game went into extra innings but the visiting team prevailed in the 11th inning. Ryan Rayburn hit a bottom-of-the-ninth-with-two-outs three run homer to tie it up. We have yet to see a home team win a game (which is good thing when seeing the Rays on the road).

After the game we decided to head for Canada. We were also advised to stay out of Detroit after dark, so we spent the night in the Canadian town of Windsor, right across the Detroit River.


Windsor was a nice town with a huge Caesar's casino. We walked through the casino but it was too overwhelming to hang out in. So we looked up a place to eat and found a delicious Lebanese restaurant called Mazaar.

Tomorrow we head to Burlington, ON where we will camp for a night and then to Toronto for our final Rays game of the trip.

Ann Arbor, MI

What to do in Ann Arbor? The Big House was closed for renovations, so unfortunately, we could only see it from the outside. We did, however, get to frolic in the famous “Wave Field” outdoor sculpture.

Chicago, Part Deux

The farm was relaxing, but it was time to get back to the city. We got to Chicago and were given a choice of several street festivals happening that evening. We chose to stick with the closest one to Ben’s neighborhood, in Southport.

At the festival, we learned that BL can throw a baseball 64 MPH; AJ can throw 32 MPH. We watched some live music from Too White Crew, a cover band for 90s rap and R&B. We also surfed a monster wave.

Afterwards, we wandered a little more and ended up at Sluggers, where we hit around in the batting cages. If it weren’t for the nets all around, some of those balls would have been juiced.

Sunday was a lazy day of riding a Wendella Boat down the Chicago River. We learned a lot about architecture and the city: the lighthouse on Lake Michigan is automated now because a previous lighthouse keeper hosted too many nude parties there.

Gilbert-Jones Farm, Wabash, Indiana

After a wonderful weekend in Chicago with Ben, AJ and I took the Metra out to North Aurora to Aunt Jenny's house. From here we were picked up by Papa J and driven to the Gilbert-Jones farm in Wabash, Indiana.

We spent five relaxing days on the farm. Well, the first couple days we had to clean up a bit. But after everything was fixed up, it was really nice. AJ spent some time practicing her wedding speech while I walked down the creek with Papa J and Meg. I got a great opportunity to live off the land and wrestle bears. AJ was even challenged to a duel in Bocce Ball.




AJ and I then headed off on Saturday morning for our second weekend in the Windy City.

Cardinals at Cubs, Wrigley Field

Chicago! We made it out to the midwest in miraculous fashion. Thunderstorms were keeping flights from leaving New York and from landing in Chicago, but we managed to be the last plane out and the first on the ground at Midway.

After our arrival, we jumped on the L and rode to Ben's apartment. Once there, we were whisked away again to the Second City stage to have "The Absolute Best Friggin Time of Our Lives."

The following day, after a delicious breakfast at Ann Sather, we walked around Millenium Park and saw "The Bean." BL remarked, "Wow, now I know what everyone loves about this thing. I love it more than Ann Sather cinnamon rolls."

Sunday was the day of the big game. The Cardinals had been in town all weekend and beaten by the Cubs on both Friday and Saturday. Cubbies fans were psyched for a sweep. After a quick tour of Wrigleyville's pre-game scene, we went into the stadium.

The game was exciting enough, even though it wasn't our Rays out on the field. Pujols homered for the Cards to tie the score in the sixth. Unfortunately, BL and I missed it as we were down in the bowels of the stadium looking for a vendor that sold brats and veggie burgers.


Even though the game stayed tied until the 11th, the Cubs couldn't pull out a "W" for the sweep. Luckily, we had a great weekend in Chicago anyway. Ben even agreed to host us again the following weekend...

Rays at Orioles, Camden Yards

After a delicious meal including a variety of fish at the Rusty Scupper, we wandered through the Inner Harbor on our way to Camden Yards. We even stopped at Vacarros for some Italian cookies to take to the game. Once we were inside beautiful Camden Yards, AJ said, "this is the best stadium in sports," to which I agreed. Unfortunately, it began to rain and the staff put the tarp on the field.

The rain delay lasted only 20 minutes though. The game was kicked off by the national anthem on trumpet played by Chick-fil-a's CFO.


The Rays got off to a good start thanks to an RBI double by Matt Joyce that sparked a seven-run second inning. Wade Davis lasted eight innings, holding the O's to just one run.

Then, in the middle of the ninth, AJ got a call from Papa J letting us know we were on TV for a few seconds holding our sign, "The Rays Shine With Sun Sports." The sign was held remarkably high for all to see.

As seen on TV

It is official. BL is now a Rays fan. Next stop: Wrigley Field (no Rays until Toronto though).