On the Road Again!
I’m leaving Maui Wednesday afternoon for a three-week mainland trip. From here I’m heading for Seattle where I will be meeting friends and family for a fabulous dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant, Assaggio. The next afternoon, I’ll board Amtrak’s Empire Builder heading east to see the Boston Red Sox play two games in each of three cities: Minneapolis, Boston ad Baltimore.
I know, I know . . . the Red Sox are performing poorly this year, but attending a game in Fenway Park is unique and something that every baseball fan should experience. It is, quite simply, a wonderful ballpark. Built in 1912, it’s the oldest ballpark in Major League baseball, but it has been restored beautifully and is the perfect venue where true baseball fans can see and enjoy the games.
A unique feature of Fenway Park is what is known as the Green Monster. It’s a 37-foot-high wall that is 310 feet from home plate down the left field foul line to dead center field. approximately 310 feet from home plate. A number of years ago, the Red Sox added seats on top of the wall and I have splurged, paying an absurd amount for a front row seat on top of The Wall for one of the two games I’ll see in Boston.
(It was going to be three games in Boston, but Amtrak cancelled a late afternoon train to New York City and I had to switch to a mid-morning departure.)
Just one overnight in New York City and from there, I’ll take the Silver Star to Florida for a visit with my sister, then back to Baltimore for two games between the Red Sox and the Orioles. Next it’s an overnight ride on the Crescent to New Orleans on for two nights—long enough for visits to Preservation Hall for some authentic New Orleans jazz and another truly extraordinary dining experience at Irene’s Cuisine.
Finally, I’ll be aboard the Sunset Limited from New Orleans to Los Angeles. In all, a total of eight nights on seven different trains. And of course it all begins and ends with a round trip between Maui and “the mainland” on Hawaiian Airlines on either end.
I will do my best to record incidents and events of general interest on my laptop along the way, with posts appearing here every few days.
Next stop, Seattle!
Toot the whistle when you pass through Charlotte on the Crescent! ;)