Category: Whats the latest…

Arrived in Washington D.C. yesterday. Decided to go to the Lincoln Memorial and as I was walking to the Washington Memorial I was caught in a rain storm that bordered on biblical.  Absolutely drenched. People were trying to take shelter anywhere they could to no avail. There’s never a cab when you need one. LOL!  A hot shower never felt so good.

Woke up today and was considering how spectacular skydiving would be if I could do it over the City of D.C. Upon further investigation I found out that the closest place would be 72 miles away and that all of a sudden didn’t seem as attractive anymore. They call the place DC Skydiving Center.( Almost,Kindalikemaybejustalittlefalsehoodkindathing) if you know what I mean. Kinda:) LOL!  Having skydived in Zephyrhills Florida years back I didn’t feel the urge quite as bad the 2nd time around.

Looking forward to seeing more of Washington today. The Washington Nationals don’t play until tomorrow night.

thanks for reading, -John Kelly

P.S. I know I’m not grammatically perfect. Its O.K. 🙂

A somewhat early start out of Cleveland yesterday. I knew if I was going to get to Philadelphia for the game last night I would have to travel 455 miles to check in to my hotel and get to the game on time. As it turned out there was a slight rain delay.(The game started at 7:30 pm.) I got there just after it started and picked up a cheap ticket. When teams are struggling in the win column(Philadelphia is 33-62) the worst record in M.L.B. It usually reflects in the attendance. That was very apparent last night. No matter though. I was looking forward to seeing the game and the ball park.

Today its off to Washington D.C.  Tuesday night The Washington Nationals are hosting The Milwaukee Brewers. This trip is so much about positive momentum moving forward for me. I have no clue where I’ll be after that. I’ll just keep going. The unknown is something that can be uncomfortable some for people. On this day at this moment I seem to be O.K. with it. Heading for wild blue yonder’s and amber waves of grain. A need to see the ocean is never far from my mind either.

-John Kelly

Beautiful City. Might be the best city I’ve been in so far. The restaurants, the bars, and the experience. All cities have their night life areas by the Pro Sports Venues. Its a big part of a downtown area. If you are going to support a major sports team then you have to be able to have what people are looking for. Some cities have not been able to do this and some have said they are not willing to keep trying(i.e. San Diego)just to name one. Cleveland on the other hand has made the statement that their teams are important to them. It has worked for Cleveland.

Major League Baseball has provided them with 81 home games every year. The Cleveland Browns have 8 homes games every year. I haven’t even touched on the Cleveland Cavaliers yet. 41 regular season home games every year. I’m not even talking about playoff possibilities. Oh, and the concerts and special events that take place (all the time), and all over the downtown area. Cleveland has figured it out. They have embraced it. I almost forgot, Cleveland wins 13-3 tonight.

You may not appreciate what comes with being a major city in this country. Cleveland does. They have embraced it. I am a small town guy. I appreciate that. Sometimes however it helps to see these big cities and be able to see life from there perspective as well.

I am off to Philadelphia tomorrow…, I think.

Game time sun. is 1:35 p.m.

Glad to be in Cleveland on this Thursday afternoon. I can see the Ballpark from outside my hotel room window on the 6th floor.

I’m staying at the Radisson Hotel.  As it turns out “Queen” is in concert tomorrow night across the street at Quicken Loans Arena. So suffice to say I was very fortunate to get this room for 2 night in a row. A walk in the city tonight and a chance to relax is something I’m looking forward too.

Left Pittsburg for Cincinnati yesterday. 304 miles. Arrived in Cincinnati at 5:15 p.m. Found a hotel in 20 minutes. Put on my shoes and out the door to the game . The Cincinnati Reds vs The Arizona Diamondbacks. The Reds won there first game since the All Star Game. 4-3. Now its on to Cleveland for to the Indians vs The Toronto Blue Jays. tomorrow night(Friday) at “Progressive Field”.

On a side note I saw Paul Goldschmidt who plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks play last night. Paul got his Pro career started in Missoula Montana(The Osprey). My home town. He is a 5x All-Star. Very impressive! Now he is living his dream!

The reality of traveling is this… Got here at about 3pm. yesterday. Had to get the oil changed on the car. Kept thinking about getting to the Hotel, and everything that entails when you’ve never been in a city(in this case Pittsburgh) before.  I still had to find a place to eat, relax, unwind and try and figure out how I was going to get to the ball park, and a ticket for the game in less than four hours. Hmmm…    As Mick Holien(former voice of The Montana Grizzlies) has always said… “I’m just saying”…

Thanks Mick!

So back to the story of how the day would play out,

Luck…”Luck is when preparation meets opportunity”(thanks Tim Duncan). If you have it then you know what it is, its not something that you think about on a daily basis. Maybe  its more a feeling that you get sometimes when you are in your quieter moments, (or maybe in your best moments)  realizing that you have had times in your life where you said, “man was I fortunate there”.  Truth is, we all have those moments. I can’t possibly tell anyone how much luck I will need to get through the next 7 days without any problems. If that happens, then the next week, and on and on. This has never been tried before. The end result will be fine. Regardless of how it turns out.

We’ll move on.

I haven’t decided which direction to head next. Stay tuned.

People would like to know some of the numbers,

4060 miles

6  M.L.B. Stadiums…. Minnesota, Chicago(Cubs), Boston, N.Y. (Mets),Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

4 M.L.B. stadium hotdogs, (I’m not crazy about hotdogs), Sorry. LOL!!

approximately $320 in gas. Nice!

Hotel rooms….Scary money…I’ll leave it at that for now.(this is where I need one of those EMOJI’s that shows me holding my hands on my cheeks screaming)!

Oh, by the way,Pittsburgh Pirates win! 4-3

I travel with 3 books. Two of them are books that I write all my favorite quotes down in. The first one I started in 1984 when I was in the U.S. Army. The 2nd is a book I started writing in the last 5 years. The 3rd is a book by Steven Pressfield , I may have mentioned him earlier, called “The War of Art”.

-Fortunate to have all three.

Thanks, John Kelly

Arrived in Baltimore yesterday, the 17th day of July. Approximately 10 blocks from the Stadium, better known as Camden Yards.

Last night’s game had the Texas Rangers in town. Was looking forward to seeing the Park. Built in 1992. The Orioles haven’t won a World Series since 1983.  Three titles in all titles. The 1st was in 1966 followed by the 2nd in 1970.

It could be said that I could not have started this trip at a better time. My wardrobe has consisted of nothing but shorts and T-shirts for the last 14 days, with one exception that being the game in Boston. On that day Boston set a new record with the ”Lowest high temp”. on that day. 62 degrees for a high temp. the previous lowest high was 65. I wore long pants that day.

Today its off to Pittsburg for a 7pm game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Orioles won last night 3-1. All the ball parks are great to see. They all have their own  history. I’m going to try  find Babe Ruth’s  child hood home before I leave Baltimore today. The word is that it is very close the ball park.  That’s all for now.

Left New York yesterday. Figured if I was going to see Atlantic City now would be the time, so I decided to go that direction. Glad I did. Got a room at The Claridge Hotel. Located on The Boardwalk. Well known back in the day for where Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra stayed. Completely renovated and well worth the money. They were in the process of building one of those big ferris wheels on the pier. A impressive feat. Now I’m heading to Baltimore for the game tonight at 7:05 pm. Camden Yards!(Monday July 17th) for the game against the Orioles and the Texas Rangers. Ironically it is nearly the same distance from Atlantic City to Baltimore as it was from Queens N.Y. to Atlantic City.

Last night I couldn’t help thinking of Billy Joel’s “Allentown” singing,   -“Spent their weekends on the Jersey shore”!

After a great experience in Boston at Fenway Park it was back to New York, more specifically Queens  N.Y.

Checking into the Holiday Inn , just 6 blocks from CITI Field was a good decision. Walked out the door and was at the Park in time for the start of the game between The New York Mets vs The Colorado Rockies. A beautiful field and getting a ticket was as easy as ever. A beautiful night with fireworks right after the game. Mets Win!!

Now its off to Baltimore Md. Monday nights game against Texas Rangers starts at 7:05 p.m.   That’s it for now. Thanks for watching the site.

John Kelly

After spending Thursday night in Portland Maine and getting my hands on some Lobsters it was a fairly early start,(I was concerned about finding a hotel room near the Ball Park) to get to Boston for the night game between the New York Yankees and The Boston Red sox.  Fenway Park is so Iconic and I felt lucky to get such a great seat. Getting a Hotel in that city, near that ballpark is very difficult especially when the Yankees are in town. I always enjoy taking a few moments to stand back and just watch the “scalpers” work(I would not recommend buying from one though, if you can help it). If you keep your eyes open you can usually find a person that has a really good seat for sale. Most of the time they’re just trying to find a person who needs a single ticket and in my case the person just offered it to me. The Red Sox pulled out a nice win. So much of this trip is to see all of these ballparks, watch people and interact with the fan experience. All pizza taste good after a Friday night of baseball.(walking out after leaving the game I had to have a slice) It didn’t look all that good , but it sure tasted good!

Now its back to New York for the  Mets game tonight at 7:10 p.m. They are hosting The Colorado Rockies at CITI  Field in Queens. N.Y.