Minneapolis

Minneapolis is definitely my favorite city in the Midwest. This is my Nice Ride Minnesota bike share bike, about to ride over the Mississippi River. No, i didn't walk it.

Walker Art Museum, Minneapolis

 

Proposal, by Dave McKenzie.

Target Field

Rain delay. They pulled the tarps on and off the field three or four times.

Triple Rock Social Club

The curious thing is that there is almost nothing else ironic about this place: it's a grungy motherfucking punk rock bar. And awesome at that.

Nice Ride Minneapolis

It's $6 for unlimited rides under 30 minutes for 24 hours. And there's a station across the street from Hard Times, one literally right outside the door of Town Hall Brewery, and another within a block or two of my hotel, and Target Field.

Excited that a bike share program finally makes sense for me to use!

Oh, Minneapolis

The vegan bahn mi sandwich at the fantastic Hard Times Cafe in Minneapolis. They don't really have a web presence, but here is their wikipedia article and their f*c*book.

Between bike share, delicious vegan food 22 hours a day at Hard Times, and delicious beer at Town Hall Brewery, you make me want to live here. Too bad you're entirely too fucking cold for J for a third of the year.

It's Friday, must be Milwaukee

Random dude with board shorts, headphones, backpack,  and flip flops wandering across the active tarmac at MKE, Milwaukee Int'l Airport. Weird.

Overall MKE feels extremely overbuilt for the very few people actually here.

On my way to Minneapolis for the final installment this week in the Rust Belt Tour of the Baseball Stadium Project.

Whee!

Upon leaving the Brewers game:

Where everyone i was around was quite polite and courteous. Apparently this guy and his buddy (not pictured, in front, also handcuffed) were the exception.

The most amusing part was when some guy with an Orioles cap heckled him, and he tried to posture and glare, and the cop had to scoot him along. Unknown if Orioles Cap had anything to do with the arrests.

Miller Field

Gorgeous stadium, incredibly loud, the stubhub ticket i sold next to me isn't here. Great seats, despite a slightly obstructed view of deep left and center. But it means I'm in the shade for a hour day game, so I'll take it.

Lotta domain to survey

Only a couple of you get the joke...

On ballparks and souls

Ok, that's too deep. I don't mean to call US Cellular Field, home to the White Sox, soulless. Maybe... Cynical. Corporate. Hulking. Generally unpleasant.

It's as though the designers got the checklist for how to build a modern, neo-retro throwback stadium, and checked all the voices that would make money, while skipping the boxes for charm, for warmth, for integrating with the neighborhood.

In fairness, they destroyed Comiskey Park and turned out in to a parking lot across the street in 1991, just before the wave of retro-classic ballparks that are so much more pleasant to go to (Jacobs/Progressive, Coors, Jack Murphy/Petco.)

One of the most alienating things, aside from having some of the highest seats in baseball, is how the 100+ luxury suites are sealed off from most everything: it's one of the only stadiums in baseball that do not allow fans sitting in the upper deck to walk anywhere else in the park. Yes, luxury pods make more money, which is a major reason they destroyed Comiskey in favor of surface parking. No, it doesn't make for a good experience when you access your seats exclusively by a concrete ramp and escalators, with signage and attendants standing at every intersection to ensure the lesser classes don't dare mingle with those passing $200-$400 per ticket for luxury and exclusivity.

BTW, worst fans so far in the major leagues. Granted it was a small sample size in the nearly deserted upper decks, but their behavior made the Yankee and A's/Giants fans look like kittens frolicking on youtube.

The Artist Formerly Known As Comiskey

I'm pretty sure this is the least attended major league game I've ever been to (Mets at White Sox.) US Cellular Field is big and pretty, bye kind of a ballpark is search of fans. I'm literally the only one sitting in my section, and the concourse outside of it is like a ghost town.

Weird.

I'll be here in a few hours!

The Amtrak passes within maybe 100 yards...

Lake Michigan

Been skirting it on the Amtrak Wolverine for hours, but this is our first view of Lake Michigan.

The Wolverine service is somewhat ironically named: you think of wolverines as being fast, don't you?

Amtrak Detroit to Chicago

Guy behind me having loudest conference call in the history of loud conference calls (despite his telling the other people on the phone he had to talk quietly so he doesn't annoy the people around him on the train.) Good way from keeping anyone from wanting the empty seat next to you, though.

Dave Alvin is perfect train traveling music.

White Sox tonight if it's not rained out!

Comerica Field

Stop #3 on the baseball stadium project. He's to hoping the torrential thunderstorms don't ruin it.

Detroit Beer Co.

Two blocks from Comerica Park, with a delicious Belgian Tripel for $3.50, for a full pint? Confidential to Detroit Beer Co: I'm so glad you're now non smoking. And i love you.

Another delicious vegan happy hour

At  Seva in Detroit. Now on to the Tigers game - hoping it doesn't get rained out!

Fuck, yeah.

I love Detroit.

Livin' large

That's right: still livin' the dream, big time:

More cheap Chinese food in a hotel room: this time, Bean Curd Szechuan.

Hey, sometimes it's the most feasible thing, especially if you want to get back to the hotel before the thunderstorms come in.

I'm actually torn about labeling this food porn, but whatever.

We'll see how summer weather in the rust belt midwest impacts the baseball stadium project: 50% chance of thunderstorms in Detroit tomorrow, and Chicago just had a derecho tear through it.