On the flight from Portland to Dallas on the way to pick up the RV. I noticed a lightning storm going on below.  Kind of cool to watch.

Video of Lightning Storm below plane

The first half of the plane trip went pretty well.  The plane was a little late getting into Toronto, but once it got in they really worked quickly to get it turned around and to Dallas in a hurry because of connecting flights in Dallas.  We got into Dallas around 3 pm and my flight to Portland is at 5:05 pm.  So I have plenty of time to get to the next gate.  So we board the plane to Portland and we are just sitting at the gate for awhile.  Then the pilot comes on and says there is a problem with the right wheel braking system and we will know if its fixable in about 10 minutes.  Then 20 minutes later he comes on and says unfortunately the braking system is not repairable and we have to de-board the plane and set up a new flight.  So we de-board and they begin the process of finding us a new plane.  They set up a new time and a new plane and 3 hours later we have re-boarded and hit the air to Portland. I get into a Portland around 10 pm and get my checked bag and home by 11 pm… Its GREAT to see Bunny and Scott again and we  begin to get caught up as to whats been happening. Its nice to be in my own bed.. I am home ..

She’s been called “the Mobile Man Cave” by some.  I hate to see her go …. We had some great times and some nail biting times… Actually I am very surprised we got thru this without a scratch. Some of the construction sites were extremely tight.
I did hit a limb on a back road in Maine but they said there was no damage.  It took 2 days of driving with all the windows down to air it out.

I woke up early in a walmart parking lot and hit the road. I Need to get across the border and start planning my exit. I need to fill up close to the rv drop place and find a place to dump the black n gray water. But the main thing is what to do with all the stuff we aquired for the trip. So i get across the border and take a break at another walmart parking lot and begin the process of packing and getting rid of stuff. So the first thing is to visit goodwill amd donate what I can. I then visit the rv drop company for ideas for rv dump site. They give me a name of a campground just 15 kilometers away. So i hit the gas station fill up and off to the campground. So i drive there and spend my last night in the rv at albin campground ,,,

Well its really happpened.  Ben forgot his bobble head guy.  We each got a Carlos Santana bobble head at the Cleveland Indians game.  Well I wasnt sure how I was gonna get mine home.  Now I am not sure how I am gonna get both of them home.  Take a nice long look.  This may be the last you see of the Carlos Santana bobble head guys.

Well after changing my flight arrangements I left Mall of America last night a round 7:30 pm.  I figured that I would miss the rush hour traffic around Minneapolis and still have time to make it thru Chicago.  I would basically be retracing our drive from Chicago on friday.  The one thing I know from that drive is that the construction around Chicago is really bad.  So I would prefer to go thru the construction around Chicago in the early morning rather then during the day.  So I am looking at more than 7 hours of drive time, but I know it will take up a big chunk of the overall drive time to toronto and also encapuslate the worst of the drive time but at the right hour of the day.  So after 8 1/2 hours of driving I roll into the Walmart in Paw Paw Michigan.  The biggest part of the drive to Toronto is done…goodnight…I landed in a walmart early this morning and i just moved down the freeway 2 hours to another walmart and spent the night there.  I think I am recovering from the huge drive from minneapollis past chicago.  Tomorrow I will get over the border.

Well the day finally arrived.  The trip is over and its time to get back to reality.  Ben flys home this evening at 6:30 pm.  We get up and out to Lowry Grove RV park.  We stopped at the gas station to fill up around the corner because they are giving a penny off a gallon for each run the Twins scored last night.  They scored 9 runs.  For 35 gallons thats not too bad.  The plan today is to visit Mall of America and then its close to the airport so Ben will just take an Uber from the parking lot.   My plan is to get the RV back to Toronto on Saturday, July 18th and fly back home at Noon that day.

The main objective for our visit to Mall of America is to find Minnesota Vikings gear.  Unfortunalety for Ben he aquired my fandome of the Minnesota Vikings.  But first breakfast.  We locate a Starbucks and get cofffee and some breakfast sandwiches.  Then proceed to walk the mall.  It is quite the place with the entire core of the place a roller coaster and other assorted rides for kids and adults.  The actual Mall didnt seem quite as big as advertised but still its pretty big. 

We shopped several sports apparell shop, but no luck in finding the right fit for us.  We hit Hard ROck cafe for lunch and more walking the mall and then its about time to get Ben to his plane.  The reallity is setting in, the trip is over and its time to get back to real life.  Ben gets packed and calls Uber.  We say our goodbyes and hes off to the airport. 

Then my reality sets in…I have 5 days to get the RV back to Toronto and get home.  The original plan was to take my time and go over the Great lakes thru canada and enjoy to drive and scenery.  That sounds great at the time I planned this trip, but right now all I want to do is get home.  I talk with the airlines and its a $ 200 change fee.  I figured up all the cost to driving the extra gas for 3 days and the rv parks for 3 days and figure the change fee is offset by $ 100 and go ahead and reschedule the ride home for Thursday at Noon ….. So now I have to get from Minneapolis to Toronto in just 2 1/2 days.  Thats a 14 hour drive.  Drop off the RV thursday morning and catch a noon flight at the airport.

Here is a round up of our take on the good n bad points of the stadiums we visited:
Boston – Best Frank (although Midge starved us soo long anything would have tasted great at that point … And best host! Pretty solid pre-game bar too.
New york yankees:  most comfortable seats, best bathrooms, and best pop deal (free refills with purchase of a sovienier cup). And best home team.
Washington dc – best bar before the game – bluejacket. Most humidity at the game.
Pittsburgh – best location for a stadium and great brats with brown musturd.
Cleveland – 2nd best pop deal ( you got one free refill but i kept going back to the same gal and she kept filling me up). Best post-game song–played Cleveland Rocks with everyone singing.
Chicago us cellular stadium – good atmosphere for a baseball game. Best place to get a sunburn. Neighborhood around stadium was best reminder that the rest of the country has diverse demographics.
Chicago wrigley field – best neighborhood surrounding a stadium (its called wrigleyville and is full of bars to go before the game) Also for the history of the stsdium and atmosphere. But the most confusing to find ur right seats. Best place to buy food in stands rather than in concourse.
Minnesota – newest stadium and loudest and most obnoius music. Fan that most reminded us of Pam Poovey from Archer.

Well here it is … The Last game on the Marty & Ben Summer of 2015 NE America Baseball Stadium Tour.  We hit 8 Games in 10 Days with a day lay over in New York and Minnesota.

Oh my look who made the game today, bunny n scott – this is only their 2nd game of the tour ( they dont like baseball that much)
Its Armed Forces Appreciation game today.

It was a hot n humid day with the possibilty of rain n snow later inthe day. We sat next to a Detroit fan with about 8 loud lady minnesota fans sitting right behind us … The minnesota twins acored 2 in the first and 4 more in the 5 to run away with the game.

The game 8 of 8 is done … Kind sad yet we both felt satified we had done it … Ofg to get pizza n beer n back to the rv to relax and prep for Ben getting home and me driving the 1200 miles to Toronto to turn over the rv and fly home this coming saturday.

No Game Today – We got up around 8 am in the marshalling yard in downtown Chicago .. Hit dunkin donuts for coffee and breakfast sandwiches and hit the road to minneapolis at 9 am for a 7 hour drive. Along the way we got gas twice and found a place to fill our propane tank. This was the most beautifil drive green rolling hills full of old farms and corn fields. Wisconsin ialong i-90 is gorgeous. We got into our rv park around 4 pm. Time to relax, get a shower, and do laundry. Tomorrow is game 8 of 8. 🙁 This has been great yet we r both exhausted and needing some recovery time … Tonight is the first night all trip which we were able to just sit around and relax. Its been a fast paced trip …

Well this was the day of all days for our baseball trip.  We are on holy ground at Wrigley field.  The field was built in 1905 and we are witnessing the battle of the 2 Chicago teams.  The Chicago White Sox Vs the “Home Team” Chicago Cubs.  The Cubs play their home games at Wrigley field.  When you think of a baseball stadium the picture you have of is of Wrigley field.  The stadium is old but beautiful with its ivy cover outfield walls with plenty of seating for fans all over the stadium and a number of corporate booths but not too many and not too obvious.

Also I notice that there isnt as much prominant advertising as in other stadiums.  The stadium was packed today with both white sox and cub fans.  Actually when the White sox won I bet half the crowd stood up and cheered.  We started the day getting close to Wrigley field and finding a good place for breakfast.  We found a classic diner for breakfast.

Then we got to the game early to take pictures and stroll around.  Once inside we were instructed to go to the first timers booth to get our first timers certificate which we did.  Also we went up to the observation deck where you can see most of the city from there.

We finally decided to go to our seats.  We found them and just relaxed for about an hour before the game started.  About 15 minutes before the game started a family of four came over and said we were in their seats.  Well sure enough we had gone to the wrong side of the aisle to sit down.  We found our actual seats which were in the shade (so we could have been sitting in the shade for an hour instead of the sun).  It was a GREAT game.  The white sox scored a run in the top of the 8 inning and that was the final score.  We got out of the stadium and Ben wanted Deep dish Pizza.  So we went and found a place which was packed and it was going to be a 45 minute wait.  So we went down the street and found another place which wasnt so crowded.  Well as I have found traveling, there maybe be a reason a restaurant is not crowded.  The food was OK but not great.  We took some home and I asked the Uber driver about the thickness of the pizza we got.  He said that what we got wasnt Deep Dish pizza.  Oh well !!! …. Ben left to meet a friend from UCSB and I went back to the RV for the night.  We are down to 1 more game.  Tomorrow is a driving only day, we have 6 1/2 hours driving to minnesota….. good night….

Oh My … even Bunny & Scott came out for the Game Today !!!!