3 Highlights of My Week

No sense in burying the lede here. Acquiring a button relic card has been on my to-do list for years and I've been watching a Kerry Wood button card Ebay for quite some time. The price, unfortunately, hasn't budged.

Enter Panini's 2020 National Treasures. 

I can sit watch National Treasures case breaks on YouTube for hours. It's a fun break to watch for sure.. I knew Dan Vogelbach had a traditional jersey card in the set, but what I didn't realize was he had a button card!

I set a timer and sniped this auction at the last second for a very nice price. How cool of a card is this!?!

The back might even better as it recounts the story of Yusei Kikuchi giving his son the middle name of VOGELMONSTER Daniel.

From time-to-time I've stopped in at Dunkin' Donuts, on a Friday, to grab some coffee to help me finish off the school week with a little extra kick. I guess my students have noticed and one of them introduced me to Dunkin's app. I earned a free coffee right away and decided to cash in. While I was there I splurged on a donut as well. 

Behold! The Ghost Pepper Donut! It's a yeast donut, with pink frosting and sprinkles. I'm fairly sure the ghost pepper was only in the frosting. I picked up a tiny hint of hot pepper taste, but little, if any heat. I would definitely say this donut was far sweeter than it was hot. 

I think those who can't normally handle spicy foods would have no problem consuming this tasty, sweet pastry. See if you can locate one and impress your friends!

Here's a picture of Hugo on our back patio. I like to think he's protecting us from the sparrows and juncos who frequent the nearby feeder. 

He's wearing his vest of Kryptonite, as well like to call it. When we first introduced him to the vest he flopped right over on his side. Later he learned to walk, but he did so as though his joints were fused together. The Kryptonite within the vest has slowly begun to wear off. Or perhaps he's built up an immunity? Now the vest only hinders his mobility enough so that he is not a threat to our little flying friends.  Good times.

What were the three highlights of your week?

A Baseball Birthday

I'm another year older today. Woo.

I spent the day coaching a baseball camp for elementary and middle school athletes in our school district. Our high school coaches ran the camp with the help of our varsity players. It's great to get a large chunk of the program's fundraising out of the way and even better to see our high school players interacting with the participants and giving back. Plus, I can't complain about a day that involves baseball . . . and lots of it!

Earlier in the week my wife and I met up with my side of the family to celebrate my birthday and my mom's. We're only four days apart and it only makes sense. I'm not one who likes all of the attention anyway. I'm not sure if my ten year old self would agree, but this middle age "grown up" enjoys sharing the day with Mom. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I used quotation marks in that last paragraph because I'm not sure a person who receives the kinds of gifts I did would do anything but confirm they're still a child. You be the judge!  Here's my favorite five gifts from earlier in the week.

First up, a science fiction novel about baseball and two universes. This should make for a fun read! Thanks, Mom & Dad!

Here's probably the most useful gift from my birthday haul.

My parents gave me envelope of cash and the above flyer so I can buy a new fungo to hit with for the upcoming spring season. I think it's pretty cool the company is from the southern part of Illinois, near a forest that I have hiked in. Now I have decisions to make about the type of wood, the length, weight, and finish. Fun!

The prize for tastiest gift also goes to my parents.

I love peanut butter toast for breakfast. It's a staple of my mornings, but on occasion I'll shock my taste buds and apply jam instead. To say I'm looking forward to tasting this kiwi-strawberry chipotle jam is a gross understatement.

My sister knows me way too well. Check out this 1950 Bowman card of The Heater from Van Meter.

 Bob Feller is on a very short list of my favorite pitchers of all-time with Kerry Wood and Satchel Paige. Yeah, I think I can lock those guys in as my Top 3. Feller's story is just so unique... He was a small town Iowa kid who's high school graduation was broadcast over national radio because he was a dominate pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. Think about that.

Here's the back, because you know, the card is awesome!

Wait, did you see that it was autographed?

No?  No need to scroll back up.  Here it is again!

Alright, here's the present which made me smile the most.

 This is the front of an XL t-shirt that I will wear the heck out of the next few years. Dan Vogelbach hits freaking BOMBS and now I have a shirt to wear around P-town to make sure everyone else knows, too. 

Great stuff! Enjoy the holidays and thanks for stopping by!

Bowling, Beer Drama & Vogel-Mojo

My school district always gives us a five day "fall vacation" centered around the Thanksgiving holiday. It couldn't have been timed much better as I was running on fumes and needed a respite to recharge my battery.

How did I spend my time? Well, on Wednesday I hit up the bowling alley and got three practice games in. I'm in a couples league that bowls every other Sunday and this is my second year in the league. Last year I used an alley ball and bowled a straight ball. During the off-season I bought my own ball and have experimented with a hook.

The practice is paying off. I will still roll an errant gutter ball from time-to-time, like I did in the 6th frame, but I'm connecting for more strikes and less splits. I've raised my average about twenty pins since last season and this game marks the first time I didn't have an open frame in a game since I can remember. It was a nice way to start the break!

On Thursday, Laura and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house. My parents tend to host more often than not, but both of them have had joint replacement surgeries in the last two months. For what it's worth, I'm super proud of the way they have stuck with their physical therapy and have bounced back. I'll also say that I continue to me impressed by wife of 15+ years. She invited one of her patients, who didn't have anywhere else to go, to our family Thanksgiving dinner. It was such a kind gesture and one I think the older gentleman truly appreciated.

Laura and I opted for a quick two-day getaway to St. Louis on Friday and Saturday. We had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in the area, Pi Pizzeria. I'm a math teacher and I love pizza... it's an easy win. Except, there was drama!

Here's the beer menu:

 I wanted to sample 4-Hands CMS Tiramisu milk stouty, but they were all out. During the winter months I tend to favor the stouts, so I tried again and went with their CMS Panna Cotta milk stout instead.

Here's proof that such a beer does exist:

But, this is what arrived:

 That doesn't look like any stout that I have ever tasted. Plus, it was super fruity.  I asked the waiter if he was sure this was the stout I ordered and he replied, "Yes, it's pretty unique for a stout."

If by unique he meant, "Not a stout," then he would be correct.

Above is a list of the beers that 4-Hands is currently producing. There was no Panna Cotta stout listed, just the white ale with raspberry and vanilla, which was what I was tasting. Argh.  For the record, if you need a nice summer ale after mowing the yard, then I would suggest the Panna Cotta White Ale. But hear me now . . . IT. IS. NOT. A. STOUT.  Obviously, the restaurant misprinted the beer list and their poor, misguided waiters were spewing nonsense.

Moving right along:

 Boom! How about the colors in that picture! Laura and I visited the St. Louis Conservatory and I found this flowering tree in their Climatron. Striking!
Oh, and Laura purchased two more house plants at their gift store, which puts her collection somewhere in the whereabouts of 63 house plants. I'm still surprised our cats leave them all alone.

Here's Laura at lunch before we headed back home on Saturday. She's about ready to enjoy some Arabic coffee from a fancy tea set. 

I think it's a great picture of my better half. Don't tell her, but she could fit 163 plants in our house and I wouldn't say a peep.

When we returned home I found this awaiting me in the mailbox:

Boom!  Vogel-Mojo!

Overall, it was a vacation of family, food, and travel that was exactly what I needed.

I hope your fall holiday was just as enjoyable!

Summer Baseball Trip 2019

It had been a few years since I last planned and took a summer baseball trip. I decided to give it another go and I'm glad I did.

Day 1: I was planning on catching the Angels game in Anaheim, and I started my morning in Peoria's airport at 8am. I was scheduled to land in Los Angeles at 3pm local time, which would have been plenty of time to check-in to my hotel and get to the game by the 7pm start.

I'll save you all the gory details, but let's just say it was an ominous start to my trip and I didn't land in Los Angeles until just before midnight. The picture above is the dark beer that helped soothe my anger while being laid over at DFW.

Day 2: The previous day was get-away-day for the Angels, so I missed out on seeing Trout and Ohtani. Bummer. But, I was able to snag the last spot in the last tour of the day at Angel Stadium.
On my way there I stopped at Average Joe's card shop and killed an hour talking baseball with the owners and shuffling through cards.

My best find was a Jason Heyward relic for $2. My Cubs World Series project gains another card. (I'm trying to acquire an auto or relic of every player from the 2016 Cubs roster.)

I enjoyed the tour of the Angels' ballpark. Here's a pretty decent selfie of me in their dugout.

After the tour I made a beeline for Dodger Stadium and was able to secure a Dodger Dog and a mango beer before first pitch.

The picture above is the view from my seat and the beer . . . it wasn't blue, but the plastic cup turns blue when a cool liquid hits it. Fun-fun. For the record the Dodgers beat the Marlins 2-1.

Day 3: This was a travel day for me as I left from LAX and landed in Seattle. My good friend Jeff and his wife, Nichole, relocated to the Emerald City within the last year. I wasn't going to miss out on an opportunity to visit them, especially with so much for me to do in the area!

Day 4: Jeff and I made the short drive up to Everett to watch the rookie level AquaSox play.
Outside the ballpark we found this landmark on the sidewalk.

The Kid's first home run, huh?  Very cool.

We scored two free tickets, right behind the scouts and their radar guns, in the shade thanks to Adam.

One of my former students and players is interning with the AuquaSox for the summer and he earns 9 semester hours of credit toward his degree for doing so. Adam, pictured above, is largely responsible for me getting off my butt and applying for my summer job with the Peoria Chiefs. He's got a great head on his shoulders and has a tremendous work ethic. The kid will go far.

I had to show a photo of the field. One thing to note is everything is turf except for the pitcher's and batter's circle. Secondly, it doubles as the local high school's field during the school season. Lastly, the dimensions are ridiculous, even for a field that is also used for prep ball. It is 357 feet to dead center, 390 feet to the left of center and only 330 feet to the right center field power alley. There's a twenty foot wall out there, but routine fly balls are tagged for dingers if you can go that way. Crazy.
For what it's worth, the AuquaSox lost 5-4 to the Spokane Indians and two fly balls found their way over the wall in right center.

Day 4: To the Mariners' game!

Here's me trying on one of the game-used Seattle Pilots jerseys. It was very, very cool of the staff to allow me to do this. The price is a cool $400 . . . so I was very careful when handling the jersey!

The Mariner Moose was bored, as all the kids had seemingly already visited. Moose are my favorite animals and I adore mascots. So, I had to.

I was able to wiggle my way down next to the Mariners' dugout before game time. (My seat was in the outfield.) I was hoping to get an in-person auto of my man-crush, and I also had some custom cards I wanted to pass on to him.
I struck out, but it was really cool to see him sign for so many kids. When game time was approaching he would check the dugout and then sign another item for a young fan. He probably did this six times before he decided he better get moving.

The picture above is of the Vogelmonster running back to the dugout right before the team was to take the field. He was the designated hitter so at least he didn't have to go find his glove and run out to first base! Honestly, he's probably moving faster here than any of the times he "sprinted" during warm-ups.

For dinner I tested the Vogey Hoagie. I think mine had been sitting under a heat lamp for an inning or two, but it was a pretty good and I'd love a crack at a fresh one!

In case you're keeping track, the Mariners beat the Rangers 7-3.

Day 5: I actually did something non-baseball related. At the suggestion of my father I toured the Boeing manufacturing plant in Everett. From what they told me it's the largest building on the planet. I was impressed.

They don't allow pictures during the tour or inside the plant, so here's a snapshot of the tourist center.

I stopped at another card shop on my way back to Jeff and Nichole's place. The owner was busy talking up some customers so I started flipping through a couple of the numerous monster boxes while pulling some cards I was interested in purchasing.
After the other customers left he came over and said he doesn't allow customers to handle the cards in the boxes, which were stacked everywhere. I guess I was only supposed to look at the cards in the three cases in the store.
We had a curt exchange and things were quickly smoothed over and I felt comfortable enough to ask if he had any singles for my 1979 Topps set build. His response was that I needed to go to Facebook, list the cards I needed, and then he'd pull them and have them ready for me the next time I come in. What in the world?
I did walk away from this store with a handful of cards.

I saw the Rizzuto card pictured above and swapped the owner four Vogelbach cards for it. This one will proudly be placed in my HOF binder. I can't remember the last time I made an in-person trade. Thankfully I brought some of my Voeglmonster duplicates with me thinking they might have some value in the Seattle area. I was right!

Day 6: Guess who went to another Mariners game?

This time I sat in the upper deck and kept score and I'm glad I did!

Post Game Interview on the Jumbotron

The Vogelmonster was the Player of the Game after swatting two solo homers and helping the M's to a 5-3 win over the Rangers. It was a GLORIOUS game!

Day 7: Ugh, more travel back to P-town.

Day 8: Brother-sister sibling's roadtrip to Des Moines to catch the Iowa Cubs.
We stopped at two different card shops on the way and I was able to find the last "pricey" card for my '79 Topps set build at the first LCS.

At the last card shop I walked away with this beauty!

Before the I-Cubs game I treated my sister to Fong's pizza. Pictured below is their famous crab-rangoon pizza. Deliciousness!

Here's a picture of my sister, myself, and Jose. Jose is the father of one of my co-workers.

Before the game I tried to purchase tickets and was surprised to find they were sold out. I was told we might have a chance to buy standing room only tickets after the game started. Ugh. Then up walks Jose, who I completely forgot was working in the area. He had his company's four season tickets and was going to give back two of them because a pair of his buddies bailed on him. Well, you can see how that worked out! What a stroke of serendipity! The I-Cubs lost 10-8 to Round Rock.

Summary: I visited five different ballparks and watched five games. I was able to stay with friends and hang with my sister. The tour of the Boeing plant was a nice change of pace, but I dare say I enjoyed the four card shops more. The food was grand and I enjoyed some nice adult craft beverages I don't have access to here in P-town. I even went for a couple of hikes in the Seattle area and a couple of runs.
It may not have started off the way I wanted it to, but it was a great trip overall.
I'm already thinking about next summer. I only have five MLB venues left to cross off my list before I've seen them all: Marlins, Braves, Yankees, Red Sox and the new Rangers ballpark. 

Thanks for reading!

Celebrating 15

My wife, of nearly fifteen years, and I spent last week in central Indiana. We spent a majority of our time in the Bloomington area, specifically Indiana University and Lake Monroe.

You may be thinking, "A week in Indiana? Ugh."  Well, we really love experiencing college towns and two of our other favorites are Des Moines and Madison. We find them to be a little more modern, flush with outdoor activities, and stacked with great food venues. So, we decided to give Bloomington a try this time around.

During the first half of our trip we stayed at Graduate. Graduate is chain, which is currently building college themed hotels in major college towns.

Indiana is known for its basketball, so much of the decor was based around the state's rich basketball history. Here's my favorite art piece within the hotel.

It's a chandelier made of chairs. Obviously, this is a tip of the cap to Bobby Knight. LOL

Indiana University's campus is gorgeous. It features brick walking paths, limestone buildings, creeks, shaded areas and it was immaculately maintained.

 Above is picture of Laura at the Sample Gates.

 Here's a snap shot of me with one of the pieces of art on campus.

Scouring the internet for unique places to consume food and/or beverages is something I really enjoy doing before a trip. The best place I found was Function Brewing.

I don't often order a flight of beer, but I figured it would be the best way for this light-weight to try as many of the math themed beers as possible.

My favorite was the Theorem Milk Stout. Good stuff!

Here's a completely different tasting flight.

We experienced Bruster's Ice Cream twice during our trip. Four smaller single scoops of ice cream in a waffle bowl for under five bucks. You can't beat that! Key Lime Pie is the top left, and then going around clock-wise we have Graham Central Station, Peach Melba and Black Raspberry Cheesecake.


Laura found a hamburger joint I still can't get out of my head. Hinkle's is all about service and it was the best cheeseburger I've had since I frequented Lulu's in Chicago before Laura and I were married.

Downtown Bloomington advertises that it is home to eighteen different ethnic restaurants. We tried our fair share, but we went to one place three times and I was re-introduced to bubble tea!

 Last food picture. Here we go!

Square Donuts? We had to try them.

Warning: Here comes a photo dump of activities!

We went to the botanical garden on IU's campus for an hour or so. Above is a picture of their century plant which blooms once during its fifty or sixty years and then dies. This is the summer it will bloom!

We traveled around downtown Bloomington on rental scooters. That was super fun!

We made it to Indiana University's baseball complex. It's a very nice facility and all done up in artificial turf. Luckily, it was unlocked and we were able to walk right in.

We spent a day and traveled north to Indianapolis to see their museum and outdoor gardens at Newfield's. There was a legitimate beer garden on the premises, although we were there on a day when they weren't serving. Bummer.

We rented a condo on Lake Monroe during the second half of our trip and spent some quality time relaxing by reading, napping, and watching movies.

One morning we rented a fishing boat and went tooled around Lake Monroe for a couple of hours. Laura really enjoyed being at the controls. 

Laura and I went on a couple of hikes, but many of the trails in the area were closed due to all of the rains they had experienced earlier in the month. Here's a snapshot of the 9.5 mile route we hiked one morning. Lots of hills on that bad boy! Whew!

On the way home we stopped by a fireworks store to pick up some goods for my father's retirement and 4th of July party combo.

It's always nice to get away with the one you love. Bloomington is a wonderful place to spend some time and explore, because the campus is beautiful and the food options can't be beat.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you find some time to get away this summer!