tahquamenon falls

Ann Arbor, MI - A warm and clear night in Michigan, I'm pretty psyched about my super-yellow motel bathroom

(A quick preface: Apologies for the spacing in this post. No matter how many times I try to correct it, Blogger.com just will not let me put spaces between some of my paragraphs. Its extremely irritating to me.)

The last couple of days have brought some great sights. I'm up to my ears in baseball and movies, and I love it. Up amongst the northern rim of the country, the long solstice days are made even longer. These are the happy days.

After a gloomy and rainy night, I woke up Wednesday to a bright and sunny hot morning in Jamestown. Knowing I couldn't check into my Cleveland motel until 3pm, I loitered for a while and watched tv. Around noon I left the Comfort Inn and got back on westbound I-86. The short distance of New York left was lengthened by more road work. For seventeen miles, one entire side of the highway was closed. The traffic was diverted to the other side, bringing traffic down to about 40 mph. Sneh.

In Pennsylvania I got onto I-90 got my glimpse of the great lakes. Lake Erie looked deep blue, and still. It looked like the sea, but calm. Every once and a while I could catch other glances at the lake when up high and I passed pretty quickly into Ohio. The welcome sign said that there was "so much to discover". It took about another hour before I reached downtown Cleveland. I drove past the city skyline, the Cleveland Browns Stadium, and a big airport before reaching Lakewood. Lakewood is the town directly to the west of Cleveland. I spent a little while getting settled in my room, checked email, and figured out how to get to the game using public transit.

Around 5pm I took off on foot to the West Boulevard train station, about thirteen blocks away. It was a hot and somewhat humid evening. Good baseball weather. From the station I took the red line train downtown to Tower City, where Cleveland's tallest reside. In the public square outside there were statues and a centerpiece similar to the one at San Francisco's Union Square. I examined a city map for a minute and then walked a few blocks to Jacobs Field. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobs_Field)

Having been at Fenway Park last, Jacobs Field looked very new. The exterior of the stadium is made up of gleaming white metal beams set against light-beige and brown bricks. The stadium was originally opened in 1994. Next to it is the "Quicken Loans Arena", where the Cleveland Cavaliers play. What a lousy name for a sports arena, huh? The outside of the arena still had NBA Finals banners on display.

I did a tour of the entire stadium exterior looking for will call and then entered Gate B. From gate B you walk onto a big concrete porch which sits over the right field wall. You can walk over and grab the fole pole. Your're free to stand there and wait for a home run ball, if you like. I walked over to the tunnels. The inside of the park looked even newer. Giant monitors are everywhere, making sure you capture every detail of the game, no matter where you are. There's a giant central food-court of sorts on the ground floor behind first plate.

From there I took the stairs up to the top floor and found my seat. My seat was halfway up the nosebleed section, strait behind homeplate. I sat and enjoyed a beer and nachos, soaking up the park.

Jacobs Field is, for the most part, a perfect diamond shape. Its 325' to the left field pole, 370' to left center, 400' to dead center, 375' to right center, and 325' to the right field pole. However, it does have a 19' wall in left field, a sort of "mini-monster".

The game started and I remembered that Trot Nixon played for Cleveland. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trot_Nixon) Trot Nixon was originally drafted by the Red Sox in 1993, and played for them from 1996 to 2006. He was a member of the team that won it all in 2004, and the Red Sox fans miss him. I cheered extra loud for Trot. He ended up having a great night, going 3 for 4, with 2 RBIs.

In this game, Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia was pitted against Philadelphia's Jon Lieber. As the game progressed, it became clear that the game was no pitcher's duel. After a couple scoreless innings, the Phillies got a two run homer, which was answered by a couple Cleveland runs scored in the third and fourth innings.

In the top of the sixth, the phillies scored two runs. In the bottom of the sixth Cleveland opened up a can of whup-ass and scored eight runs. It was a hit parade and a real joy to watch. Amongst the cavalcade of runs, Trot Nixon hit a two-RBI double to deep right center, and I cheered very loudly. To make things even better, the out-of-town scoreboard reported that the Red Sox were up 7-0 against Atlanta. Apparently, Julian Tavarez was having a great night.

With the Cleveland game apparently decided, I wandered around Jacobs Field and hang out in the beer garden behind center field. There's a mini Hall of Fame back there for Cleveland's greatest, which included Cy Young.

I was sure to get back to my seat on time for the seventh inning stretch. It didn't seemed as though the Cleveland crowd was very enthusiastic about singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." I kept my routing for the Red Sox down to a murmur. After that, the scoring stopped and Cleveland won the game 10-6. I took the red line back to Lakewood and met a very nice and vocal kitty walking back to the motel. I gave Diane a call and we caught up a bit on a few things. Oh man, I can't wait to get back.

This morning I slept in until 9:30 or so, missing the complimentary breakfast. Doh! I slowly packed while watching the weather channel and cruising the internet. Around noon I drove over to a local coffeeshop called Caribou Coffee. I reviewed the road atlas, plotting my way back to I-90.

On another hot and sunny day I drove the white wonder to Toledo and then north into Michigan. Along the way I met with a brief thunderstorm which slowed the traffic down to about 25 mph. not able to see more then 10-15 feet in front of me, I'd give the Acura encouragement, "Go Integra Go!" Once in Michigan, it was clear and sunny again. I called up Sufjan Stevens on the iPod. The welcome sign read "Michigan: Great Lakes, Great Times." Oh brother.

Halfway to Ann Arbor, I noticed a Bob's Big Boy and decided to stop for an early dinner. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob%27s_Big_Boy) Up until then, all I knew about Bob's was that they made a delicious blue cheese dressing and that they had a prominent nod in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Bob's Big Boy restaurants are run in a way very similar to Denny's. I ordered a Big Bleu Burger. With fries. I was first served a little dish of cole slaw, which was delicious. It had a hint of horseradish to it.

The burger they served me, however, was intimidating.

The patty itself had to be more than a half-pound of ground beef. It hung over the lower bun by a half-inch or so all around. On top of the patty was mozarella, cheddar, blue cheese, and sauteed mushrooms. Smothered in ketchup, the burger was impossible to eat politely. I had to get my hands, and face, dirty. In the end I finished the burger, but I wasn't proud of myself. Mostly, the tremendous amount of cheese weighed upon me. The food served at Bob's Big Boy is a cardiologist's worst nightmare. In an era where other fast-food chains are reducing portions and serving fruit, its good to know that Bob's Big Boy is sticking to its guns, nurturing our nation's rising obesity crisis. I will never go to another Bob's Big Boy, but I will keep buying their blue cheese dressing.

A half hour later I reached the Lamp Post Inn in sunny Ann Arbor. While I did not appreciate the room's aqua, pink, and white wallpaper, I loved the yellow-tiled bathroom. It was a lavatory filled with sunshine.

I uploaded a few pictures and then drove my three remaining bundles of Arizona firewood over to downtown Ann Arbor. I was wowed by the University of Michigan campus.

When I was 17 or so, my folks took me on a summer tour of college campuses in the northeast. I remember most vividly our time in Philadelphia. During our stay the temperature was around 100 degrees, and the humidity was about 100%. Any time spent outside of air conditioning was torture. I walked away vowing to never go to school in Phili. It was only when driving back from the tour that I noticed signs for Rutgers on the Jersey Turnpike. I looked the school up in my Barrons book and suggested we check it out. It was a warm and sunny day in New Brunswick, and the campus was empty. I loved it and applied. It interesting to me that such a giant direction in my life was taken as the result of an unplanned stop on a roadtrip.

If I had stopped in Ann Arbor during that trip, I'm pretty sure I would have wanted to go to Michigan instead. Thank god I didn't. I can only imagine how brutal the winters would be here, with all the lake effect snow and all.

ANYWAY, I parked the Integra at a garage and walked over to the Michigan Theater. The theater has an attractive front, with a giant blue vertical "Michigan" sign alongside an all black marque, with white lettering. I liked the inverted look. I walked around the block to explore abit before the movie. Just half a block down the street is another prominent movie theater, "The State".

Entering the lobby, I quickly realized that the Michigan was a very ornate theater. it was very classic looking. The moldings were intricate. Passing the snack bar, you enter a larger two-story hallway, which offers the entrance to the floor seating and a grand staircase leading to the balcony. The arched ceiling above was set with a honeycomb of hexagons set in gold. Giant chandeliers hung from it, and I was reminded of the beginning party scene of Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut.

I skipped up to the second floor and snapped pictures. The place was gorgeous, bigger than the Tampa, but similar in layout. Then organ started, and a smile came across my face. After so many films watched at the Castro Theatre, I can't help but smile when I hear a pipe organ in a theater. It felt a little like home. The organist was talented. Every song played was done quickly. She played tunes from Indiana Jones, showing off the organ's percussion abilities. The giant instrument is a 1927 Barton Theater Pipe Organ. It sounded full, and heavy at times.

After going upstairs and downstairs a couple times, I decided the best view of the film was in the floor seating, about 20-25 rows from the front. Unlike the Tampa, the Michigan balcony is fairly distant from the screen.

After a number of hurried pictures, I took my seat and watched "Once", for the second time. I'd seen the film already in Montclair, NJ, with Jay and Kelly. I enjoyed the movie even more wacthing it again, though. "Once" is a low-budget indie flick from Ireland. While I don't like the fact that it was shot in DV, the movie is an affective modern musical.

After the film, I walked over to the lobby of the Michigan's second screen. There's a second, smaller screen in the back of the building. In the hallway/ramp leading there, there are tidbits of Ann Arbor history along the walls. I peaked into the rear screen and caught fifteen seconds of "Day Watch". (B+) Walking away from the theater, I kept humming the "Once" soundtrack to myself. I'm going to have to pick that one up.

The Michigan Theater was a joy to visit. I've been trying to assemble movie-palace superlatives list, but I can't put any one theater at the top. Save the Uptown, each palace I've seen has been beautiful and unique.

Not ready to head back, I took a stroll on a warm Ann Arbor night over to the University of Michigan campus and discovered a summer festival. A crowd had assembled in front of a large outdoor movie screen. They were watching Mission Impossible 3. I was tempted to sit down amongst them and make it a movie marathon night...

No, no, I have a blog to write, dammit.

I drove back to The Lamp Post with the windows down and the sunroof back. The warm air smelled rich. Summery, even.

Tomorrow I'll take I-94 all the way to Chicago, strait to "US Celluar Field" to see the Cubs take on the White Sox. Nothing like a little cross-town rivalry.

Here I come.

More soon.

Andy

To see all the Ohio and Michigan pictures:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcMnLVq3aN2J7