Blog followers know that my last post of our trips I devote to interesting pictures I have taken along the way. You might also recall that in Travels With Charlie Part 1 I devoted a post to interesting questions that Charlie asked during the trip. This post will show both.
This sign says it all, I won’t be moving to Toronto.Not moving to Minneapolis either.Found a bunch of these at the airports. Not that my wife will be needed one in the near future but glad to see they are available for those who do need them.Many of the Minneapolis sidewalks have designated areas for bikes. If you walk on them a cyclist might put you in your place. We saw this lovely mural of Bob Dylan entitled “The Times They Are A Changing”. It shows Dylan at 3 stages of life. We found out that he was born in Duluth.No trip to Minneapolis would be complete without a visit to the Mary Tyler Moore statue.
The Target Field (Minneapolis) scoreboard filled us in on some crucial information about the players on both teams. Here are a few tidbits.
Carlos, thank you so much for sharing that sleep advice.I don’t think Willi would be someone with whom I would want to be in a room alone.How did I live without knowing this about Byron?
Now for Charlie’s questions:
As you might know that a common statistic in baseball is how fast a pitch is thrown. Charlie asked: “In Canada do they report the speed of the pitch in MPH or KmPH?”
“If I punched the dashboard really hard would it deploy the airbag?”
“Do you get hit more by rain if you’re running or walking?”
“You know what would be weird? Having Christmas in the summer. Seeing Santa in a bathing suit would be weird. Christmas comes during the summer in Australia”
“Why do people say bless you when they sneeze?”
“How come most major countries have their own language (Italian in Italy, Russian in Russia, Japanese in Japan, etc.) but we speak English. I think we should have a language called American.”
“What’s the first palindrome that comes to mind?” I answered “A man a plan a canal, Panama.” I then asked what did he think of: “racecar”
“Grandpa who do think came first the Reds or the Twins because they have identical C’s”. To explain further see the Twins logo and the Reds logo below.
Minnesota TwinsCincinnati Reds
“Why does TSA have stupid rules like having an old man like you take off his sandals before going through security?” Okay, okay, that was my question not Charlie’s.
Finally this picture of a fan in Toronto prompted a question. As you can see he is wearing a Houston Astros jersey but with the name of their former player George Springer on the back. Springer now plays for the Blue Jays.
Charlie wanted to know: “Do you think he is an Astros fan or a Blue Jays fan?
Another trip has been completed and we are going home to rest. Travel is so exhausting. I don’t think I have enough energy to retire. I better keep working so I can get some rest.
And finally, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is the case, the picture below tells you why all the work involved in putting this trip together was worth it.
After yesterday, nothing could stress me out. If you believe that, you obviously don’t know me.
I woke up early as usual but Charlie’s young body is still on California time. When he finally awoke it was getting close to the time to leave for the ballpark.
We got things together and headed down to the Sunset Grill (205 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON M5V 3G7) for breakfast. The place was highly recommended and located next door to our hotel. We walked by the place last night and the possibility of having French toast was a winner for Charlie. It was a great meal. I opted for the French toast cheesecake (see below)
French Toast Cheesecake (French Toast with cream cheese filling and blueberries). It was obscenely good and came with a complementary dose of insulin.
Then it was a short walk to the Rogers Centre for the game and my stressful event. In today’s computer age we no longer deal with tickets. Everything is digital. I received the link for the tickets but couldn’t make it work. I have used the Ballpark App numerous times and it has always worked great. Today was the exception. I asked one of the Blue Jay staff for the location of the Will Call booth figuring they could help me get some printed tickets. Unfortunately she looked at me as if I was speaking a foreign language (possilbly I was speaking American and that was the problem). She then directed us to a ticket help area and I saw something I’d never seen before (see below).
“Mobile Ticket Support”. There were several similar windows at this location.
The clerk there quickly righted the ship and we were back on our way into the stadium. At least, so we thought. I put the ticket image up to the sensor and it said “I don’t think so”. So it was back to mobile help. This time we were good to go and got to our seats as they were singing “Oh Canada”. We missed the Star Spangled Banner but I’ve already heard that enough times for two lifetimes.
The game was great. The Rogers Centre Stadium (named after local businessman Edward “Ted” Rogers) was beautiful. Fans were a delight. We have traveled a fair amount and one thing I frequently tell people is that Australia and Canada are two places I love visiting because the people don’t seem to hate Americans. I think the Blue Jays were especially kind to the American team on July 4th permitting Mauricio Dubon (Honduras), Jeremy Pena (Dominican Republic), Framber Valdez (Dominican Republic) to have great games.
After the game we decided to go to the CN Tower. It was literally steps from the stadium. The line was huge and we were hot and sweaty so decided to defer our visit. We went back to the hotel and after a shower and brief rest we went to dinner.
My friend, Nick, recommended we go to Pai (18 Duncan St, Toronto, ON M5H 3G8), a Thai restaurant walking distance from our hotel. The food was amazing.
Pad Thai was superb.Gai (chicken) Satay was also amazing.
From there we walked back to the CN Tower. The line was again very long but now being cooler and well fed we were in a much better mood to deal with the crowd. The wait was worth it. We saw amazing views of the city.
CN Tower.
When completed (in 1976) it was the tallest tower in the world at 1815 feet and remained #1 until 2007. I am not crazy about heights so I have zero interest in seeing the new #1.
Here is a video of our ride on the elevator to the viewing deck.
CN Tower Elevator.A glimpse of the view behind the three of us.
It was fun viewing the city from the tower but the most enjoyable aspect was that Charlie had a good time. We are now chilling at the hotel and getting ready for a big day tomorrow.
View of the CN Tower from our hotel room.
We promised to show Charlie something even more spectacular than the CN Tower and which took much longer to construct and has been viewed by millions more people. Check in tomorrow to find out just what it is.
Loyal followers of this blog will recall that last year we took our grandson, Charlie, on a baseball trip. We previously took his older brother, Owen, on trips to Canada and Panama. Last year was Charlie’s first excursion with us and because he is a big baseball fan we invited him to join us on our quest to see all 30 MLB parks. Last year we visited Dallas, Texas and saw the Astros beat the Rangers in a very exciting game. My most vivid memory from that game was the 3 women sitting in front of us who drove from Houston to see their Astros. They went bananas when Jose Altuve hit a crucial home run late in the game. They stood up and sang “Jose, Jose, Jose” to the music of Ricky Martin’s hit “Ole, Ole, Ole”. Even more exciting than that was seeing Astros manager Dusty Baker in the hotel lobby. Charlie got to chat with the skipper and get a baseball signed.
From there we traveled to Chicago and saw the Blue Jays beat the White Sox. The Cubs were out of town so we had to be satisfied with a tour of Wrigley Field.
This trip we will see the Blue Jays again but this time it will at Rogers Centre, their home park in Toronto.
Since we will be leaving the country we made very sure that Charlie had his passport. I realized that for Canadian travel you can use your passport card instead of a regular passport (see below).
Example of a Passport Card complements of our friends at Wikipedia.
I didn’t want to have the hassle of carting around the regular passport so I just brought the card. Patrice stupidly brought both saying “Just in case”. Well one of us was indeed stupid, and it wasn’t Patrice. When we went to check it we were told that the passport card is only valid for entrance by land and sea, not by air.
I immediately dropped everything and headed home in panic mode to get my passport repeatedly saying to myself “I am an idiot, I am an idiot.” Good thing Patrice wasn’t with me because she’d would have been saying “Yes, you certainly are, you certainly are!” No, she wouldn’t say that, she’d yell it.
If you’re not familiar with LAX the American Airlines terminal could not be located further away from the place where you pick up cabs (an area named LAX-it). So I took off running keeping my eyes open for a taxi dropping off a fare nearby. Initially I saw a car that had some sort of transport lettering on the side but the driver said he wasn’t a taxi. I next saw a couple getting out of a car; I asked if it was an Uber but they said no. I started to run again. Then I saw someone getting out of a Tesla. I asked if it was an Uber and they say YES! I was in business. I knocked on the passenger side window and opened the door asking if he was an Uber driver to which he said “No!” I asked again in disbelief to which he again said no but this time he added, “I’m a Lyft driver”. I hopped in, told the driver my situation and begged him to take me home and return to LAX for a cash payment (not a time to mess with the Lyft app). He agreed and we were off. Traffic wasn’t bad going home. He kept obsessing about putting my address into his gps and I just wanted him to drive as quickly and as safely as possible.
Luckily I was able to shut off the alarm and open the garage door when we were approaching our place. I grabbed the passport and rushed back to the Uber, (I mean Lyft), resetting the house alarm from the car. The trip back wasn’t as easy. Traffic wasn’t horrible but it was definitely heavier than my first ride to LAX this morning. When we arrived at LAX, cars were at a standstill and I received a message from Patrice saying that they cut off check-in one hour before the flight. My Uber, darn I mean my Lyft, was due to arrive at terminal 4 at 7:15 only 40 minutes before our flight. I texted Patrice, “What are our options?” She didn’t reply, I presume because the options she was considering were divorce or murder.
The Lyft driver (see, I can learn from my mistakes) dropped me off. I handed him enough cash for him to take the rest of the morning off and have a great story for his wife when he got home. I sprinted to check-in and found Patrice and Charlie right where I had left them. It was then a sprint to the Bradley terminal gate 159. For some reason apparently you can no longer check-in at Bradley for American Airlines flights. So off we went, Patrice, Charlie and me running to the international terminal. I took Patrice’s backpack and my own to allow them to run ahead. Unfortunately they weren’t able to get there much quicker than I was (amazing how fast someone can run when they’ve made the bonehead move of the century).
We arrived at Bradley and learned something very helpful for this and future flights. Previously after checking in we would walk to the right to go through security. Today we saw there’s also an entrance on the left and it had virtually no travelers so we got through security in no time.
Then there was the run to the gate. Signs said gates 151-159 this way. Of course 159 was the last gate. I’m still in sprint mode and my thoughts were 1. Are we going to make it to the plane? and 2. I’m I going to have a heart attack?
We made it! We boarded and took our seats. Patrice sat with Charlie and I sat across the aisle with a pilot hitching a ride home to Chicago. I explained what happened and apologized if he had to breathe through his nose. He then told me he had Covid 3 weeks ago and couldn’t smell a thing. There’s a sobering thought for you.
Our flight from Chicago to Toronto was much less eventful. After check-in at the hotel we had a lovely dinner at Scaddabush Italian Kitchen & Bar Front Street (200 Front St W Unit #G001, Toronto, ON M5V 3J1). Apparently this is a local chain but we found it very good. The entrance to the restaurant has a sign that says they make their pasta daily. We thought it was delicious. Charlie, being the Italian cuisine expert, of course ordered the chicken tenders.
We are now relaxing at the hotel ready for the umpire to yell “Play ball!”
By the way, I’ve apologized to Charlie and Patrice for my stupidity this morning. They both forgave me for being an idiot.
Patrice here: He is definitely an idiot but still quite lovable.
We slept in this morning because (please don’t tell Charlie’s parents) we stayed up close to midnight last night. It really is a lot of fun hanging out with this guy. For example, I asked him how does it feel to have such an immature Grandpa to which he answered, “You know evolutionary speaking you are 2 years more mature than Grandma”. That had me confused and I didn’t dare ask him to explain but I did mention that I am 3 years older than Grandma. “Oh, in that case, you are only 1 year more mature than she is”. I still don’t get it but I did make sure Patrice heard it and gave her a “So there!” for emphasis. Did I mention that Grandpa is immature?
The first thing on order for the day was to feed the little boy (I am referring to me, not Charlie). We headed downstairs to the lobby where they have “The Lobby” restaurant. The food and service were superb but the highlight of the day was when a woman approached our table and wanted to know if we were associated with the Toronto Blue Jays who are staying at our hotel. She saw Charlie’s sweatshirt which said “Reiss” on the back and figured we were somehow related to the team. Clearly, she is not a real baseball fan. To my knowledge, the only Reiss to have played MLB was Harold “Pee Wee” Reese (yes Reese, not Reiss). Charlie might someday change that. He is a very good athlete and fun to watch on the field. I have to admit when we talk about athletes in the Reiss family we are not talking about a high bar. As I recall Charlie’s father was the first Reiss who could chew gum and walk at the same time. We politely told the woman that we were not associated with the team and finished our meal
With the game starting at 7 pm we had the good part of the day to explore the city. We asked Gary the concierge for recommendations. He did not seem keen on Patrice’s idea of going on the Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) tour to get a general flavor of the city. He gave us some incredible information including an explanation of the significance of the Chicago flag. He also informed us that July 4th didn’t become a holiday until 1941. He mentioned that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4th. I beat him saying that it was in 1826, 50 years to the day of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Did I mention that Grandpa is immature?
In spite of Gary’s recommendation, we did take the HOHO tour and regretted it. We got to see some nice stuff but inside the bus, it was very hot and on top, we were in the sun. I would not recommend the HOHO tour.
Tonight was all about baseball. The White Sox play in Guaranteed Rate Field. I have to tell you I am sick of all these stadiums named after companies. It is one thing if the company pays for the building of the stadium and the location carries that name forever. As you know that is not the case. For example, you can drive forever and you will no longer be able to find Staples Center in Los Angeles. We got an early start hoping to catch some batting practice at White Sox stadium (sorry, I had to change the name). In spite of arriving early, we found it difficult to get to a parking spot so we missed BP. The stadium might be poorly named but it is beautiful. We were treated to great seats and a great game. Unfortunately for the home folks, the White Sox didn’t win. But they did have a temporary lead thanks to a 3 run home run by Luis Robert Jr. It was kind of cool to see fireworks go off and the fans chanting “Robert!, Robert!, Robert!)
That is Robert between 2nd and 3rd trotting home after his blast. Just to clarify, that is not me.
Tomorrow is a free day. Any recommendations about what we should do? Adler Observatory? Shedd Aquarium? Italian Beef?
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 