Retracing my steps – A wild and crazy trip to Bourbon Street

In May of 1978 the school term was coming to an end. It had been a bit of a challenging year and a colleague of mine suggested we go somewhere to celebrate. Dave Uitto and I decided we had never been to New Orleans, so we packed some belongings into the back of his Pinto hatchback and set off for... Milwaukee!I am aware that Milwaukee is not exactly on the way to New Orleans, but Dave and I are baseball fans. He was the New Riegel baseball coach for years and when I pointed out that the Indians were in Milwaukee for a Sunday afternoon contest with the Brewers, well it was a no-brainer.We met the Cleveland team bus outside County Stadium and said hello to Paul Dade. When broadcaster Joe Tait came off the steps I handed him a note detailing our proposed trip and asking him to say hi on the air to my dad and best friend. He did as I asked as both of them told me they were listening when they surprisingly heard their names.He also said during the game that he wished he could join us on our journey. Too bad he didn't, as we could have used some help with the driving. In Milwaukee we found many friendly fans in the parking lot grilling bratwurst and drinking some suds. It was an interesting venue.The next day we headed to Chicago to take in a game in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. We stopped at a restaurant called "Takee Outee" whose name is not what you would call politically correct. It was really good and there will be more to this story later.We had an exchange with Cubs infielder Manny Trillo before the game. As the players headed from the clubhouse (in the left field corner) to the dugout a woman asked Trillo for an autograph. He resisted, saying he was not allowed to converse with fans so close to game time.So naturally Dave offered him something else; "how about a beer?" Trillo responded with "ah a beer, well that's a different story." He instantly became our favorite Cub. The game was memorable for the fact that Dave Kingman was not in the starting lineup. He finally pinch hit, but in a situation where we were not going to see him swing.Down by a run in the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs loaded the bases with one out. The No. 8 hitter, Steve Dillard was due up and Dave and I thought here's the chance. Manager Herman Franks decided to let Dillard hit for himself. He singled in the tying run, but the winning run was thrown out at the plate.With runners on second and third the pitcher was due up (you may recall the days when pitchers did hit) and much to our chagrin Kingman comes out of the dugout. Well, you know what happened. The Pirates walked him and the Cubs could not come back. It would not be the last time Dave and I criticized a managerial decision.We spent some more time in Chicago after the game and it turned into a crazy evening. There is not enough room in this column to explain how the rest of the day went. You can ask Dave or I if you see us. Suffice it to say, the police officer was very helpful!On to St. Louis where we got a look at a Zamboni on a ball field, as rain delayed the start. The Cardinals Lou Brock stole second and third with two outs in the first inning. Reds manager Sparky Anderson walked Keith Hernandez and Ted Simmons intentionally only to have Jose Morales hit a two run single. The Cardinals would win the game 2-1 and we decided Sparky was guilty of over-managing.Our next stop was Arlington, Texas for a twi-nighter. The temperature at game time was near 100. By the end of game two a cold front had moved in and we were freezing by the time we left the ball park.Now it was time to go to New Orleans. We enjoyed strolling Bourbon Street, and eventually we needed a place to eat. We saw a Japanese restaurant and went inside. The menu was posted on a podium – in Japanese of course – and the lady behind the podium did not look like she spoke English. This was not going to work, so we left.Outside we turned a corner and came upon a place called Takee Outee! Yes the same Asian fast food we had in Chicago. I found out later there was three in the country with the last located in Ft. Lauderdale. What are the odds of finding two of the three on this baseball trip!Houston would be our next stop as we took in the action at the Astrodome. We thought the place was really cool especially the scoreboard that had all kinds of features. The home team was known as the Houston Colt 45's at the time and blazing guns were prominently on display when they scored.From here it was north to Kansas City to perhaps my favorite stadium. Royals Stadium as it was known then was beautiful with the fountains in the outfield. It was also the cleanest stadium I have ever been to. Nobody threw their trash under the seats, but instead walked up 30-some steps to find a trash can.I remember thinking that they would not need stadium employees to clean up after games. There was literally nothing to clean up. Good job Kansas City fans!Our last stop was Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota. There we got rained out, but we watched a player recently drafted straight out of high school named David Clyde jog around the warning track. Cleveland baseball fans will surely recall that young phenom.Some people debate whether not seeing an actual game counts towards being at a stadium. This is one of three parks where I did not get to see a game, but I was in the stadium and took pictures and I am counting it.It was after this trip that the thought of going to all the major league stadiums occurred to me. Next week we'll take a look at how the hobby really takes off.