I'll remember the Alamo

I had driven about 1/2 way from Carlsbad Caverns to the Alamo on Friday nite.  A few hours later I was at the Alamo.  

  One of many monuments in town.

  The Church inside the Alamo.  There are many rules, such as no photos inside any buildings.  Men are to remove their hats as a symbol of respect. 

  There are some outside exhibits.  A lot was made of the make up of those that fought and died at the Alamo.  The number of people who were from other countries.  Of course the US was represented, with many different states, but many from Europe.  Also the Tejanos who were living in the Texas area of Mexico.  The courage of the men who fought and died for their freedom is quite symbolic of the American spirit and was well conveyed.  This met my high expectations as to the feeling I would have there.

  The remains of many were moved to a nearby Church.

Sums it up.

On a totally different note.  On my mile walk back to my car (of course I parked in the opposite direction of the church), I saw both the famous San Antonio River Walk.  I wish Detroit had something like this.  It was packed.  I also saw the following.

  Just another day at the office.  Power washing windows on a Saturday where temps climbed close to 100.  Wow!  He had to be at least 25 floors up.

I finished the day by driving 3 hours to see Steve Rittenberg. I drove straight through and Steve ended up joining me while I had dinner a couple miles from his apartment.  It as great to see Steve, as he is going through a very tough time.  His wife Gina has been hospitalized for a few months and is still in ICU.  I was glad to be able to give him a friend to hang with for a bit.

Carlsbad Caverns

The trip to Carlsbad was interesting.  fortunately I was tipped off to fill up my gas tank before heading out.  Once I got on the highway to Carlsbad from El Paso there were no gas stations for almost 130 miles.  There was an inspection station just outside El Paso to make sure I was not transporting any illegal aliens.  I thought the inspection in California to make sure I did not bring any fruit into the state was odd.
I made a short stop just outside Carlsbad National Park.

  Good thing they were not in the car when I was at the inspection station.

  The Caverns were a true wonder.  I took dozens of photos, but most do not do it justice.  The "Big Room" is the main attraction.  They claim it is more than twice the size of the US Capitol Building.  Finally a room big enough to keep all my cards in! 

There were many interesting features,  The caves are affected by water dripping and draining.  Not as much occurs as this is now a desert area. 

Water does still drip and pool.  Looks like a runny nose.

The Caverns were truly incredible and well worth the trip.

After the Caverns, I took the 9 mile scenic drive.  A bad mistake.  A 1 lane road that you cannot turn back on.  Gravel road, where you can barely drive 15 mph.  It took over a 1/2 hour and I saw nothing worth taking a picture of.  Poor road conditions caused my car to constantly scrape the bottom.  Fortunately, it does not appear any damage was done but I caution folks to skip the "scenic drive" if they are ever in the area.  Do see the Caverns.

Next up, the non-sports item I looked forward to the most on the trip, The Alamo!

El Paso

Having arrived in El Paso Wednesday nite, I spent Thursday with Richard and Rosemarie.  After breakfast, Richard took me to the El Paso card shop.  As with many card shops they sold other items, such as toys, military action figures, etc.  I do believe this is the first card shop I was ever at that also sold SHOES!  The store seemed to be aimed at football collectors, mainly the Cowboys, even though that is many hours away and in a different time zone.  I did spot some Churchman Kings of Speed cards buried in a showcase.  It took a while for him to find them even though I kept pointing to them.  It was labeled as a full set.  He agreed to $20.  Richard also found a box of cards, and we negotiated a further 10% discount.  Back at Richard's later I realized it was not just a full set, but also included duplicate numbers 1 - 20. 

Richard has a great way of displaying his RC Cola and other pop cans.
They also took me sight seeing. 

  At UTEP Stadium which is the home of the Sun Bowl.

 

We then went to the El Paso Chihuahua AAA game. 

  While I did not have a Chihuahua in the fight as to whom won the game, I thought some of the concessions were interesting.  Many items were sold in dog bowls.  Nachos, ice cream, etc.

  After the game they took me on a drive.  The red X is the Mexican border crossing.  It was only a few blocks from the ballpark.

  Richard and I playing with the cards he picked up.

Thanks to Rosemarie for a delicious breakfast and to them both for great hospitality.  Next up Carlsbad Caverns.

Traveling the Southwest

Wednesday was devoted to getting to El Paso.

  Left the Phoenix area, staying in Casa Grande, AZ after the game.  Had to finish driving through AZ and then part of New Mexico to get to El Paso.  This photo was at the Lordsberg rest stop.

  Found a Railroad Museum in Las Cruces, NM.

  Always enjoy stained glass, especially when it is NOT religious themed.

  Another Science Center in Las Cruces.  Getting close to dinner time.  Who has the bigger mouth and appetite???

  Coca-Cola Museum???   No, the room I stayed in at Richard and Rosemarie Labs house.  Rosemarie has more space devoted to her Coca-Cola collection than Richard gets for this baseball cards.

Phoenix Photos

  Phoenix Science Center.  I am not saying I did not eat before going, but ...

  This is the fence topping near the Science Center.

  Chase Field in Phoenix for the Diamondbacks game.

  How many people does it take to smooth the mound in the middle of the game???

  A foul ball I could not reach that landed 3 rows behind me.  This lucky young lady was able to grab it in the row behind her.

Second game in a row I went by myself, but still had a great time. 

Phoenix

I spent most of Tuesday catching up with Jessie before heading down to Phoenix.  I wanted to go to Scottsdale Sports Cards, but they are only open to the public in November & December.  Huh???  The rest of the year is mail order only.  They did tell me about another possible store.  I called and they are closed on Tuesdays.  When I got down by the stadium it is right downtown.  It is walking distance from another Science Center.  I then grabbed dinner and went to the game.  The stadium reminder me a little bit of Milwaukee the way the closed dome looked.  No slide for a mascot, but a swimming pool folks could go in.
I am having technical problems again causing no pictures to be uploaded at this time.  They have been downloaded to my computer, but I do not seem to be able to attach them.  Hopefully I will get this cleared up and upload a bunch of photos.  With my upcoming schedule of lots of driving the next couple of days, it may be a few days before I post again.  Thank you for reading the blog.

Into every life a little rain must fall

Yesterday ended week 6 of the trip, 42 days on the road.  I finally ended up in some rain and had to use the windshield wipers for almost 5 minutes.  First time I remember using the wipers on the trip so far. 
I drove from Vegas directly to the Grand Canyon visitors center is Tuscayon.  You can buy your park pass there and if not driving into the Park, can catch a free shuttle to the Park's visitor center.  From there you get a 2nd shuttle bus to take you to the main walking point kickoff area.  You can also take a 3rd shuttle bus out to the 9 main points.  They encourage you to do so, as they claim you need to take 3 gallons of water with you to hike the 8 miles.  I took the 3rd shuttle and got off at Hopi Point.

  I then walked it to Mojave Point.  The walk was short enough that I decided to continue walking to the next stop.  As I got there, I saw a bus pulling up and decided to jump on to continue to the next stop.  Turns out I got on the wrong bus as it was headed back.  I ended up back at Hopi Point.

  Finally got to the last stop at Hermits Rest. 

Everywhere had gorgeous scenery. 

  This raven decided to also take a rest at Hermits Rest.

  It looked to me that some weather may start rolling in.  It had rained a bit (OK more than a bit) for the previous hour.  I also had heard some thunder.  I jumped back on a bus to head back on the route.  The roundtrip for shuttle bus 3 is 80 minutes.  While on the bus, the driver announces they just had reports of lightning in the area and they were going to evacuate the rim.  They were honking horns at folks walking and told them the canyon was being evacuated.  Most got on, others did not.  Some did not speak English and we did not stop to make sure they understood.  The bus got overpacked, but we made it back.  Every bus was now unloading for the shuttle bus 2 to get us back to the visitors center, and there was a long line.  Finally made it back just in time to catch the original bus back to Tuscayon.

After 5 hours of a drive from Vegas, 3 hours at the canyon, 2 plus hours of bus rides, I then had a smooth 3 hour ride to Jessie and Mannie's for the nite. 

  Tried to get a selfie with Jessie, and the 3 dogs.  Only Tootsie actually made it into this photo.

Today will be an easier driving day down to Phoenix for the Diamondbacks game.  Tomorrow will be a longer drive to El Paso, TX to see Richard Labs.

Relatively speaking

I spent the day in Vegas.  I have some relatives on both my mother and father's side here.  First up was brunch with dad's sister Rochelle and her husband Marshall.

  I think this was the first time I saw them since they moved away from Detroit. 

After brunch I was to meet up with Lynn Miller for a mall show/  Lynn had to cancel out, but I still made it to the mall show.  I had low expectations.  First table, I ask about vintage oddball and eclectic.  He said he does not bring anything like that to the show.  He goes try looking in this football box.  He had a few 1962 Post and some Wonder Bread cards.  Turns out one was a Town Talk.  Then he finds an off grade 58 Topps yellow letter.  Then finds 5 Bell Brand Rams.  Some 1968 Topps BB Posters, which I did not need, but lo and behold there were some 1972s in there.  He also had a stack of 1968-70 Fleer fabric stickers (no Senators to finish it off for Ron Perry).  I told him to hold the items and see what else I found at the show and would be back.  He could also let me know if he remembered anything else.

I found a 1939 British complete set of Sporting Personalities, and after some haggling picked up the set.  I then found a guy that had a few oddball items.  He had a set of 1977 Pepsi Glove discs.  I only needed about a dozen and asked if he had singles.  He said he had a ton at home, but only the set with him.  As I started to look at some 1977 Burger Chef box panels, he said that since he had so many at home, I could pull the singles of the Pepsi I need and he would replace them later.  I started pulling, and then I had some without the glove backing, so pulled the upgrades and finally just asked him his best price on the set.  He went from $40 to $15 for the 72 panels!  Set complete.  Got the stack of Burger Chef box panels as well.  He also had a 1961 Topps Stamp book without stamps in it, plus 1 1961 stamp panel.  He threw that in for a total of $5.  What a great buy. 

Ended up going back to the first guy, an he found a few more items.  I ended up getting the grouping from him at what I thought was a great price.  If it wasn't for baseball cards, I would be below budget on the trip.  They are becoming one of my biggest expenses of the trip.  I should cut back, but am finding some great deals.

Left the show and met up with my cousins for dinner.

  We went for ribs and he girls insisted on smearing ribs on our faces for the photo.  As if, we needed help getting rib sauce on our faces.  Robert, with my cousin Dena, myself and my cousin Bonnie. 

Great food and lots of cards.  Disappointed I could not meet up with Lynn, but had a great day nonetheless.  Tomorrow, on to the Grand Canyon.

Hello Vegas

With going to the Angels game on Friday nite, instead of Saturday, I got to Vegas a day earlier than initially called for in the trip itinerary.  This allowed me to meet up with 2 more OBCers I had not previously met in person.

  Rich Niessen, myself and Lynn Miller.  After lunch/early bird dinner, graciously picked up by Lynn, we went back to Rich's (walking distance from the restaurant) and he showed me his collection.  You can tell his previous service background, as his collection is the most organized I have ever seen.  Every card is in an album (well over 350 albums), organized alphabetically by card issuer.  I was most impressed with his pair of 1947 Bond Bread Premium cards which I only recall seeing in guides before, never in person.  Rich also handed me a 1974 Topps Stamp booklet of the Rangers.  My 2nd in the set.  Between dinner and looking at Rich' collection we spent about 4 1/2 hours getting to know each other.

On the way into town I stopped off at the Gold Strike Casino to stretch my legs. 

  It was so hot outside (about 110 degrees), I now know what a turkey in the oven feels like.

  This was a dumpy casino that was not busy at all.  They did have a display area of movie cars.  The Batmobile was my favorite.

  Back to the Future with the Fluxcapacitor.

After leaving Lynn and Rich I went to my aunt and uncle's house who are currently in Detroit staying with my parents.  My cousin Bonnie was there and we chatted and caught up for a couple of hours.  More than questions about the trip, folks want to know about Abby.

Today there is a card show in Vegas, so we know how I'll spend much of the day.  Tomorrow is the Grand Canyon, as I will not stay more than 2 nites in any one place, the rest of the trip, except Washington DC.

Still looking for someone to join me for Mets or Yankees August 11 and 12, and hopefully give me a place to stay on the 11th.  I may also have to tweak my itinerary slightly as I was due to stop in Baton Rouge for dinner on July 26.  I just heard there were more police shootings there.  May need to by-pass Baton Rouge.  Bad enough I am going to Houston and Arlington, TX before then.

So long California

My last full day in California was spent back in Orange County 1 1/2 hours from John's house.  First stop was to meet up with a former client, who became a friend, Ahmad Youngblood.  Again I forgot to take a picture of us.  Ahmad took me to a Mediterranean restaurant where I tried a new schwarma wrap that included my favorite garlic sauces and chicken.  This was a tell them what you want place, and among the choices were corn and carrots that got thrown in.  I also ordered a side of rice that I stuffed in there.  Delicious. 
We chatted for 2 hours about business, life, sports and the like.  It was great to finally meet in person.  Ahmad's youngest daughter is going to school 7 hours away and he lamented about his concerns.  His office is only 3 miles from Chapman University and he said he would be happy to check in on Josh for Abby and I.  A big relief to us.  With relatives of mine only an hour or so away, Josh will probably feel more smothered than he would if he stayed at home to go to school!
After lunch I went back to the campus area and walked the business district a few blocks away.  I have never seen so many different antique stores in such a small area.  I think I counted 22 in a 3 block radius.
I then found a card shop about 5 miles away, that was walking distance to Anaheim Stadium.  The shop was not much into cards and was more for selling memorabilia, autographs and supplies.   I did find a couple 1966 high number stars that Rocky will get first crack at or may dealer scum at the National.  He also had 3 cards (2 different) from a set I was not familiar with.  OBC to the rescue as I called David Fallen.  He had to research these west coast minor league cards.  He then called me back.  1950 Sunbeam Stockton Ports Class C minor league cards.  Really nice shape and after some haggling, I got them.  Add in a pair of 1948 Sports Thrills card in great shape and an uncracked 1971 Kellogg's Pete Rose variation I needed, and it turned out to be a good size purchase.  Shortly before I left, John texted me that he and Raleigh could not join me for the game.  I ended up keeping my car in the office center parking lot of the store and walked to the game.

  Even with my big head, this cap may be a bit large.

  Last time I posted a pic of Gene Autry he was in the Pro Rodeo HOF.

  One reason the Angels may not be competitive is they are so far behind the times.  They had a disco band playing (it was 70s nite at the park).

  Another reason may be they are a Mickey Mouse operation (Disney Land is close by.  The Tigers also have a Mickey statue at Comerica).

  The park is one of the older ones in baseball as they are celebrating their 50th year there.  I liked the park, especially the waterfall in centerfield.  I wonder if that is where KC got the idea???

  Not bad a seat.

  It was giveaway nite and I got a free Rally Monkey!  A very in demand item for Angels fans.

  My collecting friends will be laughing at trying to sell 1989 Topps Baseball packs for $1 each or 6 for $5 a the team gift store.  No collector wants these at a dime a piece.  Many would not accept them if given to them for free.

  The Stamper clan.  Tommy, far right has the funniest dog tail I ever saw.  He wags it similar to a metronome.  Cocoa, whom I kept calling Chloe, is a scaredy dog.  He does not like to be petted as he was abused as a pup and is still afraid of people.  He did come up to me a few times by the time I left, but still would not let me touch him with my hand.  John did a great job picking him up for this photo.

A HUGE thanks to John and Karyn for all their hospitality while I was in the LA area.  A couple of great grilled dinners, accompanying me to the Dodgers and then the All Star festivities in San Diego was above and beyond. 

Griffith Observatory

I spent most of the day yesterday at the Griffith Observatory and Griffith Park.  This is a HUGE park in LA, and contains the famous Griffith Observatory. 

  In the background is the famous Hollywood sign (over my left shoulder).  Similar to the Seattle Space Needle, you can see for miles, but for all the smog and fog.

  Some of history's greatest astronomers and thinkers.  I was asked to stand there due to the oversite of my not being included on the monument itself.

  Not actually an Aztec calendar.  It is the Aztec signs they used.  Very impressive in person.

  They had various facts on all the planets and many stars, etc.  There was a scale by each planet which told you, due to the varying gravitational pulls, what your approximate weight is on each planet.  On Jupiter, due to its huge size, I would weigh over 400 pounds.  I like the Pluto diet.  My weight is about 3 pounds.  I am a bit emaciated, so I splurged on ice cream after dinner last nite.

  Speaking of dinner.  I was able to meet up with my cousins, Harvey & Esther for dinner.  The restaurant was their fav Italian restaurant where they are friends with the owner.  It was less than 4 miles from where I am staying.  Fantastic food (I had the swordfish, hmm) and better company!

Today is my last full day in CA. Seeing a former customer for lunch and then the Angels game tonite, before heading to Las Vegas/Henderson, NV.  It may be a couple days before I get a chance to blog again.