In Search of Americana

I'm finally getting around to posting the first account of our recent trip (into the past). As we were heading off to visit the cradle of our great nation we were sidelined (or foal lined) by the first of many historical cradles. This one being the birthplace of the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional baseball team. The Reds, as they are now called, began their existence in 1869 followed the next year 1870 by a team from Chicago which would become the beloved losers, Da Cubs! There are a lot of similarities between the two clubs AND, a lot of differences. First, they both have had their "dynasty" years. The Reds more recently than the Cubs. And, they both had a dismal showing in the 2009 season. The Reds play in a relatively new ballyard (2003), the Cubs in a venerable museum, Wrigley Field, since 1916. The Reds averaged 21,579 fans a game, the Cubs 39,610 in spite of the fact that at the Great American Ballpark you can get a comfortable, $19 reserved seat in the bleachers which is toweled off by an usher while at the "venerable" Ivy-covered Wrigley an usher waves his hand in the general direction of Peoria while you push and shove to claim a general admission seat on a hard bench for a mere $40. (No wonder they have such poor attendance) Just to make us feel at home, the Reds did manage to blow a lead and lose the game in the final innings.
Just imagine, only one day into our vacation and already we're steeped in American History.

Jumping ahead a little, we did manage to push and shove our way onto a hard $40 bench to watch the Cubs lose their final game of the season last Sunday.

Baseball fan, history buff Jo tries to get
directions to our seats from historical figure.

The crowd at The Great American Ballpark
enjoying their $19 comfortable reserved seats.

The pushing, shoving, hard bench sitting fans at Wrigley.

Next installment - Back to Nature!