CWS Championship/Kickoff Summer 2023 Trip

This summer, we're between boats, so our plan was for a long road trip. For a couple of reasons, including a big one that will just piss me off if I get into it, we got off a couple of weeks later than we had wanted to. But one of the upsides is that we had the College World Series to listen to while we waited and then while we drove.

For Monday's final, we were on the Michigan Upper Peninsula.

The universe had been dropping hints that I should be confident. During that day, we passed streets named "Tiger Way" and "Championship Drive." When we sat down at the only sports bar in Saint Ignace, Michigan, the table next to us (completely unaware of the game) had two little girls -- one in a purple dress, and one in a canary yellow dress.

They weren't the only ones uninterested in the game. The big central tv was tuned to some sitcom rerun. The speakers just played music. They tuned one corner TV to the game for us and sat us over there where we could see.

Once the dinner crowd was gone, we moved to the bar, and they did put on the audio for the last couple of innings. The staff started having fun with us. I don't think we converted anyone to being new college baseball fans, but they were at least happy for us.

I started writing this post last week, but we've been on the move. Here's a quick log of our trip so far, and just a few of my favorite pictures. More later, or maybe not -- who knows.

Captain's Log

June 24: Leave Natchitoches. Visit Graceland. Drive well into Illinois listening to the LSU/Wake Forest baseball game stream, which is the best pitching battle ever played in a college baseball game.

June 25: Chicago. Hang with our friends Harry and Janet. Janet came down to New Orleans in January before Covid. I don't even know how long it's been since we've seen Harry, but they haven't changed a bit. We hung at the marina (non-sailers will think this is funny, but it was too windy to sail), ate deep dish, and stayed overnight on their awesome little boat.

June 26: Drive to Straits State Park campground in Michigan Upper Penensula. Watch the championship baseball game at a sports bar where no one else cares.

June 27: Mackinac Island. We did an 8-mile bike ride around the whole island with Rosie jogging along side. She went from pulling the bikes to just keeping up, and she slept well once we got back to camp. It's nice to be able to ride where there are no cars.

June 28: Drive to Provincial park on Lake Superior in Ontario.

June 29: Hang out at park and try to solve problems getting internet.

June 30: Park. A little hike, kids ride bikes and play with the other camper kids, got really cold.

July 1: Drive to Sault St Marie. Walk the river front. Poutine Feast (Festival). Canada day fireworks.

July 2: Fishing charter on Lake Superior. Cold, fog, caught 4 big salmon, and they were a ton of fun to reel in. Boat's instruments showed the water temperature to be 45 degrees, so I'm not feeling like a pussy for not swimming in the lake while we were there. Drive to a provincial part to the East whose name I didn't catch.

July 3: Dive to Quebec City and walk around. Cool city. Warm, sunny, pretty day.