Centerfield

Stop number one on our three city trip was Cleveland, a great place to visit in April if you like cold, wet weather. We started our trip with a bit of a hiccup when our Friday night game was rained out, throwing off our plans. The good news was that it was re-scheduled as a doubleheader the next day, which meant free baseball for us! Cleveland Even with the weather we had, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Cleveland. It's a pretty small city, and even though our plans were thrown off by the rainout, we still got to see a lot of the things we had on our list. We stayed in downtown Cleveland near the Browns Stadium, and within walking distance of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Progressive Field. During the summer, I can picture a family just walking around this area all day. Some highlights: *At the recommendation of Chad, we made sure to hit Ohio City, and it did not disappoint. I think this is the best area in town. West Side Market is there, tons of cool restaurants, breweries, and Mitchell's, the famous ice cream place built in an old theater. We ate at Great Lakes (also a Chad recommendation) and drank the porter (you see a theme here) and the amber ale. The beer is excellent. I had the fish and chips, and my wife had the pierogies. Both great choices. The place was a favorite of Eliot Ness. *West 4th Street is a pretty lively night spot. Lots of cool bars and restaurants. We ate at Michael Simon's restaurant Lola's. Which was pretty good but kinda pricey. *The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a must. If you like music, you can easily spend the entire day there. We only had half a day and it wasn't nearly enough time. *Cleveland Public Square is a cool place to hit on your way over to the ballpark. It's right next to Terminal Tower which, as both Chad and our tour guide told us, was for a long time the tallest building between NY and Chicago. Beautiful area. Lots of tributes to the Underground Railroad in Cleveland. Didn't know that about Cleveland, but it's pretty cool. Progressive Field We got there early and walked around the area. Lots of fun. It's right next to Quicken Loans arena and there are bars/restaurants in the area. I really wish CitiField could do something like this. Also, there were statues. Are you listening Fred? Progressive Field is nice. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but once you're inside it's a beautiful stadium. Given the weather, we opted for club seats, located along the first base line. These seats give you access to the club on the second deck. Food included, climate controlled. The only issue is that it was super crowded so you had to camp out if you wanted a seat. Food was ok but nothing special. If you have nicer weather, I'd rather sit somewhere else. One weird quirk about the stadium. I don't like manufactured sound either, but when they flash the graphic "MAKE SOME NOISE!!!!" it's not accompanied by any sound. In other stadiums they do drum beats, or music, or some other way to get your attention. It's really strange to see the stadium completely quiet while the scoreboard goes nuts silently. Lots of Chief Wahoo around. It really is a tougher issue than I thought. When you sit here in NY, it seems simple. Get rid of the racist mascot. But when you're there, you realize how much he means to that Indians fanbase. Without Wahoo, the Cleveland gear is super boring. I mean, we love Mr. Met, but he's not on our uniforms. A Cleveland hat without Chief Wahoo doesn't really look like anything. I think the answer is they need a better design, and most certainly a new mascot to replace him. Slider is not the answer. I drank this. Obviously a pun on the movie. It was ok. I tried to find a place that served some of the local brews we had enjoyed around town, but they weren't offered. At least where we were sitting. During Game 1, I figured the view would be beautiful at night, with the skyline in the background. But when night fell, I was disappointed to see that a lot of the buildings weren't lit. I wonder if this changes during the summertime. With the weather and the early morning trip to Detroit looming, we ducked out after three innings of Game 2. Watched the rest of the game in our hotel wishing we had more time to stay in the 'Land. The Indians swept the Braves. We got to root for Plawecki again. Good times.

Thank you guys for the recommendations! Back home now and completely exhausted. We knew going in that it was a lot to take on, but we woudln't trade it for the world. If you're going to try this, I recommend not trying it in April, but if you have kids, you have to go when the schedule allows. I'll create threads for each of the individual parks.

OMG. Thank you for this! Amazing!

I haven't seen it, but Brie Larson does like, nothing for me.

Couldn't agree more. Absolutely love it.

We are in the early stages of mapping out a possible three city road trip over Easter. The tentative plan is this: Friday, April 19: Fly into Cleveland. Arrive midday. Friday night go to Braves vs. Indians. Root actively for the Indians. Bundle up. Saturday, April 20: Tour Cleveland. See the R&R HOF. I've heard that there are some good river tours. Sunday, April 21: Wake up early and drive to Detroit. 1:10 game White Sox at Tigers. Dinner in Detroit. Monday, April 22: Definitely want to hit the Motown Museum. Was thinking to take a tour of the GM plant but not sure if this is too much for one day. That afternoon, we drive to Toronto. Tuesday, April 23: Tour Toronto. Check out the CN tower. 7:07, watch Giants at Blue Jays. Root for the Blue Jays. Wednesday, April 24: Fly home. 6 days, three cities, three stadiums. It's a bit ambitious, but the kids are young only once, so why the hell not. Here's where I need your help CPF, I need recommendations for food, tours, places to stay. We're open to anything and everything, but we would definitely like to get a small taste of these cities while we are there. I'll likely have my in-laws in tow, and they're not baseball fans, so most likely we'll be sending them to fancy restaurants while we pig out at the ballparks.

=seawolf17 post_id=587 time=1546645549 user_id=91] Shit, they literally made a movie ABOUT FEELINGS. I cried the whole damn time.

We saw it in 3D. I rarely like that format but a buddy of mine said this was the way it had to be seen. Really was stunning.

Original thread was here: http://www.thecranepool.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=27654http://www.thecranepool.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=27654 I echo 41F and mm. Terrific movie. My daughter's favorite part was the pig.

Edgy MD wrote: Apparently, I only get out to the theatre for first-run entertainment for kidz fare for grownups. "Black Panther Ant-Man and the Wasp Avengers: Infinity War Incredibles 2 Mission: Impossible – Fallout Me too. My list. No particular order. Black Panther Ant-Man and the Wasp Incredibles 2 Avengers: Infinity War Show Dogs (yes, Show Dogs, and you know, it's not quite as bad as you would think. But not by any means, good) Solo I am maybe the only Asian who hasn't watched Crazy Rich Asians, but I did get it for Christmas, so I should get my Asian card back soon.

Holy crap. Why didn't anyone warn me about this movie. Hey dad. Wanna watch this movie about a floating balloon house? Sure. Sounds silly and fun. [bawls]

We get our hero. Shang-Chi. Moving forward. https://deadline.com/2018/12/shang-chi-marvel-studios-first-asian-film-superhero-dave-callaham-kevin-feige-black-panther-1202512660/

You figure one of those hologram tours for Queen can't be too far away.

I mean, this is basically what LWFS and I both look like with our shirts off so yeah, either of us are on board.

Great article. Cebulski said Marvel must wait for the "right time" to see an Asian Superhero lead in a Marvel film. Yup.

I'd like to see one of them make it to the big screen. Hopefully without accents and all sorts of mystical kung fu stuff.

I'm still waiting for an Asian American super hero. I think we had Samurai on SuperFriends as a kid. Can't think of anyone else.

Agreed. What spurred the post was use of the word "important". Boring...formulaic plot...really a long lost brother? Sure. Look, I enjoyed it a lot, but everyone's entitled to their opinion. But to say it wasn't important.... To the extent any superhero movie can be "important", I think this one fits the bill.

RealityChuck wrote: Wonder Woman gave me hope that a superhero film could be something important (even if the final fight scene was a mistake). After hearing the reviews, I thought this might be going down that path. Alas, it went right for the cookie-cutter. Agreed. Completely cookie-cutter. I mean, once you've seen one movie that celebrates black and African culture, smashes stereotypes, features a minority lead, with a minority-led cast, portrays its black characters as compassionate, powerful, educated and sophisticated rather than two dimensional stereotypes, empowers a generation of African-American kids who no longer have to be told "You can't be Superman, he's not black" and shoots down the idea that a movie with a non-white cast can't be a box office smash, basically you've seen them all.

I'm probably being too tough on Marlins Park. It's not that bad. But generally I like outdoor stadiums. I feel like baseball should be watched either under the lights, or with a hot sun beating down on you. And in our particular seat at Marlins Park, there was a leak, so I spent the game getting dripped on. It was a Mets game, and after jumping out to the lead, they lost, and the empanadas we had been looking forward to getting were underwhelming.

My Updated Rankings: 1. Petco Park - San Diego 2. PNC Park - Pittsburgh 3. Camden Yards - Baltimore 4. CitiField - NY 5. Fenway Park - Boston 6. Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles 7. AT&T Park - San Francisco 8. Wrigley Field - Chicago 9. Busch Stadium - St. Louis 10. Citizen's Bank Park - Philadelphia 11. Globe Park in Arlington - Texas 12. Yankee Stadium III - NY 13. Angels Stadium - Anaheim 14. Minute Maid Park - Houston 15. Oakland Coliseum - Oakland 16. Marlins Park - Miami Rankings are based on the stadium itself, the city, the surrounding area, the team and fans.

Watched the three Avengers movies on the plane. They are pretty fun. I feel like with the campiness they don't take themselves too seriously. I find I'm missing tons of the story without having seen any of the other individual hero movies. Like Loki is a bad guy, then he's not. Not sure how Hulk ended up in outerspace. And I know nothing about the Guardians of the Galaxy.

There was some great foreshadowing by the guy we met in Oakland two nights earlier. A story he told my kids: "I've caught four balls in my life. The first one I was 15 years old. I still have it on my shelf. The other three, I gave them all to kids sitting near me." You gave them all away? "Yeah, it's a great feeling to catch a game ball. Even better feeling is giving it to a kid and watching him light up. I like to think those three balls are on their shelf somewhere."

Admin, Sorry, I think I screwed up the re-sizing by editing a typo. Can you do it again?

[fimg=600]https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/40582718_10217107182455472_3332369828232036352_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=eaf4b2d62074725ce3267a805ce7bcac&oe=5BF95B54[/fimg] Loved every minute of our trip to AT&T park. It was only our fourth time we have been able to watch the Mets play on the road, so already it was a special day. Beautiful day, beautiful stadium, and most importantly, the Mets won! Lots of people said to me going in that this was their favorite ballpark in MLB, so maybe AT&T was a victim of high expectations? I would rank it in the second set, one notch below PetCo, PNC, and yes, our own beloved CitiField. Some thoughts.... *Getting There Our hotel was within walking distance, so we enjoyed walking down to the park with all the other fans. Lots of Mets fans were in attendance over the weekend, and even the Giants fans were cool to us. Looks like there were lots of good bars and restaurants in the area. We went to an afternoon game, so we didn't get a chance to stop in. There didn't look like there was a ton of parking around the area, and all the cab drivers talked about how bad traffic is going to and coming out of the game. *Stadium Amenities Our first stop was the big glove out in LF. Looks kinda goofy on TV, but it's pretty impressive in person. The giant Coke Bottle is a slide, I don't think I ever realized that. My kids enjoyed taking a turn, even the now too cool for school older one. Out beyond CF, they have a food court area, which has some of the better food in the stadium. We were going to check it out, but the lines were super long, and we had wasted a ton of time in line waiting for the slide. There's also a batting cage downstairs in the "Garden area". Unfortunately, we saw it after it had already closed. The view into McCovey Cove is amazing. They have a goofy trolley out in left-center that the kids begrudgingly took a picture on. *Food The sausage & peppers was pretty good (I think Citi is better). The clam chowder bread bowl is definitely worth it (metfairy suggestion!). We tried the garlic fries, which I think were a good change of pace, but if I went to several games a year I think it would get old. We tried King Carvery, which smelled delicious, but when we got our sandwiches they were super dry. I'd skip it and try something else. Drank 805 beer. It was ok too. One note, if you want the helmet ice cream (my daughter collects the helmets), you have to go out to the Garden section in CF and order it there. They are super douchy when you ask other ice cream vendors. "The what? In a helmet? Yeah, we don't do that here. Like we stopped that a long time ago..." Whatever dude. You sell Dipping Dots at a stadium. Get over yourself. The Garden closes early (7th inning) so you have to get there early in the game. *Watching the Game We sat just beyond 3rd base about 30 rows back. Pretty good sightlines. I think I have been spoiled by the seats at Citi. The newer stadiums like Citi and Petco angle their seats toward the mound, so even if you are down the line, you can look straight at the pitcher. The older stadiums remain pretty straight, so you have to look over your shoulder a bit. At AT&T it's not bad, but if you want to be the best in MLB, you have to have that. And for me, the game watching experience was just ok. Most of it is the weather. Even on what everyone agreed is a beautiful day in SF, it was in the low sixties, and definitely cool in the shade. We all wore longsleeves. I don't know, maybe it's just my thing, but I feel like you should be hot watching a baseball game. T-shirt and shorts, baking in the sun, cold beer in your hand. Even worse was the people around me talking about how SF has the best weather. "It's like this all year long." Then you never get summer. And baseball is best when you watch it during summer. It's amazing how much the people around you color your experience at a baseball game. The people sitting around us were annoying. Behind us: "Hey, it's that guy that cried...(tells the whole Flores trade story to the guy next to him)...Hey Wilmer, does that make you feel sad?" Couple sitting next to us looked visibly annoyed every time they had to get up to let us out. There's nothing I can do guys. I have a son and daughter that eat and drink the whole game and that makes them have to pee. And finally there was the jerk in camo who caught the foul ball a few rows in front of us. It was a hard shot and it hit a young girl. The ball ricocheted off her and then the asshole caught it. He never even looked at her, waved the ball around happy, then sat down. Never even checked to see if she was ok. My son and I started yelling "Give her the ball". He ignored us. We kept yelling until others joined in. Finally when the whole area was yelling at him, he feigned surprise, and then reluctantly handed it over. The girl was ok, it hit her in the hip, but she was crying and needed ice. It was a good teaching moment for my son. I said if you ever catch that ball, don't be the jerk who puts it into his pocket making the whole area yell. Check on the girl, and give it to her before anyone says a word. That should be your first instinct. And never wear camo. It was a super fast game, and I was secretly happy it went into extras just so we could stay longer. I don't know who these freaks are that think baseball is too long. For me, two and a half hours isn't enough time to enjoy a baseball game. Give me 3 hours and 15 minutes every time. Game ended on a Nimmo diving catch. We were thrilled.