DAY 9: She wears a Red Sox cap, to hide her baby dreads...

BOSTON

It's been a very, very long time coming.

Me and Boston, I mean (I don't like saying "Boston and Me/I" so don't correct me).

Even though I'm a Yankee guy, it was pretty hard to not want to see the Red Sox win this game. I mean, just getting in was hectic enough. We beat the car drop-off deadline by about three minutes, had to give half the group money to scalp for tickets, check into the hotel and then cab to Fenway Park all in the matter of abou 60 minutes.

But to be in there, to see the field, to have that atmosphere (the only place to rival Wrigley Field, so far) and to see David Ortiz hit a home run when that is becoming more-and-more of a rarity was pretty unbelievable.

I'd even go with breath-taking. It wasn't even until I saw that first home run (in the first inning) go over the Green Monster that I realized where I was.

The Sox won a game that wasn't even close (14-1) and the fans were so great (the guy next to me had just visited Vancouver... come on...) that it's pretty hard not to call this the world's greatest ballpark... it really comes down to whether you like the ivy or the monster.

But bring a kilt.

DAY 9: She never really knew... how good it would feel...

Coming tomorrow... I'm too lazy right now...

DAY 8: Welcome to the jungle...

NEW YORK CITY

Honestly, what am I supposed to say about New York?

You've seen the movies, read the books, and heard the stories - there is very little fresh information I can say about the often-revered "greatest city in the world" that you don't already know.

Everyone from Jake LaMotta to Wayne Gretzky to Godzilla has lived in one of the five boroughs at least once in their lives, and many more have visited with big eyes and big appetites.

I will say, though, that even in my fourth visit I continue to be more and more impressed. We stayed in Queens ("Where's my boy, Vinny Chase?!?"), which was my first time there (if you don't count the airports) and took in the Mets-Phillies game, which I was happy to see New York win.

P.S. Cole Hamels is the next Kenny Powers, done and done.

However, Paul Lo Duca didn't make an appearance... I was pretty choked about that, although I was happy to see Gary Sheffield's bat-swinging antics at the plate, although they only delivered a lame bloop single that made Luis Gonzalez's World Series-winning hit in 2001 look like a Mickey Mantle bomb.

If you haven't been, the Mets' new park, Citi Field, is far and away one of the most beautiful stadiums we've seen to date. Even the massive Pepsi Cola sign next to the bleachers is mouth-watering, and the Manhattan skyline in the far distance makes the bleachers arguably the best seats in the house.

Of course, we made a trip into Manhattan earlier in the day, complete with plenty of car honks, vulgar language, and cheap pizza. On the subway back that night/next morning (3 a.m., sorry mom) I even saw a guy passed out naked putting his jeans back on - just classic!

He then proceeded to lay back on the bench, which clearly freaked out a couple of ritzy girls who were walking back to their hotel and probably realized, "Hey, we should have cabbed."

The nightlife disappointed us a little bit at the start, only because we asked a waitress from the ESPN Zone in Times Square where the best bars were and she said Hell's Kitchen... Yea, okay. Besides, it's clear you expect a lot from the city. We just kept going towards the lights.

Nevertheless, we found a couple good joints complete with two groups of bridesmaids celebrating an Irish wedding. Where they attractive? Not really, but it definitely exemplifies the party attitude of the city, and gives a little bit of a hometown feel.

Like I said, Godzilla was here once, too (wink).

We never saw Central Park. Even though I've seen it a few times before, it's just one of those things that you look at and say, "I'd like to see it if i can. When will I be here next?"

But the bottom line is that we found enough bars to get "tired" just enough after hours and had a perfect day downtown, therefore I can firmly stamp that New York, for all intents and purposes, can declare itself as the greatest city in the world.

Where else could you stop partying at 3 a.m. and feel you're leaving too early?

My personal hero of the night: Vir Sodhi for buying a round of shots and then fending off a couple of girls so classy you wouldn't bring them home to mom.

Additional hero: Jordan Niskanen for his unintentional, night-long impersonation of a baby horse (after which he is now nicknamed).

DELAYS - Doubleheaders upcoming

I'm sitting in San Francisco, in a hotel just between the poor house missions and the downtown square, and would like to inform "all" my readers that there was a slight delay of about four days.
I'm sure you could tell.
Tonight's/tomorrow's will be New York, followed by Boston, followed by San Francisco (at which I have three days).
Internet's been a bit of a pain, and a little hard to come by, especially when I'm on the road all the time. However, there will be some doubleheaders, some rushed writing, and some lackluster quality that will no doubt make up for it.

Be patient.

DAY 7: No one's ever gone the distance with Apollo before...

PHILADELPHIA

Today begins the first of my double-header, designed to catch up on my four-day rest from filling you in on our antics.
That’s what 10 baseball games in 10 days does; it delays things.

Philly, from what we saw, wasn’t that much different than the scene in “Rocky” where he tells the guy that he doesn’t want to break his thumbs, but that he’ll have to soon.
In fact, other than our cab ride with a Mean Joe Greene lookalike (if Mean Joe had abused methamphetamines), who quizzed on us on local music history of Philadelphia, the city that we saw was really quite a dump.
But I’m willing to let most of this go, as I know we didn’t see all we could have. The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall were left unturned, as was (I assume) the downtown core and affluent area.
However, there’s a little bit of sour grapes felt about the whole experience because we went to part on South St. at the advice of about ten to fifteen Phillies fans and once we got there it felt as if maybe they had sent us there to have somebody else break our thumbs.
Nevertheless – they’ve got a great ballpark out there in West Philadelphia (“Born and raised, on the playground was where I spent most of my days”), and an excellent set-up of three different major sporting venues all located in one parking lot/acreage area – something we had not seen.
Not to mention, this is the 2008 World Series champions Phillies we're talking about, and people sure seem to love their baseball. There's no shortage of irony that we're wearing our Jays jerseys either because, until their victory last year, Joe Carter's Series winning home run over Philadelphia in 1993 stands as one team's greatest memory and the other's worst.
The Phillies tore up the field, though, as the Jays continued to struggle back in Toronto. Philadelphia routed the Arizona Diamondbacks for an 11-3 win, and Ryan Howard cracked a big, big dinger.
And, of course, that Pennsylvania countryside kept us pretty happy on the surprisingly long drive from Pittsburgh. I mean, five hours… I thought only Canada had big provinces, you’d think that if you travelled in-state it would be no more than half an hour...
I must say, Philly was voted so far as the forgettable city in our travels, but I am no doubt willing to proclaim that I will need and would like to hit it up in the near future and let it redeem itself. After all that time in Hollywood’s spotlight, I feel I only owe it to the city.
By the way, don’t go to the famous cheese steak restaurants, just follow the dumb tourist way and get it from the first place you see on the street, or Citizens Bank Park. Geno’s and Pat’s (the two proclaimed golden boys of the local cheese steak industry) let me down tremendously… I mean, Pat’s used cheese whiz and it was the better of the two.

UP NEXT: New York City and Queens Boulevard

DAY 6: If you wannabe my lover, you gotta get with my friends...

PITTSBURGH

The Roethlisburger has finally come!

After 22 years of loving the Pittsburgh Steelers (since the day I plopped out), I have loved this team. I watched Neil McNevermind blow the Super Bowl to the Dallas Cowboys, only to be able to see them rally for two championships in four years under Big Ben's wrath.

Earlier in the day, in an ironic twist, we visited the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio - a must-see, although I rate it below Toronto's Hockey Fall of Fame (go Tim's).

This sandwich, though, I tell yea'... It's huge. I'm proud to say I'm still in the hot dog-beer competition (one of each at every stadium) after finishing this behemoth at Peppi's restaurant near Heinz Field.

For the record, it consists of:

-Scrambled eggs (because he scrambles)

-Ground beef

-Spicy sausage

-Tomatoes

-Mayonnaise

-and; fried onions

It's clearly the breakfast/lunch/dinner that 1) wins Superbowls and 2) killed Elvis. I would clearly suggest it.

An added bonus about the Football Hall of Fame (I forgot to mention it two paragraphs ago and I'm making it up now): I was able to take my picture with the heads of both Terry Bradshaw and O.J. Simpson.

An unnecessary negative about it: no CFL. Give us a break, (without the Allen family) you wouldn't Marcus's bust, you wouldn't have Warren Moon's bust, and you wouldn't have that Doug Flutie clip that ESPN and That Damn Sports Show love to play 5,000 times/year.

Pittsburgh however, was surprisingly beautiful... it's got more bridge than Vancouver, more yellow than the mustard that founded it's football stadium, and more meat than a Pamela Anderson camcorder (sorry, Mom, I had to).

The Pirates won 3-1 over the Milwaukee Brewers, who only a couple days ago gave me a good show in Wisconsin.

However, for all my sarcastic, wise-a** tones (I know, I can't believe I blocked that out), I genuinely suggest Pittsburgh. It's charm will charm you, it's views across the river at it's night lights will wow you, and it's food will keep you full until you hit Philadelphia (which is where I am now).

Not to mention it's home to two current championship-winning teams, and one of them is the greatest football franchise of all-time.

Just go to the Hall of Fame, they'll tell you that.

UP NEXT: Philadelphia and the cheese steak

DAY 5: Cleveland Rocks...

CLEVELAND

... But their baseball team sucks.

Yea, the woeful Indians lost again last night to the Anaheim Angels, below a warm, purpling sky near the Cuyahoga River.

They made it close, however, which is not easy to do against a team that (after their 5-4 win last night) has no player with a batting average below .300.

I hadn't heard much of Cleveland other than the Drew Carey Show and that the River had caught on fire in the 1990's because it was overflowing with human shit.

But seriously... what's not to love. We all we kind of silent driving in, because the trip from Chicago was over six hours, until Dan finally broke it with, "I like Cleveland..."

Pretty much everyone agreed, especially since we didn't have to worry about parking, traffic, or small hotel rooms like we did in Chicago.

And that skyline... amazing...

I finally understand what Tina Fey's boyfriend meant in 30 Rock when he said, "If the whole world moved to their favourite vacation spots then the whole world would live in Hawaii, Italy, and Cleveland."

Plus, everyone's a model west of the Allegheny.

We also received another two noise complaints, one before and after the game, as a result of drinking games and "Sexy Bitch" playing on repeat.

In fact, I was kind of sad to leave Cleveland... and our massive hotel rooms. I'm also loving the amount of beer pong that's played in bars down here, and drunk college kids are a little less intense/"faggy" than those in Vancouver or Toronto.

Not to mention, the sewage has remained below surface level for quite some time.

Note: Mike Daly won the chug-off in the All-Star Beer Chugging Challenge. Congratulations.

Also Note: James Hall won the Legend of the Night for the first time, after winning a bet with a bartender on what pitcher Dan Haren's age is.

UP NEXT: Canton and Pittsburgh

DAY 4: I'm Coming Home Again/Is the good life better than the life I live?

CHICAGO (Round 2, ding ding)

It was pretty easy for Kanye... but he lives the "good life."

However, I think we all felt that (after that legendary night we had at Wrigleyville) Chicago was our home away from home - at least for this trip.
It was a little harder to walk into U.S. Cellular Field (more properly known as Comiskey Park) with the same feel. The traffic and the deep dish pizza was still the same, but there was still a lot to expect out of the world's greatest cities... and one of its rowdiest baseball crowds.
With former Blue Jay Alex Rios (only 2 weeks removed) on the White Sox roster, we recieved a death threat before the first pitch. It helped us that in the first three innings, the Puerto Rican pop-up master grounded into a double play, botched a center field pop-up, and then got thrown out at third on a baserunning error.
He made up for it with a triple later, and the Sox (riding a couple of timely home runs) went on to an 8-7 win against the Kansas City Royals.

It was our first ride on the Chicago train system, which took us through the heart of America's coal mining facilities (there was so much Bethlehem, you could see Jesus smiling).
It was also our first view of the downtonw Chicago skyline, which is an amazing sight. The highrises shoot up from almost nowehere - it's almost mind-boggling to think that both Al Capone and Julia Roberts in "My Best Friend's Wedding" have both walked those streets.

I'm kidding... that movie sucks...

It was an early night, complete with a little more deep dish and a little more beer. It was probably our final stop with polish sausage, as well, which is a little bit upsetting.

Additionally, we were greeted at our hotel (post-game) with the news that Brett Favre will probably be returning to the Vikings (by the time I post this, he has already practiced with them and joined the team, officially). Even though I am a Vikings fan, I must say that this has been the most shameful personal performances I have seen by an individual athlete over the past couple of years. Although I hate to waste my precious finger energy on him, it's become the time that Brett needs to stop excusing his lame insecurities for the fact that he loves to play baseball.

I'm sure most people forget that when he was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, he was too drunk to wake up for his team's roster photo.

Anyway... we love Chicago, and we'll see you all again very soon. When the Levee Breaks.

DAY 3: Since the day I left Milwaukee... Lynchburg and Bordeaux, France...

Gooooooooood old Milwaukee, eh.

Nowhere will you go and realize, "Hey, are they really this big jerks back home?"
Like I've been saying all along, nothing beats the atmosphere of baseball in the States, where stadiums are theme parks and hot dogs and beer at each venue are nothing less than necessity.
Everytime I wandered around Miller Park I felt as if someone would come up to me and ask to see my ticket, to make sure I wasn't in the wrong spot.
Yet, every time, every attendant just smiled. Except for one fan who was freaking out because his kid went into the washroom without him.
Even when we headed out to "downtown" Milwaukee later that night, each cab driver took five and six passengers, while in college all I heard was cab drivers honking their horns, telling us they could get fined if they were over the passenger limit.
And when a drunk kid peed on the back of a cab at 2 in the morning, and the cops passed by and turned on their lights, all they said over the microphone was, "Nobody wants to see you rock out with your cock out."
It wasn't until we raided the pool at the hotel later that night and kept our neighbours up until 4 a.m. that we "seriously" saw any kind of opposition to our actions.
It was certainly a nice break to have, since I was so "tired" from the late night in Chicago the night before.

Okay, for my next point, I gotta say: how exciting to watch are Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder? I don't really care who his dad was, Prince puts the juice (I mean orange juice, not horse tranq) into each swing, so much so that his homer in the fifth (or sixth, or whatever, like I was paying attention) hit the middle of the scoreboard. And Braun's swing was so smooth that it made Daly's John Olerud jersey look like it wasn't old school. Together, they make you realize that there's nothing in sports like an exciting tag team (don't think dirty thoughts), especially one that an entire city and state can rally around. After all, they need it with Brett Favre's latest self-ruining odyssey.

Take note, too, Vince Young.

Both Bruan and Prince hit dingies, but the Brew still short to the Astros, losing 8-5.

Also, a final thought that came up during the day was, "Girls who like baseball... so hot." It means you're smart, you're grounded, you can properly wear a hat, you can eat a beer and a dog, I can walk around with a mustard stain, and you can have a good time. Unlike her.

Until tomorrow...

P.S. I didn't see one real cheese shop in Wisconsin.

DAY 2: I'd sure like to check you for ticks...

CHICAGO

Deep dish pizza, polish sausage, Chris Farley, Steve Bartman, and Wrigley Field.

There really is a lot you could say about Chicago, so you can look at the tourism page for that info. However, it's truly mystifying to be at a ballpark like Wrigley Field.

For all the times you see it on television, the city and the field, things like the massive stadium entrance, the Sears Tower on the drive-in, and cranking "When The Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin around town are are apt combo.

Yet, you would expect a bit of that "you're lucky to be here" at Wrigley - after all, it's a lot like the attitude back home in Vancouver. And for that reason, Chicago is refreshing for its down-home humbleness.

Bars line the streets around Wrigley, and the bleachers look like one of those shots you see from the 1920's, with whole families dressed in suits and newsmen frantically writing down gametime details and statistics.

It's the holy grail of baseball, as far as I'm concerned, especially when you see left fielders slam into the ivy (which is backed by a solid brick wall). I know there's a whole lot of talk about the White Sox-Cubs rivalry, but to be quite honest I can understand if there is bitterness coming from the black-clad Southside. After all, I see no reason to believe the Chicago would be anything but a Cubs town.

Final Score: Cubs 3 Pirates 1

I personally was amused by the the Cubbies' theme song at the end, which was amazingly good ("Hey Chicago, what do you say? /// The Cubs are gonna win today!") until a shameless plug interrupts with, "You can catch it all on WGN /// GO CUBS GO!"

We stationed up at a hole-in-the-wall hotel, the Sheffield House. It's close-by, and there are absolutely no standards for quality, so you don't have to get worried about partying your face off and waking the neighbours. Especially when you stumble back at 4 a.m. in 30 degree weather with a stomach full of beer and Subway, and want nothing but a mattress. Nevermind... that didn't happen, Mom...

However, to respect the safety of all 10 boysies who have mothers, fathers, and loved ones back home... I really can't say too much about last night. Just watch "Animal House." And then, come here and find out for yourself.

P.S. The Dugout bar has a beer pong table. Do it...

UP NEXT: The Milwaukee Brewers and jumbo dill pickles

LEGENDS OF THE FALL:

"Egg" - Alex Graham

"Bee" - Mike Weatherbee

"Me" - Kolby Solinsky

"Hose" - Mike Daly

"Jimbini" - James Hall

"Matt Caicco" - Matt Caicco

"Jelly" - Josh Ellis

"Vir" - Vir

"The Babe" - Dan MacIldoon

"Niskers Whiskers" - Jordan Niskanen

DAY 1: Just a city boy... born and raised in South Detroit

DETROIT

I've only been to Detroit once and I wasn't too impressed.

Naturally, I think we all had the intention that we would end up in the Motor City and only see a scenario straight from The Wire, which (although it's a good show) none of us want to be a real cast member of.

However, the overall experience was much different than that. Beer helps.

But it's a little bit overwhelming to be in a city where the atmosphere and adrenaline of the people in the downtown core surrounds one sport, albeit only for a couple hours.

Cheli's Chili Bar sits in front of home plate, and a Brandon Inge walk-off home run in the ninth catapulted the Tigers to a 1-0 win over the Kansas City Royals.

Fireworks erupted and we got the hell out of Dodge City.

The trip to Ann Arbor was, to my disappointment cancelled. Instead, one of our two cars broke down while entering Kalamazoo. That left the first car stuck in Michigan for the night, while the rest of us headed off for the Big Smoke of Chicago.

Speaking of that breakdown - DON'T RENT A CAR FROM NATIONAL/ALAMO! Save yourself the trouble, please.

However, the whole experience of Detroit was more than pleasing, and an excellent kickoff to three weeks of debauchery which I cannot share with the kids.

We also had a bet going as to whether we could see 20 states' license plates before Boston - we saw 20 before we hit the Canada/U.S. border, including Lousiana, New Hampshire (whose slogan is "Live Free or Die" (?)), California, and Kansas (the twentieth).

The bar's now been raised to 50 for the entire trip. Hawaii is the lone wildcard that has everyone up in arms, because (I'll spoil it) we would eventually see Alaska the next day.

The beer tastes like water, but the barbecue's great.

Overall, it was a long first day that will certainly leave Detroit as a distant memory. One car breakdown kept those five travellers in a bit of a panic, while the rest of spent until 4 a.m. driving around Chicago looking for a place to stay. We settled on a Super 8 in the downtown core, after grabbing Subway and trolling through the GPS to find other hotels closer to Wrigley Field (if you don't know who plays there, don't bother following this blog, okay?).

That included asking one hotel if they had room, where the first manager (who was plastered) told us he had room but no parking and the second manager (not as drunk) walked in and slapped him across the face.

Needless to say, that's where we're staying tomorrow.

And how cheap is McDonald's in this country?

UP TOMORROW: The Windy City and the Cubs

The Beginning: "Our Song is a Slamming Screen Door"

IT IS OFFICIAL!

Forget all you thought you knew about travel guides and itineraries, they're not real.

That recent GQ article about how traveling around Europe was never so easy? Who really has the time to eat cheese and drink wine that you can't pronounce by following their 14 "easy" steps?

From Aug. 14 to Sept. 8, myself and nine friends are undertaking the ultimate guy's-on vacation: 19 cities, 14 Major League Baseball games with enough time for McDonald's breakfasts and coffee that, sadly, is not Tim Horton's.

The Sched:

Toronto to Detroit to Ann Arbor, Aug. 14

Ann Arbor to Chicago, Aug. 15

Chicago to Milwaukee, Aug. 16

Milwaukee (back) to Chicago, Aug. 17

Chicago to Cleveland, Aug. 18

Cleveland to Canton to Pittsburgh, Aug. 19

Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, Aug. 20

Philadelphia to NYC, Aug. 21

New Jersey to Boston, Aug. 22

Boston to Oakland, Aug. 23

San Francisco, Aug. 24/25

San Francisco to San Luis Obispo, Aug. 26

Newport Beach, Aug. 27/28/29

Redondo Beach, Aug. 30/31

Redondo Beach to San Diego, Sept. 1/2/3

Las Vegas, Sept. 4/5/6/7

Las Vegas to Vancouver, Sept. 8

Love it.

I have Big Sur by Jack Kerouac to keep me company, my mother's motivation (she made me write this Blog while making me promise it would stay suitable for all ages - I know, right? What am I supposed to write about...), this guy, and a whole lot of hope that this is the only thing on my current horizon in position as a recently-graduated, community newspaper journalist in British Columbia.

Saddle up and lose the Frommer's. I'm discovering the United States, and I'll fill you in along the way.

STARTING FRIDAY.