AARoads Forum

Lack of any Twin Cities meets, plus plenty of major project construction over the past 5 years, means there's plenty to potentially see in the Twin Cities area...enough to where it might be worth having another meet in a year or two (the river bridges alone would probably be worth their own meet).  Now that we're about 2.5 months out, I'd like to start planning and narrowing down details for those who are traveling a longer distance to attend.

As part of that, I'd like those who are either committed to attending or are seriously considering (and are likely) attending to take this poll.  What I'm looking for are the top things that you all would like to see or do at the meet.  You can vote for up to three options...given the range of possibilities and the available time, I think I can make 3 major items/stops work.  If we have time, I'll squeeze more in.

For some of the above options, if that is your priority and you have specific requests (i.e. county/route clinching or seeing something not on the poll), please specify in a comment.

I'll be using your answers to put the meet together, with the options with the most votes receiving top priority.  This will also dictate where we meet up for the tour.

I will have to consult a map of the area before I cast my vote, but my preference is something that can be worked into as small a geographical area and as short of a timeframe as possible. I personally am not a fan of these four-, five- and six-hour meet tours that seem to be getting more popular. To me, a Gilligan's Island tour (three hours) is perfect.

Quote...as small a geographical area and as short of a timeframe as possible.

Apologies, but this won't really work in a busy, sprawly metropolitan area such as the Twin Cities.  Not unless I drop that "3 things to see" down to only 1 or 2.

Quote from: hbelkins on May 22, 2017, 03:47:04 PM
I will have to consult a map of the area before I cast my vote, but my preference is something that can be worked into as small a geographical area and as short of a timeframe as possible. I personally am not a fan of these four-, five- and six-hour meet tours that seem to be getting more popular. To me, a Gilligan's Island tour (three hours) is perfect.

If they're more popular, then popularity would dictate that's what will be done.

Being from NY/CT I am always inherently curious whenever I see the word "Parkway" in other parts of the country as to what exactly that means to them.


I have noticed there was once seemingly an unspoken rule that a road meet tour was supposed to wrap up at 5 PM, with anything after that being optional "post-meet" activities. In recent years it seems this setup has been largely abandoned in favor of a longer meet tour with no post-meet. I don't really mind either way.

Quote from: hbelkins on May 22, 2017, 03:47:04 PM
I will have to consult a map of the area before I cast my vote, but my preference is something that can be worked into as small a geographical area and as short of a timeframe as possible. I personally am not a fan of these four-, five- and six-hour meet tours that seem to be getting more popular. To me, a Gilligan's Island tour (three hours) is perfect.

I don't mean for this question to sound rude, but why do you want to drive 15 hours for an event and yet emphasize how much you want the event be over as quickly as possible once you arrive? I'm not saying a meet needs to be 10 hours, but it sounds odd to me that someone would want to come from far away and not want to do things.

I'm not going to cast a vote because I can do any of the options whenever I please, but the Chain of Lakes is an area I haven't explored much of in the past so I like that idea personally. To those unfamiliar with the area, I also personally find the Minnesota River bridges generally aren't as interesting as the Mississippi River ones, but don't take my word for it.

Quote from: Duke87 on May 22, 2017, 11:53:19 PM
Being from NY/CT I am always inherently curious whenever I see the word "Parkway" in other parts of the country as to what exactly that means to them.


I have noticed there was once seemingly an unspoken rule that a road meet tour was supposed to wrap up at 5 PM, with anything after that being optional "post-meet" activities. In recent years it seems this setup has been largely abandoned in favor of a longer meet tour with no post-meet. I don't really mind either way.

I've done the entire parkway system. Trust me, you'll be bored. Very little of road interest.

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on May 23, 2017, 12:27:08 AM

Quote from: hbelkins on May 22, 2017, 03:47:04 PM
I will have to consult a map of the area before I cast my vote, but my preference is something that can be worked into as small a geographical area and as short of a timeframe as possible. I personally am not a fan of these four-, five- and six-hour meet tours that seem to be getting more popular. To me, a Gilligan's Island tour (three hours) is perfect.

I don't mean for this question to sound rude, but why do you want to drive 15 hours for an event and yet emphasize how much you want the event be over as quickly as possible once you arrive? I'm not saying a meet needs to be 10 hours, but it sounds odd to me that someone would want to come from far away and not want to do things.

A couple of reasons. One, I guess my attention span is not as long as it used to be, and I get fidgety as the meets wind down. I start getting impatient and want to get it over with. Two, I usually have a room reserved at some location on my route home after the meet, and prefer to drive that route between the meet and where I'm spending the night in daylight, and to give myself some time to get my room, get something to eat, and get settled in. If the meet isn't over until 6 and I've reserved a room three hours away, I'm not going to get there until 9 and that's going to put me getting settled in too late for my comfort. For instance, on the Saturday night of this meet, I'd ideally like to stay at Wausau, which is 150-plus miles from the Twin Cities area.

Quote from: Duke87 on May 22, 2017, 11:53:19 PM
I have noticed there was once seemingly an unspoken rule that a road meet tour was supposed to wrap up at 5 PM, with anything after that being optional "post-meet" activities. In recent years it seems this setup has been largely abandoned in favor of a longer meet tour with no post-meet. I don't really mind either way.

In the early days of meets, most of the tours were around two hours, gradually expanding to "Gilligan's Island" length. Lunch was usually designated at two hours to give everyone time to eat and socialize. If the meet started at noon, then that would generally translate into being over at 5. The post-meet thing seems to be a more recent phenomenon (last 5 to 6 years).

I noticed at the Jackson meet, there was a group dinner Friday night and also another one on Saturday night. Typically, I'm staying a couple of hours out on Friday night -- I stayed at Elkhart, Ind. for the Battle Creek, Mich. meet, and then two to three hours away on Saturday night, so I'm not at those events.

Quote from: hbelkins on May 23, 2017, 12:26:15 PM
I noticed at the Jackson meet, there was a group dinner Friday night and also another one on Saturday night. Typically, I'm staying a couple of hours out on Friday night -- I stayed at Elkhart, Ind. for the Battle Creek, Mich. meet, and then two to three hours away on Saturday night, so I'm not at those events.

That Friday night in Jackson was more of an impromptu event.  It was just a few of us who got down there by Friday evening.  Saturday night was just an after meet thing that anyone who wanted could come along and go.

I am not voting since (1) I went to the Twin Cities, seeing many of the options listed, in May 2016, and (2) I am hesitant to specify preferences for a meeting that I may not attend.  That said, the Mississippi River bridges, the "Chain of Lakes" parkway system, and the Minnesota River bridges (listed in descending order) all sound intriguing to me, and I suspect they would maximize leverage of local knowledge.

In regard to H.B.'s stated preference for three-hour meets, I think that has much to do with wanting one's time to be one's own again.  The Wichita meet in 2013 (for which I helped develop the driving tour) was that approximate length and many of those who came stayed in the area for a few hours after the formal conclusion of the meet, doing their own sightseeing, county-collecting, route clinching, etc.

Speaking as someone who has ridden instead of driving at other meets, I feel pressed to take the back seat at least part of the time so as not to hog the prime shotgun position and to be courteous to people who want to take through-the-windshield shots of signs etc.  I was raised to be polite, so I take the back seat without complaint, but the fact is, the views are bad and I am conversationally becalmed since I can't hear and writing is awkward in a moving car.  The last meet I attended was Colorado in 2015 and I ended up accepting a spur-of-the-moment invitation to ride with someone else instead of being among those driving.  In retrospect I probably should not have done so, since after six hours my patience was wearing thin.

This said, I agree a three-hour limit is impractical in the Twin Cities.  I did my own freeway tour (TH 100, US 169 including Shakopee bypass, US 212 Eden Prairie-Chaska, I-394) over four hours the Sunday morning I was there, and it took another three hours or so in the evening to knock off other recently built freeways (TH 610, US 10, TH 101).  This was with en-route viewings of the Stillwater Bridge and the Crosstown Commons on other days.

I would like to go back to the Twin Cities since I had to skip a few things I had hoped to visit the last time, such as the Minnesota capitol building (closed for remodeling), the cathedral in St. Paul (closed by the time I got to it, after a drive down Summit Avenue following Saturday closing at the Minnesota Center for the Arts and dinner), St. Paul City Hall (AAA rates it as a star/diamond attraction largely on the basis of its wood panelling), and Fort Snelling (simply didn't fit given that I wanted to do Stillwater/St. Croix Falls on one of the days I was there).  I also didn't see Ayd Mill Road, which I learned about only after I returned, and also sounds intriguing.  If I went in coordination with a road meet, one day would be reserved for the meet and others would be budgeted for sightseeing.

P.S. (after seeing Brandon's and H.B.'s most recent posts):  dinner at a pizza place in Golden following the 2015 Colorado meet was also an impromptu event.

I feel like the increasing tour length and rise of post-meet activities correlates with the larger group sizes and larger percentage of people driving long-distance to attend the meets, especially since many people stay in the area where the meet is.  The last meet where I tried to stay somewhere other than the meet area was Québec City, and in hindsight, I probably shouldn't have; I didn't get back to my hotel until midnight that night thanks to a post-meet tour of downtown (honestly, I really should go back there just to explore the area more).

I would really like to see the Mall of America while I'm in the area, after my wife was there a few years ago, but I fear that won't be possible given my ambitious plans for this trip (trying to get from somewhere in eastern Iowa or southeastern Minnesota out to North Dakota and back to the Twin Cities area on Friday, and trying to get a head start on the trip home after the meet is over.

As for the meets themselves, I try to get as much ancillary activity (county collecting or route clinching) as possible on the trip to and from the meet. Hence my plans to fill a few holes in my Iowa map, clinch US 150 and I-380, and possibly finish off US 52 in iowa, on the way there, and clinch I-39 on the way home.

---

After looking at a map of the area, I voted for the I-35W/MN 62, MN 100 and Minnesota River bridges options. Those all look to be the mostly closely grouped.

Quote from: hbelkins on May 23, 2017, 02:41:56 PMI would really like to see the Mall of America while I'm in the area, after my wife was there a few years ago, but I fear that won't be possible given my ambitious plans for this trip (trying to get from somewhere in eastern Iowa or southeastern Minnesota out to North Dakota and back to the Twin Cities area on Friday, and trying to get a head start on the trip home after the meet is over.

I'd say Mall of America is a pretty quick visit.  I stopped by there when I was in the Twin Cities, and didn't really find much to keep me there for more than thirty minutes to an hour.  The Lego display is interesting, but the large space at the center of the mall is clearly oriented to visitors under age 10, and aside from that it is a pretty conventional multi-story enclosed shopping mall like Towne East in Wichita.  It was identified as a star/diamond attraction in the AAA TourBook I had with me, but that is at least 15 years out of date, and with all the problems bricks-and-mortar retail has had in the last few years, I wonder if it still has that rating in the current TourBook.

Quote from: J N Winkler on May 23, 2017, 02:51:07 PM

Quote from: hbelkins on May 23, 2017, 02:41:56 PMI would really like to see the Mall of America while I'm in the area, after my wife was there a few years ago, but I fear that won't be possible given my ambitious plans for this trip (trying to get from somewhere in eastern Iowa or southeastern Minnesota out to North Dakota and back to the Twin Cities area on Friday, and trying to get a head start on the trip home after the meet is over.

I'd say Mall of America is a pretty quick visit.  I stopped by there when I was in the Twin Cities, and didn't really find much to keep me there for more than thirty minutes to an hour.  The Lego display is interesting, but the large space at the center of the mall is clearly oriented to visitors under age 10, and aside from that it is a pretty conventional multi-story enclosed shopping mall like Towne East in Wichita.  It was identified as a star/diamond attraction in the AAA TourBook I had with me, but that is at least 15 years out of date, and with all the problems bricks-and-mortar retail has had in the last few years, I wonder if it still has that rating in the current TourBook.

The mall has steadily moved more toward niche retail and dining which probably has kept intrigue in their current output, and are pursuing further expansion of the mall's footprint. They seem to have escaped many of the issues other malls have run into (including other local ones such as Southdale, Brookdale, and Knollwood).

Quote from: AlpsI've done the entire parkway system. Trust me, you'll be bored. Very little of road interest.

Who says it all has to be about roads? (look at JN's comments)  Likewise, what may be boring to you may not be so to others.

Honestly, I'm up for anything. Whatever big stuff we don't get on the meet will be gotten by me the day after the meet  :-D .

But I second the parkway thing. I love seeing what other places think a "parkway" is, as all I know are the downstate/Hudson Valley, CT and NJ parkways.

Quote from: froggie on May 23, 2017, 04:57:00 PM

Quote from: AlpsI've done the entire parkway system. Trust me, you'll be bored. Very little of road interest.

Who says it all has to be about roads? (look at JN's comments)  Likewise, what may be boring to you may not be so to others.

It's pretty for a mile or two, but you wouldn't do the entire system unless you're being anal about clinching.

The bridges piqued my interest, but I'm flexible.

Adam - thank you for creating the poll and for allowing those of us who are planning to attend to vote on options of things you can feature on the tour. This is awesome. It was hard to choose just three, but I was able to narrow my favorites down to the top three. My thought is that anything related to freeway construction or new freeways themselves might better left for folks to see on their own before or after the meet. There's so many interesting things to see around the Twin Cities! Freeways (or freeway construction) can be seen anywhere. Maybe we can focus on the things that make the Twin Cities unique?

As far as H.B.'s concerns are regarding the length that some road meet tours have evolved into over the years, I completely understand where he is coming from. Like him, I sometimes don't have the patience for tours that last beyond, say, 3 or 4 hours. It all depends on the size of the group, how tired I am, my mood, and so on. I love attending road meets (and sometimes the pre- and post-meet social activities) because it gives me an opportunity to hang out with a great group of people that I don't get to see very often. However, as an introvert, it does wear on me after a while and I need my alone time. I pretty much always stay overnight in the same area where the meet takes place... just to prevent situations where I have to drive a few hours before being able to settle into a hotel. I like down time in the evenings and being able to chill out (either alone or with a very small group) after the tour. It doesn't always happen that way, but I make it work.

Having said all of that, it is very likely that the Twin Cities meet will cover a lot of territory and the tour will be on the longer side. I am psyching myself up for that because I'm very excited about exploring this area. Sam Scholtens and I will be arriving Friday evening and staying through probably sometime midday Sunday.

H.B. - if you're able to make it to the Mall of America, I'd highly recommend it. It is quite intriguing. (I was there in September 2015 with my partner for a few hours on our way home from Fargo ND - as part of a longer trip to South Dakota.) Someone above was saying that all the attractions in the middle of the mall (rides, etc.) are primarily for kids under the age of 10. Yes... there are attractions that are best suited for kids. However, there are also roller coasters and other fun rides that adults can enjoy too. In fact, I want to go back to Mall of America someday and spend a day there. That won't happen on this trip though.

My wife was there for awhile a few years ago. She said there seemed to be every sort of specialty store around. She was intrigued by the Peeps store (I'm thinking Froggie isn't a fan of that establishment, given his Facebook post yesterday of a cart full of clearance Easter Peeps.).

I'm not into roller coasters or other rides, so that wouldn't interest me at all. I did see that Adam Moss had visited it in the last few days.

If I had an extra day to spare, I might budget a day to go visit it just to say I've been there. But I am trying to build my inventory of annual days back up after having to use them all up because of my recent illness, and I need a few prior to August to either attend the Adirondacks meet or go do the West Virginia route clinching that I'd planned to do before the NRG meet that I wasn't able to attend.

I'm not voting since I live in the area, but a few thoughts:

* To me the Stillwater Bridge and the old Lift Bridge are the marquee roadgeek attractions right now, but they are rather isolated on the extreme east side of the metro.

* The only bridges of note over the Minnesota are the Mendota Bridge, the Old Cedar and New Cedar Bridges, and the Holmes Street Bridge in Shakopee. The Holmes Street bridge is beutifully restored as a bike / ped bridge but is again isolated from other roadgeek stuff. The Old Cedar Bridge will very likely be closed as crews finish trail construction and street reconstruction in the area.

* Favorite bridges of mine over the Misssissippi are the Lowry, Hastings, and Wakota (new) and The Stone Arch, Robert Street, Ford, 3rd Ave, and Franklin Ave (old)

* There's also that spot where everyone takes a picture of I-35W heading towards downtown. I'd be a bit leery of going there alone at night (the neighborhood isn't as bad as it used to be but it is in the city) but it's OK in the day or in a group.

* If anyone does do roller coasters and wants to spend and extra day or part day I'll hang with them at Valleyfair.

How does the new Stillwater Bridge only have 2 votes so far...  :eyebrow: :poke:

To be honest, I'd rather save the Stillwater Bridge for a follow-on 2018 meet, as it will be open to traffic by then.  The voting thus far suggests that other spots will be preferred this year.

2018 the new bridge will be open, but the old lift bridge may still be closed for restoration. The latest I heard was the opening will by "August" so it's not outside of the realm of possibility it may be open, but not likely. If anyone wants to see it outside of the road meet we can either make a side trip or I can just give you the list of good viewing spots.

Quote from: on_wisconsin on May 25, 2017, 04:04:49 PM
How does the new Stillwater Bridge only have 2 votes so far...  :eyebrow: :poke:

It seems rather far away and limiting to what else can be seen on the tour. The new 610 is much more interesting in my book.

Besides being able to get the pictures everyone gets of Minnehaha Falls and of Lake Calhoun with those sailboats and the skyline, The Grand Rounds are interesting to a point driving around a slow speed urban parkway. Most of the streetlights are the new-old fake history ones but they still have some of the mercury vapor mid-century modern lights left various places, and an arts and crafts style by the Falls. But trying to clinch the whole thing is tedious. If people really want to do it I'd suggest Minnehaha Park to Calhoun. Or better yet rent a bicycle and ride around the lakes on the off-street paths.

As far as the Mall, it's what you're supposed to do in Minnesota, but it was more interesting before they remodeled it to remove 90% of the theming so all four hallways have the same white marble, took out most of the trees and painted the amusement park neon colors, and had more non-chain stores.

I have never been to a road meet before and it's not that far from Mason City to the Twin Cities, so anything is probably good.  I would like to know when it would be  because I could plan a trip to a Twins game possibly as well (haven't been to Target Field yet).

I've timed the meet for August 5th.  The Twins are in the middle of a home stand against the Rangers that weekend.  There's been some interest from a few others in attending a game, including me...I grew up with the Metrodome and still have yet to attend a game at Target Field.  Question would be whether to do the 6:10pm game on meet day or the 7:10pm game on Friday the 4th.  The Friday game will have a fireworks show post-game.

Quote from: froggie on May 27, 2017, 07:56:07 AM
I've timed the meet for August 5th.  The Twins are in the middle of a home stand against the Rangers that weekend.  There's been some interest from a few others in attending a game, including me...I grew up with the Metrodome and still have yet to attend a game at Target Field.  Question would be whether to do the 6:10pm game on meet day or the 7:10pm game on Friday the 4th.  The Friday game will have a fireworks show post-game.

I'd be up for the Friday night game, being as I'll be spending the day in Minneapolis anyway.

My dad and I already have tickets for the game on Sunday the 6th, so we would not be part of any group going to the Friday or Saturday game.

^ That's fair, Anthony.  On that note, will your dad be with you at the meet?

Right now, if anyone's interested in a group going to a Twins game, my preference is Friday.  My wife will be in MN with me that week and is interested in going, but she flies out Saturday morning (before the meet).

Friday makes more sense to me simply so we're not scrambling to finish the meet and then trying to get downtown for the game on Saturday, unless you were already planning or considering for us to end there.

The meet tour is still open-ended at this point.  But given other things, my preference is for Friday.

Quote from: froggie on May 30, 2017, 07:57:04 PM
That's fair, Anthony.  On that note, will your dad be with you at the meet?

Yes, he will be in attendance.

I found out, without asking, that I will have Aug. 4-5 off (don't know yet about the 6th), so that's going to work out just fine.  :D

A Twins game would be fun; I toured the stadium but haven't been to a game. Friday would be my preference. If the meet ends early enough Saturday, I can get back that night.

Bridges of the Mississippi would be on my list since I have everything US 52 and south in Minnesota. The Stillwater bridge would be nice but it's also the farthest away, I think.

County/route clinching can't apply to me since the closest things I need are US 61 north of MN 36 and the US 169 freeway.

Quote from: froggie on May 25, 2017, 04:34:15 PM
To be honest, I'd rather save the Stillwater Bridge for a follow-on 2018 meet, as it will be open to traffic by then.  The voting thus far suggests that other spots will be preferred this year.

Why wait until next year? Ribbon cutting is Aug 2nd.

Two reasons.  First, at the time I started planning for this meet, it wasn't clear that the bridge was going to be open in time.  Also, poor weather this summer could delay that ribbon cutting.

Second, the Stillwater Bridge is significant enough to where it could be its own full meet, and there is plenty of other roadgeeky stuff to see around the Twin Cities area.  This stuff is also spread out far enough to where it would be very difficult if not impossible to do in one meet.

Quote from: froggie on May 27, 2017, 07:56:07 AM
I've timed the meet for August 5th.  The Twins are in the middle of a home stand against the Rangers that weekend.  There's been some interest from a few others in attending a game, including me...I grew up with the Metrodome and still have yet to attend a game at Target Field.  Question would be whether to do the 6:10pm game on meet day or the 7:10pm game on Friday the 4th.  The Friday game will have a fireworks show post-game.

Does that mean motel rooms will be at a premium?

Quote from: US71 on June 16, 2017, 11:40:12 AM

Quote from: froggie on May 27, 2017, 07:56:07 AM
I've timed the meet for August 5th.  The Twins are in the middle of a home stand against the Rangers that weekend.  There's been some interest from a few others in attending a game, including me...I grew up with the Metrodome and still have yet to attend a game at Target Field.  Question would be whether to do the 6:10pm game on meet day or the 7:10pm game on Friday the 4th.  The Friday game will have a fireworks show post-game.

Does that mean motel rooms will be at a premium?

Hilton has a sale through the end of today, so I was able to get a room right near MOA for $107/night, but yes, stuff is expensive for that weekend.

Surely a baseball homestand wouldn't jack up the prices of hotel rooms in a metro area the size of Minneapolis/St. Paul?

Quote from: hbelkins on June 16, 2017, 02:44:24 PM
Surely a baseball homestand wouldn't jack up the prices of hotel rooms in a metro area the size of Minneapolis/St. Paul?

I doubt it.  Adam, where will we all meet for the road meet?  That, I'm sure, will define where the hotels should be for most of us.

I want to confer with Monte about that...but right now leaning towards somewhere in St Louis Park or Eden Prairie.  Don't hold me to that, though.

I had the exact same question Brandon did. Where we meet for lunch on Saturday will likely determine whereabouts I will want to look for a hotel room.

Quote from: A.J. Bertin on June 16, 2017, 05:55:20 PM
I had the exact same question Brandon did. Where we meet for lunch on Saturday will likely determine whereabouts I will want to look for a hotel room.

I echo that sentiment

so do I :sombrero:

(https://media.giphy.com/media/MQkcVowbIN6Fy/source.gif)

Ok, here's the deal.  I'll have enough $$$ to play with given the twins game ticket isn't too expensive.  However, we will need to coordinate ticket purchases or have one (likely froggie) purchase them (high risk of no-shows causing problems).  Tickets are going to be between $30-50 a head so plan wisely.

Time off is more of a challenge since I have not enough now but I can grab more over the next week to cover the weekend including Friday (and Monday possibly to recover).  Given that - I have plenty of time to get it.  I also am traveling two weeks later for the solar eclipse and want to have some time handy for unforeseen circumstances.

Given that; I prefer to focus on relics, bridges and construction.  I also feel that given the area we have to cover, covering what we do end up with won't happen in under 4 hours.  Plan for more time just for the meet tour.  I would like to return Saturday night, but I know that is not going to happen because that's a 4.5 hour drive and I'm preparing for it.

I do plan on booking hotel as soon as I secure one day's time off which will likely be within the next two weeks.  When can the poll be closed and decision made?  That would be a bonus to be able to determine where to book the hotel.

Quote from: SSOWorld on June 25, 2017, 12:37:07 PM
Ok, here's the deal.  I'll have enough $$$ to play with given the twins game ticket isn't too expensive.  However, we will need to coordinate ticket purchases or have one (likely froggie) purchase them (high risk of no-shows causing problems).  Tickets are going to be between $30-50 a head so plan wisely.

This. Provided it's not too expensive, I'll definitely be up for a game (nice to be able to just experience a game without not caring too much about the outcome for once), but purchases need to be coordinated so we get a block. As far as prices, we can get upper deck outfield or outfield bleachers for about $30 a head including fees, about $15 more for upper deck behind the plate. Definitely cheaper than I'm used to as a Yankees fan  :-D .

Quote from: SSOWorld on June 25, 2017, 12:37:07 PM
Ok, here's the deal.  I'll have enough $$$ to play with given the twins game ticket isn't too expensive.  However, we will need to coordinate ticket purchases or have one (likely froggie) purchase them (high risk of no-shows causing problems).  Tickets are going to be between $30-50 a head so plan wisely.

I'm not going to the baseball game for a couple of reasons -- I don't know yet where I will be staying on Friday night, or if I will even have made it to the Twin Cities vicinity by Friday; and I'm still boycotting MLB over the 1994 strike -- but baseball tickets cost that much these days? Wow. Just wow.

I know it's been many years ago, and there's inflation and all, but I remember when you could buy Reds tickets for $5 back in the days of the Big Red Machine. First game I ever saw, we were two rows from the top directly behind home plate in Riverfront Stadium. Every infield pop-up looked like it was a home run from that perspective.

As for vacation time, I hope to have enough to be able to travel all of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I had planned on only taking off Wednesday afternoon and making it to either Terre Haute, Ind. or Danville, Ill., to work on my clinch of US 150, but now think it would be best for me to travel all day Wednesday, with the goal of making Peoria or Quad Cities by evening. That gives me more time to do what I want in Iowa on Thursday, get farther along the route (possibly Rochester) and then use Friday to get to North Dakota for the first time and then back to the Twin Cities or within a reasonable drive of the meet location by Friday evening.

Quote from: hbelkins on June 25, 2017, 04:17:35 PM
I know it's been many years ago, and there's inflation and all, but I remember when you could buy Reds tickets for $5 back in the days of the Big Red Machine. First game I ever saw, we were two rows from the top directly behind home plate in Riverfront Stadium. Every infield pop-up looked like it was a home run from that perspective.

Inflation makes a big difference: $5 in 1975 is equal to $23 in 2017.

But yes, $23 is still less than $30-$50. This difference is the price of having free agency (which MLB did not prior to 1976).

Quote from: SSOWorld on June 25, 2017, 12:37:07 PM
Ok, here's the deal.  I'll have enough $$$ to play with given the twins game ticket isn't too expensive.  However, we will need to coordinate ticket purchases or have one (likely froggie) purchase them (high risk of no-shows causing problems).  Tickets are going to be between $30-50 a head so plan wisely.

Slight "eep" on the price but I don't have a good handle on pro ticket costs. I'm all for the Friday game, and like the group-purchase idea. I don't suppose there can be any carpooling? (Since we don't have a Saturday meeting place thus no lodging arrangements yet.)

If things get moving on this without me around here, I should get on a PM or e-mail quickly.

Quote from: Jeff Morrison on July 07, 2017, 01:41:01 AM

Quote from: SSOWorld on June 25, 2017, 12:37:07 PM
Ok, here's the deal.  I'll have enough $$$ to play with given the twins game ticket isn't too expensive.  However, we will need to coordinate ticket purchases or have one (likely froggie) purchase them (high risk of no-shows causing problems).  Tickets are going to be between $30-50 a head so plan wisely.

Slight "eep" on the price but I don't have a good handle on pro ticket costs. I'm all for the Friday game, and like the group-purchase idea. I don't suppose there can be any carpooling? (Since we don't have a Saturday meeting place thus no lodging arrangements yet.)

If things get moving on this without me around here, I should get on a PM or e-mail quickly.

I'll keep watch.