All-Star Game
Last-minute tickets to the All-Star Game came through -- This was my first trip back to Detroit in two years.
Random Notes:
- Comerica Park - Fantastic. Easy to get to and get in/out; good walkways around the stands. We had seats in the front-row at the left-field foul pole. The guy next to me caught an Ivan Rodriguez foul-ball (I left my mitt at home). Apparently, the upper deck fans are farther from the field than some parks, but the so-called 'cavernous' field isn't unnaturaly larger than other parks. Our seats were right next to the home team bullpen; we had a great view of the players warming up. Here's Jason Varitek:
- Home-Run Derby - Turned out to be the most exciting part of the sports action. With Abreu hitting 24 homers in the first round, it looked like the Derby would last all night. (One of those was a monster 517 feet into the balcony eating area above the right-field bleachers). As Ivan Rodriguez made it to the final round, we had to stick it out. Happily, Comerica Park is right off I-75, and it only took about 25 minutes to get back to our pad in Rochester.
- Rivera - The game wasn't too exciting. Best moment for me was the finale, with Mariano Rivera called in to get the final out - one ball, then three straight strikes - classic Sandman. He was also very nice in the bullpen, signing lots of autographs.
- Steve Garvey - sitting one row in front of me.
- Ford Field - Right next door to Comerica Park is the home of the Detroit Lions. Looks outstanding. Do any other cities have new, great baseball and football stadia right next to each other? Note to investors: Buy a sports-bar in downtown Detroit.
- Downtown Detroit - Still getting back on its feet since the '70s recession, but for visitors, downtown was fine. The RenCen is now the home of General Motors World Headquaters; they've redone the interior nicely. The bar/restaurant at the 76th floor is still attractive (though it no longer rotates). Here's a view of the ballpark (Ford Field is the building on the right):
- Ann Arbor - Spent Sunday in A 2 . The campus looks beautiful as always; we managed to get in to the Daily; and lunch was at Zingerman's Roadhouse at Jackson&Stadium. Great, great barbeque burgers, sandwiches, etc.
- B-2 - finally, a shot of the B-2 Stealth Bomber flyover during the opening ceremonies:
