Dust In The Wind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH2w6Oxx0kQ
 
For those who dealt with the placeholder for the last few days, you now know there was a method to my madness with the music I presented for your listening pleasure, hence the title of the trip report.
 
Wednesday August 20
 
My initial plans were to fly out of Boston early Thursday Morning which would force me to crash overnight inside the airport, hence a deal came my way which allowed me to take half a day off work and fly out of Providence Wednesday afternoon.
 
Arriving at my layover, Midway  I was famished since I only had a small protein bar for lunch previously...
Well..what else would I have when there's only time for one meal in Chicago at the airport?
 
IMG_4768 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
A fully loaded Chicago Style char dog at  Gold Coast Dogs of course. 
 
When I left Providence it was a beautiful, dry sunny 80 degree day which considering how this summer has gone, that was actually one of our warmer days...

However when I arrived  in Wichita the temps had just fallen to about 95 degrees....It was HOT and HUMID
Anyway arriving just before 6pm CDT I had to get my rental, have dinner and then make it to the 7:05 ballgame. 
I managed to grab my rental in a hurry, and I mean in a hurry, I didn't even realize that they downsized me from a compact to an economy car- a chevy spark! It actually made my old Tercel look huge...
 
My first stop was actually one of the weaker meals of the trip, but it was close to the ballpark and I needed to get something to eat in a jiffy..
 
IMG_4772 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
The Nu Way Sandwich Shop was just about a mile from the ballpark....
 
IMG_4773 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
I started out with a frosty mug of
 
IMG_4777 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
Diet Doctor Pepper....Sorry to disappoint everyone but that is not their homemade root beer- the mug looks pretty cool though..
 
I also had their famous crumbly burger ( a large) which is very similar to the Iowa loose meats sandwich..
 
IMG_4783 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
The meal comes with fries or onion rings, but I asked if I could substitute garlic salad instead.
 
IMG_4778 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
Memories of that Garlic Salad from 4 years ago came back to me....It was overly pungent......I honestly don't remember the garlic salad at Doc's Steakhouse being that overpowering. Unfortunately, I would not get to Doc's on this trip.
 
After dinner, I had plenty of time to get to Lawrence Dumont Stadium
 
IMG_4787 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
Home of the unaffiliated  independent  Wichita Wingnuts and former home of the Double A Wichita Wranglers.... The Wingnuts were hosting the Lincoln Salt Dogs that evening , and I assume they're from Lincoln Nebraska...
 
IMG_4793 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
IMG_4794 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
 
IMG_4790 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
This is a classic old school ballpark built in the 1930's.... It's such a nice ballpark perfect for double a baseball. It's a shame that Wichita no longer has affiliated baseball
The only negative about the ballpark- Astroturf! Who really still uses that?
 
IMG_4823 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
There is even a nice old fashioned scoreboard
 
What's  interesting about this scoreboard is for every inning that the opposing team doesn't score, there's a mechanical goose who drops a goose egg 
 
IMG_4836 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
Lawrence Dumont Stadium offers nice views of downtown Wichita in the foreground
 
IMG_4805 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
Anyway.....on to the game...
 
IMG_4808 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
IMG_4812 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
IMG_4841 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
It was embarrassingly dismal... I've never seen such bad pitching....Anywhere......
At least I had a local beer to enjoy which did ease the pain...
 
IMG_4788 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
And it was indeed a very regionally appropriate beer... A refreshing WHEAT beer by TALLGRASS brewing..
 
I did get some decent close up shots... but believe me it looks better than it actually was...
 
IMG_4815 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
IMG_4816 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
IMG_4842 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
IMG_4843 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
Probably the only thing that kept me there as long as I stayed was the mascot
 
IMG_4838 by ohso37, on Flickr
 
Considering the one hour time change and the fact that I got up early so I could get out of work early made me give up after  2 1/2 hours barely out of the 5th inning with a score of 12-11 and the Wingnuts winning...I drove the short distance to my hotel which was just under a mile away
 
I eventually found out that the game lasted nearly 4  hours and the final score was 20- 12 Wingnuts..
 
Much more to come....
 
  
 
 
 
 

Yeah, they rank right up there in my top 34 also !

I'm happy to be from there.
I'm happier I escaped to Oregon.:-)

WJ
That song was released in 1977!  I was in college.  We had "Amish in the Wind" at Westminster.  Looking forward to your trip report!!! 

Which airport--Midway or O'Hare?  I get off work in 25 minutes I can be at either one by 10:25 CDST.  We can run by Red Hot Ranch for some minimalist CSDs and a bag of French Fried Shrimp.
 
Buddy

buffetbuster, I hold Chi Town Diner 100% responsible for my two hour delay

TTM
 
The day may come when I wake up and we run out of bandwith...Besides, I just wanted to provide some music for your listening pleasure.
 
 
Lleechef
 
Oddly enough all througout my trip, when ever I got into my rental car that song would constantly be playing in the background and the radio wasn't even on....When I entered Oklahoma it stopped....When I returned back to Kansas...the same song started up again!

WJ...we just hope that by the time you finally get home, you won't be hearing "blowin' in the wind" as you leave Green Airport

The report is live!

I love your minor (and major) league pictures.
Looking forward to this report. Thanks!

Details on the garlic salad....is that like slaw with lots of garlic?

I went to KU with Kansas. Or rather Pig Newton and the Wizards from Kansas. At least they hung out at Kief's.:-)

wanderingjew
SC
 
 
I doubt any of the current Wingnuts have ever experienced the majors. I checked the roster and it appears as late as last year, a couple got a taste of triple A ball but were most likely released. Others came directly from college, some from single a and a small handful from double A. Again, I suspect they were likely released

It doesn't appear that any of the Wingnuts were ever in the big leagues, but the manager for the opposing team is former Atlanta Brave (and former Mets minor league manager) Ken Oberkfell.

Now that song is repeating over and over in my pea-brain!
 
 

I am a fan of the stinking rose, but those garlic salads are way too strong for me.  And to think that Doc's Steakhouse offers double and triple strength versions.