Shunpikin' the Western Hemisphere

This summer the Paleo Rider shunpiked his way throughout the western hemisphere.  This summer-long epic included, but was not limited to, stops in uncharted territories in the American southwest, Argentina, the untamed wilderness of Appalachia and - in July - the bucolic stomping grounds of his childhood in Reily Township.  Time stood still as we friends passed an evening with a drink (well, I had a Coca-Cola) at the Christian Moerlein Lager House on the banks of the mighty Ohio River.  It was there we discovered tables with taps built right into them:

This could be the greatest innovation introduced to Zinzinnati since the Broadbank Burbcasting Corporation.  As befitting a reunion of Reily boys, the local citizenry fled the city and left the whole town to us:

Above, the Paleo Rider employed my Android in capturing the moment I commandeered the intersection of Mehring Way and Joe Nuxhall Way.  From our vantage point near the ball orchard we surveyed our next conquest; the Blue Grass State!

The historic Roebling Bridge was to be our conduit into the Commonwealth of Kentucky but as we plotted our attack the mighty Ohio River went from placid to a raging torrent and so we deigned to give northern Kentucky its reprieve.  This time!  It may not be so lucky next time!

Speaking of ballparks and road trips, another loyal reader of Heavy Artillery embarked upon a father-son crusade across America this summer.  "The Big Strick World Tour of Parts of the Contiguous United States, 2013" visited several Major League ballparks and many more fine eateries.  The following declassified dispatches reveal, for the first time, the extent to which Big Strick and Little Big Strick wrecked their own brand of Redleg havoc across the autocratic empire of A. Bartlett "Bud" aka "Bug" Selig:

This is the first installment of the mid-summer stadium tour photo diary.  My son and I are starting the tour in Minneapolis and will conclude in Denver next week.  More stadium photos to follow.  BTW, Minneapolis has no shortage of watering holes and are known for the Tall Ginger, a ginger ale and whiskey drink.  Mighty refreshing!

Day 2 the Mid-West Stadium tour takes us to Miller Park in Milwaukee.  I like this stadium better than Target Field [Minnesota].  The tailgating is more like football than baseball. Great atmosphere.

Stop # 3 takes us to U.S. Cellular Field in the south side of Chicago.  If my memory serves me correct, this is one of the early retro parks.  Still in good shape and fan friendly.  Beer is $7.75 for 16 oz.  Lotta Tiger fans in attendance.

Stop 4 finds us in St. Louis at Busch Stadium to watch the Cardinals/Phillies.  Here are a couple of key points:

1.  St. Louis has dedicated fans that really support their team.  [Heavy Artillery note: except when they're losing, then they boo their 'Brids as lustily as any fans.  Don't believe the St Louis fandom hype!]  Big crowd for a Tuesday night game with very few Philly fans.  Unlike the Nationals stadium where it seems half root for the visitors.

2.  Busch Stadium is in top 3 of best stadiums I've been to thus far.  Petco and Phillies are other top 3.

Other stuff about St. Louis:

Food, went to Pappy's BBQ, as featured on Man vs Food.  Awesome stuff and I'm still full a day later.

The Arch.  Very impressive structure that is worth the wait to ride to the top.

Off to Kansas City.  More to follow.....

The 5th stop on the baseball tour took us to Kansas City to watch the Royals/O's game.  The stadium was a nicely renovated 1973 park.  The main drawback was the location, which was in the middle of nowhere!  Stadiums need to be downtown, or at least near some developments.

Fountain view.

Also, dove into some KC BBQ at Oklahoma Joe's, mighty tasty pulled pork!

Heading to Denver, our final stop on the tour.

More to follow......

Strickland

Mysteriously, Big Strick went M.I.A. following that final transmission and no such report detailing his covert actions in Denver materialized.  Speculation developed that Big Strick and Little Big Strick took an unauthorized detour into Texas for a rendezvous at the mythical Austin-area Salt Lick for even more BBQ but this remains unverified. 

Approximately two weeks later, Big Strick submitted his final action report from his summer 2013 campaign:

My world (actually US) tour takes me to Detroit to catch The Cult.  I've seen them multiple times in LA over the past few years, and on a couple of occasions with fellow THS alum Rob Bowie.