Travelblog: The Great Nor'easter—Episode 1

Well, friends, I've been neglecting this blog far too long, but I now actually have something to yap about, my long-awaited East Coast invasion that has been years in the planning stage. 

GOOD THING I DIDN'T PAY FOR THE VIEW!  This excursion features a new wrinkle or two, not the least of which is my new laptop PC, which will allow me to post reports on my trip while in progress, as opposed to waiting until I get back home.  This trip also features better accomodations than I've been accustomed to in the past, as I've decided to splurge a little and not just do Motel 6 exclusively.  I currently am reporting to you from the Holiday Inn Express outside Cooperstown, NY, and the room I rented is quite nice.  The view from it, however, is not exactly scintillating...

This is day 3 of the trip, which has been a bit sluggish so far.  I had a rental car all lined up with Budget, but was rebuffed Tuesday when they informed me that I couldn't bring their precious vehicle into the state of New York because of some bullshit insurance law they have up here, thus I ended up taking my gas-guzzling Grand Marquis instead.  Nice going, Budget—you've permanently lost me as a customer.  Oh well, the Merc is holding up just fine so far, and the extra payload comes in handy with all the luggage I brought. 

Meantime, I was also late taking off the first two days, which put me a bit behind schedule, and today, I liked to never made it to Cooperstown thanks to Mother Nature and the road closures she's caused because of all the flooding in Pennsylvania and New York State.  Every creek, stream and river I crossed over around these parts today was more swollen than Charlie Sheen's head.  I was planning to do the baseball Hall of Fame this afternoon, but arrived long after it closed, so I'll visit first thing in the morning instead.  My planned visit tomorrow to the Woodstock museum in Bethel is going to have to wait until next week because I can't get there from here at the moment without being airlifted to it...

JUST PEACHY  This ballpark should look familiar to youse movie fanatics out there, as you're looking at the scene of one of the more famous film quotes in recent history, "There's no crying in baseball!" right in front of the 3rd base dugout.  I made it a special point to stop in to Huntingburg, Indiana (about 30 miles NE of Evansville) to see the home of the Rockford Peaches in A League Of Their Own, an ancient minor league ballpark that's still in use, as is Bosse Field in Evansville proper, which served as the Racine team's home park in the film.  Much of the original wooden grandstand remains here, as does the Peaches signage from the movie (see upper right in pic), which was filmed exactly 20 years ago this month.

THEIR OL' KENTUCKY HOME?  One of my favorite pastimes on these big road trips is sneaking into college football stadiums and snapping a few photos.  Yes, I know I'm trespassing when I do this, but I don't mean any harm and if you leave a gate open, I'm gonna go through it!  This would be the first SEC football playpen I've "stalked" so far, Commonwealth Stadium at the U. of Kentucky.  Nice looking joint--too bad they don't have a decent team to use it.  I also passed by Rupp Arena, but it's not much to look at on the outside, and it's named after a bigot anyway...

BUTTER?  NO—PARKETTE!  Also while in Lexington, I stopped in at my first "Drive-Ins, Diners & Dives" eatery on this trip, the legendary Parkette Drive-In.  Not really breaking any new ground, food-wise, but the burger and onion rings I devoured were quite tasty, and I love the way they kick it old-school there—a definite throwback to a "better vanished time", as the Rush song goes.

I also stopped at another DD&D place, Hillbilly Hot Dogs in Huntington, WV.  I wanted to check out their famed "Homewrecker" entree, but the damn thing was $17 and should have its on ZIP code, plus I'd just eaten at the Parkette two hours earlier, so I just sampled their Hill Billy Filly sandwich, which weren't too bad.  I loved the intentionally-trashy decor there, as well as their motto, "If we don't live up to your standards, then lower yours."

THEY WERE MARSHALL  My main objective in Huntington, was to pay a visit to Marshall University, home of the Thundering Herd (or "Thundering Turd", as I affectionately call them).  On the exterior of their stadium, they pay tribute to the fallen 1970 Thundering Herd football team who perished in a plane crash with this sculpture, and there's also a very classy memorial in the nearby cemetery.  Right about the time I was visiting that very memorial, the news broke about the plane carrying the Russian hockey team crashing into the Volga River, killing 43 people, including former St. Louis Blues star Pavel Demitra.  Very spooky coincidence, and in both instances, major tragedies.  Rest in peace, all...

OLD TIME HOCKEY!  EDDIE SHORE!  Let's end on a happier hockey note.  This would be the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, PA, better known as the home of the Charlestown Chiefs in the 1977 classic Slap Shot, starring the late Paul Newman.  Tiny little arena, seating only 4,000 or so, but it's still in use, and was perfect for the film, which featured a half-assed minor league hockey team.  Much of the film was shot right in Johnstown, including the town square, which I passed by this morning on the way out of town, and it doesn't look like it's changed very much in 34 years.  My hotel was just two blocks away from the arena, but I didn't run into the Hanson Brothers, thank goodness...

The War Memorial was also the site of a fun footnote in the career of Kiss at their concert here in 1975.  For the first (and only) time in Kisstory, the band was joined on-stage by a fifth performer, Creem writer Jaan Uhelzski, for a one-off publicity piece.  Clad in a black leotard and tights, platform shoes (with her backstage pass affixed to one of the heels), Uhelzski wore a Kiss make-up design that was a composite of all four band members (just like on the back of the Hotter Than Hell album cover) and strapped on an unplugged guitar to mime playing along to "Rock And Roll All Nite" during the show's encore.  She chronicled her experience in the Creem feature I Was On-stage With Kiss In My Maidenform Bra in 1976.