Fargo Bound

June 3, 2008

Since starting in Atlanta, home teams are now 4-0 in games we’ve been to. Last night, in a back-and-forth game between the Twins and the Yankees, a Delmon Young RBI double in the 8th against Kyle Farnsworth gave the Twins the go-ahead run, in a 6-5 win.

Tough loss for the Yanks, and for Bruer, but a good game to watch nonetheless. The Metrodome is pretty comparable to the Skydome and Tropicana Field, but was better given that there were about 20,000 fans in the stands — not a ton, but more so than in Toronto and Tampa Bay.

Yesterday was a pretty dreary day in Minneapolis, but the perfect day for us since we watched a game indoors and spent the afternoon inside the Mall of America. None of us are big into malls, but we figured we had to go at least check it out.

It is without a doubt a huge mall, but a lot of the space is taken up in the middle by an amusement park. Nothing too crazy, but we did ride one of the rollercoasters — which was more fun than it looked — before sitting down for lunch. Sent Chris a text: “At the Mall of America, eating Panda Express, listening to Jimmy Buffet. This is a great country we live in.” Afterwards, we wandered.

Justin quenched his Orange Julius craving before we stumbled upon a mini-golf course (which I still refer to as putt putt, thank you) that we had to play. The score became irrelevant after the first seven or eight holes; we just had fun screwing around.

We walked the concourses a little bit more after the game before heading to a BBQ-joint called Famous Dave’s — which we had gone to in Chicago — for happy hour. All and all, it was quite the mall experience.

We left our car at the mall and took the 30-minute light rail to and from the Metrodome, getting back to our hotel just as the first overtime between the Red Wings and Penguins started — playoff hockey is the best. We went back down to the Outback for a few drinks, making friends with those around us at the bar.

Today’s agenda is decidedly less busy: slept in this morning, about to hit the road for what should be about a four-hour drive to — yes, no lie — Fargo, North Dakota. Completely unnecessary side-trip to see some minor-league baseball, but we added this diversion to our route because when else will any of us ever go to North Dakota?

No more Major League Baseball games until June 14th in Seattle. For the next week and a half, we will be winding across the country — and into Canada — seeing the best parks, monuments and fast food establishments the Great Plains, Rockies and Pacific Northwest have to offer.

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Posted by Phil

The Clean Plate Club

June 3, 2008

Since we have only just begun our journey, I thought it’d be wise to inform you on a little something known as the “The Clean Plate Club.”

For those of you that weigh under 150 pounds, have small appetites, or are just plain sallies, “The Clean Plate Club,” is something of which you have probably never heard of. Taken directly from Wikipedia: “Clean Plate Clubs were part of a campaign started by U.S. president Harry S. Truman that encouraged school children to pledge to eat everything on their plate at mealtimes, in order to conserve limited post-war. Although most nutritionists now discourage this practice, these clubs were founded in a large number of elementary schools, and were promoted on several children’s television shows.”

This club is still built upon large foundations of individuals who routinely eat everything on their plate — with a slight exception of garnish and some vegetables — when they have any breakfast, lunch, second lunch, pre-dinner, dinner, or post-dinner.

The Clean Plate Club that I know and love is one that I have been a member of since 1996 when I was a young, but husky 10-year-old boy. My family has numerous members that hold membership, as it was a tradition passed down along with numerous helpings of turkey on thanksgiving and burgers on the Fourth of July.

Now that Phil, John, and I are on our quest for phallic glory with our trip, it’s important that we document the possible new member in the form of a one, John Bruer. John has held numerous past titles dealing with overconsumption, mostly in the fields of reality television, beer, and women (occasional man) but this is his first taste in the realm of food.

In Green Bay, John continued his apprenticeship under my lead, devouring 2 eggs, 2 pancakes, and 2 pieces of bacon at breakfast, in a matter of minutes. As the day continued, he ate a totally unnecessary, early afternoon six-inch Subway melt accompanied by 2 cookies. Fell short in his Wisconsin quest though, when he didn’t finish his sides during our BBQ dinner, but the kid has some potential. At the same time, it brings a tear to my waistline to see such promise in a formerly very thin man, as he follows in my heavy footsteps.

I hope that this post was a nice refresher for some former members, an informative introduction to those with small appetites, and a reminder to all those current members, that despite lame attacks by the media to stop overeating, our dreams and appetites will never die.

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Posted by Justin