LOOKING BACK AT 2025 - PART 2

 

When I last left you I had just finish up my annual NCAA Basketball Vacation and a couple of other smaller trips. Let's move on to the summer recap which started on July 5th. I usually don't like to travel on Holiday Weekends, and starting this adventure on the Saturday of the Independence Day Weekend wasn't my smartest move. But due to some obligations and and scheduling conflicts later in the month this was the only time I could manage being gone for a week.

I left home on Saturday Morning, July 5h and headed up the West Virginia Turnpike and over to Dayton Ohio. I arrived in Dayton earlier than I expected and couldn't check into my Hotel. So, what do I do when I have some time to kill? I visit a Cemetery.  

Woodland Cemetery is where the Wright Brothers are buried along with Erma Bombeck and a number of other notable people.  I ended up spending a couple of hours recording footage that I will eventually edit and use on my YouTube Channel.

I spent the Drury Inn - Dayton. I have come to love Drury Properties. I can honestly say I have never had a bad stay at a Drury Inn. The staff are all friendly and helpful and the evening kickback and morning breakfast are always excellent.

From Dayton, I traveled up Interstate 75 to the town of Wapakoneta, Ohio which is the birthplace of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the surface of the moon. As a tribute to Neil Armstrong, Wapakoneta is also the home of the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum. 

I arrived at the museum just a minute or two after it opened and was the only person there. Usually, tours are self guided, but today because I was the only visitor here a couple of the volunteers showed me around while sharing some stories about the exhibits and how they related to Neil Armstrong. This personal attention really made my visit so much more enjoyable. 

I ended up spending most of the morning at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum. After a quick Lunch, I mad the almost two hour drive up to Fremont, Ohio to visits Spiegel Grove which was the home of President Rutherford B. Hayes. Also located here adjacent to home is the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Museum and the graves President Hayes and other members of his family. 

I paid for the Guided tour of the house which took longer than I expected. The Tour is advertised as lasting about an hour but my tour lasted almost an hour and a half. After touring the house I made my way to the small cemetery to visit the graves of President and Mrs. Hayes. Also buried here are the Presidents Son, Webb Hayes and his wife Mary.

Webb Hayes was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Philippines when he led a rescue party to free U. S. Soldiers being held on Vigan Island near Manilla. 

Time sort of get away from me and by the time I finished with the House tour and walking the ground, the Museum was about to close, so I didn't have time to visit it. I had originally planned on spending the Night at the Drury Inn in Findley, Ohio but I had forgot to make my reservation last night and when I tried to make before leaving Spiegel Grove, I discovered it was sold out.

After spending about 30 minutes, figuring out a plan for tonight, I decided to make a reservation at the Holiday Inn - University in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The drive up to Ann Arbor only took about an hour and I decided to head over to Forest Hill Cemetery and visit the grave of long time University of Michigan Football Coach, Bo Schembechler. When Coach Schembechler retired following the 1989 season he was the 5th winningest coach in NCAA History with a record of 234-65-8.

When I put the address for my hotel into Google Maps, the route took meet right past Michigan Stadium. So I had to stop and get a few photos of "The Big House" and Crisler Arena which stands right next to the football stadium. 

The holiday Inn was only about 2-miles away, and after picking up supper from a nearby Jersey Mikes, It was time to bring this day to a close. 

Day three of this adventure began with Breakfast at the Holiday Inn. About an hour after leaving the Holiday Inn, I arrived at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Williamston, Michigan. I made a special trip here to visit the Grave of Edward George Farhat who is better known to professional wrestling fans at "The Shiek."

When I was growing up I love to watch professional wrestling n TV. One of the most hated wrestlers of all time was "The Shiek." He was the villain in every sense of the word.  His signature move was throwning a fire ball into his opponents face.to win his matches. 

From Mount Calvary Cemetery I made my way over to East Lansing where I wanted to add Spartan Stadium and the Breslin Center to the list of sports venues that I have visited. But this didn't got as planned. Everywhere I went on the Michigan State Campus I encountered construction which basically made my GPS useless. I never did get anywhere close to Spartan Stadium and all of the parking lots near the Breslin Center were blocked off. So I could only do a quick drive-by and snap a couple of photos. 

From East Lansing I wanted to go visit the Michigan State Capitol in downtown Lansing. But when I put it into Google Maps I noticed that all of the streets around the Capitol were red. So, I decided to skip Lansing and head west toward Grand Rapids. 

With my visit to Lansing being a total bust, I arrived in Grand Rapids in the early afternoon. Before leaving Lansing I made my Hotel reservation at the Drury Inn - Grand Rapids. 

Grand Rapids was the Home of President Gerald Ford and where The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is Located. I had planned on visiting the the Museum first thing in the morning but because Lansing was a total bust, I am here early and decided to spend the afternoon visiting the Ford Museum.

President Ford is the only man that was neither elected vice president or president. President Richard Nixon appointed Ford as Vice President following the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew. Then when Nixon was forced to resign because of the Watergate Scandal, Ford ascended to the Presidency. He ran for reelection but was defeated by Jimmy Carter.

Currently there are a total of 13 Presidential Libraries open to the Public. Of those 13, I have visited 10 of them. I still need to Visit the Kennedy Museum in Boston, and the Nixon and Reagan Museums in California. 

Plans for the Obama, Trump and Biden President Museums are in the works but as far as I know none of them are under construction.

I was impressed with just about every aspect of the Ford Museum, especially the way it presented the story of Watergate. The Gerald R. Ford Museum is actually located on the banks of the Grand River in Downtown Grand Rapids and is the Final Resting Place of President Ford and his wife Betty. 

I spent the entire afternoon at the Ford Museum. I actually stayed until they closed. I had to travel back to the east side of Grand Rapids to reach the Drury Inn, which bring to an to another good day on the road.

Visiting the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum was on my bucket List and today I am going to scratch another site off of my Bucket List.

After leaving Grand Rapids I drove two hours south to South Bend, Indiana. where I wanted to visit the campus of Notre Dame. Arriving on campus it looked like this was going to be a bust too. I wanted to visit Notre Dame Stadium and see the Touchdown Jesus Mural. But arriving on campus I noticed that all of the parking lots were either chained off and closed or the ones that were open you needed a permit. 

I was just about ready to get up when I made a wrong turn that turned out to be a right turn. I accidently turned into a parking lot that actually had a person in the booth checking permits. I told him that I had made a wrong turn.. He was very nice and I ask him if there was any where I could park long enough to see Touchdown Jesus. . 

He told me that if I didn't mind walking a little then I could park in his lot long enough to go se it. I told him I didn't mind at all and thank him for his help. He showed me where to park and gave me a map that helped me find "Touchdown Jesus."

It was about a 15 minute walk from where I parked to the Hesburgh Library where the Word of Life Mural is located.  The World of Life Mural is commonly called Touchdown Jesus because the figure of Jesus has his arms raised and he can be seen from Notre Dame Football Stadium. The Mural stands 134 feet high and 68 feet wide.

When I was parking the attendant told me that there was construction going on all around the Stadium and I probably would not be able to get decent picture. So I gave up on seeing the stadium and headed over to Cedar Grove Cemetery to visit the graves of Knute Rockne, Ara Parseghian and Regis Philbin.

With My visit to Cedar Grove I ended my Visit to South Bend and Notre Dame. Now comes the part of the trip that I had dreaded since I first started Planning it. Now it was time to head over to my Rockford, Illinois where I will be spending the Night. This will require me to drive through Chicago. A drive that I am not looking forward too. 

As much as I dreaded the drive, I must say that it wasn't that bad. Originally, Google Maps had me going right through downtown Chicago, but it later rerouted me to the west where I went right by O'Hare Airport before heading west toward Rockford on Interstate 90.

My accommodations for the night was at the Candlewood Suites in East Rockford which is located just across I-90 from the Hard Rock Casino. I am not a gambler but after supper I decided to kill some time at the Hard Rock Casino.

I am a big spender and usually limit myself to $20, which usually last me about 45 minutes to an hour. I played several different slot machines and just about every time I was getting close to exhausting my $20, I would hit a small jackpot that allowed me to keep playing.  

I ended up playing about 2 hours and basically left with my original $20. I didn't win anything, but I didn't lose anything either.

The Candlewood Suites was nothing to write home about. The rooms were clean but they do not offer breakfast and the coffee was Horrible. So after checking out, I headed over to a nearby Cracker Barrel for Breakfast before head out to scratch another site off my bucket list.

After a cracker Barrel Breakfast, I headed 10-miles north to a museum that has been on my bucket list for several years. Historic Auto Attractions in Roscoe, Illinois has the largest collection of historic autos in the world. When I first started planning this trip the first place that I put on the list of place to go was Historic Auto Attractions. I planned the rest of the trip around getting here.

Historic Auto Attractions  has more than 87,000 square feet of exhibit space that is divided into several themed galleries. The Presidential Gallery has historic vehicle that were used by Presidents dating back to President Ulysses Grant. The 1865 Studebaker Carriage was purchased by then General Grant in 1865 and was used by him through the early part of his Presidency. It is the oldest vehicle in the Presidential Gallery. 

The Gangsterland Gallery has a large collection of vehicle used by gangsters and organized crime figures including the 1932 Studebaker that John Dillinger used in an Indiana Bank Robbery. Also on display are the hats that Bonnie and Clyde were wearing back in 1934 when they were killed in ambush by Law Enforcement near Gibsland, Louisiana.

There are two separate galleries that contain artifact and vehicle relating to the Assassination of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy. Highlights of the Lincoln Exhibit is one of President Lincolns personal chair, his straight razor and Mary Todd Lincoln's Morning Veil and fan.

My favorite Gallery was the the John F. Kennedy Gallery. This gallery has two prominent vehicles related to the Dallas Assassination. The Secret Service follow up car from the Dallas Motorcade is on display. This was the car that was directly behind the Presidents Limousine when President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.

Also on display in the Kennedy Gallery is the O'Neal Ambulance that transported Lee Harvey Oswald from the basement of the Dallas Police Department to Parkland Hospital when he was shot by Jack Ruby. 

During President Kennedy's funeral his body was returned to the White House where he lay in state in the East Room. His closed Casket was covered by an American Flag. The flag the covered his casket  in the East Room is just one oe many Kennedy assassination and funeral artifact that are on display in this amazing exhibit.

I arrived at Historic Auto Attractions when it opened at 9 a.m.. While the museum is usually open until 5 p.m. they were closing at 3 p.m. so that they could prepare for a special event later in the evening. Very few museums can hold my attention for 6 housrs, but I can honestly say that this was the most amazing museum that I have ever visited. I think I enjoyed it more than the any of the Smithsonian's. 

Since I had to leave the Museum early, I had some extra time on my hands. So, after look at everything I decided to make a beeline south to Springfield, Illinois and use one of my Choice Nights at a Comfort Inn. 

Springfield wasn't originally on my travel plan but I had wanted to Visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum again. 

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum didn't open until 10 a.m. so after checking out of the Hotel I decided to return to Oak Ridge Cemetery and visit Lincoln's Tomb. I had been there twice before. This visit was a little different from the others as I was the only one there. Having the place to myself was really very nice. Not screaming kid and no disrespectable people who treat this place as just another tourist attraction rather than a sacred place.

After visiting Lincolns Tomb, I made the short drive to the Lincoln Presidential Museum arriving just as it was opening. I manage to find parking at one of the parking garages that was directly across from the Museum. 

This Presidential Museum is set up like none of the Others.  Wax Figures of President Lincoln, His wife and Kid greet visitors in the entrance rotunda. They are standing in front of the White House. The take you through President Lincoln's life from his time as a rail splitter in Kentucky, to a circuit riding lawyer in Illinois to the President of the United States during the Civil War. 

After finishing up at the Lincoln Museum, it was time to head east to The Drury Inn in Indianapolis. This would be my Last night on the road. 

Before Leaving Indianapolis, I visited Crown Hill Cemetery. While I had been here before I want to return and visit the Graves of President Benjamin Harrison and John Dillinger and record some footage that I will eventually Edit and use on My YouTube Channel 

I ended up spending a little longer than planned at Crown Hill but the last stop of this adventure was just about 30 miles or so east of Indianapolis. A few years back I visited the small town of Milan, Indiana. The Milan High School Basketball Team was the inspiration for the popular movie "Hoositer" that starred Gene Hackman.

Today, my last stop on this trip was in Knightstown, Indiana where I visited the actual gym where the Movie "Hoosiers" was filmed. I must say the gyn looks exactly like it did in the Hoosiers. Even the dressing room where Gene Hackman uttered that famous line, :Welcome to Indiana Basketball" looked exactly the same. 

The volunteers at the Gym were very informative, pointing out the exact places where some of the more popular scene were filmed. By the time I was finished at the Hoosier's Gym it was a little after 1:30 in the Afternoon. I still hope to make it home tonight and not spend another night in a hotel. But that will depend largely on traffic.

Indian Roads are absolutely Horrible but I made it to Dayton without too much of an issue. Only one slow down for Construction. I zipped around Dayton and Headed toward the Ohio River at Point Pleasant. 

Driving through Charleston and down the West Virginia Turnpike is always an adventure but for the most part there were no problems. I has Supper in Beckley and then it was a straight shot home..

This was a great Trip, but without a doubt the highlight of the trip was my visit to Historic Auto Attractions. I can't say enough about this amazing museum. It is well worth a visit if you find yourself anywhere close to Rockford, Illinois. 

This post has gotten a little long so I am going to end it here and wrap up my review of 2025 in Part 3. 

AMTRAK CAN'T GET TO CHRISTIANSBURG QUICK ENOUGH

 

If You know me or have read some of my other entries here, you know I absolutely love traveling on Amtrak. Traveling by train is more laid back and relaxing than flying or even driving.

I don’t fly. I find there is nothing at all enjoyable about flying. I used to fly a lot when I umpired, and I can really say that I never looked forward to the experience. There is nothing fun about having to show up 2 hours before your flight. Go through the very unpleasant TSA screening and then being herded onto a large metal tube with a bunch of rude and unpleasant people.

The last time I flew was back in 2013. Since then and especially since I retired, I have either driven or taken Amtrak for my trips. On Amtrak there is no TSA Screening. Don’t get me wrong, there is security. You can pretty much be assured that at every stop there is at least one police office present, whether you see him or not. And every train has at least one Amtrak Police Office on board.

Sometime in the not-too-distant future, Amtrak is scheduled to extend service to Christiansburg. Work is currently underway on the new station at Cambria. I, for one am excited about this new service as I will no longer have to go to Roanoke, which is the nearest place where I can board a train.

There is currently rumors that Amtrak may extend service from Christiansburg into southwest Virginia all the way to Bristol. From Bristol the door will be open to service into Tennessee to places like Knoxville, Nashville and maybe ever Chattanooga and on into Atlanta.

I doubt that I will ever see the extension beyond Christiansburg, but rest assured that once Amtrak comes to Christiansburg, I will be a more frequent passenger, as traveling to Roanoke is no longer a pleasant experience.

Last Year I had the opportunity to take three trips on Amtrak. Two of the Three trips Originated in Roanoke while the other one I boarded in Clifton Forge. As I said Earlier, Roanoke is the closest place that I can Board Amtrak and since my first Amtrak Trip in 2018, the boarding experience in Roanoke has gone significantly downhill.

Over the last couple of years Downtown Roanoke has become more or less a Crime ridden crap hole. Going into the Downtown area is not a pleasant experience anytime, day or night. Shootings occur just about daily.

Center in the Square use to be one of Roanoke more popular areas with restaurants and shops, but now days if you go there us are confronted by vagrants who pester you for money. Some of them can be quite intimidating and threatening.

Roanoke does not have a station. It only has a platform with a small cover that does little to protect you from the rain and snow. One of the things that Roanoke was supposed to do when Amtrak service was restored in 2015, was Build a proper Station. It’s been over 10 years now and there is still no station and as far as I know there are no solid plans to build one. This is just another example of Roanoke’s leadership not following through on any of their promises.

Parking is yet another problem. There used to be a parking garage that was located near the station. For a fee, passengers could park there. This would accommodate both long-term and short-term parking. But a couple of years ago the city condemned the garage and the owner closed it.

For the past couple of years, the garage has been abandoned and is now used as a shelter for the vagrants and the city’s drug population. It is not a safe place and is located very close to the Amtrak Platform. Today the only place to park is an open-air paid lot next to the station. It is not a safe place to park and leave your car.

Early in 2025, I opted to take the afternoon Amtrak Northeast Regional Train to Washington D. C. I arrived early and have Lunch at one of the Restaurants on the City Market and the Center in the Square.

As I walked from the shady parking lot next to the Station, I was confronted by a couple of very aggressive panhandlers. I ever saw one of the Vagrants taking a leak in Broad Daylight right in the middle of the parking lot.

The walk from the parking lot to the Market Area reeked with the smell of urine and several places along the way I saw what appeared to be human waste. This was not a good Idea to Say the least.

My second trip from Roanoke was a longer trip where I took early morning Northeast regional train to Washinton and then took the Capitol Limited up to South Bend Indiana. I rented a car and spent a couple of days in South Bend and Northern Indiana before returning to Roanoke 5 days later.

I had left my car in the Parking lot adjacent to the Amtrak Platform. When I returned, I discovered that My car had been vandalized. Someone had keyed the rear passenger side of my car.

Of course I was quite pissed off to say the least. I knew that my insurance would require a police report in order to file a claim. I called the Roanoke City Police Department who refused to generate any kind of report so that I could file a claim with my insurance. The dispatcher I talked to told me that the parking lot was private property and that there were signs posted that parking was at my own risk. She refused to ever give me the number of the Computer Aided Dispatch Record of my call so that I could give that to my insurance.

Needless to say, traveling to Roanoke for ANY reason is something that I will NOT do unless it is an absolute emergency. Roanoke has turned into a crime ridden city that smells Like a sewer.

It was for that reason that for my next trip that I drove up to Clifton Forge, Virginia and Boarded the Amtrak Cardinal for my trip to Washington. Rather than traveling into Washington Union Station, where there were some large protests at both the Supreme Court and the Capitol. I chose to leave the Train at Manassas and rent a car for the next couple of days.

I returned to Clifton Forge on the Westbound Cardinal and found my car undisturbed and just as I had left it. This was a much better experience. I think, if possible, I will schedule any future trip through Clifton Forge and stay away from Roanoke.

I still look forward to traveling on Amtrak when the opportunity presents itself. I will just make every effort to avoid Roanoke until Amtrak service is established in Christiansburg, sometime hopefully in the near future.

LOOKING BACK AT 2025 - PART 1

 

Where have I been you ask. Well, the fact of the matter is that I have been right here. In fact, I had written several posts for this blog but due to my own mistake none of them got published. I don’t know exactly what happened except that apparently, I failed to schedule them for publication. And to make matters worse, I inadvertently deleted them, so they were all lost.

So, let’s do a little recap of my 2025 adventure. Like most years my 2025 travel season started off with a trip to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Every year since 2001 I have attended the first and second rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. I say every year, well, every year except 2020 when the entire tournament was cancelled due to COVID and 2021 when the tournament was play in closed venues in the Indianapolis.

Other than those years I selected a site and attended the First and Second Rounds of the Tournament. I like the First and Second Round because they are held at different sites all across the country.

Some of my favorite Tournament Sites over the years have been, Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Pittsburgh. Some of my less favorite sites have been Kansas City, Orlando and Charlotte.

In 2025 I chose Raleigh, North Carolina as my Tournament Venue. I had been to Raleigh a couple of times before and always enjoyed the experience. Raleigh is one of the few tournament venues that has a huge onsite parking lot. In previous years the cost of parking had been a very reasonable $20 per day. This year I was shocked to find that they were really gouging you by charging a whopping $60 per day. That is not a good look for Raleigh.

The Games in Raleigh were for the most part good competitive game. One of the Teams that I had in Raleigh was the Florida Gators who went on to win the National Championship. On the day that I didn’t have games I spent the morning visiting the North Carolina State Capitol and my afternoon I drove over to Durham and visited Bennett’s Place.

Most people consider the end of the Civil War Occurred when General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865.

While General Lee Surrendered about 28,000 troops at Appomattox. About three weeks later a larger number of Confederate Troops were surrendered when General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered almost 90,000 troops to General William T. Sherman at the farm of James and Nancy Bennett near Durham, North Caolina. This was the largest surrender of the Civil War,

I stayed close to home until May and then I was off to West Virginia for a couple days. I started off Spending some time at one of our Newest National Parks, The New River Gorge National Park. Some of the overlooks here give you amazing views of the New River Gorge Bridge that carry’s U. S.

Highway 19 across the massive New River Gorge.

I also spent some time at Cook’s Mill in Monroe County, West Virginia. Cook’s Mill dates back to the late 1790’s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The main mill building was built in 1857 on the original stone foundation and site of an earlier mill built in approximately 1796. It has hand-hewn post-and-beam, with massive timbers pegs. The mill site also includes the dam, mill pond, and stream.

I spent the night at a place that I had wanted to visit for several year so on the way back home I stopped at the Depot Lodge in Paint Bank Virginia. I was lucky to just walk up and get a room without a reservation. I opted for a really nice room in the Main Lodge that had a gas fireplace that I didn’t need and a TV.

I walked across the road to the Swinging Bridge Restaurant which is in the back of the Paint Bank General Store. I had the Buffalo Chapped Steak with a Baked Potato and apples with Blackberry Cobbler for dessert.

After supper it was warm enough that I sat outside and enjoyed the quiet. The only sound was a flowing creek that was interrupted every once in a while, by a passing car.

The Next Morning I walked back across the road to the Swing Bridge for a great Breakfast.  I had two egg, sausage, back and two pancakes. It was just a good if not better as my buffalo chopped steak the night Before.

I really enjoyed this little trip to West Virginia, especially my stay at the Depot Lodge. I enjoyed the stay so much that I just might do it again.

Before I get into my summer recap, let’s take a break and continue this next time.

OFF TO RALEIGH - FIRST ROUND OF THE 2025 NCAA TOURNAMENT

 

A little over 5 months ago I bought my ticket and made my hotel reservation for the First and Second Rounds of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.  Now, here we are in March. The regular season and conference tournaments are over, and Selection Sunday is here and I will find out who will be joining me at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Now, going into Selection Sunday, I knew that one of the teams that would be coming to the Raleigh Venue would be the Duke Blue Devils.  Duke is both the Regular Season and ACC Tournament Champions. So, it is almost certain that Duke will be a #1 Seed in Raleigh.

As the bracket was revealed to say that I was shocked to see that Not only Duke would be coming to Raleigh as a #1 seed, but we would also be getting Florida as a #1 Seed. This sucked because there would be two 1-16 games in Raleigh which almost always results in a route, unless you are Virginia or Purdue.

This also mean that we would be getting two 8-9 matchups with will probably be the only chance we have at a good game in the first round. The chairman of this years selection committee was Bubba Cunningham who is the athletic direction at the University of North Carolina. Which also explains why a mediocre North Carolina Team made the tournament over several more deserving teams.

As I looked over the complete 68-team bracket, I have to say that some of the seedings were questionable too. Louisville was an 8 seed while I thought that they probably should have been on the 5 or 6 line.  North Carolina was an 11 seed and would be playing in the Play in games in Dayton.  In my opinion, they should not have been in the field of 68 under any circumstances.  Vanderbilt was a 10 seed and I had them coming in on the 7 line.

But again my biggest complaint was two #1 seeds were sent to Raleigh.  I have been attending the Tournament since 2001, and I can’t remember the committee send two #1 seeds to the same site. I would be curious about why that happened this year.

Here are my first round matchups in Raleigh:

#1 Duke vs #16 Mount St. Mary’s                                                      #8 Mississippi State vs #9 Baylor

#1 Florida vs #16Norfolk Sate                                                             #8 UCONN vs #9 Oklahoma

To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. For a brief minute I even considered selling my Ticket on one of the secondary ticket sites. But, that was only a brief thought and on Thursday, March 20 I headed out on what I hoped to be a little over 3-hour drive. But every time I have been in the Triangle Area of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill I have hit some heavy traffic. According to Google Maps there are some large areas of Construction all along my route.

On Thursday the drive down was largely uneventful until I got about 5-miles from my Hotel. That last 5-miles ended up taking almost 45 minutes due to heavy traffic and construction.

The Holiday Inn in Cary is located near the Crossroads Shopping center and there were several place to eat nearby. But because traffic on the main highways was still heavy I opted to have dinner at the Olive Garden less than a half a mile away.

After supper, I camped out in my hotel room and watched the evening games of the Tournament. There were a few good games, but it seems to me like there were more crap games than usual on the first day of the tournament.

I was up about 8 a.m. and went down to see if the pancake roller was working and enjoy a nice breakfast before heading out to the games. But I was in for a couple of surprises. Not only did this hotel not have a pancake machine, but they also charged $13 for breakfast that is traditionally free at other hotels.

One of the reasons I like coming to Raleigh for the tournament is that there is paid on site parking for around 10,000 cars. In my two previous visits it has been easy in and easy out and they only charge $20.

The four mile drive from the Holiday Inn to the Lenovo Center only took about 20 minutes. But upon arriving I got a tremendous shock. Parking was $60. I am not sure who owns and operates the arena. I do know that the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL play their home games at the arena as do the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

But whoever owns the arena is really sticking it to those attending events here. But this was just the first of several shocks I was in for once I was inside the arena. A bottle of soda (no cup, no ice) was $7.47. I saw one beer (I don’t drink) listed at $17. And a three-piece chicken strip with fries and a bottled drink set me back more than $27.

It’s amazing that they are gouging people to the extent they are. In the future I will have to think twice before returning for future tournaments.

I was really pleased with my seat. It was on the floor, just behind the band and a few rows off the floor. It was at one of the tunnel where the teams entered and exited the floor. Even though I was behind the band I still had a clear view of the floor.

We were the first game of the day and had CBS #1 broadcast crew of Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Tracy Wolfson. The first game of the day tipped at 12:09 and featured Baylor against Mississippi State. 

This was a good game that saw Baylor come out on top 75-72. The second game of the afternoon session saw the Duke Blue Devils demolish Mount St. Mary’s 93-48.

As usual they clear the arena between the afternoon and evening sessions. The arena staff did an excellent job cleaning and getting the place ready. Unlike some arena’s the staff did a quick turn around and about 45-minutes later the doors opened, and we were readmitted for the evening session.

The first game of the evening session pitted Florida against Norfolk State. And as expected the Gators cruised to victory 95-69.  The last game of the first day featured the UCONN Huskies against the Oklahoma Sonner’s.

For the most part this was a competitive game. I am not a Dan Hurley Fan. I don’t like all of his sideline antics, and I really don’t like the way that he rides the officials.  I was really hoping the Oklahoma would send them packing. But it wasn’t to be as UCONN defeated the Sooner’s 67-59.

The days games went about like I expected when I first saw the bracket last Sunday Night. Two crappy 1 vs 16 games and two relatively close 8 vs 9 game. Like I said before, the tournament committee didn’t do the Raleigh venue any favors by putting two #1 seeds here.

But maybe we will have two competitive games on Sunday. Tomorrow is an off day here in Raleigh, so I plan on using it to do a little sightseeing.

PLANNING FOR THE FIRST TRIP OF 2025

 

Well, the first little adventure of the 2025 Season is in the Books. As is the case most years, I start my travel season with a trip to the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Every year since attending my first tournament in 2001 in Greensboro, North Carolina, I have made it a point to attend the tournament. Some years I turn it into a one or two-week vacation by traveling to places like Dallas, Oklahoma City, Orlando or Tulsa. Other years I stay close to home by traveling to sites Greensboro, Charlotte, Nashville, Pittsburgh and Greenville.  I did miss the year that the tournament was cancelled due to COVID and the following when the entire tournament was held in the Indianapolis Area.

This year was one of the stay close to home years as I traveled just a little over 3-hours from home to the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. I have attended the tournament here in Raleigh on two other occasions when the Arena was known as PNC Arena.

For the past 15 years I have been receiving a code that allows me to purchase my ticket before they go on sale to the general public. This allows me to more often than not buy tickets on the end line or in the corner of the lower bowl. Before I was receiving the early buy codes, I had to wait for tickets to go on sale to the general public which just about ensured that I would be in the upper bowl or at best the mezzanine level.

I received my early buy code in my e-mail back in October about 2 hours before tickets went on sale at 12-noon. I logged into my ticket account and was 247th in line. Which wasn’t too bad. They limit the number of people in the buy area to keep the site from crashing. At 12:15 p.m. my number came up and I was admitted to the buy area where I was able to select my ticket.  After looking at the available seats I selected a seat in Section 125, Floor Row 10, seat 3. 

Immediately selecting and paying for my ticket I received an e-mail with a link to my tickets. By clicking on the link, I was able to download my ticket directly to my phone. It should be noted that most NCAA Venues require a digital ticket and no longer accept paper or printed tickets.

After purchasing my ticket, I started the process of finding a hotel for my time in Raleigh. I am a reward member for several major hotel brands including Drury Inns, Choice Hotels (Sleep Inn, Comfort Inn), Hilton Honor (Hilton, Hampton Inn) and Holiday Inn.

For many Years I stayed almost exclusively at Comfort Inn or Sleep Inn. But after COVID I noticed that the cleanliness or the quality of service had gone drastically downhill. Since COVID, Comfort Inn – Sleep Inn has become a last resort choice.

Drury Has become my favorite Hotel for a number of reasons. First, all the Drury Hotels are Company owned. There are no franchises. Second, they feature something called an evening Kick-Back. This is basically a limited buffet that like breakfast is included in the price of your room. The food is good, and it rotates depending on the day of the week.

But There are only about 150 Drury Inn’s nationwide, so they are not available in every city. That was the case in Raleigh, so I searched for a Hilton or Holiday Inn.  One thing that I quickly found out was it appeared that special event rates were already applied to the Hilton/Hampton Inn’s reservation system.

It appeared that Holiday Inn still had their regular rates on their reservation site so after checking several I settled on the Holiday Inn in Cary which is only about 4-miles from the Arena. The average nightly rate including taxes ended up being $141. Compare that to the Hampton Inn’s $188 nightly average.

A week later, just for kicks, I checked the Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn reservation sites and found that both Hilton and the Holiday Inn had substantially raised their rates. The Hilton/Hampton Inn average daily rate for a 4-night stay was $205 and the Holiday Inn – Cary was $176.

So, now all I had to do was sit back enjoy the season and wait for Selection Sunday which was still over 5 months away.