Mozambique- Trackchasing country #90

 

Heading to Mozambique!

There are many interesting subplots related to my trip to Mozambique and what followed after visiting there in this review. If I were you, I would let the photos and headlines guide you to what you find most interesting. Thanks to everyone who took the time to say “hey” in my last newsletter.

 

 

Please don’t miss my video of the racing at the Autodromo Internacional de Maputo. My ride along in one of their race cars at speeds approaching 200 KPH was a true highlight. Additionally, getting a one-on-one tour in Cape Town, South Africa, of their “townships” was a real eye-opener. These residential areas originated from South Africa’s 50 years of apartheid. Sadly, I don’t know that much has changed in the townships since apartheid ended in 1994. You’ll find my experience toward the end of this post.

 

 

Click here:

 

Racing from Mozambique – Trackchasing country #90

 

 

One paragraph for the finance people.

My Chase Sapphire Reserve card carried my highest annual fee of $550. They just increased that yearly fee to $795. Not a problem. The rewards I receive from this card are significantly more than the $795 fee.

Annual card fee	$           795
Total credits	$        1,804
Travel credit	300
Stubhub	220
Apple TV/Music	144
Restaurants	300
Lyft	120
Gameway*	720
*40 visits  x (3x$6)
Rental car coverage
Chase Sapphire lounges
CSR needed for Chase transferable points

 

 

Day 6.

 

 

My flight to Africa.

My 15-hour flight from Newark (EWR) to Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB) was easy. Getting an Uber from the airport to my hotel was easy. I’ve flown into JNB four or five times.

 

 

I wish I had thought of this.

The people who thought up the idea of ridesharing were brilliant. The rideshare industry only emerged about 15 years ago. What a convenience. What an economical way to get around when traveling. In Africa, my Uber driver always arrived in under five minutes.

 

 

Hyatt.

Tonight, I was staying at the Hyatt House in Johannesburg, South Africa. It’s only early June, and I’ve already been credited with more than 100 Hyatt stays for 2025.

 

 

The Hyatt House in Johannesburg was not anything to write home about. It was older. I suspect it was acquired from another hotel operator to establish a Hyatt footprint in South Africa. Nevertheless, once again, the staff upgraded me to a suite. And, they did have a pancake machine! That’s why I love staying at Hyatt.

 

 

Day 7.

 

First time on Airlink.

Today I’m flying on Airlink. They operate 65 airlines and fly to 15 countries in Africa. My route would be Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB), to Maputo, Mozambique (MPM).

 

 

More than 100.

This is my first ever visit to Mozambique. The country is my 101st country that I have visited. I can now say I’ve been to more than 100 countries. That statement will never change for the rest of my life, as there are only 193 countries in the world, depending upon who you talk to.

 

 

What about the visa for Mozambique?

When I landed in Maputo, the first thing I had to do was get my “Visa on arrival.” This is a great way to obtain a visa if you need one. It sure beats sending in my passport with a couple of passport photos and paperwork to get a visa. In the past, I’ve had to go without my passport for as long as two weeks. I travel out of the country 10-15 times a year. I can’t be without my passport for long. The Mozambique visa process was simple. It cost me 10 bucks.

 

 

Uber? No, not really.

I figured I would grab an Uber from the airport to my hotel and go from there. Not so fast, big guy.

 

 

When I checked my Uber app, it told me there were “no available rides.” That could be a problem.

 

 

I walked over to the airport information desk only to encounter a woman who spoke virtually no English. By the way, Portuguese is the official language of Mozambique because Mozambique was once a Portuguese colony. Did you know that?

 

 

Yango?

The woman tried to explain to me that in Mozambique, Uber was not called Uber, but rather Yango. I find that people who don’t speak much English can sometimes absolutely convince me they know what they are talking about, even when they don’t. I suppose things can get lost in translation.

 

 

I never could get “Yango” working properly as an app on my phone. That being the case, I changed some South African money for the official currency of Mozambique, which is the metical. In today’s world, I never use much foreign currency. The world has moved to digital currency initiated by phones or, in my case, my Apple Watch. I like that…plus I’m trying to spend every penny using my credit cards, not cash.

 

 

Talk about old school.

I was going to have to take a taxi on the street. I would have to pay the driver cash. Talk about old school!

 

 

Luckily, a local Mozambique resident, wearing a suit (which made him look more responsible), named Gabriel, overheard my dilemma. He jumped in and explained how things worked in English. He confirmed my taxi fare. Then Gabriel gave me his phone number. He told me that if I encountered any problems during my trip, I should call him. They’re always seems to be someone who comes to my aid. I’m thankful for that. Off I went on what would become the first of many taxi rides in Mozambique.

 

 

Radisson Blu.

For the next three nights, I would be staying near downtown Maputo, the biggest city in Mozambique, at the Radisson Blu Hotel. Research told me this was one of the nicest hotels in the city. Although I have no status with Radisson, they provided me with a lovely room offering a beautiful view of the Indian Ocean.

 

Silvio!

I had been in contact with a Mozambique man named Silvio Coelho. He came to me via the trot line. After I had checked into my hotel, Silvio contacted me via WhatsApp. He asked if I might like to go out to the racetrack on this Thursday evening. I was tired from travel, but not that tired. Of course, I would like to go. I make it my policy to rarely turn down an invitation to anything. It is the story that hides behind the invitation.

 

 

So…do you do this?

In just a few minutes, I was hopping into a car with a person from Africa whom I had never met, from a country I had never visited. We were off to a destination where I had never been. It was dark. This was Mozambique. OK, be honest. Would you do that? I said, be honest.

 

 

Sylvio would turn out to be the nicest guy. I sent out my trot line. He answered the call. He admitted to me that he didn’t know if my request for racing information to Mozambique was legitimate, but he thought he would give it a try by answering. I’m glad he did.

 

 

Once we had been in his car for just a few minutes, we both realized that the other guy truly was “legitimate.” Remember, each time you might question whether the other person is a good person, they are commonly making the same assessment of you.

 

 

Autodromo Internacional de Maputo.

The race I was coming to see would be happening on Saturday. Practice would commence on Friday. Tonight was Thursday night. The members of the racing club were having an informal party at their clubhouse.

 

 

Fun. Just plain fun.

To begin with, Sylvio took me on a ride in the dark around the layout of the Autodromo Internacional de Maputo racing circuit. That was fun. We found our way only from the headlights of Silvio’s car.

 

 

I suppose the folks from the racetrack had been expecting me. I had been described as a “guy who runs around the world taking photos at different race tracks.” O.K., that was close enough. I guess that was partially correct. I met several people tonight, all of whom spoke English well enough for us to enjoy our conversations.

 

 

Day 8.

 

 

The Indian Ocean.

I woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the Indian Ocean in Maputo, Mozambique. I had never done that before. I wasn’t staying in a Hyatt, but this place was certainly nice enough. An exquisite buffet breakfast was included. Following my morning meal, the hotel staff called a taxi to take me to the racetrack. The taxi fare was 400 Mozambique medical for a ride that took about 10 minutes.

 

 

My friend, Pepe.

As soon as I arrived, I met a person named Pepe Gomez. It was Pepe with whom I would spend a considerable amount of time for the rest of the weekend.

 

 

Pepe was a former race driver and is now a track steward. His family came from Portugal. He was also an avid photographer of racing and wildlife and had a camera lens long enough to prove his passion.

 

 

Really? Really? 200 kph?

Pepe asked me if I might like to take a couple of laps in the passenger’s seat around the track in one of their race cars. Of course I would! Remember, I never turn down an invitation.

 

 

You’ll have to decide this for yourself. I happen to believe that many of the things I describe during these trips are somewhat out of the ordinary compared to what a typical vacationer would do.

 

 

Riding in a race car with a five-point safety harness and a racing helmet inside the cockpit of a racing machine with a professional race driver, Antonio, at the wheel is not exactly “normal.” We would reach speeds of 200 kph before we slammed into a 90-degree turn. Don’t miss my video! Very few people reading this have done that.

 

 

This is not getting any easier.

My body doesn’t bend as well as it used to. Simply getting into the race car takes a little bit of time. Bringing that last size 15 shoe inside the roll cage cockpit required my full attention.

 

 

From there on, it’s buckle up and put on a racing helmet that makes me not just 6’3” tall, but about 6’7” tall. Then, I’m ready for a ride. A ride like this is just a bit more daunting than the most severe roller coaster ride I’ve ever taken in an amusement park.

 

 

I made it back to the paddock area.

When that was done, I was free to roam all over the circuit for the rest of the day. The ATCM (Automòvel & Touring Clube de Mocambique) racing organization gave me an orange safety vest. This identified me as a person who could walk anywhere I wanted to go without harassment from anybody…as long as I behaved responsibly.

 

 

Darren, from Zimbabwe, is the man!

One of the people who had been helping me with this Mozambique trackchasing project was Darren Pragji. I met Darren back in 2016 at a race in Zimbabwe. He is a long-time racer and builds some of the most beautiful race cars I’ve seen anywhere in the world.

 

 

When I first met Darren, his 10-year-old son was helping him out at the racetrack. Now Darren’s son Dylan is about twenty and is taking over the driving duties. I can tell you that Darren is one of the proudest fathers of a son I have ever encountered. He is one of the most caring people I have ever met.

 

 

Friends introducing friends.

Darren helped me get hooked up with the Jensen Racing Team. That group was coming over from South Africa to compete this weekend in Mozambique.

 

 

I met that family, which included racing drivers Travis and his dad, Franz, as well as Travis’ girlfriend and Franz’s wife. What nice people. I would walk past their pit stall several times during the weekend to chat. They offered me food and drink.

 

 

I also had the opportunity to meet many racing officials. The ATCM people were friendly, welcoming, and knowledgeable. From time to time, I would interview them about their responsibilities. They were happy to talk about it for my YouTube video.

 

 

Making friends at the dinner table.

Pepe joined me for dinner at a Mozambican seafood restaurant, the Costa do Sol, at the end of the day. There we dined on calamari, Portuguese sausage, and curry rice. Following dinner, Pepe took me on a drive around Maputo, a city that he had grown up in as a child. That was special.

 

 

The best aspect of any of my trips is meeting local people. I grew up in sales. Meeting people like this comes naturally for me. Having these exceptional experiences is always the highlight of my trip.

 

 

Timing is everything.

When I got back to the hotel, I checked the news on my phone. I seldom turn on a TV when I’m in a hotel. I mean virtually never.

 

 

I discovered that Israel and Iran had been exchanging missiles. Iran was sending missiles into Tel Aviv, Israel. Just a few weeks ago, I spent four nights in Tel Aviv. I’m glad I missed those fireworks.

 

 

Day 9.

 

Trackchasing country #90 was minutes away.

Today is race day in a country where I have never seen racing. I’ve only been able to say that 90 times. Yes, today I will see racing in my 90th different country around the world. Trackchasing has been a wonderful hobby. It has taken me all over the planet.

 

 

Had any other trackchaser pursued trackchasing in Africa? You’re kidding, right? Only three trackchasers, excluding Carol, had ever trackchased in Africa, with a total of one track each. I have trackchased in seven African countries at nine tracks.

 

 

What are these trips really about?

Some people who don’t pay close attention think that trackchasing is all about racing. Not true. What is true? Yes, it is trackchasing that brings me to these faraway places. I would not have come to Mozambique if they were not racing. However, the real benefits of visiting Mozambique or any other country are the food, the sights, and, most certainly, the people. I will stay in touch with many of those folks for a lifetime. People, places, and things are what trackchasing is about for me.

 

 

Up close and personal.

It’s one thing to sit in the grandstands and watch a racing event. However, when I can come to the paddock area of a racing circuit or the pit area of a racing oval and be standing right next to the racing machines and racing people, that’s a tremendous amount of fun.

 

 

There were nearly forty racing teams at the track today. They came from Mozambique and South Africa. The drive from South Africa was about 10 hours one way. One of the racing teams told me they were held up at the border for a couple of hours while border officials questioned them.

 

 

Thanks, Rodrigo.

Another person who helped me with advanced information was Rodrigo Rocha. Rodrigo is a high-ranking official in the FIA organization. We had a chance to meet up. It was a pleasure spending a few minutes with Rodrigo.

 

 

I will produce a YouTube video of the racing action. The video will feature interviews with a variety of individuals. For the racing fan, that’s gonna be of interest.

 

 

What kinds of cars were racing?

There were two different classes of race cars competing this weekend. One was the Mozambique-based group, the Kia Picante racing series. The automobile manufacturer Kia makes a small, economical vehicle called the Picante. Those make sharp little race cars.

 

 

The other racing class was called the “modifieds.” This pretty much included any other car that showed up to race this weekend. There were some replica cars and some touring cars, such as BMWs and Datsuns. They were all very colorful and lined up side by side in the paddock. I had full access to the drivers and race teams. I was only limited by my own unwillingness to come up and say hello.

 

 

The Prego sandwich.

In the middle of the day, I stopped by the very informal concession area where women were making Prego sandwiches and serving beer and whiskey. The first day, Pepe bought me a Prego sandwich. On race day, Sylvio and his friends bought me a beer. Then, I bought them a bucket of beer.

 

 

A long but tremendous day.

Watching the racing from all vantage points was fun. It was a long day. I arrived at 10 a.m. I didn’t leave the track until nearly 8  p.m. The weather was warm, although it was winter time in Mozambique.

 

 

Because Mozambique is located far south of the equator, its winter coincides with our summer in the United States, and vice versa. They get their share of rain during the winter, but the weather was completely rain-free during my four days in Mozambique.

 

 

 

Lots of entertainment for the fans.

Today, in addition to circuit racing, they also did an exhibition of karting and drifting. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen drifting, but it’s a fascinating demonstration of automobile skill. In drifting, the driver tries to spin his tires and produce as much smoke as possible in what seems like out-of-control driving, but it isn’t. It appears that a driver could easily go through a set of tires in just one 20-minute demonstration. The fans love the speed, the smoke, and the squealing of the tires.

 

 

When the racing was finished and it had been dark for a couple of hours, the race teams were all loaded up. Pepe gave me a ride back to the hotel. My hotel was located next door to a “mall.”

 

 

Always exploring the local scene.

The mall included a casino, a movie theater, and some restaurants. I just missed the chance to see the last movie of the day. Like most malls, many of the spaces were unoccupied. The place wasn’t much, but I had an ice cream cone and took a tour of an African grocery store. Inside the grocery store, I didn’t recognize most of the brand names.

 

 

This was my last night in Mozambique. From my experience, virtually all hotels in Africa have strong security at their entrances. You can’t just drive in as if you were pulling into the Holiday Inn parking lot in Lincoln, Nebraska. It don’t work that way.

 

 

Is this part of the world safe?

During the weekend, I discussed security with several people. Many had experiences of guns being pulled on them and other very intimidating security circumstances. Most of the people I spoke with were white or Portuguese descendants living in Mozambique. At the same time, all of the fans and many of the crew people were black.

 

 

Day 10.

 

Cape Town would be a highlight of the year.

Today, the plan is to fly from Mozambique to Cape Town, South Africa. I had flown to Mozambique from Johannesburg, South Africa.

 

 

We have to fly over a mountain on takeoff?

To get back to the United States, I would be flying standby. The plane from Johannesburg to Newark was holding back 60 seats. That means they weren’t selling 60 seats on the plane. That limited my availability to get on that plane. However, the same-sized plane going from Cape Town, South Africa, to Newark wasn’t holding back any seats at all.

 

 

What was causing the difference? I was told that in Johannesburg, on takeoff, the plane had to clear a 2,000-foot mountain. To do that safely, they would need to hold back the weight of sixty passengers and their luggage. That was fine for me. There were plenty of seats on the Cape Town plane. I had never been to Cape Town and would love a chance to spend a day visiting.

 

 

Trying to visit every airport lounge in the world.

I have a couple of different credit cards that offer me Priority Pass lounge access at airports worldwide. It’s always nice to stop and grab something to drink, including alcoholic beverages, and enjoy some complimentary food at a lounge anywhere in the United States or around the world.

 

 

The lounge in the Mozambique airport was modest. Nevertheless, they had a full liquor selection and some tasty food.

 

 

The flight from Maputo, Mozambique, to Cape Town, South Africa, was nearly three hours long. We flew it on a regional jet.

 

 

I found most everything to be inexpensive.

South Africa seemed a little bit more “urban” than Mozambique. Getting an Uber ride was easy in South Africa. Before I did that, I stopped at one of the airport’s fast food restaurants. I ordered a triple-layer pizza. Each layer of the pizza had six small slices, so the entire pizza had 18 slices in total. I added a bottle of Coca-Cola Zero. The entire concoction cost me 99 South African rand, which is approximately five dollars USD.

 

 

Top hats, tuxedos, and not many Hyatt points.

I would be staying at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Cape Town. This was a lovely, older city hotel. They had guys helping with the bags in long tails and top hats. People serving in the restaurants were wearing tuxedos. Classy.

 

 

I arrived just in time to take advantage of the Regency Club lounge again, where I enjoyed more food and drink. I truly believe I could go on these trips when I’m staying at a Hyatt and spend almost no money on food and drinks.

 

 

The room rate at the Hyatt Regency was a strong $270 USD. However, the Hyatt points rate was only 3,500 points. At Hyatt, I can either pay cash or use my Hyatt points. I have earned nearly two million Hyatt points in the past year and a half. I currently have over one million Hyatt points in my account.

 

 

The lowest rate for any hotel property with Hyatt is 3,500 points per night. The highest rate for most properties is about 45,000 points. Hyatt offers its hotels in a range of categories, from Category 1 to Category 8. For some odd reason, the Hyatt Regency in Cape Town is classified as a category one hotel. I don’t understand that at all. I would easily think that hotel would be in the category four or five range. Thirty-five hundred (3,500) points for a free night at a place like this was one of the best deals, if not the best deal, I’ve ever had while staying at Hyatt properties.

 

 

Nelson Mandela, Robben Island.

I ran into the hotel concierge. I asked if I could arrange for a tour to Robben Island tomorrow. Robben Island is where South African political prisoner and president Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for several years. On that tour, I would take a 30-minute ferry ride from Cape Town to the island. I would then have the opportunity to step inside the cell that was used to house Nelson Mandela. I was looking forward to that.

 

 

Day 11.

 

This would be a full day.

Tonight at 8 p.m. I would be flying from Cape Town, South Africa, to Newark, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City. That meant I had all day for touring in Cape Town.

 

 

Bad news, but really good news.

My guide picked me up at 7:45 a.m. First, he had some bad news. The ferry boat ride to Robben Island had been canceled due to rough seas. That was disappointing.

 

 

There was another part of today’s touring that would surpass the enjoyment and education I had expected to get from the Nelson Mandela prison visit. I’m talking about touring Cape Town’s infamous  “Township” residential areas.

 

 

What were they thinking?

Apartheid, which was the government-supported segregation of blacks and whites in South Africa, began in 1948 and lasted until 1994. Forty-six years.

 

 

To maintain segregation, the South African government introduced the concept of “townships.” Townships were initially established for single black men who provided labor for many South African businesses and industries.

 

 

These townships eventually morphed from homes for single male residents to entire poor African families. Townships were set up for “non-whites.”

 

 

In South Africa, there are four broad ethnicities of individuals. These are Black South Africans, White South Africans, Coloureds, and Indian/Asian South Africans. Coloureds in South Africa are meant to include people who are of mixed race.

 

 

Ismael, originally from Langa Township.

My guide Ismael took me into the Township of Langa. Ismael was a 36-year-old black man. He had grown up in Langa with his family for the first 10 years of his life. Ismael told me there wouldn’t be any security issues for me, a white man, entering an all-black residential area of 300,000 people. Ismael had grown up here, and most people knew him. I took his word for it.

 

 

Ismael was driving a BMW automobile with a white guy in the passenger seat. We did get our share of looks. We went into the center of Langa, parked the car, got out, and started walking.

 

 

Stop! We have to stop for a minute.

That’s right. Folks, let me pause for a moment. Most places are “grandmother safe.” That means your grandmother can get on the roller-coaster, get on the tour bus, or stand behind the fence and have nothing to worry about. Ismael and I were not on a tour bus or standing behind a wall. Ismael was from here. I was not. We were IN the township.

 

 

I don’t know where you are from, I don’t know what your race is, or your economic class. I am from a relatively small town of about 13,000 people in central Illinois. I am a white man, and I have accumulated enough assets to be able to travel just a little bit around the world. Walking around a place like Langa is not something that I’ve ever done in my life.

 

 

Never seen anything like this up close.

In Langa, many people live in small metal storage units with flat roofs. Each unit has two doors. These are what would meet the definition of housing slums. Most of these places lack heating or air conditioning. They may not have running water. They do not have bathrooms, and the electricity is shaky. The litter around these places is beyond anything I have ever seen. Living conditions might best be described as squaller.

 

 

Ismael and I walked everywhere. It seemed like every couple of minutes, someone would walk past and recognize my guide, saying hello. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that I never felt unsafe for a moment during this visit.

 

 

I’ll share a few photos to give you an example of what I’m talking about. I’ve been on the road for quite a while. I had made a note to myself that when I got back home, I needed to get a haircut.

 

 

Moses Barber Shop is a top 10 cultural experience.

It was about this time that I walked by an establishment, a metal storage shed building, with the sign on the outside that read, “Moses Barbershop – Mr. Fixers.” Recently, I read about a fellow who travels around the world and attempts to get a haircut in as many different countries as possible. To my knowledge, I have never gotten a haircut outside of the United States.

 

 

Bummer.

On a side note, I must admit that I can never recall going to a barbershop with my sons or daughter and watching them get a haircut. I find that fact both amazing and somewhat disappointing. Carol did all of that. I missed out. I think about that from time to time. I wish that I had been involved in some of those haircutting experiences.

 

 

 

Ismael, I want to get a haircut.

Anyway, I told my guide that I needed to get a haircut. I wish I could have read Ismael’s mind when he heard that. I wanted to get a haircut at Moses Barbershop. No problem. When we had finished all of the walking around Langa that we needed to do, we marched on over to Mose’s Barbershop. I got a haircut.

 

 

My brother from another mother.

Moses was the friendliest person that I’ve ever met. He told me he was going to make me look fifteen. Of course, that wasn’t possible, but I enjoyed the haircut and got a lot of pictures of the experience. Moses’s best friend, who was in the shop at the time, also took his share of photos. I kidded Moses that we were brothers from another mother.

 

 

I suspect that Moses will show his photos to all of his family and friends. I’ll be doing the same thing. I think that’s a great outcome of a single haircut.

 

 

The cost of the haircut was 100 South African rand or about five dollars USD. I enjoyed the experience, and I know that Moses did as well.

 

 

Power slapping!

While I was getting my haircut, they had a special “sport” on the TV in the barbershop. This sport was called “Power Slap.” What happens when two people are playing power slap?

 

 

I was watching the heavyweight division. I don’t know where the broadcast was emanating from, maybe Las Vegas. In the game of power slap, two big guys stand about three feet apart. They each get to slap each other on the side of the head, alternating, five times.

 

 

Power slapping is similar to boxing. You’re trying to knock out your opponent. On a couple of occasions, as I watched, people were knocked out cold from the slap of their 300-pound opponent. At other times, they were not knocked silly, and sometimes, when each had slapped the other five times, they had to have a judge’s decision. It looked to me like you could easily lose an ear or an eye or maybe get your neck broken. I don’t intend to play power slap.

 

 

Remember, to have a real friend, you need to share a meal.

When we were finished with our tour, I told Ismael that I wanted to take him to lunch. I said we needed an upscale, authentically South African restaurant. He took me to “Mama Africa’s” in downtown Cape Town, only a block or two from the Hyatt Regency. If you ever visit Cape Town, you must stop here.

 

 

It was 2 p.m. They had live music and singing. The food and service were outstanding. One of the most memorable meals I ever had in my life was with J.J. and a friend of his in Johannesburg, South Africa. The food and service were exceptional. They painted our faces with African dots and designs. This meal rivaled that experience. I bid Ismael a hearty goodbye and thanked him for my fantastic tour.

 

 

My Uber drivers often become like buddies.

From there, I headed to Cape Town International Airport. My South African Uber drivers were lovely people. I felt like I was best friends with them after I completed each ride.

 

 

I would be flying economy class from Cape Town to Newark, a distance of 8,824 miles with a flight time of nearly 15 hours. The entire flight mileage for the eleven plane rides that made up this trip was 25,204 miles. I had an aisle seat with an open middle next to me, which was more than comfortable. I slept, watched some movies, and did a little work on my computer.

 

 

Day 12.

 

Time to head home? Not yet.

I landed at Newark after a 15-hour flight from Cape Town at 4:30 a.m. Clearing customs was easy with Global Entry. I could’ve just flown back from Newark to Los Angeles and called it a trip. That’s not how I would be rolling on this adventure.

 

 

Talking the talk; walking the walk.

I’m not that big of a baseball fan. However, once you’ve been telling everyone that you’ve seen a major league game in every active major league stadium, you have to maintain that. At the beginning of the 2025 season, all of that stuff changed. At that point, I had NOT seen a game in every stadium. I had to take action.

 

 

When a Florida hurricane tore the roof off of the Tropicana Dome in Tampa in 2024, it just about destroyed the whole place. That led Tampa Bay to relocate its entire 2025 home season to the minor league George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

 

 

The Oakland Athletics had their stadium lease run out at the end of the 2024 season. They threatened to leave Oakland, and then they did sign on with Las Vegas. Las Vegas. Building a new stadium in Las Vegas is expected to take approximately three years, even though it only took 365 days to build Disneyland from start to finish.

 

 

In the interim, the team no longer called the Oakland Athletics, but now simply the “Athletics”, will play their home games in Sacramento at Sutter Health Park.

 

 

Tampa Bay Rays.

Just so I could continue to tell everybody that I have still seen a major-league baseball game in every active major-league baseball stadium, I hopped on a plane from Newark to Tampa. I bought a ticket on SeatGeek for $36 in a great location to watch the Tampa Bay Rays host the Baltimore Orioles. Tomorrow I’ll fly from Tampa to San Francisco and drive to Sacramento to see the “Athletics” play the Houston Astros.

 

 

I’m retired. I’ve been retired for going on 24 years. I do stuff in retirement that most people don’t do. Why? Well, I need something to do, right?

 

 

What did I experience at George Steinbrenner Field?

I had a few observations from my visit to George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, for the Tampa Bay Rays versus Baltimore Orioles game.

 

 

I was reminded that I’m not a big fan of the weather here, especially in the summertime. It was 87° at game time, with intense humidity. When the ninth inning wrapped up, it was still 82. I live in a world of 65 to 75° with no humidity, and that is my favorite type of weather.

 

 

I always strike up a conversation with the people sitting next to me. Tonight, it was two young soldiers on leave from their duty in the Middle East. They were both from Ohio. It was fun talking to them. One was expecting his first child in three days. They were pretty impressed with my travel schedule.

 

 

George Steinbrenner Field seats just 11,000 people. The crowd was pretty laid-back, especially compared to what I’ve seen in Japanese ball parks. When the game was over, a couple of things happened that had never happened to me at any of my other major league baseball game visits, which total in the hundreds.

 

 

First I saw the famous sportscaster Dick Vitale leaving the ballpark with his family. He couldn’t walk very far before someone would stop for a selfie. That’s probably a hassle over time.

 

 

Much of the crowd stayed after the game to watch a drone show. I had never seen something like that. I thought the drones were going to be flying in all sorts of crazy directions. In reality, they were in fixed positions showing color silhouettes of baseball scenes and Tampa Bay Rays logos. At least it was a first.

 

 

Day 13.

 

I never seem to get tired.

To see a game in Sacramento, I hopped on a jet at 7 a.m., which is 4 a.m. California time, which was a 2 a.m. wake-up call for me. I flew from Tampa to San Francisco.

 

 

I don’t watch the news. Why? Oftentimes, I don’t believe the news.

I had heard numerous negative reports about San Francisco’s downtown area, so I was a little concerned. I probably should be more concerned about the people making those judgments. My GPS took me through downtown San Francisco for about 30 minutes from the SFO airport to Sacramento.

 

 

It was one of those beautiful, crystal-clear, 65° late-spring days in San Francisco. The place looked spotless. I might’ve seen two or three homeless people. I’ve been visiting San Francisco since 1973, and I’ve been there over 50 times. I have always seen homeless people during that time. San Francisco, New Orleans, and probably New York City have been my all-time favorite food towns. We used to have numerous meetings in San Francisco. If the media you listen to tells you that San Francisco is a bad place to visit, I’m here to tell you that I’ve just been there. I’ve never seen it looking any better. I had a beautiful drive over the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

 

Way to toasty for me.

As mentioned, I am not a fan of hot weather. In the summertime, Sacramento is a hot weather city. I took a Lyft ride-share from my hotel to the ballpark. It was 100°.

 

 

The Sutter Health Park is home to the Sacramento River Cats minor league baseball team. Surprisingly, the River Cats continue to play all their home games at this facility, as do the Athletics. That makes for a busy schedule for Sutter Health Park.

 

 

Didn’t like this much.

This was one of the rare times that I didn’t sit next to someone and strike up a conversation. The two guys sitting in front of me were so loud and obnoxious that I moved to a seat where there was no one sitting directly next to me. Why do some people behave so poorly in public? I can’t imagine what life is like for them back in their trailer park. See what I did there?

 

 

The humidity in Sacramento is significantly lower than in Tampa during the summertime. Fortunately, by about the fourth inning, the heat had cooled off to around 80 degrees. The temperature almost seemed like 62 with no humidity!

 

 

Now I can return to living a simple life, where I can tell people that I’ve seen a baseball game in every active major-league baseball park. If they seem interested, I will also drop this on them: “I’ve seen a baseball game at every one of the 12 Japanese major-league ball parks as well.” Heck, even if they don’t seem interested, I will probably tell them that.

 

 

Day 14.

 

Home…at last.

Today, all I had to do was take the short flight from Sacramento to LAX. I would almost be home. For this two-week trip, I flew on 11 airplanes, covering a distance of just over 25,000 miles. That’s a nice spring tune-up for some big trips I have coming soon.

 

 

C’mon, man.

When I was about 30 minutes from home, I got a text from my neighbor. He told me that a water pipe running along the side of our house had been dispensing water at a high rate, all day long, if not longer. I have been gone for two weeks, and Carol was on a trip with her sister to Texas.

 

 

I’ll be honest. I imagined coming home to a house filled on all levels with a foot of water. That was not what I wanted to imagine, but I did.

 

 

When I pulled into the driveway and opened the garage door, a horrific sound emanated from the water heater. With much trepidation, I entered the house and found no leaking whatsoever. I called our plumber. We’ve had the same plumber since we built our home 25 years ago. He assured me that it was probably only a leaking valve and not a washed-out water heater. He told me to take a shower and then to turn off the hot water. Editor’s note: It was the water heater!

 

 

This was a wonderful trip. When you fly more than 25,000 miles in two weeks, you’ve been pretty “active.” As a senior, I try to maintain an active lifestyle. I think most people would agree that I do.

 

 

See you next time.

 

Randy Lewis.