Greetings from Washington D.C.
From the travels and adventures of the
“World’s #1 Trackchaser”
RFK Stadium – asphalt road course
Lifetime Track #1,970
A big day in the trackchasing life of Trackchasing’s First Mother. Carol’s trackchasing involvement is rather limited. In point of fact she is banned from the trackchasing hobby! Guy Smith bans Trackchasing’s First Mother. Why didn’t Carol come to Washington, D.C. in 2002? We try to try new things. If one doesn’t do that you’re stuck with old things. Eastern State Penitentiary – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Uber! How would be get tickets to the Phillies game? Opportunists rule the world. Youth is wasted on the young. We are simple folks. Now you know the rest of the story. Fortuitous….or well planned? Using Baltimore’s light rail system. It’s an advantage to be gregarious. Strike three! You’re out. Orange….then more orange! Geno’s Steaks and Pat’s Steaks Not my first Rallycross event by any means. The announcer was not a weatherman. A big day in the trackchasing life of Trackchasing’s First Mother. Carol and I woke up this morning in Arlington, Virginia. We both went to bed in Arlington, Virginia. This is what the day looked like. Today was a big day in the trackchasing life of wife Carol aka “Trackchasing’s First Mother”. Of course that statement might require a bit more clarification and explanation. Carol has been an avid trackchaser for a long time. She has seen racing at more than 500 tracks. She is one half of the number one trackchasing couple in the world. That’s right. Despite Carol curtailing her trackchasing efforts in recent years we has still seen more tracks than any other couple competing in the hobby. Let’s be honest. Carol does not have a strong interest in trackchasing however. If I didn’t go she wouldn’t go. However, I have to give her lots of credit. She’s more than willing to travel in excess of 50,000 miles every year tagging along with me. No other woman have ever made that commitment to trackchasing. In point of fact trackchasing is almost an entirely male hobby. Few trackchasers are married or ever have been. From the married trackchasers few can get their wives to come along. Carol’s trackchasing involvement is rather limited. In point of fact she is banned from the trackchasing hobby! Carol doesn’t keep up with the hobby much at all. She doesn’t even read my Trackchaser Reports! However, she does save each one for reading when she’s “in the home”. Carol probably couldn’t name five people in the hobby. Guy Smith bans Trackchasing’s First Mother. Trackchasers long ago voted to never ever allow a child’s race to be counted in the hobby. Was banning children enough? No! When power hungry people get in power they try to impose their will on anything and everything. Guy Smith decided that Trackchasing’s First Mother would no longer be able to be a part of active trackchasing. Carol doesn’t stay abreast of the trackchasing rules. She has never ever voted on a rule and won’t be able to now since Guy Smith decided Carol could not participate in the hobby of trackchasing. When he took over as trackchasing’s commissioner he changed the policies that had been used for years by the previous trackchasing commissioner Will White. Guy single-handedly decided Carol would no longer participate in trackchasing as she had done since she joined the group. Nevertheless. Nevertheless, Carol enjoys achieving trackchasing “milestones”….if I remind her they are available! A major milestone could be achieved this weekend. Carol has seen racing in all 50 American states. However, she had never seen a race in the District of Columbia. Few people have. In fact, up until this weekend only six trackchasers had seen racing in all 50 states AND the District of Columbia. I, like the other five, pulled off this feat back in 2002. When Carol and I talked about that trip we had a hard time believing it was 12 years ago. At that time the “National Grand Prix” was my 597th lifetime track. That was well over 1,000 tracks ago!! Why didn’t Carol come to Washington, D.C. in 2002? I can’t remember why Carol didn’t come along on that trip. However, over the years, we have talked about this omission in her trackchasing resume. She agreed that it would have been nice if she had knocked of DC back in ’02. When I advised her she would have another chance she didn’t want to miss it this time. The RFK Memorial Stadium, named after Robert F. Kennedy, younger brother to former U.S. president John F. Kennedy, was located just 10.1 miles from our Courtyard Marriott hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Let’s ride the subway. We could have driven our rental car to the event. However, taking the city’s “Metro” would be more fun and adventuresome. We’ve ridden subways all over the world. They each have a lot of similarities. I must admit we wimped out and asked the station agent for help with the automatic ticket machine. Why? We were just lazy. For a Sunday morning the train was packed. However most were not going to the race. Washington D.C. has a lot of tourists and a lot of tourist attractions. The Metro riders were heading out for a day of touring but not so many were going to the Rallycross racing. After the races….. We try to try new things. If one doesn’t do that you’re stuck with old things. The race finale was finished by 3 p.m. That gave us plenty of time to touring, eating and trying a new concept we just learned about a couple of weeks ago. We rode the subway over to where all of the Smithsonian museums are located. Following a nice time at the museum we took the subway again to a restaurant recommended by a Southern California based friend and doctor. I’ll tell you all about that in the “Attractions” section. Suffice it to say we get “just a little bit more” out of each of these trips than others who pursue the trackchasing hobby. Uber! I told you we tried a new concept. What was that? I’m talking about “Uber” (pronounced ‘ooh-ber’ not ‘you-ber’). Have you heard of it? Have you used their services? Uber makes apps that that connect passengers with drivers of vehicles for hire and ridesharing services. We first learned of this from J.J.’s good friend Dustin M. Dustin actually does some driving for Uber. The service is available in several big cities. Very cool. Uber is a very cool concept. The drivers are private contractors driving their own personal cars. Customers use their smartphone apps to tell the Uber system and their drivers where they would like to be picked up. Uber drivers see where the customers are located and the first driver to “accept” the ride gets the fare. The driver is then obligated to pick up the passengers and take them anywhere they want to go. Surge pricing. Fares are based upon time and distance. Today our fare would be affected by “surge” pricing. That meant the fare would be higher because there were more passengers wanting rides than drivers available to drive. Some folks don’t like surge pricing. However, the customer knows the price before they ask for the ride. That’s fair isn’t it? The “surge” price for us was 1.75 times normal. Our driver, who had been driving for Uber for three weeks, told us he had seen surge pricing be as much as three times normal. Research told me that on New Year’s Even in some locations surge pricing reached SEVEN times normal or more. Today our driver showed up in a very nice Toyota Camry with leather interior. The distance we would be traveling was only about two miles but with heavy traffic took seven minutes. Here’s how our fare broke down: Base fare – $3.10 Distance – $1.57 Time – $2.19 Normal fare – $6.86 Surge x 1.75 – $5.14 Sub-total – $12.00 Safe rides fee – $1.00 Promotion – $3.25 Total $9.75 Uber riders usually get fares lower than what local taxicabs provide. That’s one of the reasons taxi companies and their lawyers have sued Uber in just about every place they operate! I think a fare of just seven dollars would have been lower than local taxis for today’s riding. With the “surge” add-on I’m not sure if Uber would have been lower. I wasn’t aware I was getting a 25% savings until I got an email from Uber summarizing our ride and the pricing details. Most impressed. Overall, I was most impressed with the Uber experience. I doubt many places will be as busy as Washington, D.C. on a sunny summer Sunday afternoon. I’ll definitely use them again. TRACKCHASING TOURIST ATTRACTION I very much enjoy the racing when I go on trackchasing trips. However, I am not the type of person who would feel the trip was complete if I simply left home, went to the race and came back home. I do a good deal of traveling. I want to do my best to see the local area when I come for a visit. There are often some unusual attractions that one area is noted for more than any other locale. I want to see those places. I want to touch them and feel them. When I leave an area, I want to have memories of these special places that I call Trackchasing Tourist Attractions. I will remember those experiences long after the checkered flag has fallen on whatever race I have seen that day. Sunday Smithsonian Air and Space Museum – Washington, D.C. We had some time and this was a good way to spend it. Following the races we took the subway down toward the Smithsonian museums. There is no charge to enter these museums. During our many trips to “D.C.” we seen several. Today’s museums and tour guide talks were most interesting. Monday Eastern State Penitentiary – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Yes, I’m a big fan. We spent the morning in prison. That’s right. I did a TripAdvisor search on fun things to see and do. The Eastern State Penitentiary was at the top of the list. This place opened all the way back in 1829! It closed in 1971. Carol and I have a fascination with prisons. Back in college we toured the Joliet (Illinois) state prison as part of a criminology class. We’ve taken the Alcatraz tour several times. Today we were in Philly seeing another prison. Al Capone’s prison cell Guys like Willie Sutton and Al Capone spent some nights here. This place was the “first” U.S. penitentiary. They specialized in solitary confinement. Because of overcrowding the prison had to close. We spent a few hours here. It was very entertaining and educational. I took a lot of interior pictures of Eastern State. The place is crumbling. Nevertheless, visitors can get a full understanding of what it might have been like to have been “stationed” here. Don’t miss the pictures. I know I say that frequently but don’t miss the pictures! Citizens Bank Park – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Yes, I’m a big fan. One of my goals for 2014 is to finish up seeing a game at every active Major League Baseball Park. There are thirty teams in MLB. To date I have seen play at 31 different stadia. That sounds like I’ve seen ‘em all plus one. Nope. Some of the games that I have seen were played in stadia that have been replaced. I want to have seen a game in every ACTIVE major league park. Coming into tonight I had eight to go. Those would be (moving left to right), Seattle, San Diego, Colorado, St. Louis, Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Tonight we had a choice of two somewhat nearby locations, Baltimore and Philadelphia. I had a good plan to see a game in Baltimore later in the season. That meant Philly, the location furthest from my home would be the best choice. By selecting Citizens Bank Park I was also selecting today’s afternoon Trackchasing Tourist Attraction and today’s special lunch location. I don’t pay retail. I have several sources where I can buy tickets to MLB games on the cheap. However, the least expensive ticket for today’s game was $25. I had Trackchasing’s First Mother with me. Did I want to pay fifty bucks in advance of the game? No, I did not. I waited and waited for prices to come down. They didn’t. I checked the Phillies website. They had twenty-dollar tickets but by the time various ticketing fees were added in I was back to fifty dollars for a pair. That being the case we headed out to the stadium from the Eastern States Penitentiary. It was with much chagrin that I paid $16 U.S. to park in the Lincoln Financial Field (home to the Philadelphia Eagles) lot. This was a convenient location just across the street from the baseball park, Citizens Bank Park. When I go to other stadia I can’t help but compare whatever I experience with the park I’m most familiar with at home Angels Stadium. Angels Stadium was voted the most “fan friendly” for six consecutive years by ESPN of all MLB locations. In 2009 Angels Stadium was named most fan friendly for all stadia in the four major American sports (baseball, football, basketball and hockey). We pay $3-5 to park in a 100% safe location at Angels Stadium. Tonight it was $16 also in a perfectly safe location. There was one very surprising thing about tonight’s parking lot. About every third car was “tailgating”. Folks were having their favorite beverage, wearing their favorite Phillies gear and generally having a good time and being very well behaved. That experience was fun to see. How would be get tickets to the Phillies game? Now we had to figure out how to get a ticket(s). There were virtually no scalpers around. That meant the police must be cracking down. I decided to head to the box office of all places in search of a ticket. StubHub had removed tonight’s game from their menu an hour before game time. They NEVER do that. Was the game sold out? Opportunists rule the world. While we were waiting in line I saw an older man (even older than me I think) approach a young couple in the line next to us. I have seen this type of thing before. He had an extra ticket and either wanted to sell it or give it to this young couple. They listened to his spiel and rejected whatever he was offering. I am nothing if not an opportunist if you were to listen to Carol. She usually says this after I see her walking past the sofa and ask her to hand me the TV remote. Well of course I would. I IMMEDIATELY put myself in the line of sight of this gentleman with the extra ticket. “Whatya got buddy?” I asked. “My wife couldn’t come to the game tonight. I have an extra ticket. Would you like to have it? No charge” he said. Well, of course I would. “Thank you very much” I said. The man handed me the ticket and was off into the crowd before much more could be said. Youth is wasted on the young. Now I had ONE ticket but Carol and I needed a total of two. The young couple near us who had turned down this ticket offer waited in line so they could buy the two tickets they thought they needed. The saying that “Youth is wasted on the young” was in evidence tonight. When we approached the ticket window I got a bright idea. The ticket I had been given had a $48 face value. Our plan had been to buy the cheapest tickets possible and then sit high up behind home plate a location that has become our favorite. It’s also an easy seat to get at just about every park I visit. You don’t get if you don’t ask. “Can we exchange this ticket and it’s face value for two tickets elsewhere?” I asked. Of course we could I was told. A very helpful ticket seller did a little keyboard magic and soon said, “I’ve found you two good seats higher up right behind home plate. You owe me two dollars”. I immediately went to my money clip and handed her the money. We are simple folks. Now you know the rest of the story. Folks, Carol and I are simple retirees. We worked all our lives saying a dollar here and a dollar there while paying for three children to attend and graduate from 12 years of college at one of the best institutions in the world UCLA. We’re not very smart but know a lot of smart people. We’re not very wealthy but know a lot of wealthy people. We need to watch where every dollar goes. The seats we had for tonight’s game each carried a face value of $25 U.S. We had paid two dollars for fifty dollars worth of tickets….and now you know the rest of the ticket story. Are we lucky or what? Now it was time for dinner at the old ballpark. They have so many choices. What would we eat? That question was soon answered by a promotion the Phillies were having tonight. It was “dollar dog night”! Yep. A hot dog, normally priced at $5 U.S. (yes a rip) was selling all night tonight for just one dollar. We bought four. It’s unusual for Carol to eat TWO hot dogs but then she is Czech and knows a bargain when she sees one. Later we would buy three more hot doges (one for me and one for each of us for breakfast tomorrow – our hotel room has a fridge and microwave). That meant we had purchased seven hot dogs, a $35 value for seven bucks. We were doing pretty well. However, you can’t always eat the bear. Sometimes the bear eats you. Carol’s Bud Lite Lime (in a bottle) was eight bucks. My “souvenir cup” Diet Coke was $6.50 although it did come with a free refill that I took advantage of in the seventh inning. A beautiful place. Citizens Bank Park is a beautiful place. The park was built in 2004 and looks brand new. It is located in South Philly within a good three wood’s distance of the aforementioned Lincoln Financial Field home to the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. CBP or “The Bank” seats 43,651 people. Tonight’s announced attendance was 32,161. The game itself did not offer much excitement. The Phillies were playing the Miami Marlins. Last year I saw the Marlins play three times, once at home and then at Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. The Marlins won 4-0 scoring two runs in the first and the ninth. The crowd was extremely quiet considering these folks are from the Philadelphia area! I guess with the Phillies being shutout there wasn’t much to cheer about. The stadium has a beautiful view of downtown Philadelphia beyond center field. The Jumbotron is one of the best I have seen. The team mascot, the Phillie Phanatic does a great job entertaining the fans especially when he hops aboard an ATV and shoots hot dogs well over 100 yards into the crowd! Initially we were seated in front of two Phillie fans (the kinds of guys who would be wearing a Philadelphia Flyers jacket two sizes too small) that talked incessantly and overstated the obvious. One guy would call each pitch AFTER the pitch was thrown. The batter would hit a foul ball and the guy would tell his buddy “that’s a foul ball”. Oh, my. Then we moved over a few sections to an area less crowded. The crowd was very well behaved. I was impressed with that. The weather was perfect with temps in the 70s and a nice breeze all night. Tonight was also “Jimmy Rollins” night. I was not familiar with Mr. Rollins accomplishments. Just recently on June 14, 2014 he became the all-time hits leader for the Phillies. He bested Mike Schmidt with 2,335 base hits. Years ago I saw Mike Schmidt in an American Airlines Admirals club. He had red hair then but now he has white hair. Editor’s note: Mr. Rollins was traded over the winter to the Los Angeles Dodgers. So much for loyalty to the Phillies organization. We could not have asked for much more other than to have gone to this game with lifelong Philly resident and Philly season ticket holder Louis Skypala. We will have to do that another time. The park was outstanding. I’ve been to several of the “newer” parks in the past couple of years. Even though some are 10-20 years old they all look nearly brand new. We bought $50 worth of tickets for two dollars. We bought $35 worth of hot dogs for seven dollars. We saw a special presentation to the Phillies all-time hits leader. It was a great night of baseball following a great day of touring. Tuesday Fortuitous….or well planned? It seemed fortuitous that I could see a race in Washington, D.C. on Sunday and then a baseball game in Philly the next night. It was MOST fortuitous when the NEXT night I could see a game in nearby Baltimore! Following the Orioles game it would be just six more stadia to see to meet my goal. What’s that goal? I’m trying to see a MLB game in every active stadium. That’s 30 of them. Carol and I were up early. She would be heading back to Los Angeles this morning. She had met her travel objective this week. She had seen a race in the District of Columbia. Now she was a member of an exclusive club. She had seen racing in all 50 states AND the District of Columbia. One of the best parts of our marriage is that both of us are independent and flexible. I had begun this trip first in Michigan and Indiana. Then Carol joined up with me for racing in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and D.C. Then we saw a MLB game in Pennsy before she headed home while I stayed to see a game in Maryland. I’ll stay out on the road with the objective of more MLB touring and trackchasing. Then Carol and I will be together in a few days for a trackchasing effort in California. I move around a good deal….so does Carol. Carol was flying standby to LAX from Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA). There were nine seats available and she was #9 on the standby list. Of course, all of that was subject to change with people who book at the last minute or don’t show up for their flight. I could begin my day now. Carol would be departing at 9:15 a.m. I was busy while she waited to see if she would get on the plane. First, I returned my rental car but not before waiting nearly an hour in the cellphone lot. The later I returned the car the later I could return the car the next day. Then I re-rented the SAME car. You know the drill behind that strategy. Then I went back to the cellphone waiting lot. When I got the text from Carol that she had made the plane I could begin MY day. If she had not made the flight from DCA I would have swooped in and driven her to Washington’s Dulles airport. It’s almost 30 miles from the Reagan airport. We have associate sponsors there. She might or might not make one of those flights! I was happy she got her first choice back to LAX. No more Marriott hotels for me. I would need a hotel. Carol and I had just wrapped up several nights in Marriott properties. Now Carol was gone. Could I afford a Marriott? Priceline said no. It’s the middle of the week in Washington, D.C. now. Business people lobbying your congress people are in town now. They are on expense accounts. They don’t really care what they pay for a hotel. They’ll get it back with their share of government spending on their products. It’s the American way. The best place to stay would be a Motel 6 near Washington. I paid about the same price that we had for each night at the Marriott. The Motel 6 had one special rule I had never seen before. No guests were allowed after 8 p.m. That might tell you about the neighborhood the place was in. How could I NOT stay? The original plan called for me to return home after the Phillies game on Monday night. However, when I was reminded the Baltimore Orioles had a game the next night how could I NOT stay? That meant doing my own laundry at the Motel 6. I couldn’t get that project started until I bought some private label laundry cleaning “pods”. There were two brands available. Procter & Gamble (the company I retired from) sold a package of 35 usages for $11 U.S. However, the Family Dollar brand (14 uses) sold for just $3.50. If you were poor which would you choose. P&G is known for making the best products in their individual categories. P&G had nearly 30 different brands that each do more than one BILLION dollars in business. However, our products are normally higher priced reflecting the quality of the products. Nevertheless, there are millions of shoppers who can’t afford that quality and/or won’t pay for it. A 42-minute nap in the middle of the afternoon. When the laundry was finished it was time to find a Trackchasing Tourist Attraction in Baltimore. I soon found out that I was ALREADY planning to see one of their top attractions “Camden Yards”. With that I turned out the lights in the middle of the afternoon and took a 42-minute nap. I’ve had four nights in the past six where I have gotten 0-5 hours of sleep. Tonight I’ll get just five hours and maybe less over the next couple of nights until I return home to San Clemente. Using Baltimore’s light rail system. My plan was to use public transportation to take me part of the way to the game in Baltimore tonight. I had used their light rail system to see the Baltimore Grand Prix a few years ago. However, back then I was a youngster. Now I was a full-fledged “senior”. That meant “senior pricing”. I could by a “day pass” on the light rail system for the princely sum of $1.20 U.S. That’s right. I could ride all day for just over a buck. If they are going to provide these specials to people who have in many cases decided they don’t have to work because they don’t need the money….then I’m going to keep accepting these handouts. By riding the train for the last ten miles I could avoid all of the city congestion and save a $15-20 parking fee. It’s an advantage to be gregarious. Before boarding the train I struck up a conversation with a fellow wearing a Baltimore Orioles jersey. He appreciated what I was trying to do in seeing a game at every active MLB park. He was trying to do the same thing but on a more casual basis. He also provided me with some good tips on using the train and touring Baltimore Harbor. The light rail system drops passengers right next to Orioles Park at Camden Yards. If I had been willing to spend $600 U.S. back in 1993 I would not have been making a return trip to the ballpark. Strike three! You’re out. That’s right. Back in 1993 son J.J. and I made the trip to Baltimore in hopes of seeing the Major League Baseball all-star game. We spent an entire 24 hours in advance of the game trying to get tickets. We met and talked to some of the most interesting characters you would ever expect to meet. It was a great training ground for a young 18-year old and a 43-year old as well. Alas, we were not able to get tickets. Yes, we COULD have gotten tickets. I can ALWAYS get a ticket but it was a function of price. The cheapest tickets we could find in the worst seating locations were priced at $300 U.S. per. I tried and tried and waited and waited but the prices never came down. In the THRID inning tickets were still selling for $300 each! Just because you CAN afford something doesn’t always mean it’s a good idea to buy something. J.J. and I decided to drive back to Philly. We listened to the game on the radio on the drive back. This was another lesson learned. Just because you CAN afford something doesn’t always mean it’s a good idea to buy something. We were seeking value but it wasn’t there in 1993. If I had invested that $600 we saved that day it would have doubled about every ten years. That means in 2014 I would have about $2,400 U.S. by not going to just one baseball game more than 20 years ago. I DID invest that money! Now I had a couple of dollars to invest into tonight’s return visit to Orioles Park at Camden Yards. I was two hours early for the 7:05 p.m. start. That gave me some time to explore Baltimore Harbor. It was a gorgeous blue-sky sunny day. I’m sure the harbor looks its best under these conditions. It was a bit warm for my tastes. I prefer 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit. This seemed unusual. The Harbor was a good eight-block walk or so from the stadium. I noticed something unusual on that walk. Vendors were selling Oriole souvenirs, drinks, peanuts and the like. These products were in direct competition with what would be sold inside the stadium. They were being sold at half price as well. I wondered how they could get away with that? I spent some time talking to an older man with a huge placard around his chest. The sign read that parking was a $20 “donation” for the “old church”. He told me they had just fifteen spots to sell but every dollar counted for the church. We talked some more and I learned he went to Marine Corps boot camp all the way back in 1953. He called me a “young pup”! On the right of right. I spent some time talking to a vendor from Kenya. He had some really beautiful bracelets for sale. One had the colors of the U.S. flag. I enquired about the price. Ten bucks. Carol would love that bracelet. She’s on the “right of right” and anything red, white and blue resonates with her. I passed by the first time I met the Kenyan fellow. He was holding fast to his price. He told me everything was made in Kenya and it was expensive to ship things from there to here. I reminded him that the bracelet was very light. I’m not sure it weighed an ounce. He came back with, “But a hundred of these are very heavy”. I doubted that. It was all part of the negotiation “dance”. I wasn’t making much progress until I told him the bracelet was for my wife. He was asking ten dollars for his work. Would he take eight dollars? Truth be told if he had been selling it for five dollars I would have offered him three. That’s just part of the game. Finally, he told me he would accept my eight dollar offer if the bracelet truly was for my wife. I took his picture, which you can see above. I think you’ll recognize the man from Kenya. His parting comment was, “If I see you wearing that bracelet I’m going to ask you for two more dollars”. He said it with a smile. Twenty years ago I didn’t want to pay $600 U.S. for J.J. and I to see a game here. There’s been some inflation since that time. However, if you “buy things right” you can do a pretty good job against inflation. Just trying to have enough to get there on. I had ridden the train to the park for $1.20 avoiding the high city baseball parking charges. I grabbed a Diet Mountain Dew and large bag of peanuts for five dollars from the street side vendors. Part of their selling pitch was that these products could be taken inside the park. This was about half what the price the park would sell these items for. The cheapest ticket I could find on StubHub was $15. That’s not bad for a major league game. However, a quick iPhone search of the Orioles website told me they had tickets “down the line” for nine dollars available. I bought one of those. Now I had parked gotten some food for the night and my baseball ticket all for less about $15 U.S. You can’t beat that with a stick as we used to say “back on the block”. Orange….then more orange! The most noticeable thing about being inside the stadium was the almost day glow ORANGE of the various Orioles garb. Their colors are Orange and Black. There’s a lot more orange than black! The stadium is nice but not as nice as several others I’ve visited. Beyond center field is a city view. However that view in not nearly as nice as Cleveland or Philadelphia. The scoreboard was too “busy” for my tastes. The places seats more than 40,000 but was probably less than half full. Just like last night in South Philly the visiting team got the jump on the home team. That kept the crowd quiet. In the end I watched the Chicago White Sox defeat the hometown Orioles 4-1 from my seat behind home place and high up where the view was excellent. Just six more parks to go and I will have reached my goal. I’m still shooting to do that in 2014. ONE CANNOT LIVE WELL OR SLEEP WELL IF ONE HAS NOT DINED WELL Geno’s Steaks and Pat’s Steaks I’ve been wanting to go to South Philly to eat cheesesteaks at this location for a very long time. I’ve talked with buddy Paul Weisel about “steaks” many times. Before I go much further let me offer this disclaimer. I an not an expert on cheesesteaks. I did not grow up with cheesesteaks. The same can be said for wine. Nevertheless, I know what I like. Carol and I were to have a “taste off” between Geno’s and Pat’s. They are located about 100 yards from each other. First we would order a cheesesteak “wit” or “with” cheese whiz as well as onions. Carol didn’t think much of the idea of having cheese whiz on her sandwich. I reminded her that “when in Rome…”. She understood. We would stop first at Geno’s. We would have a sandwich there. Then we would cleanse our palates and then saunter over to Pat’s an order an identically described sandwich from them. I would love to come here after dark. Geno’s looks to have some really cool neon orange signs. I had been schooled in one requirement when ordering a cheesesteak. You have to act like you know what your are doing. There can be no indecision, no stuttering, and no questions. We want a steak “wit” and with onions. The service was fast. I was getting in more trouble by the minute. Then I made a blunder. “We would like two drinks too” I whimpered. We were bluntly told that “drinks and fries” would be ordered and served at another window. I was taking pictures right and left and panoramic. I took a couple of photos through a glass window of the cooks grilling the cheesesteaks. A big guy, most guys in South Philly are big, yelled through the window, “Don’t take any pictures without asking me first”. I looked up and gave the guy the “one finger salute”. I would take pictures anywhere and anytime I wanted. With that he put down his meat cleaver and headed toward the door. Carol was busy asking me how many napkins I wanted not knowing I was about ready to meet my demise from a guy wearing a Philadelphia Flyers jacket that was two sizes too small. O.K. It didn’t really happen that way. O.K., not all of the above paragraph is true. The guy did tell me not to take pictures without asking. The rest of the “action” did not happen. I pretended to not really hear what he said and took several more shots but no more through the glass. I WAS curious as to what he would have said if I HAD asked to take photos. Nevertheless, I have a responsibility to my readers to keep you informed. No “big” guy from South Philly is going to prevent that from happening. Geno’s. Geno’s had just a 2.5-star rating from Yelp! reviewers. That’s not very good. During the day I asked two locals what they thought about Geno’s. They both seemed to say they were living off their past reputation. If I were going to order a “cheesesteak” I would make it a chicken cheesesteak. However, that didn’t seem to be a choice and I was too scared to ask for clarification. I prefer my meat chopped up in my cheesesteaks. Geno’s served their meat in long thin slices of beef. The bread had more of a dinner roll type flavor. The “cheese whiz” was nearly non-existent. Carol asked “Did they forget to put the cheese in our sandwich”? You might compare the Geno’s sandwich (pictured above) to the Pat’s sandwich (pictured below). I would give the place an A+ for ambience and reputation. However, the best I can give the cheesesteak is a 3 star rating. That’s better than the average Yelp reviewer. I’ve had several cheesesteaks in this area and I think everyone was better. One of the locals told me his favorite was “Jim’s”. Nevertheless, I still owe Pennsylvania based track chaser Paul Weisel a cheesesteak or two from Geno’s. When I get the chance the steaks are on me. I’ll be back to Geno’s and Pat’s too. Pat’s. It was time to walk across the street to Pat’s. Pat’s has been in business since 1930. We ordered the same sandwich at Pat’s as we had at Geno’s. Again service was lightning quick. By the way whose idea was it to put these two iconic places across the street from each other? Pat’s seemed a bit more customer friendly, O.K. quite a bit more customer friendly. They even had a sign with a four-step process telling customers the way that a cheesesteak SHOULD be ordered. It read like this: “How to order a steak” Carol and I read the instructions several times. We practiced while we were in line. Then I placed our order of a “steak wit cheez whiz”. Before I had the words out of my trembling lips the sandwich was wrapped and being handed to me. We found a spot on several picnic tables located outside that surround both Pat’s and Geno’s. What do they do in the winter? There a Pat’s worker was cleaning up trash and handing out napkins. That was a nice touch. Our Pat’s sandwich was drenched in cheez wiz. Compare the pictures of our sandwiches from these two places. The beef was chopped up more than at Geno’s but probably not as much as I like it. The bread seemed to be on more of a white roll. The verdict? So what was the verdict in this sandwich “eat off”. Carol and I both clearly preferred Pat’s. However, we both agreed, especially me, that most cheesesteaks I’ve had were better than these two places. By the way I would give Pat’s a 3.5-star rating. Don’t get me wrong I was ecstatic that I had finally come to these two historic places. They have ambience and reputation. However, I have rarely found Yelp reviewers to be off by more than a “half-star” especially with the base of reviews is large. Next time I’m in Philly I’ll try Jim’s and other places with higher review ratings. Jim’s advertises they’ve been in business since 1737! Maybe Benjamin Franklin had a cheesesteak here. You really can’t go very wrong ordering a “steak” in this city. Philly is to “Steaks” as Cincinnati is to chili or Baltimore is to crab cakes. It’s a specialty and a tradition. RFK Memorial Stadium – Washington D.C. Can this be? We would be seeing “Rallycross” racing today. Rallycross is a big deal in Europe just like soccer. Nevertheless, Rallycross and soccer are not all that popular in the U.S. Rallycross racing is marked by high-powered cars racing on tracks with BOTH asphalt and dirt surfaces. The races are short, just five laps or so most of the time. The fields are small with just 5-6 cars most of the time. Rallycross racing in Poland….a fun trip. Not my first Rallycross event by any means. I’ve seen Rallycross racing in several locations, most recently at the “X” games in Austin, Texas. In Austin I had to pay $59 to see the race but that included an all-day series of musical concerts. Today we still paid $25 per person, which was high, but not as high-priced as it might have been in a big city atmosphere like Washington, D.C. The racing was Not in RFK Stadium. The racing itself took place in the parking lot of RFK Stadium not in the stadium itself. This was somewhat disappointing to me. RFK Stadium was built in 1961. It has been home to several major league sports teams. The Washington Redskins played here for 38 seasons from 1961-1996. Baseball’s Washington Senators played here from 1962-1971 before moving the franchise to Texas and renaming the team the “Texas Rangers”. The National League’s “Washington Nationals” played here from 2005-2007 before moving to Nationals Park a stadium Carol and I visited for a MLB game in 2013. We arrived today at 11 a.m. That put us there in time to see the Supercar semi-finals. We watched from an elevated hillside. We couldn’t see all that much of the 0.75-mile (I’m guessing!) mostly flat asphalt and dirt road course. Touring the paddock was fun. From there we moved into the paddock area. This was a great place to see all of the cars and crews working on their machines. This was a highlight of the racing day. From there we grabbed some seats in the nine-row temporary aluminum grandstands. With a top row seat between the starting line and the finish line (two different ‘lines” about 100 meters apart!) we had a good view of the starts, the “Joker laps” and the finish. Nevertheless, the view was not nearly as good as it would be been if we had been sitting high up in RFK Stadium looking down on the whole thing. The announcer was not a weatherman. The announcer kept saying what a beautiful day it was. I suspect he had not spent much time in San Clemente. It was about 85 degrees and humid. I found it to be a generally uncomfortable weather day. Carol and I sweated our way through it. Refreshments were good. We started off with a “pound of brisket”. That was good although at $15 maybe a bit overpriced. Later we went with Lemon Chills, lemonade and a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich. No, we didn’t have many green leafy veggies. Can these guys continue with this level of customer support? There was a good crowd on hand for a short track racing event. However, for a nationally televised race (NBC) the crowd was very small. Rallycross racing in the U.S. appears to be a “made for TV” activity. The local crowds don’t matter much compared to the TV money. That’s why the paddock area was filled with high-dollar racecar haulers and multiple crew members. The TV package is the main reason the “Red Bull Rallycross” series has such a broad based eclectic schedule. That’s why they’ve already been to such exotic locations as Barbados. There are several other upcoming stops that make good “day/night doubles” with short tracks in their area. Left to my own devices I wouldn’t go out of my way to see one of these events. In Austin I was able to tie it in with an evening race in Texas. Today it helped Carol join the “50 states and Washington, D.C.” club. I might be able to see another one or two of their shows this year if I can get that “day/night double” thing going. However, a good number of their events conflict with non-trackchasing activities on our calendar. DISTRICT COMPARISONS Washington, D.C. This afternoon I saw my second lifetime track in the District of Columbia. This was Carol’s first ever trackchasing trip to D.C. She can now claim “50 states and the District of Columbia” trackchasing status. Thanks for reading about my trackchasing, Randy Lewis World’s #1 Trackchaser Peoria Old Timers Racing Club (P.O.R.C.) Hall of Fame Member QUICK FACTS AIRPLANE Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Cleveland, OH (LCE) – 2,050 miles RENTAL CAR #1 Hopkins (Cleveland) International Airport – trip begins Croswell, MI Hopkins (Cleveland) International Airport – trip ends – 151 miles RENTAL CAR #2 Detroit Metropolitan International Airport – trip begins Hoagland, IN Detroit Metropolitan International Airport – trip ends – 571 miles AIRPLANE Detroit, MI (DTW) – Washington, D.C. (DCA) – 409 miles RENTAL CAR #3 Ronald Reagan National Airport – trip begins Summit Point, WV Middleburg, PA Washington, D.C. TRACK ADMISSION PRICES: Croswell County Fairgrounds – $8 ($2 fair admission) Hoagland Figure 8 Track – $8 Summit Point Raceway – $15 Penns Creek Raceway – $3 RFK Stadium – $25 LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS The three most important trackchasing comparisons to me are: Total lifetime tracks seen Total “trackchasing countries” seen Lifetime National Geographic Diversity results Total Lifetime Tracks There are no trackchasers currently within 400 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me. Total Trackchasing Countries There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total. Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results That’s all folks! Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report Click on the link below to see photos from this all-encompassing trip: Rallycross racing from RFK Stadium and much much more! 
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I ‘visited’ Eastern State Penitentiary in 1970 when another agent and I picked up a prisoner for transport to Rahway State Prison in New Jersey. I had passed it many times as a youth, riding the ’33’ trolley with my father and grandfather on our way to watch either the Phillies or the A’s at Shibe Park (after ’53, Connie Mack Stadium) at 22nd and Lehigh in north Philly. We took the same public transportation back to center city after the game to meet my mother and grandmother for supper at the Horn & Hardart ‘Automat’ and the return trip to Allentown.
I also graciously accept free Philly steaks at either Pat’s or Geno’s, although Geno’s owner, Joey Vento, (prior to his passing in 2011) was very popular with the Philadelphia law enforcement community for his strong support.
Did you know that the Rosalyn Metro Station has the longest escalator in the western hemisphere?
Also nice shot of the USS Constellation in Baltimore harbor.
That looked like a great trip!