Scott's View - Gary, Indiana
The 2005 trip was planned as a Southern excursion, to be spent mostly in Alabama. (It didn't quite work out that way; see my Greensboro, NC account for details on that.) We planned to be in Huntsville by Saturday night, and traffic getting out of Chicago toward the southeast can be a nightmare, even on a Saturday morning. So we looked for a short Friday afternoon drive to put us in position for the lengthy southbound route the following day. The answer? Gary, Indiana.
Now, unless you're Professor Harold Hill from "The Music Man," Gary doesn't inspire much passion. To us Chicagoans, it's nothing more than a gritty, blue-collar steel town that you sometimes have to drive through to get somewhere else. Never before in my life had I ever spent a night there. So my expectations were low as we pulled into town.
On the plus side, though, was the fact that the closest hotel to the ballpark, and one offering a bargain rate at that, was the Trump Hotel and Casino on Lake Michigan. We arrived in the early afternoon and I attempted to check into the hotel, only to be informed that the computers were down and I should come back in about an hour. Not a very auspicious start. No matter -- we were in no hurry, we hadn't eaten lunch yet, and Ron and I were both getting hungry, so we decided to pass the time by walking over to the casino in search of something to eat.
Well, this wasn't exactly Vegas. There were actually two casino boats docked side by side in the harbor. Maybe "docked" isn't quite the right term. Indiana law restricts casino gambling to boats, but the definition of a "boat" is obviously interpreted very loosely. These concrete-and-steel structures jutting out into the lake were surely not seaworthy... but they did serve the purpose.
Anyhow, we first entered the Trump Casino on one side, to find the only food available there was a small counter-service deli on the bottom level. Figuring we could do better, we walked across to the other boat, the Majestic Star, and discovered Don and Mike's Sports bar, named for ex-NFL coaches Don Shula and Mike Ditka. Now you're talking! After getting a couple drafts, we asked the bartender for a food menu. "There's no menu," he said. "You can buy food over at that counter." He gestured toward a window displaying a menu board with meager offerings such as hot dogs and nachos, and not much else. Still, I was getting hungrier by the minute and was in no mood to be picky.
I walked up to the window and got in a line about five people deep. Ten minutes later, the line was... about five people deep. I could not believe how incredibly slow this service was. Evidently there was an issue with the nacho sauce or something, but I didn't stick around to find out for sure. I gave up and re-joined Ron at the bar for another beer. Eventually we went back over to the deli at the Trump, and got ourselves some very tasty sandwiches. I guess we should have just done that in the first place. Baseball Trip 2005 was off to a rather frustrating start.
After lunch, however, things started looking up. We returned to the hotel -- their computers were now operable -- and checked in without incident, then headed over to the ballpark. The aptly-named U.S. Steel Yard turned out to be a rather pleasant surprise, with an interesting history. The park was scheduled to be completed in time for the RailCats' inaugural season in 2002. Unfortunately, the project fell behind schedule, and the 'Cats were forced to play their entire first season on the road with no home field!
The stadium officially opened in 2003, and while it may have taken longer than planned, they got it right. In the middle of this stark steel city sits a green oasis, complete with picnic areas, lawn seating, luxury skyboxes, and a full-service Bennigan's restaurant, which proved handy for a couple drinks while waiting for the gates to open. the weather was warm and dry, and we spent a pleasant evening taking in the game and enjoying this fine new stadium.
After that, it was back to the boats to do a little gambling. I hit a couple of slot jackpots in the early going and was up at least 200 bucks, but sadly, I didn't know when to quit. I switched to blackjack (which I'm usually not too bad at) and quickly lost most of my windfall. I walked away with just about enough profit to pay for the hotel room, so it wasn't a total loss. And more importantly, the Baseball Trip was underway!
The 2005 trip was planned as a Southern excursion, to be spent mostly in Alabama. (It didn't quite work out that way; see my Greensboro, NC account for details on that.) We planned to be in Huntsville by Saturday night, and traffic getting out of Chicago toward the southeast can be a nightmare, even on a Saturday morning. So we looked for a short Friday afternoon drive to put us in position for the lengthy southbound route the following day. The answer? Gary, Indiana.
Now, unless you're Professor Harold Hill from "The Music Man," Gary doesn't inspire much passion. To us Chicagoans, it's nothing more than a gritty, blue-collar steel town that you sometimes have to drive through to get somewhere else. Never before in my life had I ever spent a night there. So my expectations were low as we pulled into town.
On the plus side, though, was the fact that the closest hotel to the ballpark, and one offering a bargain rate at that, was the Trump Hotel and Casino on Lake Michigan. We arrived in the early afternoon and I attempted to check into the hotel, only to be informed that the computers were down and I should come back in about an hour. Not a very auspicious start. No matter -- we were in no hurry, we hadn't eaten lunch yet, and Ron and I were both getting hungry, so we decided to pass the time by walking over to the casino in search of something to eat.
Well, this wasn't exactly Vegas. There were actually two casino boats docked side by side in the harbor. Maybe "docked" isn't quite the right term. Indiana law restricts casino gambling to boats, but the definition of a "boat" is obviously interpreted very loosely. These concrete-and-steel structures jutting out into the lake were surely not seaworthy... but they did serve the purpose.
Anyhow, we first entered the Trump Casino on one side, to find the only food available there was a small counter-service deli on the bottom level. Figuring we could do better, we walked across to the other boat, the Majestic Star, and discovered Don and Mike's Sports bar, named for ex-NFL coaches Don Shula and Mike Ditka. Now you're talking! After getting a couple drafts, we asked the bartender for a food menu. "There's no menu," he said. "You can buy food over at that counter." He gestured toward a window displaying a menu board with meager offerings such as hot dogs and nachos, and not much else. Still, I was getting hungrier by the minute and was in no mood to be picky.
I walked up to the window and got in a line about five people deep. Ten minutes later, the line was... about five people deep. I could not believe how incredibly slow this service was. Evidently there was an issue with the nacho sauce or something, but I didn't stick around to find out for sure. I gave up and re-joined Ron at the bar for another beer. Eventually we went back over to the deli at the Trump, and got ourselves some very tasty sandwiches. I guess we should have just done that in the first place. Baseball Trip 2005 was off to a rather frustrating start.
After lunch, however, things started looking up. We returned to the hotel -- their computers were now operable -- and checked in without incident, then headed over to the ballpark. The aptly-named U.S. Steel Yard turned out to be a rather pleasant surprise, with an interesting history. The park was scheduled to be completed in time for the RailCats' inaugural season in 2002. Unfortunately, the project fell behind schedule, and the 'Cats were forced to play their entire first season on the road with no home field!
The stadium officially opened in 2003, and while it may have taken longer than planned, they got it right. In the middle of this stark steel city sits a green oasis, complete with picnic areas, lawn seating, luxury skyboxes, and a full-service Bennigan's restaurant, which proved handy for a couple drinks while waiting for the gates to open. the weather was warm and dry, and we spent a pleasant evening taking in the game and enjoying this fine new stadium.
After that, it was back to the boats to do a little gambling. I hit a couple of slot jackpots in the early going and was up at least 200 bucks, but sadly, I didn't know when to quit. I switched to blackjack (which I'm usually not too bad at) and quickly lost most of my windfall. I walked away with just about enough profit to pay for the hotel room, so it wasn't a total loss. And more importantly, the Baseball Trip was underway!
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