Wanderlust

It's been a while since I've been to a ball game - years, perhaps? Sheesh. Seems more recent - sitting in Safeco Field with most admitted priority to the garlic fries, then secondly Ichiro. Anyway, back to the Yankees... well, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, that is. Even with the opening pitch thrown by George Steinbrenner's daughter.

It was the opening (little cold for outside stadium seating still) game, which they celebrated with fireworks and a fly-by. However, the fireworks were pre-game - so even though you could barely see the sparks - you *could* hear the bang, so the effect was (mostly) there. The fly-by was timed perfectly, right on the heels of the groovy brass version of the Star Spangled Banner. They were fairly quiet too, which was the absolute opposite of my second most horrific fly-by down Main Street in Sturgis last year. Just for kicks, my most horrific fly-by ever was in George, Washington at the Gorge where Karen I swore a passenger plane was hijacked and going to crash into the music crowd. Seriously - we were shaking and sweating for an hour - very very freaky. Words just can't transcend here, sorry.

I digress, back to the game... we thought we'd see a no-hitter, which would be super cool - alas, twasn't meant to be. They took out the pitcher in the 6th. Apparently this is normal, but I would think a possibility of a no-hitter would be worth it? Nope. Not that night. There was a guy sitting near us in an Idaho State sweatshirt - I ran over to him and hurriedly asked "Are you from Pocatello?!" to which he looked at me confused and said "Wha...?" like I was speaking a different language. I said again, with a point to his shirt "Are you from Po-ca-tello?" and he said "Oh, no - sorry" and turned around. That's it - no explanation, no story of how he'd gotten the shirt, no questioning me on why I knew it. Quite anticlimactic, no? Tell me about it.

Back to the event at hand, they won! And I don't know if it's the minors or if it's the location, but they are great hecklers here! Some of the crowd was relentlessly yelling, and the rest of the crowd was laughing - even the left fielder had to wave and haphazardly smile at one point. On the other team. The field is great - nestled in some rocky cliffs, close to the interstate, smack in between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.

Just a sidenote, example of some great building structures here in the area - this one is a brewery. Tried one of their Stegmaiers but I prefer the Lionshead.

The best restaurant so far here in the NEPA area is (according to me) Mirakuya - it's a Japanese restaurant with teppanyaki or table seating that serves sushi and Sapporo. We had a grill to ourselves one day and it was the best meal. Teppanyaki places are usually pretty similar in the jokes and knife skill display - this is no different, and that's why I dig 'em so much. The veggies and rice and meat are so good and this place had some of the best fried rice ever. Mmmmm.

Pocono Downs opened their live racing season April 1st. So now, four times a week they have live harness racing along with simulcast and traditional casino gambling. There is a restaurant to watch from within glass windows with individual tvs for simulcast views, or you can brave the elements and watch outside. I thought I was just making some incredible bets and winning big, but I would claim my $0.50 win sheepishly each time. I guess it's true, you have to bet big to win big.

Staying in a hotel for a day or two, even a week is a fun vacation, and you tend to only notice that you are in a new place that seems clean and functioning. Staying in a hotel for longer than a month is still great, but different. Things you wouldn't have noticed in a day's time, you now notice. We've had some crazy experiences with fire alarms, alarm clocks, ambulances, and vacuums. The hotel is like a little interworking society within society (of the country or city). There are similarities between life and hotels.

-> We are all here for a reason and don't necessarily care about the other guests; however for the most part we are polite or friendly to others.
-> We find things to occupy our time here onsite - like movie rentals and a gym.
-> There is a caste system in the staff as well as the guests - some people staying there are used to better, some are used to worse.
-> We each have our own little private area among a bigger block but we meet in the same hallways and paths.
-> We ask for things we think we deserve and complain freely when we don't get want we want for a multitude of reasons such as...we paid for it, it's owed to us, we deserve it, it's fair...
-> There are outside influences which we cannot control (such as an alarm clock next door when there are no occupants)
-> We are all trying to get our bearings, and we are all just here temporarily.
-> Everyone is dependent upon everyone here (staff and guests), but we are also independent and private of each other.

The good part about hotel living is that you are never alone and the lights are never off. The bad part about hotel living is that you are never alone and the lights are never off.