100mph

Aroldis Chapman came on to pitch for the Reds in game 1.  Several times during the inning he pitched, the speed of the pitch was recorded at 102 miles per hour.  He put Starlin Castro away with a 103mph fastball eventually.  Here, the pitch was only 101mph!

Cincinnati Reds @ Chicago Cubs (game 1)

The first game of my road trip was the opening game of a 3 game series between the Reds and the Cubs.  It seems a very long way  up to the 400-level seating - particularly in this heat.  The temperatures are in the low 90s here, dropping away to the mid 80s as the evening goes on!

Predictably, there was a lot of Arrietta-related presentations and accolades for his no-hitter against the Dodgers the previous evening in Los Angeles.  In fact, his appearance on the video board throughout the game prompted howls of delight form the local crowd.

Talking of the two large video screens.  I can see what the traditionalists and those opposed to video scoreboards mean.  It really does change the character of the ballpark significantly.  Not least between innings, there's more scoreboard action than organ playing.  And more items "presented by <company>" all the time.  Regularly readers of my holiday blogs will know that I like large, clear video scoreboards ... but  I'm not yet convinced that they were a good idea for Wrigley Field.

This game was close for 8 innings, and a 2 run lead for Cincinnati going into the 9th didn't look insurmountable ... except that they added on 6 more in the top of the 9th.  The crowd were not pleased, and the game ended 13-6 in favour of the visitors.  I found myself nodding off throughout this game, mainly due to the heat, but also because I'm still catching up on sleep after my short sleep on Sunday before travelling.

It was still warm on the way back to my hotel, but at least it's a simple journey down the Red Line.

Another night game tomorrow.

London to Chicago

I had an early start on Sunday, picked up at 4.30am for the trip down to Heathrow.  Terry got me there in good time, and I was able to go straight through the fast-track security, with no queueing required.

When I flew to Montreal last month, it took me ages to find the way to the 'B' gates, because I missed one crucial signpost, so this time I knew exactly where I was going and it only took 10 minutes to walk to the 'B' concourse.  I definitely only booked business class, but appear to have been moved up to first - for all the flights in my itinerary, which is nice!  When I got to the lounge reception, I was directed down a different corridor into the First Class lounge instead.  It was very comfortable, almost empty, and quiet!  I had a quick English breakfast and coffee before heading down to the gate, just in time.

On the plane, I was given another breakfast, which I passed on except for the coffee and croissant, which was lovely with strawberry jam.  Then I managed to sleep a little off and on throughout the flight, although I seem to have missed the freshly-baked cookies.  Before arriving, a "light lunch" was to be served.  This consisted of a prawn skewer with chilli sauce couscous salad; sweet potato and ginger soup; fresh seasonal salad with lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, croutons, dressing; my choice of main course for which I chose the tenderloin of beef with Marsala sauce, chive mashed potatoes, carrots and sugar snap peas; cheese board; and finally ice cream with a variety of toppings!

Fortunately, the walk to immigration wasn't very far and, as I've visited the USA before on current ESTA, I was allowed to use the fast track area where you scan your passport on the console, do the fingerprint check and photo check, and it prints you a receipt that you take the official, who just checks it and stamps it and lets you in - it took less than 2 minutes!  Sadly, there was then a 30 minute queue for customs and no fast-track.  It's not entirely clear why it took so long, as all the official was doing was collecting the slip of paper that the machine printed for me at immigration!

This time, I avoided the long walk to the railway station by going around to terminal 2 on the transit train.  I could have cut more time off, by cutting through the Hilton hotel reception.  After I found my pass and reloaded it, I went into the city centre and out again to my hotel, which is in the River North area, close to loads of restaurants, the river, and to a Red Line station for getting up to the Cubs games.  Unfortunately, the White Sox game today was early, so I couldn't sneak in an extra game!

I had a light dinner and then stayed up until 10pm to try to finish adjusting to the time zone change.

Ready to pack

It's taken me a long time to get this far, but I'm now ready to start packing ready for an early departure on Sunday morning to Chicago.

This year, I'm visiting Chicago, Boston, Oakland, San Francisco and Minneapolis.