Field of Dreams

I have always loved the movie "Field of Dreams." The entire story is heart-touching.  I also know many think the movie is nothing about baseball.  It may not be, but I still loved the history lesson part of the movie provided.  

It is also my introduction to townball, which still exists in Minnesota. There are over 300 teams.  During my retirement, I will attend and enjoy more games.

This past weekend, a friend whose boyfriend plays townball played a game in Dyersville, Iowa.  They would be playing on the movie set field!  I could not turn away the opportunity to go for the first time!

 

I decided to make this a day trip, leaving at 7:00 AM. It typically is a four-hour drive, but I took the scenic route in case I saw a chance to photograph some unique sites. I arrived at Dyersville and went to the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier. Construction on the Basilica started in September 1887. The church's cornerstone was laid on June 3, 1888; on December 3, 1889, Bishop Hennessy of Dubuque dedicated the new church. 

In recognition of the church's architectural attributes and the congregation's fervent faith, St. Francis Xavier Church was raised to a minor Basilica in 1956 by special proclamation of His Holiness Pope Pius XII. At that time, St. Francis Xavier was the twelfth church in the country to receive such an honor. Today, the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier is one of 53 basilicas in the United States.  It was a site to see!

Then I went to the "If You Build It" exhibit.  It is a dedicated exhibit for the Field of Dreams Movie from early conception to the heritage left behind. An excellent place to visit.  From Sue Riedel sending in the photo to the film producers without the property owner's (Dan Lansing) permission, about the painting the grass green (it was not natural) and some of the unique quotes, like instead of "you want to play catch" in the end Ray asks his dad "Hey Dad, you want to have a catch?".  

 

Here are a few select images from the trip.  I am looking to return in August for a Ghost Game.  That is where a team comes out of the corn and plays!  It should be fun.

 

Carry on my friends, carry on!

Nice ride

Green is Eco, Blue Tour

This morning, I woke up to beautiful weather and debated whether to ride or have a club workout.  I chose to ride.  I decided the ride my Diamondback Current, which is equipped with a Bosch Performance motor.   What I like about the Bosch system is it monitors when I use the motor and when it is off.  There are four assist levels:

1. Eco
2. Tour
3. Sport
4. Turbo

As I have lost some weight and feel stronger, I decided to minimize my motor use for the ride.  I completed a 37-mile ride with 1,640 feet of total elevation gain in a ride time of 2 hours and 47 minutes.  I took a few breaks, so the total time out was three hours and 4 minutes.  Stava stated the average power was just over 200 watts.  My average heart rate was over 120, and my peak heart rate was 150 BPM.  I was tired, more than I have recalled after a workout in a decade!  

Elevation chart

I was so happy the motor was off for 86 percent of the ride!  I only used it on the hills and only then tried to stay on Eco (level 1).  That was not easy!

The rest of the day was spent cleaning, getting medical records in order, and performing other mundane tasks I had put off for years.  Now that I am retired, I have time to reduce the "I should do" list!  

Carry on my friends, Carry on!

Baker?

While retired, I am not financially strapped, yet I look for ways to ease the strain on the budget.  I have long loved pretzel buns for my hamburgers or similar sandwiches.  I even prefer a pretzel hot dog bun for my bratwurst.  I was told they are low-cost and you can make your own from scratch.  

Today, I tried it for the first time!  It took about 30 minutes to prepare, then 80 minutes to rise, and 15 minutes to prep and cook.  The final product looks like a pretzel bun.  Could I be a successful baker?

When I finished, I went for a 20-mile bike ride to let them cool.  It was a hard ride, but I'm not sure why.  It was about 80 minutes, with an average heart rate of 125 beats per minute and a maximum heart rate of 153 beats per minute.  The numbers were solid.

After arriving home, I tried my pretzel bun attempt.  It was not better than a store-bought one when eating just the bun.  The texture was perfect, but it was a little dry.  A burger with mayonnaise and mustard would make this a success.  It would also be great with ham, egg, and cheese for breakfast.  Again, alone, it was average at best.  I need more butter and a touch more salt in the next batch.  But as a rookie, that is only a guess.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning up my mess as a rookie baker and watching softball.  Some great games, including Duke coming from behind to win.  In the entire ACC Tournament, the Duke had walk-off innings.  The final game was Oklahoma VS Texas.  Texas is ranked number 1, and Oklahoma, who won the past three World Series, has struggled.  We will see Oklahoma as one of the 2024 World Series selections tomorrow, followed by Texas and LSU.  I was hoping Arkansas would have won as that would have assured home games for two weekends in a row, assuming they win the first weekend) and I planned to go to Arkansas for the Super Regional, should they host.  I have a place to stay for free in Fayetteville!  They will host the first weekend, but I have already made plans to go to the Field of Dreams location in Dyersville, Iowa.  I have friends playing a game there on Saturday.

I tried to get some Northern Lights images last night and failed.  So tonight, I won't try again as I am so TIRED!

Carry on my Friends, carry on.

What a day!

Being retired, I have no schedule—or at least not very often.  I do not have alarms and do not need to work to get a workout in!

I felt slightly tired this morning, yet I went to the club. I was unsure how long I would elliptically train. I was watching the Alabama vs. LSU softball SEC tournament game, which was going fast. I started watching at 2.5 innings, and it took 15 minutes to get to the fourth inning. So I decided to quit the elliptical machine when the game ended or at 60 minutes, whichever came first. This was my way of justify cutting it short.  

It was 60 minutes and 6.3 miles, as the game went 14 innings and almost an additional three hours since I started!  I lifted weights for 45 minutes, returned home to make lunch, and finished watching the last 45 minutes of the game.  Wow.  What impresses me is that LSU had the same pitcher, Sydney Berzon, for the entire game!  A total of 56 batters, 208 pitches (129 strikes), and allowed only two runs in the first inning and a shutout for the next 13 innings! 

After the game, I decided a bike ride would be a great idea as it was a beautiful day.  I did not know how far I would go, so I started riding.  I did a 20-mile ride, and I felt tired near the end.  As it was nice, I made dinner and ate outside.  While eating, I realized the compost pickup was tomorrow, and the lawn needed mowing.  Although Auburn and Georgia were tired in the 2 -2 at the start of the sixth inning.  I wanted to watch, but daylight was diminishing, and the lawn needed mowing.  So I mowed the lawn.  

After mixing the lawn (about an hour), I was surprised that Auburn and Georgia were in the 11th inning - TIED.  Two extra-inning games in one day.  They still had another game to play at 7:00 PM; it was 8:15 PM, and they were awaiting the finish of a game in the 11th inning, a little behind schedule.  So I watched and watched and watched.  Over an hour later, it was an epic finish, with Auburn going up 5-2 at the top of the 14th.  I thought it was over.  Two errors and two home runs later, Georgia had the walk-off win 6-5!

So, the three physical activities today and two marathon 14-inning softball post-season games made me very tired.  

 

Carry on my friends, carry on.

Busy

Life can be like a blink if you are not careful.  Bettie Pritchard was looking for words to put in her son's pocket when she buried him.  These are the words she used.

Life is like a blink of an eye

Death is for eternity

Therefore, life is really just a dream

And death is the reality!

Today is the anniversary of my father's death.  I did not do a post when it happened.  I was home working on Saturday, May 6, 2023, when I got the call.  He collapsed while loading some tires into his truck.  Being so remote, even though someone was there, I knew he would not recover immediately.

I only mentioned his passing in 2023 in the review post.  If you read this Blog, you know my father and I had no relationship.  He would call me names like "Educated Idiot," "crazy waste of energy" (when I ran), and "No good hippy" when I let my hair grow, just to name a few.  He was a harsh man.  Once I could escape from those surroundings, I did and rarely looked back.

I am told he mellowed in old age.  I never took any opportunity to verify that he did mellow.  But as I age, I realize he carried tremendous guilt for his behavior in his last few years.  Funny how it takes a year after he died for me to think that.   

The past few weeks have been busy.  I have sorted through several old photos and cleaned up old electronic files.  The weather also allowed for a few townball games.  Yesterday, I attended a game at Fredrickson Field in Elko New Market.  It is an excellent field, although parking is almost nonexistent.

The trees hide the adjacent drive-in theater, which opened in 2014.  However, I believe it is closed as the website stops providing information after 2022.  

Behind the theater is Elko Speedway, a high-banked 3/8-mile asphalt oval that has been operating since 1966 and sanctioned by NASCAR since 1986.  There is also a smaller go-cart track on the site.  I would not have known it existed if it were not for the game!

I also did my first over 40-mile (41.86 miles) bike ride on May 3.  It was slightly windy, and I had to work hard to complete the ride in 3 hours and 4 minutes.  This means I have logged 719 miles on the bike so far.   For the past decade, my peak mileage was in 2019, when I logged 3,542 miles.  I really need to get on the bike if I want to have a record high this year!  Yet.  I logged just over 700 miles at this time in 2019.

Today, I was thrilled that I could crank out a 10K on the elliptical.  It took a lot of work to accomplish over 2.5 miles in 30 minutes when I retired.  Now, several 60-minute workouts later, this is the first at 10K, and I am still energized like I was on April 23, when I successfully completed 60 minutes for 5.5 miles.  I am trying to get at least three elliptical efforts in a week, possibly four.  I am feeling good for the first time in years!

That is the update!

Carry on my friends, carry on!