Baseball, BBQ and buddies

I'm a Red Sox fan trapped in Colorado, so it's rare that I get to see my favorite team play in person. Becuase the Colorado Rockies are a National League team, the Sox rarely come to Denver. My wife has family in Kansas City, which is an American League city, so in 2019 we made plans to go to KC to see the Royals play the Sox. Then came Covid. We put off the trip twice. This year we felt safe enough to go. And boy, did we have fun. My wife couldn't make the trip, so I went with my 17-year-old son and his best friend. My son is not a big sports fan, but both his friend and I are baseball fanatics. I was still recovering from foot surgery, so the boys split the driving on the eight-hour trip. They are both great drivers, although I wish my son was less of a speeder. The boys had a lot of fun shopping for electronics, Pokemon memorabilia and baseball cards. One of the highlights of the trip was our visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. I highly recommend it. While we were there, I met Red Sox TV play-by-play announcer Dave O'Brien. We had a nice talk. He seemed like a really good guy. We also had some great barbecue. We went to Arthur Bryant's, which is just down the street from the museum. It was very good. But if I could visit just one BBQ place in KC for the rest of my life, it would definitely be Joe's Kansas City. It's a tiny place inside an old gas station, but it serves the best damn BBQ I've ever had. Oh yeah, we also attended some baseball games. Unfortunately, the Sox lost three of four. To say they are having a tough season would be an understatement. But it was fun to see them in person for a change, as opposed to on my laptop. Kauffman

Stadium is a lovely park. And it was great to see family. But the real highlight of the trip was spending time with my son and his buddy. They are such wonderful young men. I remember when my dad used to take me to a game each year when I was a kid. I haven't taken my son for a few years now, partly because of Covid, and partly because the Red Sox haven't been in town. But hanging out with him is one of my favorite pastimes -- even more enjoyable than seeing the Sox in person.