Quad Cities River Bandits!

The drive from Chicago to the Quad Cities is a short one. From the untold number of McDonalds and Caseys and weed shops Illinois is not the soul sucking slog of driving across Iowa but kind of charming, especially the weed shops (I kid I kid) that reek of marijuana and old people looking for their youth and to kill the pain of creaking joints. Now this is all hearsay (wink) but the Ottawa weed shop was a kind of stand in line with the other olds and wait for a budtender to help you. When you are allowed into the locked back room it is like being at a 70s Pink Floyd show with the smells and the music playing in your head. Apparently from what I've been told, Illinois has a daily limit of 250 mg of THC that can be purchased by out of state scum. So I  I mean my friend had to jettison some of it for legal reasons. Hey Nebraska Sheriffs, this was not me, it was what I was told by the voices in my head. Cool. Illinois is cool and getting mucho tax money from me I mean out of staters looking for relief from living in Nebraska  I mean Illinois?

Anyway, once the drive is complete and the Mississippi is crossed into Iowa the thrill of being out of the Plains states is gone. Davenport, Iowa, one of the Quad Cities is where the Quad City River River Bandits play what is called High A baseball. The stadium is right on the Mississippi and features quite the view of The Chamberlain Bridge over the river and a theme park for the kids out in left field. The gigantic Ferris Wheel is quite the sight also. The highway over the bridge goes over the entrance to Modern Woodman Park so when you walk up the rumble of trucks can be heard as you wonder how long it will be until the infrastructure collapses and kills dozens of fans.

Modern Woodman Park is 92 years old but obviously renovated with comfy seats and modern concourses. The concessions are typical ball park cuisine and not all that good. My corn dog was still frozen and the replacement bratwurst was cold. The beer was cheaper than most places and it was $1 Keystone Light night. $1 beer? Im in! 

The baseball is good. Being the High A affiliate of the KC Royals, I'm used to lousy minor league ball (ask me about that 20-1 game I saw where the Iowa Cubs beat the Omaha Storm Chasers with 5 home runs in the top of the 1st) but this team was ok to watch. Playing their heated rivals, the Beloit Sky Carp, the River Bandits consisted of a whole lot of 18, 19, 20 and 21 year olds trying their best. It was a 2 hour 10 minute game (thank you pitch clock again) and I can't even remember who won, other than me with my $1 beers and cold brat.

The hotel was a comfortable Super 8 with a Cracker Barrel right next door. More on that tomorrow. It was a nice place and even with the homeless guy living on the side where I had to enter I had no problems.

Modern Woodman Park....go there sometime for the view and the giant Ferris Wheel and $1 beers.