(Murray, KY - Dyersville, IA)
Objective: Go play baseball on the Field of Dreams and come home.
Official Blue Orphan Statistics:
Miles Driven: 1215
Gas Used: 38.2 Gallons
Gas Cost: $51.02
Route taken by memory:
US641, Pennyrile Parkway, I-24, I-57, I-64, I-55, I-155, I-74, I-80, HW61, HW20, HW136, followed local roads
The Story:
If you know me you know I'm always begging everyone to drive somewhere with me. I was in the mood to drive to another state I've never been to that was in the middle of nowhere. John and I had already been taking pictures of fields so I was thinking along the lines of Nebraska. I mentioned Omaha to him and he said... How about IOWA! You see, John didn't grow up like most kids. While most 9 year olds were inside watching television, John built a baseball field in his front yard. He has had a love for baseball fields and has wanted to visit the Field of Dreams for many years. Ok, we had our destination: Dyersville, Iowa. We loaded up in his 1964 Ford Fairlane and left for Iowa. One problem. The car broke down in O' Fallon, Illinois, just outside East St. Louis. We spent the entire weekend with mechanics and finally made it back home. Two weeks later we decided to give it another shot in the Blue Orphan. After many canceled ride-alongs, Grant called us from Paducah that day and said he'd go with us. We headed out that afternoon around 3:00 PM. We finally found our own way to the field in the absolute middle of nowhere around 1:30 AM. It was pitch black. I started walking around flipping switches on poles and John got a little uneasy. I had to say on film that I would be responsible if we got in trouble, hahah! I finally walked back behind the barn/souvenir stand and discovered a huge cluster of electrical panels. I luckily hit the right combination of about 4 switches and then found one labeled "Main" Eureka! I then was able to activate each pole by itself. The lights instantly came on. This was the most exciting part of the trip for me. The entire field seemed to come alive! I only wish I could have known what the farmers out there were thinking then! We played baseball with the field to ourselves for a few minutes, found a motel to crash in, and returned the next morning. It was cold and rainy so we bought a few souvenirs, headed to the Wisconsin border and then home. It was definitely worth every minute of the trip to have the entire field to ourselves last night. Where to next guys?....
