All posts by Martin

Field of Dreams To Missoula and Back Iowa

Field of Dreams: A Surprising Detour in My Journey

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” If you build it, they will come”

When I embarked on my journey from Portland, ME, with the goal of heading west, my primary objective was to cross the Mississippi River and venture into Iowa as swiftly as possible. I reasoned that exploring the eastern side of the Mississippi could be accomplished over a long weekend or a week-long trip at some point in the future. For now, my sights were firmly set on the uncharted territories to the west.

With over 22 hours of driving and two overnight stops behind me, I finally arrived at my first major destination around 9 A.M. on a Saturday morning. My plan was to spend the night at an AirBnB in Des Moines, so I decided to make a slight detour to the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, IA. What made this side trip particularly appealing was the opportunity to leave the major highways behind and navigate the scenic backroads of Iowa. At times, I found myself traversing gravel roads in the heart of Iowa’s picturesque countryside.

Driving through Iowa

Gravel roads in Iowa

As I approached the Field of Dreams, I noticed that it was free to park and enter, welcoming visitors to explore its hallowed grounds. The field buzzed with activity; families and friends scattered across the landscape. Children played catch with their fathers, while others enthusiastically ran the bases. Families lounged on blankets, and groups posed for photographs, capturing cherished moments.

I decided to take a moment to unwind and appreciate the tranquil atmosphere. I reclined in the exquisitely manicured outfield, allowing the serenity to wash over me. I wandered into the cornfields and gazed out at the iconic field. My journey then took me up to the house, where I explored the bleachers and visited the charming gift shop. As I soaked in the ambience, I couldn’t help but observe the diverse crowd, spanning all age groups, with a few individuals even donning complete baseball uniforms.

Unexpectedly, an announcement echoed through the air, instructing everyone to clear the field. It turned out that I had arrived just in time for the last “Ghost Game” of the season, an hour-long, interactive comedy performance presented by the renowned Ghost Players, aptly known as the “Greatest Show on Dirt.” I had no prior knowledge of this delightful surprise!

Much like in the movie, the Ghost Players emerged from the cornfields, each introduced by enthusiastic announcers. To my amazement, some of them had actually appeared in the original film. The performance included the rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner and a brief history of this long-standing tradition, which had been captivating audiences for over 30 years. The Ghost Players engaged in a friendly game of catch before mingling with the crowd. Selecting a few lucky kids from the audience, they allowed them to bat against the ghosts and round the bases.

I watched in sheer delight for a while, savoring this unexpected spectacle, before eventually resuming my journey towards Des Moines. This impromptu stop had set a perfect tone for the adventures that lay ahead.

Roadtrips Family Clan in Orlando and Back

The Family Clan in Orlando

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I need to plan an upcoming roadtrip stemming from my parents getting a house for our clan in the Orlando area.  The clan includes my folks, my siblings, my kids and my nieces and nephews. I figure since I’ll be driving to Florida for this, I should take advantage of warm weather and see where I can explore.  Based on the timing of the Orlando reservation, I think the most I could spend on the road, before needing to be back, would be up to 11 weeks.

Here are my original thoughts for the best strategy to approach this trip….

  • Get an Airbnb in Raleigh for the week and work there on the way down.  This will break up the trip nicely and allow me to get most of the driving done on the weekends.  Besides MaidPro Raleigh located there, I have a few friends in the area that I have not seen in way too long. Raleigh is one of those areas in Virginia that I’ve yet to visit. It will also give me a good working location as I really enjoy working and living out of AirBnBs.  I get to experience, rather than just visit, locations.
  • Then I’ll take a vacation week while at the rental in Orlando with my family.
  • From there I’ll head down the east coast and stay with my Uncle and/or his daughter and family in Boca Raton for a work week.  I’ll be able to visit a handful of Florida offices from Boca.
  • Go down to Miami and the keys for a week.  The Keys, especially Key West, has been on my list for a long time and I’ve never had the opportunity to get there.  This will also allow me to visit our Miami and Miami Beach offices.
  • Cut across the Everglades and head up the west coast to my folks in Sarasota for a few weeks.
  • During my stay in Sarasota, I’ll take a week trip and do a northeast loop to work and visit MaidPro offices including Tampa, Orlando and The Villages.  I’ll do this while based at my folks but be on the road for the week.
  • Leaving Sarasota, I’ll head north and follow along the gulf coast around the panhandle to New Orleans and stay with an old friend that I have not seen in decades!  I’m really looking forward to catching up with him and revisiting the city that I lived in for about 18 months.  I haven’t been there since I left in 1993.  I’ll also visit the Baton Rouge.
  • Head out to Lake Charles, up to Shreveport and across to Jackson, MS.  I think I can do that in a weekend while working that Monday in Jackson, MS.  When I lived in New Orleans, my work territory was Jackson.  I wonder how much it has changed.
  • Birmingham, AL looks to be at the right distance to fit into the drive home.  I’ll take the opportunity to see as many of our Alabama offices as possible.
  • Drive home through Tennessee, Virginia and maybe a stop over with cousins in NJ.

Mapped out, it looks something like this (the green pins are MaidPro locations).

I like the thought of following the full Florida coast.  This will end up being a full investigation of Florida and if possible, get to see all of the Florida offices.

I also like that I’m going to explore alot of Louisiana and follow along the length of the Texas border without actually getting into Texas.

I did consider traveling a little further out west to the Texas offices. It would add about a month in order to get to all of those offices and there isn’t enough time on this trip.

I also considered heading home north through Arkansas, up to Kansas City and through St Louis.  We have alot of offices in those areas I’d like to see.  Unfortunately, again, there isn’t enough time on this trip.  These will just have to wait for another time. Possibly when traveling to or from the river trip later next year.

We’ll see how this develops!

Missoula Roadtrips To Missoula and Back Montana

To Missoula, MT and Back – Aug/Oct 2021

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Leaving Portland, ME on Aug 16, 2021
Arriving in Missoula, MT on September 15, 2021
Arriving in Boston, MA on October 13, 2021

These are posts from my trip to Missoula, MT and back. I haven’t added everything yet but continually add new posts. I really enjoy writing about this trip after the fact because I get to relive it as I write, dig up old pictures and research some of the facts of the locations I visited.

This was my first roadtrip that lasted more than two weeks and it went very smoothly. I saw so many new places and had so many new experiences as well as meeting people from all over. I enjoyed working and living in new places making me feel happier, healthier and even more engaged with our home office.

(Note: Some of these posts were migrated from my old blog platform. I’m going through all of my posts and updating the formatting, however, I have not gotten to some of the older ones yet. So formatting might not look so great.)

Roadtrips

To “I Can See Canada” and Back – Jul/Aug 2021

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July 29 to Aug 2, 2021

I had been promising a trip to see my friend from college for a few years, but the timing never lined up. So a took the opportunity to continue testing out the vehicle and I headed north to Vermont for that long awaited visit. Although it was only five days, it was a great trip with lots of experiences and I made an adventure out of it. My campsite at the northern most point of the trip looked out across a lake at Canada.

Here is a continually growing list of blog posts from my this trip to Vermont…. and some pictures until I actually put up a few posts.

    Indianapolis Roadtrips Indiana

    To Indianapolis and Back – June 2021

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    Leave Boston, MA – June 9, 2021
    Arrive in Indianapolis, IN – June 14, 2021
    Arrive in Boston, MA – June 19, 2021

    I knew I had a week coming up where my girlfriend and kids were all out of town so I decided I’d get some more practice in with the van. I did some research and planned a trip up the Hudson River Valley. I was going to drive and camp from New York City all the way up to the edge of Canada, following the Hudson River Valley for most of it. Then, just a few days before leaving, I realized that this was the week my niece was diving in the Olympic trials in Indianapolis, IN. I had never had the opportunity to see her dive before so I pivoted and went to Indianapolis instead.

    These are posts from my trip to Indianapolis, IN and back. I haven’t added everything yet but continually add new posts. I really enjoy writing about this trip after the fact because I get to relive it as I write, dig up old pictures and research some of the facts of the locations I visited.

    (I havn’t posted anything from this trip yet… but here are a few pictures.)

      Roadtrips To Myrtle Beach and Back

      To Myrtle Beach and Back – Dec/Jan 20/21

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      Leaving Wilmington, MA on Dec 24, 2020
      Arriving in Myrtle Beach, SC on December 26, 2020
      Arriving in Charlotte, NC on December 30, 2020
      Arriving in Burlington, MA on January 8, 2021

      I was sitting home just before Christmas and decided to get out of town. My kids and my girlfriend were both away so I thought I’d head south and find somewhere warmer to spend the holidays. I reached out to my brother in Charlotte and after some discussion, I decided to head to Myrtle Beach where he would meet me for New Years Eve.

      These are posts from my trip to Myrtle Beach, SC and back. I haven’t added everything yet but continually add new posts. I really enjoy writing about this trip after the fact because I get to relive it as I write, dig up old pictures and research some of the facts of the locations I visited.

      Field of Dreams Dyersville Hurstville Lime Kilns Jackson To Missoula and Back Disc Golf Iowa

      Into Iowa – Aug 2021

      Martin 0 Comment
      Made it into Iowa today….
      Went from Niles, IL to the Meskwaki Casino about 1 hour shy of Des Moines.  The casino is open 24 hours and is a really good place to stop for the night.  I have access to clean bathrooms at any time and I am sure security in the parking lot is good so feels very safe.
      Got coffee at Flip Side Coffee in Rock Falls, IL which was a little off the route but wanted to support an independent rather than a chain.  Good call.  Cool little shop.  “Flip side” refers to their albums collection and there were other cool collectibles on the walls and shelves.  I asked if they had breakfast sandwiches and was told that today’s sandwich was a fried egg with sliced ham, provolone cheese, mustard sauce on a pretzel bagel.  Excellent.

      Found a disc golf course in Rock Falls 5 minutes from the coffee shop.  It is located in a very small little public park.  Wicked short 18 basket course…I could see almost all of the baskets!  Didn’t bother bringing my bag… just two discs.  Finished in under 30 minutes.  Luckily I was the only one there.  I can see this course getting congested.

      Crossed the Mississippi River in Clinton, IA and entered Iowa.  It looked like I expected Iowa to look.

      Field of Dreams in Dyersville, IA
      Turns out there is a short little nine basket course in Dyersville so decided to play it.  I really liked this course.  Wide open in a cute little town park.  Very enjoyable round and nailed a really long shot.  That was fun because an old buy walking by witnessed it and acknowledged it.  (it was a hell of a shot!!)
      This is were I noticed something only in Iowa… a tractor parallel parked!  HA!
      At one point, as I continued on, I saw a cornfield (there were ALOT of corn fields).  But this particular one caught my eye because there was an old cemetery carved off in a corner of it.  Oddly… my GPS had me turn off the main road onto a gravel road (turned out to be a little shortcut).  This gravel road went past the cemetery.  I slowed and looked at it as I drove by but had to stop and walk around when I noticed the date on the one tombstone that was readable…
      It was very quiet.  I thought it was kind of cool that I was standing there with no one else around on a beautiful day, in the middle of a cemetery, in the middle of a cornfield, in the middle of Iowa.
      I continued on but pulled over when some ruins caught my.  Turns out to be the Hurstville Lime Kilns in Jackson, IA built in the 1870’s.
      From online… “In 1870, Alfred Hurst came to the area, having heard of the limestone formations along the banks of the Maquoketa River.  He then found what he considered the best quality limestone rock to produce the whitest, purest, and most adhesive lime in the marketplace.  He constructed a small pot kiln and started producing powder lime.  He then erected the first draw kiln in 1871, with the other 3 following soon after.  In the 1st year, production reached 100 barrels a week, with a total of 3200 barrels for the year. At the company’s peak, the kilns would produce 8000 barrels of lime a day!”

      Looking in from the top through the fence.
      (You can see my legs on the right)

      I was on the last leg of my initial trip to get to Des Moines.  It was still somewhat early and I had no definite plans for the evening.  I started to debate in my head whether I should find another golf course or not.  I had played two rounds and I was getting tired… but I had nothing to do the rest of the night.  Should I look for a course?  What else would I do?  But I’m only somewhat interested in playing a round.  Then I thought, “if I actually see a basket, I’ll stop to play”.  Not 10 seconds later (NO exaggeration!) …. is that a basket?!! Why yes it is!

      What I saw!
      Was a really nice course!  Another city park with alot of open space. Very quiet.  No one else around. Was really perfect.
      Made it to the casino around 7 ish.  Did not originally plan to stay there but saw it and pulled in.  Was a great decision.  Although the poker room was closed… very sad.
      THAT was a full day!
      Boston Massachusetts Food

      Pizzeria Regina – Boston’s North End

      Martin 0 Comment
      I’m lucky to work a block away
      from Regina Pizzeria

      I am lucky because my full time job at MaidPro is right down the street from Regina Pizzeria, a staple in Boston since 1926.  Regina Pizzeria’s flagship and first restaurant is located on Thatcher Street in the North End of Boston although they now have locations all over Massachusetts. 

      I do enjoy a two slice lunch from Regina’s.  Its so easy for me to take a quick walk down the street, grab the slices and come back to the office to eat here.  On most days, there is usually a line with tourists and locals alike awaiting a seat, however, if you’re taking out, you can skip the line and go right up to the bar.  The always have cheese slices and pepperoni slices on a daily basis along with some type of specialty slices.  Today’s was onion and sausage.

      I like their pizza, even though sometimes I do find the crust to be a little doughy.  I look past that because the sauce and the cheese make up for it.  When I do order with toppings, they never skimp and they are usually falling off when I’m trying to eat it.

      If you are eating in, they have just a few booths and tables.  Expect to be sitting very closely with whatever group you came with.  When I do stay to eat on those occasional dinners, I like to sit at the bar.  The bar tenders are often friendly and I’ve often met people also sitting at the bar from out of town.  They also have a nice selection of cold beers.  Don’t go looking for a huge selection but they do have some variety.

      If you plan to eat at this original Regina Pizzeria, make sure you let me know.  Especially if it’s during lunch, I’ll walk over and meet you there!

      Cross Country 1988 Roadtrips

      Road Trip Through the United States – 1988

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      Where we read tripped in 1988

      When I graduated college, I decided that before I started my career, I wanted an opportunity to see the United States.  There were places I wanted to visit, see and explore before settling down behind a desk for the next 40 years.  I had a job lined up, however, I had about six weeks before I started.  So at the beginning of July 1988, a friend and I set out with no set plan.  We had $2000, my new car (that was stick… my friend didn’t drive stick!), a cooler and a tent.

      We left Massachusetts and headed west either camping or staying with friends along the way. Every day after traveling, we’d take out a map of the U.S. and use a black marker to show where we had traveled for the day.  By the end of the trip, we had a nice map documenting our trip.

      Some of the highlights that I recall include Niagara Falls, the Gateway Arch in St Louis, one of the strongest thunder storms I’ve ever experienced in Kansas (we saw it coming in the distance for hours), seeing the Rocky Mountains and driving up Pike’s Peak, seeing the Grand Canyon, winning money in Vegas, walking through the San Diego Zoo, driving up near the Hollywood sign, camping under Red Wood trees, eating crab in Seattle, looking out at night from our camp site and seeing the glow of forest fires of Yellowstone National Park across the lake, catching a Second City show in Chicago, playing Ultimate for a Canadian team that was short a player in the Canadian National Ultimate Championship in Toronto (we lost) and walking around Montreal.  I’m hoping to write more about some of these experiences at a later time.

      This turned out to be a life changing trip.  Not only because I ended up marrying my friend and having two amazing daughters, but also because it opened my eyes to what an amazing place North America is.  We didn’t stay in any one place for very long and in six weeks, we saw such a small fraction of what is out there.  It became a dream of mine to try and see more and as often as possible…. to stay longer in some places and to see some I’ve yet to see.  I truly love going to places, both near and far, and experiencing them.  I like to talk to locals that live there, eat the local cuisine, see the natural wonders, investigate the history, hear the music and just try to see and feel as much as possible.

      I have managed to take some additional, smaller road trips over the years, but I’m hoping dreams do come true and I’ll be able to go out for a longer period of time.