Beech Tree News Network

June 8-10 was my first trip to St. Louis.  I went with some friends Friday June 8 to see the Cardinals play the Cleveland Indians. There were 42,098 in attendance. One of the cool things for the guitarist in me was that the Indians’ Catcher/First Baseman is named Carlos Santana! I was disappointed when his name was announced that he didn’t play “Black Magic Woman” or “Oye Como Va” (Ha)! I thought the least they could do is play some guitar Santana while the player Santana was entering the game.

We really didn’t get all that hot at the game.  Sadly, neither did the Cardinals. Cleveland pounced on them early and ended up winning 6-2.  This was my first MLB game.  The friend who got us the tickets scored us great seats and access to the hospitality room.  When we arrived, we had hot dogs, drinks, nachos, brownies, etc.  Except for the game outcome, it was a great night. We even got a group picture afterwards!

My friends and I in the hospitality room after the game.  Standing from left: Chris Bahn, Brock Lambert, Treg Miles, Dennis Keith, Brian Banks and (kneeling down front) me.

Saturday, we took a trip to famed Union Station (where I made the obvious Allison Krauss joke).  It was here that I purchased some Cardinals gear, a necessity for any first-timer, or anyone for that matter.  I was going to buy some at the ballpark, but one of my buddies told me it was cheaper at Union Station. 

I was all about that, so I waited to purchase my gear.  I bought a red St. Louis Cardinals t-shirt sans bird. I didn’t want it to appear as though I’d bought anything with a cardinal on it, what with Louisville being the Cardinals as well.  I went to a different shop and purchased a vintage brown 1944 St. Louis Cardinals hat.

I ate some fantastic shrimp scampi at Gio’s Downtown on Saturday night.  The place had contemporary versions of Italian dishes. I also shared some cheesecake. Both dishes were very good, not to mention very rich. I was happy to find that, on the television above our table, was Heat/Celtics game 7! We watched the first half there and the second at a local establishment that was close by.
There was lots of great food, great friends and great memories made that weekend.  I also came away with some awesome souvenirs. I can definitely see a return trip happening.

***

Hello, my name is Andy Sullivan. I received my bachelor’s degree in business from Mid-Continent University in May 2009. I began writing for Beech Tree News in July 2009.  I enjoy playing guitar, the occasional Wii game, writing, and listening to music. I write a sports blog that can be found at http://www.tumblr.com/blog/sports-news-and-views.   If you have a comment, feel free to leave it in the space below.