Our trip continued, and so did the baseball. We drove west to
Kansas City, stopping to visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
After watching a Royals game, we drove north 320 miles to Cedar
Rapids, Iowa -- a river town that smells like cooking oatmeal from
the Quaker Oats plant downtown. We were going to meet friends at a
Kernels game that night, in order to watch the Angels' Class A farm
team.
But first, we drove another 60 miles to Dyersville, where the
movie "Field of Dreams" was filmed. Fathers and sons threw pitches
and ran bases while younger kids played catch and ran in and out of
the tall cornfields in the outfield.
That night, back in Cedar Rapids, the Kernels played in their
four-year-old stadium. The players may not be as polished and the
ballpark may not be as much of a time capsule as in Little Rock, but
there were grassy areas for kids to play, and the players worked hard
to win the game in extra innings.
It was a great dose of baseball, and our children -- ages 7 and
nearly 3 -- loved it as much as the adults did.
It's something all true baseball fans should attempt, a
ball-oriented road trip that takes you to new places, even back in
time.
* AMY SENK is a Corona del Mar resident.
* TRAVEL TALES runs on Thursdays. Have you gone on an interesting
vacation? Tell us about it in about 400 words, accompanied by a
couple of photos that do not have the Daily Pilot in them, and send
to Travel Tales, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; e-mail
o7dailypilot@latimes.comf7; or fax (714) 966-4679.
