I am going to be taking a hiatus from blogging about the Bible for the next ten days. I just finished up my semester at Wartburg College, so I am heading back to my home in Massachusetts. On the way, I am going to be stopping to see friends and family. My blogging between now and April 27 will be about the trip.

I am not alone in my travels, however. Yesterday, my kids flew out from Boston. I picked them up in Minneapolis and we drove down to Iowa. This morning, we set out on the 3D Trip (the three Ds are dad, Duncan, and daughter). I did a similar trip with Duncan when I taught in Iowa five years ago, so I thought it would be nice to repeat it with both kids. As on the previous trip, we will be stopping to see a number of baseball games along the way.

We set out this morning for what was supposed to be a six hour drive to South Bend, Indiana. We had hoped to visit the site in Iowa where the movie Field of Dreams was made. Duncan and I played baseball there five years ago, but the rain today meant we had to pass by without stopping.

The trip was lengthen by two hours when the front driver’s side tire decided to blow out while I was doing 70 mph on I–80 in Joliet, Illinois. I managed to wrestle the car to the shoulder and set about changing the tire. If you have never had the chance to change a driver’s side tire on the shoulder of a busy freeway, I highly recommend it. It’s a rush money can’t buy. My spare is a donut, so I used it to limp to the next exit. Once there, I found a tire shop. Unfortunately, I have a 4WD vehicle (1994 Subaru Legacy), so when you replace one tire you have to replace them all.

Because of the delay, we got to tonight’s game in the bottom of the 4th inning. The South Bend Silver Hawks were playing an Iowa team, the Cedar Rapids Kernels. When we got there, the Kernels were already up 6–1. The Silver Hawks had already made two errors, and they made an additional one in the late innings. A passed ball also allowed a runner to score from third when the Kernels had the bases loaded. It ended 9–1. The Silver Hawks have a cozy stadium that sits in the middle of downtown South Bend. We had really nice seats two rows behind the visitor’s dugout on the 3rd base side.

After the game, my kids went the side of the dugout to see if they could get some souvenirs from the players. Duncan in particular is a ball magnet. I had never gotten a ball at a game, but during our previous trip five years ago we got balls at three straight games (including a foul ball off Carlos Lee at a Chicago White Sox game). Tonight’s game was no different. Between the two of them, the kids got a game ball, a ball with the Silver Hawks logo on it, and a game-used bat. The bat is cracked but is still in one piece.

One interesting piece of trivia about our trip: I picked up the kids in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis, MN; St. Paul, MN). Today we drove through the Quad Cities (Davenport, IA; Bettendorf, IA; Rock Island, IL; Moline, IL). Next week we will be visiting my parents in the Tri-Cities (Johnson City, TN; Kingsport, TN; and Bristol, which is in both TN and VA). Anyone know where we can find the Quint Cities?

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