The Hampton breakfast was unnotable except for two kinds
of sausage - dry links and greasy pork patties. Swisher
preferred the former, myself the latter. Fresh fruit
sprinkled with sugar, making the hard unripe melon chunks
almost edible at the expense of the otherwise okay
blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and grapes.

In the final triumph of our misscheduling, our last game
was back at Peoria for the Cubs at Padres. It was the last
day of spring training, or at least Cactus League - some
of the teams apparently were then traveling to remote
venues for a couple more exhibitions and sometimes even
opening day abroad. So the pickings were kind of slim, and
we ended up out west again. The only seats still available
were in a strange little section up at the top of the
stadium on the level of the press and other boxes but not
quite so prestigious as those - $80 for the two of us, or
we could see 3 regular-season Nationals games for that. One
advantage is it's a no-hawker zone, so there are cute young
runners of both sexes taking orders and eventually
dispensing food. Kaylee came by to drop off forms, and some
young man eventually visited to see if we were ordering
anything. I said Kaylee was cuter, and we where holding out
for her. The kid took it in stride - he's probably used to
this -, and at some point Kaylee came back for our ticket.

Catering is not stellar, but prices aren't through the roof.
A 1/3 lb hot dog with a little bag of Lay's potato chips and
a 12-oz soda is $10; a 32-oz beer is $13, including Sam Adams
and Kilt Lifter, which cost at least that out on the economy.

A fascinating and excruciating game, in which the homies took
quite a beating: the box was

Cubs 610 572 030 - 24 27 0
Padres 300 300 000 - 6 7 1

We saw the Cubs hit 10 doubles and a home run, receiving a
hit batsman as well; the Padres managed only one double but
two homers. We stayed to the bitter end of this one, hoping
for or perhaps dreading a 19-run comeback in the bottom of
the 9th; this was not forthcoming. At last we joined the few
stragglers leaving the stadium, most of whom were Cubs fans
relishing the warm afternoon sun shining on their favorites,
but there might have been a couple San Diegans mixed in as
well, hoping against hope and reality.

It was decided that Swisher should let me off at the end of
the light rail, which saves him half an hour in town and
half an hour back out. I took the train to the airport -
50 minutes, easy transfer from 44th Street Station to the
Skytrain, so an hour total.

There's an offshoot of Joe's Real BBQ of Gilbert here,
and, though most such don't do the reputation of the
original any favors, I decided to risk it and am glad
I did. A generous half pound of fatty brisket, a slice
of Texas toast, and a side came in at a reasonable $13
counting tax; there's no tip jar. The brisket was really
quite good, fairly fatty as requested, but the place no
longer offers the stewed greens that used to be on the
menu, so I got mac'n'cheese as my side; it was satisfying
in a bland sort of way. I was pleased enough to return to
the counter and sort of accidentally drop a buck on it.

After eating half the meal, I packed up the rest and hoofed
it to the United Club, which involved a train ride, a half-
mile walk, and an extra security screening. Free booze,
faster Internet, and a quiet place to think made it worth it.

AA2651 PHX JFK 2318 0702 738 15A

An hour before boarding I headed out into the darkness
bound for the Skytrain station (United is in the orphan
terminal 2 off in the hinterlands; though it's not so orphan
as terminal 1, which doesn't exist) and thence to terminal
4, where security took moments, and I was at the gate with a
half hour to spare. The question was whether to try to
upgrade, but that would require 5 stickers, which is a bit
much for a flight I'd just be sleeping on, plus I got free
booze on this flight if I wanted it. I didn't go for the
upgrade, didn't get any booze, and slept okay.

Two hours to do the FIDO on the now-free JFK wireless, and
we boarded the fancy internationally-configured 757 - I'd
booked this itinerary just to get this aircraft, which is a
treat up front, though not so hot in coach. But the secret
is that they sell business class as coach on this short
flight, so I got a bed for the whole 40 minutes.

AA1140 JFK BOS 0940 1052 32B 8A

This is one of those flights that I hope get delayed and
delayed, but they never are. Rows 1 to 5 are essentially twin
beds, one on each side, abd rows 6 to 10 are cots, two per side.
Quite comfy. I slept from before takeoff to 100 feet altitude.
Sad to say, the flight was if anything early.

I repaired to the United Club, where a lunch of Wasa crackers
and hummus awaited. Problem was that the crackers had caraway
as well as sesame, and the hummus had scallions, basil, cheese,
and sesame seeds. What th'? Luckily there were banana chips,
one of my favorite ways to get potassium.
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