Q & A with the “Traveling Pasleys” Part III

Q: OK, let’s talk about some more of your lists. State Fairs for instance. How many have you been to? What’s your favorite?

DP: Sure. Thanks. This is a lot easier than NPS sites. Here’s a ranked list of the state fairs we have attended, along with the year we attended.

State	Rank	Year
Minnesota	1	08-10-11
Texas	2	2015
Iowa	3	2013
Wisconsin	4	1996 & 2016
Indiana	5	2016
Illinois	6	2016
Kentucky	7	2014
Oregon	8	2013
Washington	9	2013
Idaho	10	2013
Wyoming	11	2013
Florida	12	2009
Colorado	13	2012
Tennessee	14	2017
Georgia	15	2013

Q: Wow, three times to the Minnesota State Fair? What’s that all about?

DP: Well, first of all the fair reflects the state. Lots of fishing exhibits. Lots of local beers, local foods and everybody is very nice. We really like Minnesota, we like Minnesotans and we like this fair because it reflects so well on the state and its people. A big attraction for us was Garrison Keillor. We went to his Prairie Home Companion show all three years. Also they have a very good, robust amateur talent show that we really enjoyed and they have lots of exhibits of arts and crafts. There are some carnival rides but they are not the central feature of the fair.

BP: And they have a mascot, Fairchild.

Dave poses with Fairchild, the official mascot of the Minnesota State Fair, in 2011.

Q: Will you get to all 50 state fairs?

DP: I’m not even sure every state has a fair; Pennsylvania for instance. And for a lot of them, like in Georgia and Tennessee, the state fair is just a low-class afterthought; maybe a few rides and some food booths. I think we’ve probably already hit the best of the state fairs so it’s not a priority. But we do think about it and consider it when it happens to work into our travel plans. For instance, we may stop in at the Oklahoma State Fair on our way home from Wisconsin in September.

Q: How about Major League baseball stadiums, you’ve been to a lot of those?

DP: Indeed. Depending on how you count, all of them. Baseball stadiums are sort of like National Park Units because they occasionally change. One day you’ve got it checked off the list, the next day you don’t. For instance, the Rangers are building a new stadium. We’ve been to games at their current stadium and the predecessor stadium but next year when the new stadium opens the checkmark in that box will be erased. Atlanta has a new stadium and neither one of us has been there although we’ve both been to the predecessor (Turner Field). And I’ve been to a game at the predecessor of the predecessor (Fulton County Stadium). Yet the Atlanta box is unchecked.

I’ll say it this way. There are 32 MLB teams and we have seen every one of them play a home game in the city where the team is now located. Betsy has been to games in 31 of the 32 stadiums now in use and I have been to games in 30 of the 32. (In addition to the new stadium in Atlanta I have not been to Petco Park in San Diego.) Lifetime, Betsy has been to games in 44 different MLB stadiums and I’ve been to games in 45.

Q: Favorites, least favorites?

DP: For reasons I don’t understand Betsy likes Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. I thought Marlins Park was pretty spectacular even though it was virtually empty and the neighborhood is sketchy. And it’s hard to beat the setting for San Francisco’s fabulous stadium. We also like the stadiums in Pittsburgh and Minneapolis. And we kind of take Minute Maid in Houston for granted but that is a great park in a great location. One of our most memorable stadium experiences was going to the old Tiger Stadium in Detroit for a July 4 doubleheader where we had seats just a few rows behind the dugout. As far as least favorites; I’m not a fan of Chase Field in Phoenix because it is so dark inside. Tropicana Field in Tampa was not as bad as I thought it might be but it’s probably the best candidate for worst venue.

Dave was attracted to Rosie Red, the only "openly female" mascot in the major leagues.

Q. Really Betsy, the Great American Ballpark?

BP: Sheesh, you sound like Dave. I admit it’s a bit cheesy and feels more like a minor league stadium, but I love the atmosphere and the proximity to the Ohio River and the Moerlein Brewpub, as well as their adorable old-timey male and female mascots.  It IS the home of the oldest franchise in baseball, so there’s that. I do agree with Dave on the others he listed. However, I have to add that I was able to finagle a free ticket a few rows behind home plate in Fenway Park in 1982 and hold that stadium and Wrigley Field in a special place in my heart.

Q: Do you have a minor league list?

DP: No, no, no! That’s just too crazy, even for us. But I would guess we’ve been to at least 50. We’ll get four more in Washington this summer; three Class A teams and AAA Tacoma. Betsy’s a lot more into it than me; she loves the mascots.

Betsy bonded with Wool E. Bull the Durham Bulls mascot at a game in 2017.

Q: You also track state capitols?

DP: Yes. I’ve been to 49, Betsy 40. Capitol visits are a must for RGTK. The only one I am missing is Hawaii because, naturally, I’ve never been to Hawaii. Another good reason to RGTK Hawaii.

Q: Best, worst?

DP: Hands down Texas has the best capitol (and, arguably, also the best capital). There is no close second. Texas also has the best tours; a staff of paid, trained professionals. Idaho has a beautiful capitol and the interior of the Pennsylvania capitol is spectacular, probably the most ornate. Kansas might be the worst. It’s a rinky-dink little thing. Kind of like a county courthouse. I think they may have had a group of fifth graders come in to paint the murals on the walls. It’s very lame, kind of like the state.

The Virginia highpoint, July 2004

Q: What about state highpoints?

DP: I’ve got 48, Betsy has 18. Tex has 44! If we get to Hawaii I’ll definitely go for 49 but number 50, Alaska, seems less and less likely. I have not completely discounted the idea, but my interest is waning.

Q: What about 14ers?

DP: I’ve got 70 of the 75 14,000-foot peaks in the lower 48 states and my total count, including repeats, is at an even 100. One of the five remaining is a sub-peak of Mt. Rainier that is notorious for avalanches and I’ve pretty much given up on that. I do hope to get the four remaining in California but at this writing I don’t have a specific plan. It definitely won’t be this year. In Colorado I think I will definitely keep trekking to 14er summits, especially the more accessible day hikes. I can imagine that my total 14er summits could climb (pun intended) if we spend as much of our future summers in Colorado as it seems we might.

On Halloween Day in 2012 we stopped to look around at the Leon County Courthouse in Centerville (near I-45, about halfway between Houston and Dallas) and got a personal tour from County Judge Byron Ryder.

Q: Texas counties?

DP: I long ago bagged county #254 and the challenge now is to say that I have been inside of every county courthouse. That’s no easy feat because, of course, you have to be there when the courthouse is open. Yet my count is now at 238. If we do turn our attention back on Texas in future years I can see getting there.

Q: What’s your favorite Texas county courthouse?

DP: Well I’m definitely partial to those designed by the prolific architect James Reily Gordon. He designed 18 Texas courthouses in the late 19^th Century and 12 are still standing. One of those is the Bexar County Courthouse right here in San Antonio, which is pretty spectacular. It’s a beautiful building and the county has done a wonderful job in recent years of restoring it inside and out.

Gordon’s best-known work is probably the Ellis County Courthouse in Waxahachie – which is amazing – but I think I tend to favor the Wise County Courthouse in Decatur for my number two ranking. The Hopkins County Courthouse in Sulpher Springs is another good one.

We have had some great experiences stopping at courthouses in the smaller, rural counties (i.e. most Texas courthouses). Incredibly, on four different occasions we have received personal tours of the building from the county judge (the chief administrator in a Texas county); in Freestone, Throckmorton, Leon and Schleicher Counties. In Wharton County, when Tex was about 10, the district judge noticed us walking around and invited us into his chambers where the three of us sat and talked to him about being a lawyer, a judge, going to law school, etc. A few times in an empty courtroom the three of us would conduct our own mock trial. Tex was on the witness stand, Betsy would be the judge and I’d be the lawyer questioning Tex about his “crimes”. No wonder Tex became a lawyer!

BP: Courthouses also make great bathroom stops.

Q: Uh, thanks…good to know. Any other lists? What about presidents?

DP: Yes, presidents. Maybe my oldest list. It is kind of a weird one. The modern presidents all have prominent libraries while only a few of the 19^th Century presidents have small libraries (although I suppose you could argue that Jefferson’s and Madison’s library is the Library of Congress). Some have prominent birthplaces, others are obscure and, occasionally, disputed (e.g. Andrew Jackson). A few have boyhood homes. Some have prominent and famous adult homes (e.g. Jefferson) open to the public but many do not (e.g. Bush I and II). There is also a lot of disparity, and a good bit of weirdness, in their burial/entombment sites. So, it’s kind of a strange list. That said, my counts are 35 birthplaces, nine boyhood homes, 31 adult homes, 15 libraries and 32 graves/tombs. I don’t keep separate lists for Betsy but her numbers are pretty close to mine, maybe a few less in each category.

One thing we learned on our stop at Madison's Montpelier plantation is that James and Dolley are definitely old school; ignoring Betsy's "smart" phone.

Q: Any favorites here?

DP: Well, as I said, it’s a very quirky list. Obviously, Monticello is incredible, and they are working hard to better interpret everything related to enslavement and Jefferson’s complex and enlightening relationship with that matter. Huge strides have been made in preserving, interpreting and opening to the public Madison’s Montpelier plantation, a must stop for anyone interested in American history. Montpelier is also an easy threefer for list checkers because Madison was born, lived and is buried right there on the same property in Orange County Virginia. There are some great presidential sites off the beaten path. For instance, Woodrow Wilson lived in a relatively modest house in northwest Washington D.C. that is now next door to (I’m not making this up) Jeff Bezos’s house. And Wilson is entombed nearby at the Washington National Cathedral which, if you’ve never been to the National Cathedral, you absolutely must go and take one of the tours. Monroe and Tyler are both buried in the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia (as is Jefferson Davis). There is a lot of history (and some great views of Richmond) in this cemetery and there is a walking tour which is pretty well done. As far as the libraries go, the newer ones are big and pretty and have lots of exhibits which tend to spin things in an artificially favorable light. I think the Johnson Library in Austin is probably the fairest and best among them but externally it's plagued by the brutalist architectural style of the 1970s. The setting for the Clinton Library is nice, on the banks of the Arkansas River near downtown Little Rock; and it is a beautiful building.

Q: Any other lists you and Betsy are working on?

DP: If there are, fortunately, I can’t think of any right now. You know what, this has been a lot of fun. Maybe we should do a podcast and try to monetize this thing?

Q: Uh, yeah, sure. Let me get back to you on that….