What quote am I vibing? "Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose. But fortunately I had my manuscript, so you see I was going to make a long speech, and there is a bullet - there is where the bullet went through - and it probably saved me from it going into my heart. The bullet is in me now, so that I cannot make a very long speech, but I will try my best." Theodore Roosevelt
Road Day: 30
MLB Stadiums Visited this Trip: 3 (Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies)
Today I drove down to Denver for a Colorado Rockies game! I've always heard that this is a must-see stadium, and I agree - it's stunning! I rooted for the home team, as is proper, but they lost fairly monumentally to the St. Louis Cardinals - 12-3. The game was fun. I like to see runs, no matter who is hitting them.
I also happened to randomly get myself a seat in the shade (hallelujah!) and a seat next to the bullpen, which I will try to do again in the future. One of my favorite things about baseball is the sounds of impact. The crack of the bat, the thwack of the ball in the catcher's mitt. Here I could hear the ball hitting the wall. I also heard the phone ring when the calls to the bullpen were made, which was a really fun look behind the scenes!
During the 7th inning singing of "God Bless America," I was moved more than usual by the line we know so well..."from the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam." Because we are in the Rockies, they put a picture on the big screen of the mountains. Yes. We have it all. It's all so beautiful!
In my research, I found Roosevelt - a very chic bar on 15th St, quite near the stadium. They serve a craft cocktail called "To Kill A Bull Moose" which consists of Bulleit Rye, Barenjager, Becherovka, Amaro Cio Ciaro, and Angostura Stomach Bitters. When I tell you I rarely drink, I tell you true. And even less so on this trip, because drinking is expensive and I'm on a budget. So, this drink, while it may not be able to kill a bull moose, could very well have thrown me for a loop. I only drank about a quarter. For posterity.
When Theodore Roosevelt was on the campaign trail in 1912, running independently as the "Bull Moose Party" candidate - he was shot by John Schrank, just before he was about to give a speech in Milwaukee. The speech was twice-folded in his pocket, and the bullet went through the four layers of speech, and part of his eyeglass case, slowing it down. Roosevelt, as only Roosevelt could, gave the speech - starting it out with my quote above. A drink named after this - it needed a few sips from me. I would have loved the bar anyway, with its literary themes, and awesome bartender - Manny. A delight to chat with, and very understanding of what a lightweight I am. So happy to have found a perfect place to end my day in Denver! (Technically I ended it at Two-Fisted Mario's, on Manny's recommendation - to soak up some of that alcohol with a DELICIOUS slice.)
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