Day 17: The prodigal son returns

"Wait, like Standard Oil Rockefeller?"

I'm certain of it. Air Conditioning is in fact one of man's top 15 greatest accomplishments, settling in nicely alongside sandwiches and sports. The drive from Philadelphia to our final stop - Scott Lee's home in Silver Spring, MD to be exact - seals the deal with a 15-minute-going-on-1.5-hour traffic delay that adheres me to the seat in ways unknown to 3M. I've noticed several of my friends in Arizona posting pictures on Facebook of their car dashboard temperature displays reading 116 degrees. Having spent more than 90 percent of my life there, I can empathize with their situation. Our car dash shows only 100, but with punishing humidity and only open windows providing relief, I think we win this round. We survive nonetheless, crossing the finish line in our 15th state in 17 days and effectively ending our official time on the road. The next four hours highlight four more of man's greatest feats; the shower, tv, wireless internet and naps.

Our lone activity of the day makes up for the last difficult leg:  baseball in one of the great American ballparks, Camden Yards. The stadium is beautiful, even with thousands of empty seats. Ricky Romero throws five-innings of a perfect game, more than enough to defeat the punchless O's, but I enjoy the experience altogether. Even Scott's parking error that forces us to walk an extra 15 minutes in the heat to the stadium.

During the 7th inning stretch, they play John Denver's Thank God I'm A Country Boy. The crowd dances and sings along with more passion and fervor than they cheer for the team.

In the 8th inning I go to the team shop to get a souvenir for my nephew Caden. I end up with a Baltimore Oriole's monkey that is discounted 33 percent for this game specifically, even though no one can tell me why there is a stuffed monkey in Oriole's gear in the first place (it claims to be a rally monkey on the tag, but I am unaware of any such comeback animals habituating Camden). While in the checkout line I fall victim to the impulse items at the counter and end up purchasing two packs of baseball cards - one a 2009 Upper Deck for Caden (I'm assuming his first and hopefully not last) and one for myself, an interesting 2006 Topps Allen and Ginter pack on sale for $2. I don't remember the last time I bought baseball cards, probably as a light-hearted gift for my then roommate Aaron Royster, but opening this pack in the stands instantly reminds me of my youth and the endless time spent studying, sorting, trading and pining after pieces of glossy cardboard.

The cards I pull from this pack are amongst the most beautifully done I've ever seen. I get a miniature Nick Markakis, a Prince Fielder rookie and two titans of industry, John Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. Yes, you read that right. After a quick google search informs me I can find U.S. Presidents (Abe Lincoln, Grover Cleveland), historical figures (Kaiser Wilhelm II, Thomas Edison), American Outlaws (Billy the Kid, Jesse James), and random sports heroes (Takeru Kobayashi, Hulk Hogan) I return to the team store to purchase the remainder of the hobby box, 23 packs of cards in all. After Christmas for me and Scott back in his kitchen, and a complex taxonomy of the cards completed by Colleen, we discover unopened boxes of this set are going for close to $300 on eBay. Oops. I consider going back to Camden to empty out their stock, but instead we reminisce about simpler times and  just enjoy the art and obscurity of these cards. In conjunction with the advent of fantasy sports, cards cement baseball as the greatest sport ever. In the words of my friend Todd Greenberg, "Hooray Baseball!"

Tomorrow's Agenda
Route: Silver Springs > Annapolis
Estimated Distance: 34 miles
Estimated Time: 43 minutes