The year was 1991 when a Houston, Texas father decided to visit every major league baseball stadium with his father and young children. The journey ended Friday night at the Metrodome.
?We've seen 29 and there are only 30 teams,? said Stephen Tipps, ?and Minnesota's the only one left.?
Daughter Catherine was just 11-years-old when the stadium visits started at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Twin sons Peter and David were 9. ?They're getting taller, and I'm getting shorter all the time,? said their grandfather Robert ?Red? Tipps, 90, who has accompanied the family on most of the trips .
The stadium trips provided not just summer memories, but a subject for all three of the kids? college entrance essays. ?It worked well,? said Catherine. ?We all got into college,? added David.
?When we were younger he'd give us money for souvenirs, but now he gives us money for beer,? said Peter.
Some might say a 30 stadium odyssey deserves a stronger finish than the Metrodome. ?Look at it this way,? said Houstonian Stephen Tipps. ?You guy have two world championships and we have none, so I?m not going to come up here and criticize your ballpark.?
All those years focused on the finish, only to get there and wish it weren't over.
(Copyright 2007 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)
