Lainey had the parking pass printed and folded in her lap before we were out of the driveway, which is how I knew she was more excited than she let on. The game fell on my birthday, June 14, so I didn't have to argue for it. I'm 46 now, and the main thing I wanted was a day where nobody asked me to look at a noise.
A week earlier the Sienna's air conditioning compressor had quit on a 93-degree Saturday and cost us $1,140 at the shop. So this was also the first real road test of the new compressor, an hour each way in June humidity with four people and a cooler. It passed. Tina said that alone was worth the trip.
The drive down
From the north end of St. Joseph it's about 58 miles to Kauffman Stadium, almost all of it I-29 south into Kansas City and then around the east side to the stadium. Figure an hour, a little more if traffic bunches up near the river crossing. We left at 4:15 for an evening game, which gave us time to park, eat in the lot and get to our seats before the anthem without anybody jogging.
Garrett has had his permit since March and is logging hours, but he hasn't done interstate driving yet, so I drove both ways. He spent the trip down reading the batting averages off his phone out loud, which is a kind of help.
The receipt
I kept every number in the notebook, because that's the deal I make with myself on any trip. Here's what the day cost the four of us:
- Gas: $14 (about 116 miles round trip, a little over five gallons at $2.79)
- Parking: $20
- Four tickets: $108 (upper level, $27 each, bought ahead online)
- Food from home: $21 (sandwiches, chips, grapes, cookies and a case of water from Hy-Vee)
Total: $163, or about $41 a person for a big-league game, a drive and supper.
The van did right about 22 miles per gallon on the highway with the air running, which is its usual. That's a cheap ride for four people. If I'd taken the Silverado instead, the gas would have been closer to $19 and we'd have been crammed in the back seat with the cooler.
Where the money really goes
The gas isn't the expensive part of a ballgame. It never is. The expensive part is the food inside. The stadium lets you carry in food in a clear bag and sealed bottles of water, at least as of this season, so check the current rules before you go. We ate sandwiches out of the cooler at the van, then carried in a bag of snacks and four waters.
Out of curiosity I priced the concession stand on the way to our seats. A hot dog and a soda for each of us would have run past $60, and that's before Lainey spotted the ice cream helmets. The cooler saved us more than the gas cost and the parking cost combined. That's the real lesson of the day, and it applies to every road trip we take: the drive is the cheap part, the stops are where it adds up.
We did buy one thing inside. Lainey got a soft pretzel in the seventh inning, and I'm not putting it in the total, because it was my birthday and I'm in charge of the spreadsheet.
The Royals lost by two. Nobody cared much. We were back on I-29 northbound by about 10:15 with the windows up and the new compressor humming. Both kids were asleep before we passed the airport exit, and Tina was close behind them.
Night driving on I-29 in June is easy compared to fall. The road is wide and well lit near the city, and the traffic thins out fast once you're past the north side of Kansas City. I still keep my speed sensible after dark and watch the shoulders, because the stretch between the city and St. Joe runs through farm country and deer don't check the calendar.
We pulled into the driveway at 11:20. Rusty met us at the back door like we'd been gone a week. The odometer had picked up 116 miles, the receipt said $163, and I'd say it was the best value of anything we've spent money on this year, including the compressor.
We'll probably go once more in August if a weeknight game lines up with my schedule. Same cooler. Same plan. Maybe Garrett drives the first stretch to the edge of town.