Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Today was 8/18/26 and all I could think was 8+18=26. Math! It’s everywhere!
We went to the Field of Dreams movie set site today. I love seeing the movies in real life, so I thoroughly enjoyed it. The house has a fence around it; I assume it keeps people from swarming around it.
We sat on the bleachers and watched families play.
I loved when this mom started pitching to her kid and another kid run in to be the catcher (which they really needed because they could neither pitch nor hit).
I am Shoeless!
We went to hang out by the corn, in case any players showed up.
This guy showed up!
There is a great big stadium beyond the regular field that Shoeless Joe Jackson played on in the movie. I read that it was the original stadium built for the movie. I was confused. What regular stadium. There wasn’t a stadium. There was a baseball diamond by corn. I wondered if they actually constructed a big stadium just to film the scene when Ray kidnaps Terrance and takes him to a game. How weird would that be? I continued my research a bit and read over and over that it was the original stadium built. Finally, I found a timeline that made sense – along with a picture that made sense. MLB built a temporary field in 2020 for a game – that was eventually played in 2021. They scheduled another game for 2023 but it wasn’t played because they were building a stadium around the field. The first MLB game that was actually played in the stadium was just last Thursday – the Twins v the Phillies. I think it’s weird to play a MLB game next to the Field of Dreams field. Is next to a thing? I don’t think so.
We scenic-overlooked the Mississippi River. I am very curious about the houses down there. What happens when the river gets high?
We stopped to mail postcards and came out next to a Kwik Star. We went in to use the restroom and then had so much fun. Should we get a doughnut with broken up Oreos on it? How about a mix of twelve apples, oranges, and pears? What about a banana? There were Buffalo tenders (I ate my leftover Chicken George for breakfast. So good) Candy? Chips? I finally decided on a cheddar dog, or something like that, and add a soda for $1. I obviously don’t go to the gas station often enough. I was so delighted. Keith got a slushie instead of soda. We were living high!
Our last stop of the day before home was at a wayside toilet. Spiders. NO NO NO NO!
Okay, much more than you want to know, but I LOVE both the movie and the movie site.
I’ve visited the Field of Dreams twice, both times before the big stadium was built. I think I’m glad. Once was a slight detour off 35 after having helped a friend drop off her daughter at college in Lawrence, so 1997. The other time was when Jim and I took a literary road trip, with first stop Dyersville.
I love the movie. At one point, CBS made a big promotion for their showing of the movie on a Sunday night, including a teaching guide tracing Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey in the movie. We already used the Hero’s Journey as a model for teaching mythology! So now I had a way to show the Hero’s Journey in a modern story to help my students see it in mythology. I showed the movie many times and was happy to watch it every time.
“They” say that the movie is based on Kinsella’s novel Shoeless Joe, but I would say that’s only slightly so. Like tangenitally connected. (Ooh! A tangent? More math!) The two stories are very different, but both good.
Interesting that it doesn’t really follow the book. I will add it to the To Read list. Thank you for the tip about going there – we would not have realized it was there for our enjoyment without you!
😊