August 11, 2004 -- Sometimes, somewhere in America, someone does something right. Something that makes us forget about how much money we make or what we do for a living or that the world around us just isn't quite right. Travel takes us away from it all. So does music. Add baseball, the setting sun, a small town, and some family and close friends, and well, some folks would think they've died and gone to heaven.
Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan might not be actual gods, but here in the good ole' U.S.A. they're as close as you can get. This summer, to celebrate nothing but life itself, the two are touring together to play 22 minor league baseball parks nationwide. The concert series just started, kicking off in Cooperstown on August 6, 2004. Here are the dates and locations for the entire tour:
August 2004Tickets for all shows are $45 general admission (first come, first serve for seats) per adult with children accompanied by one ticket-holding adult getting in free. Most shows begin at 6:00pm and end around 10:00pm or whenever these tow want to stop. You can buy your tickets online at www.ticketmaster.com or through the minor league baseball in your area.
For example, Willie and Bob visit the Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, home of the Delmarva Shorebirds in Salisbury, Maryland, on August 14, 2004. Tickets for that show, listed at $48 (concert tickets, like airlines, are subject to local taxes as well), and information on directions for can be had at www.theshorebirds.com.
If you have to travel to get to one of these shows, take advantage of those great 14-day APEX fall airfare specials we've been writing about so much lately.
Remember, some of these towns are very small. Sevierville, Tennessee, reachable by flying into Knoxville, Tennessee at the base of the Smokey Mountains gets cold in August. Most hotels are cabins at the base of the mountain or chains in and around the small downtown area. They range in price from $70 for a room at the Comfort Suites at Pigeon Forge to the Resort Quest Mountain Cabins, where $180 gets you an outdoor hot tub and an indoor pool table. Bigger towns such as Wichita, Kansas or Madison, Wisconsin have more lodging offerings.
Your best bet on this one might be to pick the location closest to you and drive the few hours away. See the country. Take your kids. Go with a big group. Bob and Willie won't be around forever, and neither will you.
