i'm planning this trip to san francisco, and it keeps getting longer and longer.

how it's being stretched on the back end:
i'm working with two conflicting interests: the desire to maximize gurs time makes me want a sunday afternoon/evening flight, but the loss of two hours while traveling west to east makes any sunday evening flight virtually impossible; this means that the trip gets shifted forward to monday morning arrival.

how it's being stretched on the front end:
besides sumo and potentially gurs, the main reason to head out west is to see pac bell park, apparently the most beautiful structure in baseball today. however, since i'm in the area, i should make a point to see one of the most moribund structures: network associates coliseum (formerly the oakland coliseum). however, the a's are home wednesday (and the giants for the weekend), meaning that i'd have to get there wednesday for the game. however (again), the a's play a wednesday afternoon game, meaning that i'd have to get there tuesday night.

when you combine the desire to get there tuesday night with the near impossibility of return travel on sunday night, well...

it's looking like a tuesday night moline-to-chicago followed by a sunday red eye to chicago followed by a monday morning chicago-to-moline.

we shall see. it'll be a blast, however.