Friday, April 30, 2010

 

Bobby D's Blog - 2010 Day 26

 



One of the highlights to last year’s Quest was meeting Travis, Joey and Pedro – the 30 ballparks in 30 days guys so when I decided to do the Quest again this summer I made sure that the boys would be able to attend a Phillies game with me since they live in Philly. What I didn’t know when I scheduled the game that this game would have a bit more meaning to them.

Like the commercial says – Life comes at you fast and the past month that has been oh so true for me. I was originally scheduled to move to Columbus in the October time frame, then that got moved up to July and then ASAP. So ASAP just so happened to take place the weekend that I scheduled to be in Philly – so I loaded up the truck (Honda Accord) and moved to Beverly (Columbus, OH) making a slight detour to visit the boys in Philly.

Since there is really no place to hang out prior to a Phillies game at Citizen’s Bank Park (CBP) we decided to tailgate – Travis had the food covered and Joey had the beer covered so all I had to do was eat and drink, which I had covered very nicely.

While we were tailgating Joey brought up the point that this day was their first anniversary of starting their journey of all 30 parks in 30 days. I still have a hard time grasping what it took to drive the entire country to get to all 30 ballparks in 30 days. April 18th last season they had an afternoon game at Citifield and then drove back to Philly for a night game at CBP. They had only one rain delay along the way – which almost caused havoc as the rain delay was an afternoon game in Pittsburgh and right after the game they had to drive to Cleveland for a night game. The other thing that amazes me is the scheduling it took for it all to come together. Imagine trying to schedule that out. The boys are in the process of making a documentary of their journey last season. Once it is complete I will put information on here for anyone who would like to get a copy. As an added bonus – the boys said I made the first cut of the movie but there is still time for my first acting job to make it onto the cutting room floor.

The Guinness Book of World Record of getting to all 30 ballparks is 24 days set last season by Chuck Booth. Of course Chuck flew to many of the games which does not belittle what he accomplished as the rule to breaking the record is you have to have an official from the home ballpark attest that you were at the game for the first pitch and the last pitch. Plus in there Chuck had 6 days when he caught a game in the afternoon and one at night. The scheduling for that is equally amazing.

I some day would like to repeat what the boys accomplished – drive the country and see a game at all 30 ballparks in 30 days. Yes people have done it faster – but 30 in 30 has a nice ring to it. Of course I would need a partner in crime to do this with and I would think that doing this type of thing would really test a relationship, whether it is friendship or something a bit more (or hopefully a lot more). Take a month off in the summer and drive the country – that is now on my list of things to do someday, any takers?

The game itself was a dud – the Marlins won 2 – 0. A few of the highlights were:

• The Phillie Fanatic – he is the best mascot in all of sports. Whenever the Fanatic is on the field you have to pay attention

• The 7th inning stretch the Phillies had a huge balloon type of cartoon character in the image of Harry Carey sing ‘Take me out to the Ballgame’. It is very funny especially for this Cubs fan.

• The ballpark is truly amazing. No detail was left out. I had missed this last year as my CBP game was the first game of the season. I was still in shock and awe of what I was starting out to do that I didn’t pay attention to the ballpark. Every seat is angled towards home plate, the outfield ivy wall is very cool as well as all the things to see, do and eat on Ashburn Alley in the outfield area of the ballpark. If you are going to CBP – get there early and take in the entire park

• The Schmitter – what is the Schmitter you ask? Well it is a sandwich served at CBP that is starting from top to bottom – Kaiser Roll top, cheese, “special” sauce, grilled salami, more cheese, tomatoes, fried onions, steak, even more cheese and Kaiser Roll bottom. Travis had disappeared for a bit during the game and came back with a Schmitter for me to try out with a beer - Joey said the beer is a key element to the Schmitter. (What isn’t beer a key element of?). The sandwich was great and I thank Travis and Joey for hooking me up with one.

After the game we said our goodbyes but the story and the blog does not end here. I still have a 7.5 hour drive to Columbus to go. I had wanted to be in Columbus Monday to have stuff delivered to my new place which meant hitting the road once the game was over. To assist with the drive my good friend Charlie was texting me updates on the Black Hawk – Predator game. I promise that I only sent texts back to her when it was safe to do so. I am happy to report that the Hawks won the game and I arrived safely in Columbus. Then again if I didn’t arrive safely I wouldn’t be typing this blog. Of the many highlights on the PA Turnpike and I-70 in Ohio is the rest area in Flushing, OH. Why is this a highlight? Well if you have ever driven the PA Turnpike from Philly to Columbus you know that there aren’t many and can you name a more fitting place to have a rest area than Flushing, OH.

Well I think that about wraps up Philly and ballpark #4. Next up is Cleveland this Sunday which was supposed to be Friday and then Saturday but is now Sunday. HUH? Well I was going to drive up to Cleveland after work on Friday but I was invited with a bunch of people from work to go see the Columbus Clippers who are the AAA team of the Cleveland Indians. So that made the Indian game for Saturday but I was able to secure a ticket to see the Celtics – Cavs NBA playoff game Saturday night which just so happens to be the at the same time as the Indian game which pushed back the Indian game to Sunday. You still with me?

So for now this is so long and good bye from Columbus, OH where if you are a consultant and bring a laptop to my office – WATCH OUT FOR MY COFFEE! My desk still smells like hazelnut, oh and as for the laptop – Matt needed a new one anyway.

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Monday, April 26, 2010

 

Bobby D's Blog - 2010 Day 22

 



Here I am 2 blogs behind again though I am going to invoke the “I have been very busy” clause in my Quest contract. Said clause states that said Questor (more on this in a bit) can allow him or herself to fall behind in blogging when said Questor has had to attend a funeral, a ballgame, start a new position with their company and move 1/3 across the country all in one week. Luckily I negotiated that clause into my contract.

In the last blog I challenged the official teacher of the Quest to answer a few questions for me and Charlie did not fail. Not only did she get the answers for me but she used it as a fun teaching lesson for her 4th grade class. To see the answers from the class scroll down to the blog below this one and click on the comments link and you will find Charlie’s very cool reply to my challenge. For the record it is Questor and Ohioan.

For Quest game 3 at Tropicana Field I had gotten tickets the minute they went on sale back in February since the game was involving the Yankees on a Sunday afternoon and I needed 7 tickets for my mom Pat, dad Denny, sister Kim, nieces Alex and Harley, nephew Aaron and yours truly – the Questor (thanks again Charlie and her 4th grade crew). I was excited for this game to be able to share this experience with my family. Over the past years thru my own stupidity I have been out of touch with them so now that we were all at the game had special meaning.

We wanted to tailgate for the game and I left that part up to my mom with help from my sis. They did a great job getting us a sandwich tray from Publix with all the fixings. Aaron and I handled the beer and since he is a newly turned 21 year old he happily obliged. The weather turned out to be great – high 60’s with a nice breeze, perfect tailgate weather. The thing that was a bit of a surprise is that hardly anyone else was tailgating. Maybe it was the fact it was a 1:35 game on a Sunday (that didn’t stop the people in Philly this past weekend but more on that in the next blog) or that people in Tampa do not tailgate.

The game itself didn’t really matter. The Yankees won. I like the Rays and think they have a wonderful exciting ballclub. Their ballpark is not all that wonderful or exciting. They have done the best with what they have but really need a ballpark that befits this team. What they need to do is swap ballparks with Pittsburgh. PNC Park is wonderful with a not so wonderful team. Here in Tampa they have a wonderful team with a crappy ballpark. Why not build a new ballpark? Great question! Let’s just say it’s a political battle – getting healthcare reform was much easier to accomplish than getting the Rays a new ballpark.

After the game to celebrate Aaron’s birthday we went to Flemings Steak House in Tampa. It was kind of funny since we were all coming from the game dressed in our “going to the game clothes” and Flemings is a bit higher end place. We had a great time and the food was amazing – if you ever have a chance to go to Flemings get the Rib eye - Oscar style with the Flemings Potatoes and the snap peas. I don’t think the restaurant minded us being there on a slow Sunday in our “going to the game clothes” as we dropped a cool $550 on dinner.

Kind of a shorter blog today. I would like to thank my family for helping make ballpark #3 very special – the tailgate party that my mom set up was the savior to the day. Check back in a few days for the write up from Philly where I met up with Travis and Joey. So for now this is so long and good bye from my new home in Columbus, OH where after 1 week I am already ready tired of all the Ohio State Buckeye stuff and they have not taken too kindly to me humming Hail to the Victors all day long.

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Thursday, April 15, 2010

 

Bobby D's Blog - 2010 Day 11

 



Thank goodness for Tampa this past weekend – I had to get the stink off of me from Atlanta. Since I attended 2 Yankee – Ray games and a hockey game this past weekend I will just have to do a 2 part blog from my adventures in Tampa. I know – poor you for having to sit thru 2 of these :(

Over the course of the last season and again so far this season fate has played a huge factor in the scheduling of games to attend. My first 3 games this season have been fate related. The Yankees opening up at Fenway and having the game moved from Monday to Sunday for ESPN opened up the opportunity to travel to Atlanta to see the Cubs opener. Then business travel had me in Tampa for this past weekend and low and behold the Yankees were playing the Rays at the Trop. What also made this special is that my nephew Aaron’s 21st birthday was last week so we were able to celebrate his 21st birthday all weekend long. Trust me – we celebrated and tuckered me out.

So on Friday I obtained 3 tickets for the Yankee – Ray’s game and dragged along Aaron and Alex (kicking and screaming) to the Trop. This game did not count as my official Quest game as I am counting Sunday’s game. Why does it matter and isn’t it all just semantics anyway? Well sure – but years from now when all of this is part of the National Baseball Hall of Fame – the ballpark Questors wing - it will be important which game was a Quest game. According to the Quest Commissioner, Mikey Schramm, Quest rule 2.001 states that when attending multiple games at one ballpark said Questor (still not sure if it is Questor, Quester or Questie) may chose which game counts as the official Quest game. The Commissioner is wise and mighty so his ruling stands. But I do have a question for my good friend Charlie who is a 4th grade teacher in the burbs of Chicago and is the official school teacher of this year’s Quest – which is it teach – Questor, Quester or Questie? I am sure the kids in her class know the answer which will not make me smarter than a 4th grader. Like that was ever in doubt.

We get to the Trop early to tailgate a bit and fate strikes again. We were parked near the handicap parking area and this minivan parks near us. I hadn’t paid attention to the van and then I hear – are you lost? Yes – my first Cubs wearing heckling moment of the day and the obligatory dollar to buy a clue is about to be bestowed on this gentleman. When I turn around the gentleman is in a wheelchair. I pause for a moment trying to decide do I educate him or not. I decide why not and then hand him a dollar and my business card. I go into the whole why I am wearing my Cubs shirt and what the Every Park means on the back of the shirt. We talk with Matt for about 15 minutes. He tells us that 6 years ago he was with friends and had a diving accident which broke his neck and left him paralyzed. Matt has invented a device for wheelchairs and walkers that add a table top and cup holder to the chair or walker. His website is livingeazy.com. I have attached the link to this blog.

We watched as Matt took off to the ballpark. Alex, Aaron and I reflected on our meeting with Matt and the thing that stuck out to us was his enormous positive attitude. I could not imagine being paralyzed and in a wheelchair yet here was Matt going to the game by himself and doing all the things required to get to the ballpark all by himself. Matt is a truly inspirational person and I wish him the best in whatever he will do in life – one thing I do know is that it will be successful.

The game itself was a dud – the Rays won 9 to 3. We didn’t meet too many people in the ballpark. Probably the only highlights were Aaron being heckled for wearing his Yankee stuff as the game was getting out of hand (he made sure he heckled back as only a newly turned 21 year old can do) and Alex standing 4 feet from Derek Jeter and not knowing it. How can that happen you ask? Great question. See Alex is in love with A-Rod and jokes when they get married they will be known as Alex and Alex Rodriguez or A2-Rod (that is supposed to read as A-squared Rod but I don’t know how to do the small little squared 2 thingy on here). A-Rod was warming up down the left field line and Alex was standing in the aisle 2 rows from the field taking pictures of A-Rod. Unbeknownst to her Jeter was standing 4 feet from her warming up. She finally turned to her right and there was Jeter. It was pretty funny but more of a location joke – you know - you had to be there.

Saturday was day 2 of our Tampa sports marathon weekend as we took in the Panther – Lightning hockey game. This was a meaningless game played by 2 teams on the outside looking in for the playoffs. But it was a history making night as Lightning Center Steven Stamkos scored 2 goals to bring his total to 50 for the season making him the 3rd youngest player in NHL history to score 50 in a season. For you hockey fans out there – pay attention to Stamkos in the future, he is going to be a superstar.

For the game we had 2 seats 6 rows at dead center ice between the benches (picture attached to the blog from our seats) - we also had 3 seats in the party suite behind the goal. My niece Harley has become a hockey freak and was not going to trade her seat with those of us slumming it in the party suite so my sister Kim sat with her for the 1st period, my dad Denny for the 2nd period and Harley allowed me to sit with her for the 3rd period. This was a bonus for me as the game went to a shoot out with the Lightning winning 4 to 3.

As for that party suite – it is no slum that’s for sure. What the Lightning did was convert 4 suites behind the goal into one large suite. The tickets for the suite include all the food and beverages (including beer) you can devour in 2.5 periods. My work buddy from Boston – Dr. Joe Gottlich (a proctologist no less) and his dad were at the game and joined us in the party suite. The good doctor is not one to pass up unlimited free beer and lives by the rule that the best beer in the world is the free beer in your hand no matter if it is Bud or not. Overall a good time for all especially since we had unlimited free beer. By the way – 5 of us watched some or all of the game from the party suite when only 3 tickets were purchased. Not sure how that happened – well I know how that happened but I will keep that a secret.

I think I have bored you all for one day - check back in a few days for another boring blog of ballpark #3 and the official Quest day at the Trop that feature a tailgate party, a Yankee victory and a $550 dinner tab at Flemings but well worth it when you are celebrating a 21st birthday. So for now time this is so long and good bye from my soon to be old apartment in Newburyport, MA where the next time we talk I will be an official Ohioian, Ohioite or Ohioer – Charlie need your help again, can you ask the class which it is please – I am surely not smarter than a 4th grader.More...

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Tuesday, April 13, 2010

 

Bobby D's Blog - 2010 Day 9

 



I have barely started the Quest to get to all 30 ballparks and I am already 2 blogs behind.

So without further ado ballpark #2 – Turner Field:


• I hate Atlanta’s airport – so much so it is passion hate, that hatred that burns inside of you just thinking of having to go there. But this trip I had no issues what so ever. My flight was on time and the tram ride to the main terminal was a breeze and get his – my luggage was waiting for me when I got to the claim area. They had built a new rental car facility and the monorail ride was a nice relaxing 8 minutes. My name was in lights at Hertz, car was already started and the trunk open for my luggage. I might have to rethink this hatred of this airport but I do have an outbound flight tonight so stay tuned…

• The ballpark is only 14 miles from the airport and I am starving and my choices limited as to what to eat. Why are they limited you ask? Well I started a diet to coincide with my Quest to get to all 30 ballparks. After Shawn passed I stopped eating healthy and going to the gym. My therapist told me that the unhealthy ways I had adopted were over my own guilt of her passing. On April 1st I started Weight Watchers and I am doing the points system. I am allowed 30 or so points – beer equals 3 points and I know that the system is not set up this way but 3 points a beer equals 10 beers. Woo hoo for the point system. I will update my progress as we go along.

• I end up getting Subway for lunch – it worked for Jared so why not me. A foot long sub is 14 points so half my daily allotment was now gone but still leaves me points for 5 beers.

• Here is an interesting side note – In Boston the day before for opening day everyone knew it was opening day, it is like an unofficial holiday in Boston. In Atlanta nobody in the airport nor Subway did anyone know it was opening day. And if they had an inkling it was opening day they had no idea that the Braves were playing the Cubs or that it was a home game. Not sure if that means Boston is over the top or Atlanta is under the top. My guess is it is both.

• Turner Field is set just off the interstate near the Olympic Village. There is abundant parking and the people of Atlanta know how to tailgate – not quite Wisconsin standards but impressive.

• Weather was perfect for the game – high 80’s and not a cloud in the sky plus very low humidity

• Atlanta has very hot women – nuff said

• Braves fans were very annoying walking to the ballpark shouting Cubs Suck and other stuff that I can’t print. Plus they turned on that damn Tomahawk Chop music and everyone was tomahawk chopping me. Not a fun walk to the main gate.

• Highlight of heckling came just as I was getting to the main gate. A family of 4 all in wife beater tee shirts (even the wife) started screaming at me to go home – I am not allowed in the ballpark. I could see they all had no teeth (even the wife) and even less education. As they were screaming at me that I was not allowed I asked “why am I not allowed, because I have my teeth and can conjugate a verb?” Silence from them – so if you ever have a redneck family heckling you just drop the conjugate a verb line and you win.

I get into the park right at 2 pm and the first thing I notice – no bunting around the field. Opening day needs bunting and there was none. That’s what makes opening day so special – bunting. Maybe the grounds crew like the rest of Atlanta didn’t know it was opening day.

• Miss number 2 by the Braves – no commutative pin, hat, baseball or bat that said opening day on it. The night before in Fenway I got an opening day hat and pin. The only thing they had that said opening day was a tee shirt. Tee shirts are nice but not something that a geek like me can display to brag that I was at opening day.

• My seats for the game were amazing – 6 rows dead center behind home plate. If you watch a Braves game from Turner Field you will see a Sun Trust sign right behind home plate – I was 3 rows above the ‘N’. The picture attached to the blog was taken from my seat.

• At least the master of ceremonies remembered it was opening day. Great show put on by the Braves but they are sticking to this America’s Team theme but only now it is Braves Country. They keep telling you that no matter where you live you are in Braves Country. Well let’s hope that my part of Braves Country has people with teeth and verb conjugating is the norm.

• Hank Aaron throws out the first pitch. In my opinion Hank Aaron is the greatest baseball player ever. His numbers are ultra impressive and he did it all with class. Was great to see Hank.

• The game started great – Marlon Byrd hit a 3 run homer in the first and we are up 3 to 0. At this point I will yada yada yada and say the Cubs lost 16 to 5. Luckily 1 game does not a baseball season make.

• I left in the 8th as the Braves were piling it on. The goobers sitting around me were getting drunker by the inning and my patience was running thin. I can handle good nature Boston and New York heckling as it is usually funny but heckling in the south is just rude. As I was leaving my seat and the goobers were really giving it to me I said “we may have lost the game but THANK GOD the North won the war.” Again silence. Winning the Civil War gave us Northerners bragging rights for life.

• Easy exit out of the park and 14 miles only took 20 minutes. Nice easy tram ride to the main terminal and I even had time for dinner. I didn’t have any beer at the game so I still had 16 points to eat which consisted of a Mahi Mahi salad and a beer. Probably a bit over 16 points but I think I earned an extra point or 2 after watching the Cubs.

• My flight left late but not Atlanta’s fault as thunderstorms in Columbus caused a ground delay.

• I still hate Atlanta’s airport…why well one good experience does not trump the 15 bad ones I have had in the past.

Well there you have it – the blog from Atlanta. I tried to temper it a bit. I had sent Charlie a text while I was having dinner at the airport telling her it was going to be tough not to be totally negative in my blog about opening day in Atlanta. After rereading this a few times and taking out a few WTF’s I think I did ok.

Now I am only 1 blog behind – ballpark #3 from Tropicana Field. That blog will be easy, so much good stuff to write about. So for now this is so long and good bye from Tampa International Airport as the memories of Atlanta start to fade but at least I know I was at opening day – I have the tee shirt to prove it.

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Friday, April 9, 2010

 

Bobby D's Blog - 2010 Day 5

 



2 opening days in 2 cities with 2 flights all in less than 24 hours – Jack Bauer has nothing on my baseball Questing abilities. Here is a running timeline of opening day at Fenway Park.

The following takes place from 5 pm to 6 am and happens in real time (Queue the cool 24 music):

5:01 pm – leave my apartment in the Port feeling like a kid on Christmas, it’s opening night of the baseball season and for the 2nd year in a row I will be at the opening night!!!

5:22 pm – Jimmy Buffett on the radio blowing out his flip flop – I digress here, at a hockey game a few weeks ago my niece Harley blew out her flip flop and I said watch out for the pop tops and she looks at me like “whatcha smokin there Uncle Bob”.

5:28 pm – crossing the Tobin Bridge and I can see the CITGO Sign in the distance, I have driven over this bridge hundreds of times but have never noticed the CITGO Sign – I wonder if this is a sign or just that I am usually texting while driving.

5:38 pm – park at Fenway and have my first jackass moment. A jackass moment is when someone says something about me wearing my Cub shirt at a game when the Cubs are not playing there.

The “gentleman” who won the prize at Fenway was kind of drunk and went on and on about how I should not wear my Cubs’ stuff at Fenway. I handed him a dollar and said” congrats – you are the first jackass of the day, now go buy a clue with that dollar”. His buddies all laughed and said to me – “yep, he is a jackass”.

5:45 pm – get the first “lost are ya?” comment about wearing my Cubs’ stuff at a non Cubs game. So I decided to educate the young man. I asked if he was a Red Sox fan – which he was. I then said if you were in Milwaukee and at a Brewer – Ranger game (inside message here, hint hint) would you wear Brewer or Ranger stuff? He said no – I would wear my Red Sox stuff. I paused and then he got it.

6:05 pm – The Gates are open – come on in Bobby D, ballpark number 1 awaits

6:07 pm – walk up the tunnel behind home plate and the field comes into view. It might be me – but I love walking into the ballpark for the first time from right behind home plate.

6:11 pm – notice the ESPN Baseball Tonight crew has set up down the right field line and mosey on over. Nomahh and the Shill have joined Carl Ravich and Bobby Valentine behind the desk. Where is John Kruk?

6:16 pm – I find Kruk, he is a bit further down the line with nobody standing near him so I decide to go stalk Kruk.

6:22 pm – Kruk turns around and sees my Cub shirt and says “A little lost are ya?” NOOOO – not you too Krukie

6:45 pm – finish educating Kruk (he is a little slow) and gave him a dollar to buy a clue. This really did happen but more on this latter

7:10 pm – finally make my way to my seat in the left field Coca Cola Pavilion where I meet sitting next to me Pam and Gerry. They have been married 31 years this past Wednesday and are lifelong Red Sox fans that live in Tilton, NH. Pam tells me this is her first ever opening day and points to Gerry to tell me the story. Gerry had won the random drawing to buy opening night tickets and didn’t tell Pam. He bought the tickets for their 31st anniversary. A few days prior to the game he left an envelope on the table with the tickets as a surprise. What a great gift!!! Congrats again on 31 great years and best of luck on many more.

7:30 pm – opening night ceremonies begin - here are some of the highlights

- Mariano Rivera still gets cheered by Red Sox fans
- Mike Lowell got the loudest ovation of all the non-starters on the Sox
- F-16’s are really loud when they fly over
- Pedro Martinez threw out the first pitch – place went crazy and what a ham he is
- This 5 year old kid recited from memory the Herb Brooks Olympic speech with emotion and inflection in his voice. The Sox players were going crazy while he did it. Not sure who was the bigger ham – the kid or Pedro
- The big Ole American Flag draped over the Green Monster still one of the coolest things in baseball. Also shows you are at a special game.

8:10:22 – First Pitch and so it begins…

10:45 pm(or so) – as we move to further action in the game. This was done in my best Lindsey Nelson. If you an old Notre Dame fan like me you are now shaking your heads going – I remember that. Great game so far – Yanks jumped out to a 5 to 1 lead with the Sox tying it in the 6th. Yanks took the lead back in the 7th only to see Sox take the lead 8 to 7 after 7.

10:50 pm – Steven Tyler comes out to sing God Bless America. Great touch here by the Sox rolling out New England’s own Steven Tyler. Some R & B gal sang the National Anthem but here we have Steven Tyler belting out God Bless America and this was only the beginning…

11:23 pm – Holy Crap it’s Neil Diamond to sing Sweet Caroline. So here is the skinny on Sweet Caroline being played at Fenway in the 8th inning. It has become tradition since 2002 that Sweet Caroline is played in the 8th and the crowd sings along. Previous to 2002 it would be played at various times during the game but when John Henry purchased the Red Sox he asked that it be played same time every game. It is now the main tradition at Fenway and one that any person visiting Fenway should be sure to be in your seat in the 8th to sing along as well.

11:28 pm – ballpark still buzzing with having Steven Tyler open for Neil Diamond. Holy crap again – Kudos to the Sox for pulling out all the stops for opening.

11:57:32 pm – game over – finally. Just a tad under 4 hours which on a normal night would be ok but now I have to get home, nap and then get to Logan for my 8:30 am flight to Atlanta.

12:02 am – I strategically parked in a lot that would allow easy exit from the ballpark – now I am in the car and my plan looks like it will work

1:10 am – home, not too bad only 68 minutes from Fenway to the Port – normal non game night it would take 45 minutes. Great planning Bobby D – sorry, I know not too modest statement here.

1:25 am – Come on Bob – get to sleep. Car service it picking you up at 6:00 am

2:02 am – 1,001…1,002…1,003 who ever said counting sheep works is wrong

3:27 am – yes Jennifer Love Hewitt, I will go out on a date with you. Thank you so much for asking. Oh wait you will pay as well. Wow this dating a TV star is going to be great.

5:26 am – alarm goes off and bummed to realize that was only a dream about dating Jennifer Love Hewitt.

6:00 am – car service on time to take me to Logan and the start of another memorable day. To be continued…..

So back to John Kruk – when Kruk saw my jersey I was actually standing with my back to him and then I turned around and said “a little lost are you?” He asked about the Every Park thing on the back of my jersey. I went into detail of my Quest last summer and that I am doing it all again this summer in partnership with the SADS Foundation. He put me in contact with someone for MLB.com who then put me in contact with someone from This Week in Baseball. Seems there may be some interest in doing a story on all of this later in the season. If anything comes of it you my faithful readers will be the first to know.

So for now this is so long and good bye and check back in a few days for the balance of the 24 hour period of 2 opening days in 2 cities with 2 flights and the story of being heckled by a family of rednecks with no teeth that is just so wrong on so many levels.

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Sunday, April 4, 2010

 

Bobby D's Blog - T Minus 7 HOURS

 



First off let me say happy Easter and to those who do not celebrate Easter then good morning and happy Sunday. One thing I am quickly learning having a website that has become read by a diverse group is to remain PC and PG-13. Well I will to stick to the PC and so try to stick to the PG-13.

Now that that has been said – it’s Opening Day, it’s Opening Day, it’s Opening Day, and it’s Opening Day, it’s Opening Day, it’s Opening Day, it’s Opening Day, it’s Opening Day and it’s Opening day.

Sorry about that – can you tell I am excited that it is OPENING DAY!!! Also Charlie need some teacherly advice (btw - spell check didn’t like teacherly, but I do) – I am good with the who and whom, there their and they’re and your and you’re – but I need some help on when to use it’s and its? Spell check is having an aneurysm on that last paragraph about its Opening Day. And here at 30ballparks-in-1season we are all about proper grammar. Well most of the time – right teach.

In a few moments I will hop into the Marogi Mobile and head to Fenway Park for wait, wait, wait…Opening Day. So what the heck is the Marogi Mobile? It is a fully paid 2004 Honda Accord with 137,000 miles and was the nickname that I had for Shawn. How did Marogi come about? I used to call her Show Mo when we were dating – in Jersey we shorten every name and Shawn Marie was just too dang (see PG-13) long to say – so I shortened it to Show Mo. Actually I think that was a subliminal message to her to Show more – but I will stop there, PG-13 website here people. One night we were hanging at our local drinking establishment – all milk and cookies, really taking this PG-13 thing a bit too far – and after having a few too many “milks”, I went to call Show Mo and it came out Marogi. Not sure how – I guess when having too many “milks” my vocabulary became lactose intolerant. The next morning Shawn asked me – what the heck is a Marogi? I was like – dang you remembered that after so many “milks”. She laughed and said yes – I remember all the dumb butt (PG-13) things you say and do. Later that day I when we were going out I asked – my truck or the Marogi Mobile and hence a nickname was born.

When we moved to West Virginia they only require a tag on the back of the car and you can be creative with your front tag. At the local Mall was a stand where they make designer tags and the one in the picture is what Shawn came up with. She got this tag made 3 days after 9-11. It has been on our car ever since and even here in Mass – the plate has remained. As long as I have that car the tag will remain.

The next day and a half is going to be crazy – but that’s what makes this such an accomplishment to complete. Tonight of course is opening night at Fenway – first pitch is at 8:15 which means last pitch sometime around 11:30 or so. Then at least 1.5 hours back to my home here in the Port. Car service is picking me up for the airport at 6 am for my 8:30 flight to Atlanta for the Cubs season opener and ballpark number 2. Then after the game a 9:00 pm flight to Columbus so I can be at work by 8 am on Tuesday. My next 2 blogs will be a running diary from notes I take during the next 2 days. The running diaries tend to be fun.

Over the past week I have been having trouble sleeping with a new job on the horizon, a move to Columbus, OH in a few weeks and also trying to the save the world one ballpark at a time – I have just a few things on my mind. With everything going on I have actually been thinking of postponing the all 30 ballparks until next season – I mean who would blame me, moving and a new job are major things to do and then add traveling all over the country on weekends to see a ballgame. I was lying awake at 12:30 am or so and my phone beeps which signals an email. Well the email was an entry in the guestbook from Susan here on my site. All I will say about it is click on the guestbook and take a look. Yesterday I received an email from Meg in Minnesota. She told me that her younger sister passed away from ARVD – same condition as Shawn – and she and another relative have been tested and are candidates for ARVD. She has under gone treatment for ARVD but would never have known if not for her sister’s passing. After responding to her email I headed off to sleep – clear mind and slept like a baby. Why you ask? The Mission is back on – I have renewed energy all thanks to the 3 latest entries in the guestbook and a new very special friend in Minnesota.

The following is from my post yesterday on facebook – Today begins a journey that WE will be on to spread awareness about SADS. There is a person out there today doing normal routine stuff and is living with a heart condition they are not aware they have. What they also do not know is that because of OUR work this summer their life will be saved by the awareness WE have spread. It only takes a minute to share this site with your friends – 1 minute to potentially save 1 life. Pretty powerful stuff…

A few final points – we are still at $2,000 raised for Shawn’s Memorial Fund with our goal of $10,000. If you can spare even an extra dollar or 2 – every bit helps. More info on her memorial fund by clicking on the link at the top left. Also if you would like to follow along this summer please add me as a facebook friend. Just click the banner at the top of the screen and it will take you to my page. Please reference my site when you send the friend request – seems there are some girls out there that try to add you as a friend and then sell you non-PG-13 photos. And lastly – it’s OPENING DAY.

So for now it’s so long and good bye from the Port where in a few hours I will hop into the Marogi Mobile for ballpark #1 – so glad to have you along for the ride. Strap yourselves in – it is going to be an amazing ride!!!!!

Posted by , 10:52 AM, Permalink

 

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