Incredible time at Kauffman

Between St. Louis and Kansas City I had an extra day to kill.  I contacted my friend, who has a super hard name so we’ll call him Oaley, and went to go stay the night with him.  Me and Oaley were in basic training together and hadn’t seen each other in six years.  We are both civilians now yet we took very different paths.  Out of Basic Training Oaley got stationed in Korea for a year.  Upon his return to the states he was stationed at a base in Washington DC where he spent the remained of his career.  He married a fellow soldier and has a kid.  The interesting thing about hanging out with Oaley was seeing him as a single parent.  His wife is still in the Army and has been in Afghanistan for a really long time.  In the Army they give tons of training so we know how our loved ones will feel while we are gone but this was the first time I had seen it firsthand.  Usually I was the one being missed, not seeing somebody else missing the person they love.  Being a military spouse and temporary single parent is incredibly hard.  I don’t know how they do it.  If you know somebody who is in the situation offer to watch the kids for a night, these military spouses need to get away for a night.  Oaley got his In-Laws to watch his daughter for the night and we spent the evening catching up.  It’s amazing that after years of not seeing each other you can see a friend from a unit you were once apart of and it’s like you spent no time apart at all.  Hopefully it won’t be another six years before I see Oaley again.

The following day I headed to Kansas City.  It was a night game and I got in around noon so I had some time to kill.  I tweeted asking people what I should do and they had told me I had to try some real Kansas City BBQ.  I had heard about Kansas City BBQ in passing before but I was unaware that Kansas City was known for their BBQ.  I decided to go with Gates BBQ because that seemed to be the closest to me.  I found my way to the restaurant and was greeted with a hearty “May I help you?”  I responded with “just one moment, this is my first time here.”  I was yelled at several more times asking if I needed any help.  Honestly they yell at you!  The veterans of Gates know what I’m talking about.  It’s rather intimidating.  I stepped up to the plate all flustered and asked the lady what I should get.  She was like whatever you want.  It wasn’t much help but I eventually settled on some pulled pork monster.  I took it to my table and ate it.  It was pretty good.  I wasn’t too impressed but I also have some crazy stomach disorder where I eat less than a four year old.  I was told through twitter that I should have gone to Oklahoma Joes.  Next time I’m in KC I will try it out.  Any world famous restaurant that is in a gas station is something you have to try. 

After I had lunch I decided to go over to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.  I put it my GPS and started to make my way over there.  I passed a building with a big veteran’s memorial so I decided to stop and take a look at it.  The memorial was incredible and it was located at the base of the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Headquarters.  Being a Veteran I didn’t know much about the VFW.  I’ve been there on a few occasions to have a beer and they also threw us a going away dinner before each of my deployments.  I did not attend either of those dinners because I just wanted to spend time with my family the day before I left not with the guys I would be with for the next year.  My unit was also adopted by a VFW hall in El Paso Texas on Thanksgiving.  We were down there training up for Afghanistan during my favorite holiday.  I was disappointed I couldn’t spend it with my family but it wasn’t my first time missing it due to the military.  I went inside the building and explained to the security officer at the front desk that I am a veteran who would like to know more about their services.  I was given a guest pass and told where to go.  I went up to that floor and spoke with a gentleman who explained to me that the VFW was much more than just a place for people to drink or get a fish dinner.  He gave me several pamphlets about their different services.  I told him about my idea of an organization that helps veterans returning home chase a dream.  He said it sounded like a good idea and sent me down a floor where they deal with little known programs.  I went down there and they told me about the different programs they have.  The one that sticks out to me is a program that helps out veterans who are struggling to pay their bills once returning home.  I deployed with a unit from Michigan where the unemployment rate is higher than the national average and many soldiers are struggling.  I thanked them for everything that they do and told them I would pass the information to any Soldiers that may need it.  If you know any Veteran who is struggling and has returned from deployment in the last 36 months please pass this link on to them http://www.vfw.org/Assistance/National-Military-Services/

I found my way over to the Negro Baseball Hall Of Fame.  The block that it’s located on is really nice.  There are several restaurants and bars as well as theaters.   Not only is the building the NBHOF but it also the site of the American Jazz Museum.  Before I entered the museum I went into the gift shop and looked around.  I wished I had more disposable income because they had a bunch of really cool stuff.  While I was in there I met a couple by the name of Ellen and Michael Glatt.  Mr. Glatt was wearing a New York Yankees hat so I asked him if he was in town for the game that evening.  He was and he told me that he was trying to make it to all of the parks.  I got excited and told him about my trip.  Mr. and Mrs. Glatt are spending several years making it to all of the major league parks.  They will reach all 30 next summer.  I also discovered that Mr. Glatt was in Vietnam.  He had just become a lawyer when he was drafted into the Army.  He did not want to be a JAG officer so he enlisted.  He has been a lawyer in NYC since his return from Vietnam and a season ticket holder to the Yankees since 1996.  After we wrapped up our conversation I made my way into the museum.  It is such an amazing museum and I learned a ton.  It is a museum where you have to read a lot and there’s not as much memorabilia as you would expect.  I made my way around and it seemed to take forever because I was so into the history.  The coolest part of the museum for me was at the end they have a field with Negro hall of famer statues in the positions that they played.  I was impressed by this museum and it’s a must see if you’re a baseball fan in Kansas City.

I arrived at Kauffman stadium and parked for $10.  I got there early and had no problem parking.  I didn’t have many expectations for Kauffman Stadium.  Kansas City hasn’t had a good team in what seems to be forever.  My aunt lived in Kansas City for a few years and I didn’t remember her saying too much about Kauffman.  I walked in and walked around.  I love when parks have play areas for little kids.  Kauffman has to be the second best kid area behind Comerica Park.  I’m biased and I just love that if I take my little sister and niece to Comerica they can ride a baseball Ferris wheel or are tiger merry go round.  At Kauffman they have putt putt, a child sized field, and several other fun things for a kid to do.  The park itself is beautiful.  The fountains in the outfield are a wonderful touch. 

I made my way to the seat I had purchased before the season had started.  I contacted the Royals before my journey and they offered me a free ticket to any game as long as they weren’t playing the Yankees.  I looked at my schedule and of course they were playing the Yankees that evening.  I paid $30 for my ticket and it was on the third base line mid left field.  Not bad seats for the price at all.  As I was sitting in my seat looking around I noticed that there were a lot of people in the outfield attending to a Yankees Player.  As a player was taken off the field on a gator I checked my twitter and learned that it was Mariano Rivera who apparently had torn a legiament in his knee.  That would not be good for the Yankees.  They Yankees luck would stay that way the entire night.  As the seats started to fill up I realized that almost all of the fans were Yankees fans.  The only people in my section that were Royals fans were the two married couples sitting directly behind me.  Throughout the game I chatted with them and they were very friendly people.  They even offered to buy me a beer.  I turned it down because I always feel awkward when somebody offers.  If you ever see me at a game just buy me a beer, don’t ask!  The crowd that day seemed to be a younger crowd then I’ve seen in most parks.  A lot of 20 something’s out to enjoy the game.  In the sixth inning everybody stands arm in arm and sings I’ve got friends in low places which I thought was pretty cool. 

After the 7^th inning I started to walk around and explore the park.  I started talking to an usher and told him about my journey and asked if he would be able to get me an actual ticket from somebody.  It took a while but this usher was determined to help me out.  I spent a lot of time talking to him and he told me that he used to be a high school baseball coach.  Him and his other coach buddies would take a few weeks out of every summer and try to get to parks as they marched towards every park.  He asked about my favorite experience and I told him it was with the Cleveland Indians.  He told me that his best experience at a park was also with the Cleveland Indians.  One of the gentlemen he traveled with was suffering of cancer and they wanted him to get to as many parks as he could before he passed away.  He wasn’t doing well when he was in Cleveland and they were nearly carrying him through the park.  A couple ushers saw this and decided to help them out.  They grabbed a wheel chair and were able to upgrade their seats closer to the field.  Not only that the ushers contacted people in the front office and told them about this man.  The Cleveland Indians staff brought him a grab bag full of Indians gear and it really made the trip for everybody in the group. 

In the 9^th inning it was apparent that the Royals were going to win the game.  It was early may and the royals had not one a home game yet that season.  The Royals fans in attendance were electric.  I snuck my way down to the patio area in front of the fountains.  As the Royals recorded the final out the fountains went off and I had an awesome view. 

I had an amazing time at Kauffman Stadium and I tweeted the Royals to let them know.  They liked what I had to say and retweeted me which I always love!  As I was in the parking lot I got a tweet from a friend in Boston who told me that Reggie the blind guy was also in attendance to the game.  Reggie is a blind guy who made a journey to all 30 ballparks in 30 days this summer.  I had heard his story and wanted to meet him but didn’t realize he would be there.  It would not be the last opportunity for me to meet him.  If you would like to check out his amazing journey you can check out his facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/#!/BlindBaseballTraveler30ParksIn30Days.

My next stop along the way was Houston.  It was going to be a very long drive but I was getting used to the long hours.

Keep On Smilin- It’s Baseball Season!!

Busch Stadium

I was really excited leading to my game in St. Louis.  The Cards sent me a ticket voucher just before I left on my trip.  I wasn’t expecting anything from them seeing as they never responded to me.  All I had to do was get online and pick my seats and my game.  I did just that and chose to have the tickets waiting for me at will call.  Leading up to the game I started talking to several St. Louis bloggers via twitter.  They asked me where my seats were and I told them.  Dennis blogger for pitchershiteigth.com contacted the cardinals and was able to get us some better tickets.  I would be watching the game with him and his family.  Now that I had four tickets and only one person going with me I had a pair of tickets to give away. 

I stayed at the Millennium hotel that evening.  I found it using my hotels.com app on my phone and only paid $60.  It was a great hotel with views of the Arch as well as Busch Stadium.  When I checked in I told the guy at the front desk about my trip and asked him if I could get a room overlooking Busch Stadium.  He said he could upgrade my room if I signed up for their rewards program.  I gladly filled out the paperwork and he put me on the 23^rd floor with an amazing view.  I went up and got settled in.  I decided to go over to Busch Stadium and see if I could get my tickets so I could find somebody to give them to.  As I made my way through the lobby I noticed a US ARMY Staff Sergeant in uniform.  I told him I had two extra tickets to the game that evening and asked him if he would like to go to the game.  He asked the two gentleman he was with if they would like to go to the game.  They said yes and we exchanged information so I could get the tickets to them once I got them. 

I walked around the perimeter of Busch and found my way to will call.  I had no problem getting my tickets and took the opportunity to take pictures of the statues outside of the park.  I love how you can see the Arch from the park.  I made my way back to the hotel and gave the tickets to the two young men that I had spoken with earlier.  After a short chat I learned that they were both about to enlist into the Army.  They had asked me a few questions about the Army and I was glad to fill them in on my experiences. 

Early on in the trip I was looking for somebody to show me around in each park and I had arranged to meet Breanna in St. Louis.  She is a huge Cards fan.  She took a college course on the history of baseball and seemed incredibly knowledgeable on baseball.  I met her just before the game and we grabbed a drink just outside of the park.  After our drinks we went in and I met with Dennis and his family.  They got us excellent seats in the outfield.  I was literally feet away from the outfielders.  Dennis and his family are big supporters of the military and were happy to help me out along my journey.  He told me about different promotions that the Cards do and what it’s like to write for pitchershiteight.com.  It seems like a great site to write for and they seem like they have a lot of fun. 

After a few innings I went and explored the park.  Me and Breanna walked around and she told me the ins and outs of Busch Stadium.  From the upper levels there are some amazing views.  The park has plenty of food options and the corridors are large and incredibly clean.  I sat in an empty section in the top deck and repeatedly had Breanna tell me how awesome she is.  We made our way back down to Dennis and watched the remainder of the game there.  We joked around and had a great time.  Dennis had me laughing the entire time.  I had an excellent time in St. Louis and Dennis had gotten me in contact with some bloggers he knew in Kansas City for my next stop. 

Keep On Smilin- It's Baseball Season!!

www.ballparkchasers.com

It was about a year ago when I found ballparkchasers.com. I was sitting in Afghanistan and I had decided that I wanted to not just talk about a dream but be able to come home to the United States and fullfill one. I did a simple google search and found this community. It has simply been the most important connection of my entire trip. Tonight was the most fullfilling experience I've had thus far.

I attended a game at Safeco Field in Seattle. Through this website I met Ken Lee. He is one of the co-authors of "the fastest 30" I have stayed with him the last few nights while in Seattle and he has showed me a great time. At the game this evening I got to hang out with Ken, Douglas "Chuck" Booth, Craig Landgren, and Doug Miller.

When I found this site I contacted Craig and asked for advice. He is the creator of this site and I figured he would have some good words of wisdom. He guided me in the right direction by telling me I needed to contact Chuck who was the expert of all experts. I did just that and have become good friends with Chuck who has fed me an invaluable amount of information. After talking to Chuck I also got to know his good friend Ken Lee who was with him for many games on his record breaking tour this year. Ken invited me to stay with him and has also become a good friend. Through ballparkchasers.com I also had several conversations with Doug Miller. He was trying to get a job with the Mariners and gave me great advice on how to make my own website.

For us to all be at the game tonight was so sureal to me. I consider all of these guys to be legends in the chaser community. I would like to thank them all for being part of the most amazing time of my life. I would like to thank Chuck and Doug for their advice. I would also like to thank Ken and his wife Yo for allowing me to stay with them and showing me a great time. My final thank you is for Craig. If I never found his site I never would of met all these amazing people. I could not have come as far as I have without him paving the way and a simple thank you is just not enough.

It is an honor to be part of the www.ballparkchasers.com community and wether you're just a casual fan of baseball, trying to chase all 30, or like us crazy fans seeing all 30 in a short period of time, you have to admire what this site can allow you to accomplish.

I have neglected this site since the start of my own journey. Once I have wrapped up the trip I will be here alot more. If you ever want tips I will be happy to give them to you and I know the guys I have mentioned will too.

Happy Chasing

Keep On Smilin- It's Baseball Season!!

Turner Field

I dropped my cousin Mike off in West Palm Beach and decided to drive through the night to Atlanta.  Mike gave me some energy drink and said it would keep me going all night.  He told me to only drink half.  Me being the genius that I am drank the entire thing.  I was feeling great until I crossed the border to Georgia.  All of a sudden I felt like I was going to throw up.  I fought it off and kept driving.  The problem was is I was crashing hard from that drink.  I was about an hour outside of Atlanta when I just couldn’t go on any further.  I stopped off at a rest area and took a quick one hour nap.  I had booked a room at the Extended Stay and tried to check in as soon as I got there.  I was so tired and only wanted to sleep.  The lady at the front desk informed me that check in wasn’t until 3pm and I would have to wait.  I waited until noon and went back and they got me into a room.  I crashed out until it was time for the game.

I had always heard that Atlanta traffic was terrible but I had no trouble making my way to Turner Field.  My stomach was still upset and I wasn’t really up for the game.  When I got there I tried to get my tickets at will call but didn’t have any luck.  I got a hold of Matt Lynch from the Braves and he brought me down my tickets.  He escorted me inside of the park and over to Billy who would give me a tour.  Turner Field was built for the Olympics so it was pretty cool seeing the ins and outs of this park.  Billy took me below the field level and I got to see the Players parking lot, Upper Management Parking lot, the Keg Room, Where they store the field dirt, and I even got to step out onto the outfield.  The coolest part about the tour was seeing where Hank Aaron parks his car.  He wasn’t there that day but it was awesome for me to see the parking spot with his name on it.  In the players parking lot there were all varieties of nice cars.  There was even a Prius.  I asked Billy who the owner was and he said it was either somebody who just got called up or somebody that had to buy one as a prank. 

The Braves gave me excellent seats on the second level just behind home plate.  Matt Lynch had upgraded my original seats and gave me access to the Delta Sky Lounge.  I went up there to eat after the 3^rd inning and got a table overlooking the field.  It was an incredible way to watch the game.  As you can imagine the prices for food were pretty high and I got some super nachos on steroids that I ate about half of. 

I really liked Turner field.  The people were friendly and very welcoming.  I just wish I had felt better.  As soon as the game ended I made no haste in getting back to my hotel so I could get some rest before heading to visit a friend in Alabama the next day.

Keep On Smilin- It’s Baseball Season!!

Miami

I picked up my cousin Mike at his house in West Palm Beach.  I was really excited about seeing him.  Mike used to live in an apartment with me and my other cousin Christian but up and decided to move about a month before I started my own journey.  For the next two hours or so we caught up and found out what was new in each other’s lives. 

I had heard about the terrible parking situation around the park so I looked at getting a parking pass.  It wasn’t worth the price so I made my way near the park and found a parking lot a few blocks away for only $5.  The neighborhood wasn’t great but, is there any ballparks in a great neighborhood?  We got to the park and checked things out.  The first thing I noticed was the giant letters that just happened to be on the ground outside.  I’m not sure exactly what they spelled out.  I had just assumed it spelled out Miami Marlins but now as I sit here and think about it I don’t know where an O would fit into those words.  They had a few vendors set up around the park, info on a new Chevy, you could even get free tickets for giving blood.  I would actually love to do that.  Before I deployed overseas I would give blood every 8 weeks.  Now my blood is compromised and they don’t want my blood. 

I went to will call and tried to pick up my tickets.  They didn’t have them for me so I got on my phone and started double checking all of my information.  I checked the email that I had received from the Marlins and everything seemed to be in order.  I called the number of Juan Leonel Gárciga who was my contact with the Marlins.  He said he had the tickets in his pocket and was holding them so he could meet me.  I met him at a gate and he gave me my tickets.  We talked about my trip, favorite parks, and this amazing dream that I am going after.  Juan went back to work and me and my cousin headed towards the gates.  We both had to go to the bathroom and there was nothing on the outside of the park, no restaurants or bars. 

We got inside and made our way up to the 2^nd level which was the seating level.  The first thing I noticed was of course the lime green monster in the outfield.  It’s not a monster in the sense of the wall outfield wall in Fenway but because of the color.  I looked at it for several minutes and came to the conclusion that I liked the lime green color.  It just seems to fit Miami.  We were watching batting practice when they were testing out the t-shirt gun.  It went off and two shirts fell in the very first rows of the stands.  Mike ran down there and just as he was about to grab one some other guy snuck in there like a ninja and got the shirt first.  Mike was upset by this but I was amused.  I made my way down to the visitors’ dugout area.  The Marlins were taking on the DBacks that night and I was standing 20 feet away from Allen Trammel.  For you Tigers fans out there you can understand how cool this was for me.  I grew up watching Allen Trammel and Kirk Gibson playing infield for the Tigers.  They were an amazing team and now they are an amazing coaching team.  I tried to get both of their attention so I could get their picture with Doc but it didn’t work. 

After batting practice was over me and Mike decided to check out the rest of this new park.  It looked like it was going to rain so the roof was closed which was a little disappointing.  On a side note every park that I’ve been to during rain has been an indoor park which has worked out perfectly for me.  We checked out the bobble head museum which I thought was pretty awesome.  The coolest ones I saw were Ernie Harwell and a Justin Verlander one that had a strike counter on it.  We made our way to the very top seats just to see what it looked like from the top.  I noticed that the top seats seemed really far away.  It was incredibly steep.  It felt like if you stumbled at all you would fall all the way down and go over the barriers onto the field.  I hope that never happens.  If it does I really hope it’s not me.  I couldn’t imagine a worse way to die. 

Me and Mike watched the game and it really seemed like a slow paced game.  We went out to smoke, on special occasions I like to enjoy a cigar.  Hanging out with my cousin in Miami seemed like the perfect time to me.  As we were standing outside on the patio a few shady looking gentleman walked out and were happy to see that I was smoking a very heavy smelling cigar.  They lit up a joint and were smoking weed in the open.  You don’t see that happen in too many places.  We started walking around again when we saw Miami’s Billy the Marlin Mascot.  He was in the seating area and people were swarming him.  Little kids were flocking to him trying to get pictures and he was trying to run away from them.  He jumped over a few seats and ran out into the corridor.  We wanted our picture with him so we chased him down and forced him into a picture. 

I talked to an usher in the top of the 9^th and he led me to some pretty good seats behind the visitors’ dugout.  We met some really cool people who were excited to hear about my trip.  I talked to them for a while and before I knew it the game was over.  The Marlins opened the roof a little bit which allowed a nice breeze to come in.  As we were exiting the park we noticed a long line of people trying to get into the Clevelander which is a club inside Marlins Park.  From the outside of the park you can see in and we saw something you would only see in a baseball stadium in Miami.  There were several girls standing on top of the bar wearing nothing but body paint.  It seemed like a fun time but I had to get Mike back to West Palm Beach so I could make my way to Atlanta. 

I got back and dropped Mike off.  He gave me some crazy energy drinks and we said goodbye.  It was so great to see my cousin and to see how great he is doing in Florida.  I am really close with all of my cousins and cherish the time we get to spend together now that we are older.  It was an amazing two days in Florida hanging out with my family and I’m so glad that during this trip I had the opportunity to spend a few days with the people that I love

Keep On Smilin- It’s Baseball Season!!

Family Time!

It just so happened that I was going to be in Orlando area the same time as my parents.  I was traveling the country and my parents were going to Disney World.  I had never been to Disney World before so I was a tiny bit excited for that but I was more excited to see my sister (Monster) and my niece (Blondie).  Before I left for Afghanistan Monster was six years old.  I had to watch her one night when my parents went out and we watched a Disney movie.  As the castle logo popped up before the movie Monster says to me “I’ve been there.” 

I said “I know, punk!  Mom and Dad never took me there when I was little.” 

“You can come with us this summer”

“I’m sorry sweetheart; I have to go to Afghanistan”

After this she proceeded to ask me why I wanted to go.  She followed that up with making fun of me because she got to go on vacation and I got to go Afghanistan.  Damn little kids!

I called my parents and told them I was on my way.  That day they were hanging out at Hollywood Studios.  I parked, made my way to the gate and went to purchase a ticket.  I know Disney is very military friendly so I asked for the military discount and the gentleman informed me that the military rate was $146 4 day park hopper.  I wasn’t going to be around that long so I just asked for a normal ticket.  $90 for a one day pass to Hollywood Studios.  I informed the man that I would only be in there for maybe 3 hours and asked if he could get me in for a cheaper rate.  He could not so I paid the money and went to go spend time with my family. 

The girls were excited to see me and I was excited to see them.  They told me all about my vacation and I told them all about mine.  Monster, my dad, and myself all rode the Aerosmith rollercoaster together.   As we were sitting around waiting for one of the Disney parades to start I got a phone call for an interview with the Toledo blade (http://m.toledoblade.com/local/2012/05/09/Dreams-of-fields-come-true-for-Army-veteran.html) I excused myself from the group and answered some questions.  When I came back my parents were gone.  It took me a while to find them and when I did I had to take off to go eat dinner with my Aunt who lives in Orlando.  Before I left I told my parents that I wanted a picture of all of us together.  It’s not very often that we have the whole family willing to take a picture.  I walked around the area for the picture lady but she was nowhere to be found.  When I returned my dad was talking to the table that was eating lunch next to him and I heard him telling my story.  My father is not the type of man that shows a lot of emotion.  I could hear pride, as he told how we were all in Orlando at the same time.  There’s only one other moment in my adult life where I remember seeing my father this proud.  My parents had just picked me up from the airport as I returned home from Iraq for my two weeks of leave.  We had stopped at a gas station and I went in to grab something to drink.  My dad was telling everybody who could hear that I was his son and I had just gotten home from “war”. 

I said goodbye to the kids and my parents.  I drove over to Universal Studios in Orlando and met up with my Aunt Cindy.  I generally only get to see my aunt twice a year so I was pretty excited.  She works for Snap On Tools and she has always lived far away since they have no office in Toledo, Ohio.  She showed me around the boardwalk area and we chose to eat at the Hard Rock Café.  The food was good, but just like any giant food chain that preys on tourists, it was incredibly overpriced.  I had a great time with my aunt as we caught up over dinner and was sad to say goodbye.  I went back over to where my parents were staying and hung out by the pool for a little bit. 

The following day I had to go to West Palm Beach and Miami.  For the people that know me they know that I am a family man.  There is nothing more important to me in this world to me than my family.  It was so incredible to see my Sister, Niece, Mom, Dad, and Aunt while I was in Orlando and I was super excited to spend the next day watching a Marlins game with my cousin. 

Keep On Smilin- It's Baseball Season!!

Tropicana

I had a lot of things planned for when I was in the Tampa area but the drive seemed to be taking forever.  It was something like a 15 hour drive from Baltimore and I was ready to be off of the road.  My parents were at Disney World so I decided to catch the game a day early so I could spend the following day with my family.  I went to the park and bought a pretty cheap ticket.  I attempted to walk around the outside of the park but there wasn’t much to look at. I did notice a large trailer set up with TV’s all over so people could go over and play MLB 2k12.  I later noticed that they had an entire lounge area inside the park dedicated to MLB 2K12

Once I got inside I immediately noticed how clean it was.  That’s one thing that inside parks have on outdoor parks, they’re always cleaner.  They had concession stands all over the place and the lines seemed to be moving quickly.  I walked the bottom level and explored a while when I met Matt Elflein an usher.  He was pointing people in all directions when he asked me if I needed any help.  I told him no, that I was just exploring the park.  I told him about my journey and he was really excited for me.  We talked for a little while when I told him about my one idea to help soldiers fulfill their dreams.  He informed me that he used to run a non-profit organization for paraplegics and may be able to help me out.  He also let me know that he was an inventor.  Matt is in a wheel chair and came up with the idea to have a table and cup holder that attaches to your wheelchair.  I took his card and let him know that I may be in contact someday. 

My tickets were on the top level and the park wasn’t very full at all.  I decided to go all the way up to the top seat and watch the game from there.  In front of me there was a large group of people and you could tell they all knew each other.  It wasn’t very hard to figure out that several of them were military.  One thing I’m not a big fan of is people walking around like they’re in the military and they don’t wear it well.  There was a young kid wearing a shirt that was a little too small for him and a bit of a gut hanging out.  He had his dog tags hanging out and was also wearing his combat boots with gym shorts and black socks.  Not a good look for anybody let alone when you are unknowingly representing the military.  I decided I needed a beer and food so I went out to the corridor.  I walked around for a little bit and realized that all the good concessions are downstairs.  I guess teams don’t put good food up where the cheap people are.  To get down to the bottom level you had to go outside and walk down a winding ramp to the lower level.  Luckily it was a pretty nice night out so I didn’t really mind. 

I got some food and some beer and decided to stay on the lower level.  I sat on the first base line in the outfield probably ten rows up.  The area was pretty empty so I was able to stretch out.  From the lower corner I couldn’t hear anything that was being said on the PA system.  The game ended quickly and I made my way to the parking lot.  Outside was a street performer named Kevin who was banging some drum sticks on a couple buckets.  There was a giant crowd around him and he put on an excellent show even doing an incredible drum roll only using one stick.  Once he started asking for money, like any good crowd, everybody left. 

That night I had arranged to stay with a stranger that I had met on www.couchsurfing.org.  This website basicly puts people in touch that like to travel.  People offer up couches and guest rooms to people traveling through and they show you around.  Its an awesome website for meeting new people and getting to know a new city.  I was a little nervous staying with a stranger but it ended up being another great experience.  I stayed with a man named Allan who knew nothing about baseball but knew somebody that did.  Allan had an amazing house and a guest room (with a door that locked) for me to stay in.  I stayed the night and the next morning he took me to breakfast.  After that we ventured over to his office where I got to talk with a former Yankees special pitching coach.  After that I headed over to Orlando to go hang out with my family at Disney World.

Keep On Smilin- It’s Baseball Season