I'm not in a car!

I am back from my famed baseball trip. I will use my next several posts to detail fun stpries are aspects of the trip. But I will give a whirlwind descrition of some of our trip.

• We rented a car. It was supposed to be a Ford Taurus, but we were upgraded (for free) to a Chrysler 300 C. We put over 3600 miles on it in six days.
• We drove 24 hours straight and made it to Staten Island by 10:30 Tuesday morning.
• Wednesday morning, we parked our car under the Broooklyn/Queens Expressway and it was there when we returned 14 hours later.
• We experienced the "Bleacher Creatures" that live in right field, section 39 at Yankee Stadium.
• The Boston Red Sox fans cussed enough to teach my Dad (the Pastor) a few new phrases.
• We saw both of Donald Trumps' kids at separate times on the same day.
• Caleb got two batting practice balls at Yankee Stadium.
• We never got on the wrong Subway (although we tried).
• Cooperstown is a cool town for more than just being the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Grimaldi's pizzeria, located under the Brooklyn bridge is off the chain!
• Combining air and ground travel, I covered more than 6,000 miles last week!

Off again

The time has finally arrived for the annual Howard Men baseball trip. I am leaving for OKlahoma in a couple of hours. I am meeting up with Daddio, Caleb and Jason (Bro in law) and then we are driving, yes driving to New York City. Wednesday we are going to a Yankees game. Thursday we drive on to Boston and are going to a Red Sox game. Friday we will spend the day at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

I am totally stoked to finally go on this trip. I have been looking forward to it for so long. This will be my first time to head up north.

I will be sure to post some pics when I get back.

Snakes on an Apt. Complex

A couple of weeks ago I spotted a snake meandering throughout our apt complex. I followed him to make sure he would not interfere with anyone, but him sneaking off into the woods was the last I saw of him. Until today that is. My little friend was run over by a FEDEX truck today around noon. For those of you who are snake lovers, I send my condolences. But I want to give a shout out to the truck driver who swerved to run over his head.

I salute you, mr. I drive a truck for fed ex and run over random snakes in apt. complexes who could potentially be harmful.

TPC

Yesterday was a really good day. My buddy JD, AKA, the "Hoagiemiester" took me to the Players championship in Jacksonville. Known as the "fifth major" this tournament sports a great course and a stacked field of players. It was so much fun walking around on the famed TPC course. I have watched for years on TV and my unexpected visit was incredible.

We saw a good of the many big boys:
Ernie Els
Stewart Cink
Adam Scott -He is so hot! He definitely had the most females in his gallery
Freddie Couples
Phil Mickelson
Vijay Singh
And the list goes on and on.

We sat at the famed 17th hole and watched people try to land there ball on the island green. It is amazing how short the hole actually is (125-140 yards), and yet fifty balls have disappeared into the water so far this year. We were present for one guy's kerplunk.

One of my favorite moments happened from the rough at the 7th hole. J.B Holmes drove his ball well right, into the rough. JD and I were the first to the ball. We set up shot six or seven feet behind the ball. We had front row seats as we watch J.B. try to work his shot through the trees, over the bunker, over the water and stop it on the lightening fast green. He tried to punch a 5 iron that ran through to the back of the green. After seeing his ball disappear off the back, J.B. took his 5 iron with both hands and drove the head of that sucker into completely into the ground. It was awesome!

For those of you who are thinking that I only enjoyed the bad shots, we saw quite a few great iron shots. Phil stuck one about a foot away on number 7. JD was thrilled by this. Apparently, he would love to be adopted by the Mickelson's.
I can't poke too much fun, JD is solely responsible forgetting me into the tournament.

Dang it was fun!!!

Nifty and Thifty

Caleb and I have been on a throw back golf shirt kick lately. We have made it our mission to get our hands on as many Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer shirts as we can. Fortunately, for me, I live in a Snow bird Haven.

I went today and struck out mightily. I did find some awesome pants, but they are never my size. I found one pair that was 42 in the waist and 30 in the length. Think about that mental picture for a moment.

The last few days

It has been a few days since I last posted anything. I have been recovering from a quick trip to Georgia. My family was in Hinesville for homecoming weekend at Elim Baptist Church (My Nana's church). My Dad was asked to preach at the service. Since my fam was 5 hours away, I figured I couldn't miss out on seeing them. So early Saturday I drove up and stayed until lunch time Monday.

The trip was even better than expected. Saturday evening, we drove over to Brooklet, a small town we lived in for 7 years. A big group of families got together and fellowshipped for several hours over some really good, home-made pork BBQ. I saw many people who I have not seen in years. I even got to see my buddy Marshall. We haven't seen each other since we have both got married. It was fun to sit around and compare notes on marriage experiences.

It is always good to go to Nana's house. This time was no disappointment.

I'm so addicted

It's official, I am addicted to Fantasy baseball. I knew I would be bad, but I am really bad. I check it all the time. Even if games aren't taking place, I check to see who is dropping who and what players are being picked up. It is too bad that am not getting paid to do it. I would be making overtime, easy!

If it makes it any better, I am second in my league!