End of the East Coast (Sam)

Let's see if I can remember what has happened since Philadelphia.  

I want to start off by saying that as pretty as the PA turnpike is, it's ridiculous that we had to pay a $20 toll to get from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. We went to Pittsburgh for the Pirates game and had Natalie, our fabulous friend from OU as our host.  She and her family were great.  We went swimming and grilled out for dinner and got to see Pittsburgh in a pretty cool new way.  We went on an incline where we saw an amazing view of the entire city.  Obama apparently said Pittsburgh is one of the most underrated beautiful cities.  He was right.  Downtown looked amazing from the incline, and we did get a great picture of an obscene gesture towards Heinz Field ;)

Apparently Matt sang karaoke when we went to the bar with Natalie's friends.  I found out the next morning because I posted up at the bar for $2 drinks- something we can't afford to take for granted on this trip.  Even tho we were in Shitsburgh (only because of your football team) we had an awesome time.  It's a gorgeous city with the best hole-in-the-wall bars we've ever been to- and we've been to a lot.

On the way to DC, our karma decided to even out the good luck we'd been having lately, by breaking my car.  In Uniontown, PA (yeah, I've never heard of it either).  A few hundred bucks & 4 hours later we were back on the road.  We missed the first 4 innings of the Nationals game, but the less time we had to spend around Red Sox fans, the better.  The Nationals stadium was huge and amazing. It just fit in with the excitement I felt while I was in DC.  

We stayed with Matt's old neighbors from home who have the perfect house to start a family- which is perfect because they're expecting their first child!  We entered into a pool Chris & Jodi have for when their bundle of joy will be born.  Chris is a huge Navy football fan & ironically the baby is due the day of the Army vs Navy game!  They're going to be awesome parents & I'm so excited for them.

After touring DC, having some great sushi, finding out about Michael Jackson and touring DC more, we left for Baltimore.  On the way we stopped at Walter Reed to visit my cousin, Marc who was injured in Afghanistan.  He's doing great, looking great & had plenty of amazing pictures to show us from over seas.  I'm so glad we got to visit him.

Baltimore was our shortest trip yet.  We got there in time for a block party pre game at the bars across the street from Camden Yards.  Everyone kept telling us how awesome Baltimore's stadium is & we didn't understand why... until we got there.  $1 beers and hot dogs outside of the stadium was exactly what our budget called for.  Inside the stadium we couldn't put into words what was so awesome but we could definitely feel it in the air.  We stayed with some friends of the Pavia family and their house was beautiful.  They had pizza and beer waiting for us when we got there & we had a lot of great conversation for an hour or so.  Their 2 golden retrievers entertained me well into the wee hours of the morning- probably not a good idea since I was driving the first leg at 8am.  

We got to Cincinnati for a 4 day break & that's where we are now.  

I'll be sure to blog more often so I can add in more details- so tune in next time!

Cincinnati Pictures I

Baltimore Pictures

Washington, D.C. Pictures

Pittsburgh Pictures

Philadelphia Pictures II

Baltimore (End of Leg 1)

Hello Friends,

The last few days have been pretty exciting. Our second day in DC, we strolled by the White House just to take pictures. Then we visited Sam's cousin Marc in the hospital. He's a veteran and was injured in Afghanistan. He showed us all kinds of cool pictures from his time overseas. After the visit, we took off for Baltimore.

We finally made it to a game early, with time to spare. The pregame/tailgating experience outside of Camden Yards is the best we've seen yet. Directly across from the stadium is a strip of four or five bars. They are in an inlet street, which is blocked off, and each one has bars set up outside. We were drinking $1 and $2 beers, plus eating $1 hot dogs. It was basically a huge block party / street party before the game. Bobcats...think if Athens blocked off an entire street block and all the bars were serving beers outside, while the crowd covered Court Street. The stadium itself was sweet too. Pretty small and great view from everywhere. Behind the right field wall is the old historic warehouse, and the whole strip behind the outfield is awesome. I'll go out on a limb and say this was the best overall experience so far, taking into account pre-game, stadium, game action, fans, etc.

We stayed with Ross, a friend of my dad's, and his wife Janice. Basically, people have been treating us way better than we deserve throughout this entire trip, and Ross and Janice are no exception. We got to their house, and they had a pizza for us just out of the oven and cold beers waiting. We drank, hung out, and shot the shit for a while. How good is life these days?

We woke up early the next morning and took off for Cincinnati around 8am. It was a solid nine hour drive, so I had Sam drop me off at the Phelan household. From there, straight to the Priestles' for Seth's bachelor party. I'll avoid details, but all-in-all, it was a hell of a good time. We hung at Seth's parents' place, then took a party bus around town. This starts our few days of rest in Cincinnati. We're done with the East Coast leg and get to relax before heading South. Stay tuned for more pictures soon.

A SPECIAL THANKS TO CHRIS AND JODI, AND ROSS AND JANICE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WELCOMING US INTO YOUR HOMES. WE COULD NOT HAVE ASKED FOR MORE HOSPITALITY AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR MAKING US FEEL WELCOME. AND OF COURSE WE APPRECIATE YOU FEEDING US AND HAVING BEERS FOR US!!!

Side Note: I can't believe I forgot to write about this in my last blog, but can you believe that Michael Jackson died? Get ready for how dumb this is about to sound...Our parents always say they'll always remember where they were when JFK was shot. Recently, most people will always remember where they were when Princess Diana died. Now, I'll always remember being in Wok and Roll eating sushi at happy hour, hearing the King of Pop died. He's both the weirdest/creepiest dude ever, and also the greatest entertainer. For your listening pleasure, check out my top 5 favorite MJ songs:

Wanna Be Startin' Something
P.Y.T.
Bad
The Way You Make Me Feel
Thriller

Peace,
Matt

Washington, D.C.

This will be a quick one. I promise.

Yesterday Sam and I did the tourist thing in D.C. We saw:

The Library of Congress

The Capitol

Walked the length of 'The Mall'

The Washington Monument

The WWII Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial and Reflection Pool

The Washington Monument was my favorite. I also enjoyed sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, much like our friends Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in Wedding Crashers. Only there were over 100 people sitting with us. How do they have those steps all to themselves???

After site seeing, we took the metro and met Chris in Chinatown at a place called Wok and Roll. This place was phenomenal! Happy Hour means $2 Miller Lites and $1 Sashimi sushi pieces. Probably the best meal we've had yet. After dinner we came back to Chris and Jodi's, drank a fair amount of Yuengling, and watched the NBA draft. Can't ask for much more in life.

Today we're going to swing by the White House to say hello to Barack. Then we're visiting Sam's cousin, a Veteran and Purple Heart recipient, in the hospital. Finally, we'll be watching the Orioles battle the Nationals at Camden Yards tonight!

Check out the pictures I've posted so far in the slideshows on our blog. Click on a picture or the View All button to see the entire album at Photobucket.com

Side Note: While watching the NBA draft, Chris and I discovered that Kobe Bryant was chosen 13th in the 1996 draft. The Cavs picked 12th. Their pick...Vitaly Potapenko. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Cleveland professional sports.

Peace,

Matt

Philadelphia / New Jersey Pictures

Cooperstown Pictures

New York Pictures II (NYC and Mets game)

Boston Pictures

New York Pictures (Yankees game)

Cleveland Pictures...Finally figured this out. More to come tomorrow.

The Roller Coaster Ride Continues

Hello Again,

This trip has already had more ups and downs than I could have ever imagined. And it's only been about nine days.

Tuesday in Pittsburgh:

We slept in and bummed all day. We laid around Nat's pool for a couple hours and just relaxed. After a day of rest, we drove into Pittsburgh early for the game. We rode the Duquesne Incline...which is basically just a trolly car that goes straight up and gives a good view of Pittsburgh (if there is such a thing). Then we rode a ferry across the three rivers and over to PNC park.

The Tribe-Pirates game was exactly what I expected. David Huff pitched for the Tribe and gave up four or five hits in eight innings of solid shut-out work. We had a five run lead (5-0) going into the bottom of the ninth. I told Sam, don't get too excited yet, the Tribe's bullpen will make an attempt to blow this game. First batter, Adam Laroche, hits a HR out of the stadium and into the Allegany River. We give up another run, then Kerry Wood comes in and gives up two more runs and loads the bases. So now it's 5-4, the bases are loaded and there are two outs. Count is full. And FINALLY Kerry Wood gets Laroche to fly out to end the game. GO TRIBE!

After the game we went to a bar near Nat's house. They had $2 well drinks and it was Karaoke Night. To make a long story short, I ended up singing a duet to Only the Good Die Young with our new friend Jen, a 42 year old professor from Duquesne University. All-in-all, a GREAT NIGHT.

Wednesday:

Sam and I are both in great moods. Things could not be any better on so many levels. Until our Karma decides to start evening itself out. The car breaks down in Uniontown, PA. We spend a half hour to an hour just trying to find a mechanic. We finally find one, and they are actually really helpful, for the right price of course. So it takes two more hours to fix the car, and we spend it watching the Steve Gilkos Show (used to be the security guard from Springer), the Tyra Banks Show, and Arthur (yeah, the aardvark). So a three hour detour in the middle of nowhere PA set us back a little. We were way late for the Nationals game last night...strolled in around the fifth inning.

The game was against the Red Sox. Let me reiterate how much I dislike Red Sox fans (except for you Meg...you're the best). There were probably twice as many Sox fans as Nats fans, and it tends to make the game less fun when 95% of them are obnoxious. Plus, it's always good to see the home team win and their fans actually care. I'm not sure the city of DC knows the Nats exist.

Last night we arrived at our new place in Alexandria, VA around 11pm. We're staying with a friend of the family Chris and his wife Jodi. They had muffins and beers (Yuengling is starting to turn into an obsession for me. I love this stuff) waiting for us when we got in. Sounds like an odd combination, but it doesn't get much better. And I got to meet Smokey III last night for those of you who know Smokey and Smokey Jr. 

Side Note: Cavs get Shaq in a trade for Ben Wallace (washed up and about to retire), Sasha Pavlovic (sucks and has always sucked), the 46th pick in the weakest draft in recent history, and $500K in cash. I'd say it's a steal. As our host Chris so eloquently put it, The Big Cactus becomes The Big Guitar.

Hasta Manana,

Matt

THANK YOU SO MUCH NAT FOR SHOWING US A GREAT TIME IN THE NORTH HILLS. EVEN THOUGH WE WERE IN PITTSBURGH, YOU PROVED THAT IT'S NOT WHERE YOU ARE BUT WHO YOU'RE WITH THAT REALLY MATTERS. WE'LL BE BACK AGAIN SOON TO MAKE OUR MUCH AWAITED RETURN TO THE HIGHLAND AND THE DUTCHESS. TALK TO YOU SOON. THANKS AGAIN!!!

More from PA

Hola Amigos,

Not much has happened since we last checked in. In fact, about all that has happened has been us seeing a few sites and visiting a plethora of townie/hole-in-the-wall bars.

Our second night in South Jersery, Finn and her friend Shannon took us to two of the most fantastic dive bars. We had a great time, because we're from Athens and these are the type of shady establishments we tend to enjoy. All-in-all, our trip to South Jersey was a huge success. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LETTING US STAY WITH THE FRIENDLY GHOSTS AT YOUR NEW HOUSE FINN. WE HAD AN AMAZING TIME. THANKS FOR BEING SO HOSPITABLE AND SHOWING US THAT JERSEY IS ONE HELL OF A PLACE, CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF.

Monday we decided to see just a little bit of Philadelphia before heading to Pittsburgh. We saw the Liberty Bell, which was strangely fascinating. Then we ate at Geno's Steaks, which supposedly has the best cheesesteaks in Philly. Sam and I split a "provolone with"...which just means a cheesesteak with provolone cheese and "with" onions. It was pretty damn good, but not the giant ball of grease we expected, so no complaints. Then we went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. For those who aren't Rocky fans, that would be where he runs up the steps. So I ran the steps, of course, and threw my arms in the air in victory. We took some pictures of the Rocky statue and were on our way to Pittsburgh.

The drive on the PA turnpike from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh is suprisingly long, scenic, and expensive. How does a $20 toll just to get from one city to the next sound? We're staying with our friend Natalie from OU while we're in Pittsburgh. Last night, we went to Fatheads Brewery for dinner (yes, it's the same as the one in North Olmsted). The beer was great. The food was great. The service was the most god-awful thing I can imagine. After dinner, we went to yet another kick-ass dive bar. This place was crawling with townies...and us. Loved every second of it. Except for the continuous awkward silence because for some reason the Highland Hilton does not play music. My favorite part of the night: In PA, you can buy six packs from the bar for carry-out. We decided to get a six pack to-go and head back to Nat's house. So I walk out of the Highland with a brown bag full of beers, and I open it and see that there are just six stray beers in a paper bag. Classy.

We're heading to PNC Park tonight to watch the Tribe beat up on the Pirates! My favorite part of Pennsylvania so far is undoubtedly Yuengling! Ohio needs to get on board and start selling it.

Talk to you all soon,
Matt

NY II and Philly

Hey friends,

Day two in NYC was a blast. We walked all around the city and hit a bunch of different sites. Some of my favorites: CENTRAL PARK, Strawberry Fields (John Lennon's place and memorial), and of course the free meal we ate at one of NYU's dining halls. We went to the Mets game Friday night, and it was awesome. Sam, Kelley, and I took a 45 minutes subway ride out to Queens. Citi Field blows Yankee Stadium out of the water. Better atmosphere. Better view from all seats. Cheaper prices for everything. Maybe I'm biased because I actually like the Mets and hate the Yankees. Sam, Kelley, and I enjoyed the game over some beers and free peanuts via Kelley's huge purse. After the game, we rode back to Kelley's dorm and just chilled there for a while and hit the sack to prepare for the long day on Saturday...

Saturday:

We woke up about 7am to get ready. Left NYC at 8. Drove over four hours to Cooperstown in upstate NY. Cooperstown was just as I remember it. It truly is a baseball fan's heaven. The town can be summed up in the few words we overheard from a [not so bright] woman walking past us on the street. "Geez. Like every store is a baseball shop."

The museum was just as cool the second time around. Only this time, we didn't spend seven hours reading every word written on every square inch of every wall. We spent about three and a half hours in the museum, and Sam loved every minute of it. She was in heaven. The only thing new since I visited two summers ago was an exhibit paying tribute to Latin American baseball players. All the photographs and stories of Latino baseball players coming from nothing were captivating.

After the museum, we hit some stores on Main St. and then left for Philadelphia. We were on our way to stay with Finn, a friend of my brother's and a true veteran of the original N.O. Shuffle. She lives in South New Jersey, about 20 minutes from downtown Philly. The drive was around five hours, but it could have been shorter. We stopped to have dinner at a rest stop/service center off the Pennsylvania (Penna) Turnpike. A side note...Not many times in my life can I remember having a bad piece of pizza. A piece of pizza is something that is almost impossible to screw up. Even a slice done wrong tastes good. Let me just say that the pizza at the Allentown service center sucks. Stay away from it if you're ever in town...We also lost some time due to the GPS getting us lost in downtown Philly on the way to Finn's house. Second time this has happened. I've decided GPS's are either generally stupid or just get really confused in big cities. 

We got to Finn's new place (she just closed yesterday) around 10:30. She asked us an easy question.

Finn: "My friend's having a Mexican themed party at her house with tequila, costumes, and Mexican food. Want to go?"

Us (simultaneously): "Sure."

So we got there, met some of Finn's friends from Jersey, and let loose a bit. Sam and I had a battle to the death (rock/paper/scissors) to see who would be the DD. I won. End of story.

Sunday:

Woke up this morning with a little bit of a headache. Sam and I drove down to Citizen's Bank Park about an hour early to get some drinks at the bar beforehand. We met an old Phillies fan at the bar with about as many teeth as games we've been to so far. That's five if you've lost track. He made fun of me for being bald, asked how many kids I have, and told us for two college grads we sure don't know shit. To give you an idea about his condition, in the middle of our conversation, Sam told me to make sure he didn't fall backwards off of his barstool. This guy is my new best friend. 

Moving on...the Phillies game was awesome. We had nosebleed seats, but they were the best seats we've had since the Red Sox game. As the toothless Phillies fan told us, "there ain't a bad seat in the park." Again, we indulged in some free peanuts (this time via Sam's huge purse. I guess traveling with a girl isn't so bad after all) and beer. The Phillies lost 2-1, but it was a close and exciting game. Needless to say, we had a great time. 

We're heading out for a few beers with Finn tonight, then checking out downtown Philly a little more tomorrow before traveling to Pittsburgh. Stay tuned.

THANK YOU KELLEY FOR LETTING US STAY WITH YOU IN NYC. I HAD AN AMAZING TIME IN THE CITY AND AT THE METS GAME! YOU'RE A GREAT TOUR GUIDE (ESPECIALLY FOR A NEWCOMER TO THE CITY). BY THE WAY, METS' STADIUM GETS A 10 OVERALL AND PHILLIES' GETS A 9.

Peace,

Matt

Bos-NY-Philly (Sam)

My last blog was Tuesday, but absence makes the heart grow fonder- so I hope it's everything you imagined.  

When we last left our heroes, they had just gotten back from Fenway.  Wednesday we toured Boston.  I can officially tell people I 'went to Harvard'.  The Boston Massacre site, The old Statehouse, The Capitol Building, Boston Commons & of course we had a beer at Cheers.  Being there (Boston, not Cheers) reaffirmed my likeliness to move there.  Chicago's got some serious competition as of this week.  (I do, however, solemnly swear NOT to become a full blown Red Sox fan.  Just a Fenway fan).  The history is awesome.  

We left in a panic Thursday morning at 11:02 am when we found out the Yankees game was in fact at 1pm, not at 7 like we had originally thought (shout out to Kell Bell for the text message update).  Apparently karma was really working in our favor because when we arrived to New York at 4pm (5 after we found our way out of Brooklyn) and got to the game at 6:40, the rain delay had just been lifted.  Since most fans didn't want to stay 5 and a half hours, it was a free for all on the first level.  We ended up sitting 20ish rows back from the first bast line.

We stayed with Little Sister Kelley in the NYU dorms.  She's a dreamer (www.summerinternships.com) so she's interning there for the summer.  We went to Central Park, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Time Square, & the NBA store (yeah, worth mentioning).  Then Kell swiped us at the Dinning Hall for dinner (Boyd who?).  We went to the Mets stadium- which is completely underrated, especially compared to Yankee Stadium- and Kell came with us.  It was an awesome trip to The Big Apple.

By the way, Hal, that UofD name drop was for you ;)

Saturday- or what I assume was Saturday, since we seem to be losing track of days- we drove 4 hours to Cooperstown.  I don't remember being that anxious when I was driving on the 2 lane road for an hour to get there.  I don't know that I can describe to you what this place was like, but I'll do my best.

I didn't stop smiling the entire 4 hours we were there.

I felt like I wanted to move there.

I felt like I was born 60 years too late.

I teared up a little.

I think I squeezed LL Cool M's arm 17-20 times before we even bought our tickets.

This place was unreal.  This history and stories of old time baseball are what I live for.  I had chills the entire time I was there.  LL left me in charge of the camera, which was a huge mistake because he got it back with nearly 120 more photos than were on it before it was in my possession.  I met 2 gentlemen from Cincinnati inside (shout out to West Chester) and we contrived (Elle) around the Pete Rose/Cincinnati display to discuss the morons behind us who were hard core anti-Pete Rose.  I won't get started on that again.

The only hope my parents had left of marrying me off was that I always intended on traveling to Cooperstown for my honeymoon.  Well, now it looks like I won't be needing to, so I'm sorry you're stuck with me.

We traveled to Philadelphia immediately after the best pit stop in the world- which was only 9 hours out of the way- and stayed with Fin, a close friend of the Pavia family.  She's been great, she took us along to a Mexican Fiesta last night were we met a bunch of tequillaed-up friends.  We then proceeded to play what I'm estimating to have been a 2 hour game of Beer Pong.  Just enough to get my co-pilot on this trip at his funny am-I-serious-or-not-you'll-never-tell point.  

Today was the Phillies game, which I loved.  The game was sold out, the fans were intensely happy to be there & our 2nd to last row seats made the view look amazing.  There wasn't one seat in that place that could have been considered a waste of money.  We sat at an awesome bar connected to the stadium before the game, where we met quite an interesting gentleman who had some even more interesting things to say to/about Matt.

The toughest decision I had to make today was 'do I sacrifice my Yuengling so that I don't have to listen to Nickelback in this bar anymore? Or do I sacrifice my ears for the sake of this Yuengling?'

Sounds like we've got a pretty good thing going on here...

Hasta en Pittsburgh. 

Karma

They say Karma's a bitch. Not for us. We must have built up tons of positive karma in our past lives. Here's what happened yesterday...

We woke up in Boston around 9 or 10am and planned to leave for NY around 11ish. We expected to get here around 4 or 5pm, plenty of time to check into Sam's sister Kelley's dorm and take the subway to Yankee Stadium. As we're getting ready to leave, Sam asks me what time the Yankee's game is, and I say, "I think 7." She says, "Kelley texted me and said the game is at 1." So we're rushing to get here and MAYBE catch the last few innings of the game! (it's at least a 4 to 5 hour drive, without traffic)

As we're driving, it starts to rain, so we're thinking, "wouldn't it be nice if the game was rain delayed just long enough for us to make it there on time?" So as we're driving, the rain really starts coming down and the game is delayed. We're pumped. We eventually make it to NYC around 4ish, as expected, only to find that the GPS is giving us the complete wrong directions and we're nowhere near Kelley's dorm on NYU's campus in Manhattan. After driving around lost for a while, and a whole lot of bitching at the GPS, we finally end up in Chinatown where Sam has been before, and we think we're close. We end up figuring out how to get to Kelley's office to pick her up from work. We take a few laps around the one way streets and find the parking garage where we're leaving the car.

It's about 6 by now, and the game is still delayed! Sam and I decide to take the subway out to Yankee Stadium anyway, figuring they might let us in or we could at least get a picture. As it turns out, we get there at 6:40, and the 5 and a half hour rain delay just ended! The game started back up at 6:30 and we only missed the top half of the first inning!

It gets better. On our way into the stadium, a reporter from the NY Times stops us to ask us about the rain and waiting all day for the game to start back up. We tell him we weren't waiting all day, but we have a pretty good story for him. I tell him all about our baseball pilgrimage, that we were in Boston two hours before the game was supposed to start, and that the rain delay was our saving grace. So we finally get into Yankee Stadium, and at the gate, the employees are telling everyone, "It doesn't matter what your ticket says. Everyone sits in the lower level. Sit in any seat you want."

So we went from missing the game entirely to seeing the whole game, watching from about 20 rows up, about 50-100 feet from first base. Not bad for $12 tickets.

Peace,
Matt

P.S. - Site-seeing today. Mets game tonight. Stay tuned.

Boston Again

Hey All. Yesterday was our second day in Boston. Meghan had to work most of the day so we did the whole site seeing thing. We were ridiculous looking tourists, walking around downtown Boston with a giant map. But we saw a ton of cool stuff. We took the subway downtown and explored Quincy Market, Feniuel Hall, and Columbus Park. Then we went to the Old State House and saw the site of the Boston Massacre and read a bit about the history of it.

Eventually we walked over to Boston Commons and then to Cheers (the bar from the TV show) and had a beer. We met three guys doing a very weak version of the same trip we are taking. They paid $1000 to a company that plans baseball roadtrips and are only going to five games! But it was fun to talk to some other baseball fans, and they're going to be at the same Yankees and Mets games as us in the next two days. 

So then we took the subway out to Harvard Square. It was a cool area with all kinds of artsy shops, but the really interesting part is how similar the campus looks to OU's. We walked around the campus and were standing on their main green, when we both looked at each other and thought this looks exactly like College Green. We have a picture so check it out when it goes up in the next few days. After this, we meandered into some classroom buildings looking for a bathroom (it's impossible to find a public restroom in the middle of a city and I had had to piss for about two hours at this point). Then we headed back to Meghan's apartment.

I hung out on the roof and drank a few beers waiting for Meghan to get home from work. So Meghan, her roommate Katie, Sam, and I went to dinner when she got home.  We had some drinks, some pizza, and some laughs, and then headed home to call it a night (with a few more beers). 

All in all this has been an amazing two days. Meghan and her roommates treated us sooo well and we never stopped having fun the entire time. If everyone is as welcoming and generous as these gals, we're in for some adventure and a hell of a time. Hope you're reading this Meg...THANK YOU SO MUCH. HOW CAN WE EVER REPAY YOU??? We're heading off to NYC this morning, so stayed tuned for more details about the next couple of games. Talk to you all soon.

Peace,

Matt

Boston

Hello Friends,

I'm in Boston right now at our friend Meghan's apartment. We met her at OU over the past couple years. She is the greatest hostess. Anyways, here's a run down of what we've been doing...

Yesterday was an amazing first day of the trip. We went to the Tribe game against the Milwaukee Brewers.  Of course, the Tribe's bullpen blew the game. Score was 14-12 Brewers. It was such a great time though. Thank you so much everyone who came to the game to bid us farewell. Panini's was a great time and sitting with so many friends and family members during the game was perfect. Thanks especially for for the many generous gifts (and free beers). 

A few favorite moments from the game:

Being on the JumboTron

Eating a Panini sandwich (the rest of the trip won't be so tasty)

Joe's Indians hulk fist coozy

All the pictures we took

So after a decent amount of drinking and not a whole lot of sleep, we woke up early as hell and got on the road about 6am. We had a little mishap right off the bat. I was driving the first leg, and because it was 6am, I wasn't thinking. I was planning on getting on 9oE and instead decided it would be more fun to take 80E, the turnpike. So after our detour (we lost a solid half hour), we were on our way. We drove about 11ish hours to Boston, stopped four times along the way for gas, and arrived around 5:30ish. It was perfect timing. Meghan left work and met us at her apartment around 6. We chilled and then she walked us to the subway to take to Fenway Park.

It's a really short train ride to Fenway from Meghan's. We got to the ballpark and walked around outside for a while to check out the sites. Then, we went into the park and found our seats. Fenway is sick. It's such a cool historic building and great place to see a ball game. The energy in the place is unreal. It reminded me of Indians games back in the mid to late 90s when fans actually gave a shit. I'm not a Sox fan (That's an understatement. I hate the Sox.), but it was soooo cool that I found myself actually getting into the game with the crowd. I cheered for the Sox on more than on occasion. I'm ashamed. Our seats were killer too. On a side note, this was one of the coolest birthday presents ever. THANK YOU SO MUCH RACHEL. We were right around 3rd base in the lower level. The best part of the game was everyone singing Sweet Caroline. People really get into it.

After the game we headed back to Meghan's. It took forever because the train station was packed. But we made it back and walked to Meg's apartment. We've just been chillin here since, having a few brews. Like I said before, she's the best hostess. She had Sam Adams Summer Ale waiting for us in the fridge. Her apartment has roof access and an absolutely insane view of the city. She has the coolest record player I've ever seen. We jammed some Fleetwood Mac and Van Morrison records. Another side note, I want a record player really bad.

That's about it for the first day. Meghan has to work tomorrow, so Sam and I are heading into the city to explore. We have tons of stuff to see. I'm pretty excited to see Harvard Square because I'm told the campus is identical to OU's.

Be on the look out tomorrow for pictures from the first two games. I'll post them when I have time tomorrow. Thanks again to everyone who came to the kick off game in Cleveland, Rachel for the Boston tickets (they were amazing, if I didn't mention it), and Meghan for being a great hostess and setting the bar for all the rest :)

Listen to:

Fleetwood Mac - Rhiannon

Van Morrison - It Stoned Me

Rolling Stones - Miss You

Peace,

Matt

Tribe & Red Sox. End of Day 2 (Sam)

Tribe game was the best kickoff I think we could have asked for.  45(ish) people, Panini's before,  & Mrs. Pavia's billboard signs wishing us luck (& eventually getting us on the jumbotron).  Rick Vaughn bobble head night, Major League clips between innings & an 80's firework show after the game.  Perfect weather. Plenty of beer.  Sound too good to be true?  Well, Sully showed up, so it was. (Don't worry, you're still my favorite).  Joe bought a ginormous Hulk fist, which we thought was the worst purchase in the history of spending money, until we saw it was a koozie and immediately decided it was to be the central focus of our attention for the rest of the game.

Bottom line: First trip to The Jake, huge success.  Sans the final score of the game, 14-12, Brewers.

Waking up at 5:30 a.m. after a semi-rowdy first night in Cleveland wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.  Most definitely because Pavia drove first.  (Thanks, dude).  11 hours, half a bag of beef jerkey, & one terrible tasting Red Bull (mainly because there was no side of vodka) later, we arrived in Boston.  Meghan's house, to be exact.  It's an unreal apartment with roof access (ladder to the skylight leading to the roof) & an amazing view of the city.  We saw where she works, Fenway Park & on a clear day, we could probably see all the way to Cambridge.  Fenway was breathtaking & the reason I love baseball.  The old school billboard, the Green Monster & the classic '20s structure gave it the same classic atmosphere.  You almost forget you hate the Red Sox once you're in there.  We had tickets in about the 50th row on the 3rd baseline.  Awesome tickets- Just ask Matt. (For those of you who don't know, Rachel got Matt these tickets for his birthday). In fact, as you're reading this, the following conversation is taking place:

Sam: Hey what row do you think we were in at the game today?

Matt: I dunno, but we had pretty awesome tickets.  How'd we get those awesome tickets?

Sam: I dunno Matt, since this is the 7th time we've discussed it, is it because you're a stud & a heartthrob & ladies love you?

Matt: You should write that in your blog.

I will refer to Pavia from this point on as LL Cool M

Tomorrow is a day full of Boston touring.  Meghan says it's small so it should be easy to get around.  Seafood dinner- because we hear it's awesome- & roof drinking.  Then off to New York & Cooperstown.  Thanks Pavia family for a great kickoff & thanks Meghan for being our first host on the trip.

Hasta en NY.

-Sam

Trip Schedule

Hello Friends,

Here is the schedule of games we'll be seeing and the cities we'll be visiting. Please let us know if you'd like to come to any of the games with us. We already have tickets to the games with an *...so if you want to come to one of these games with us, you'll need to get tickets on your own. We can let you know what section we're sitting in.

6/15: Cleveland, OH - Cleveland Indians vs. Milwaukee Brewers*

6/16: Boston, MA - Boston Red Sox vs. Florida Marlins*

6/18: New York, NY - New York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals*

6/19: New York, NY - New York Mets vs. Tampa Bay Rays*

6/21: Philadelphia, PA - Philadelphia Phillies vs. Baltimore Orioles

6/23: Pittsburgh, PA - Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cleveland Indians

6/24: Washington, DC - Washington Nationals vs. Boston Red Sox*

6/26: Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Orioles vs. Washington Nationals

6/30: Cincinnati, OH - Cincinnati Reds vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

7/2: Atlanta, GA - Atlanta Braves vs. Philadelphia Phillies*

7/5: Miami, FL - Florida Marlins vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

7/7: Tampa, FL - Tampa Bay Rays vs. Toronto Blue Jays

7/10: Houston, TX - Houston Astros vs. Washington Nationals

7/17: Dallas, TX - Texas Rangers vs. Minnesota Twins

7/19: St. Louis, MO - St. Louis Cardinals vs. Arizona Diamondbacks*

7/21: Kansas City, MO - Kansas City Royals vs. Los Angeles Angels

7/24: Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

7/25: Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Florida Marlins*

7/27: Anaheim, CA - Los Angeles Angels vs. Cleveland Indians

7/31: San Diego, CA - San Diego Padres vs. Milwaukee Brewers

8/1: San Francisco, CA - San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies*

8/5: Oakland, CA - Oakland Athletics vs. Texas Rangers

8/7: Seattle, WA - Seattle Mariners vs. Tampa Bay Rays

8/10: Denver, CO - Colorado Rockies vs. Chicago Cubs

8/12: Minneapolis, MN - Minnesota Twins vs. Kansas City Royals

8/14: Milwaukee, WI - Milwaukee Brewers vs. Houston Astros

8/16: Chicago, IL - Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates*

8/17: Chicago, IL - Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals

8/18: Detroit, MI - Detroit Tigers vs. Seattle Mariners

8/20: Toronto, ON - Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox*