I have some catching up to do, so let’s get right to it. We left Seattle on Saturday morning at 5:30AM on our way to Yellowstone National Park. We left so early because we expected to get to YNP in time to set up our tent and explore a little. That didn’t happen. Between the longer than expected drive and the time change, we arrived at the visitors center of the park around 7PM, only to find out that we had another two hour drive to our campsite. We started setting up the tent – in the pitch black and rain – and found out there weren’t any stakes with it. By the time we got it set up, I was ready to go to sleep; only it isn’t easy to sleep when you are freeeeezing cold. We had two sleeping bags, two pillows, and a blanket…and THREE people. Oh yeah, did I mention that the temperature was hovering just above freezing? In August. Sleeping on a tree root didn’t help either.
Needless to say, I didn’t get the best night of sleep I’ve ever had. This is a great lesson in Murphy’s Law. Here’s the silver lining: The drive to and through Yellowstone was the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. The Pacific Northwest and Wyoming are by far the best places to drive in the country.
On Sunday we headed for Denver and were pleasantly surprised to find that the drive wasn’t nearly as long as we thought it was going to be. We arrived at Ken’s apartment around 6PM. Ken used to work with my brother in Kansas City before he was transferred to Denver. He also graduated from Elder; so unfortunately, he bleeds purple like the rest of you Cincinnati fools. I was staying with Ken while Sam and Elle stayed with Elle’s cousin Erin and her husband Nick.
Here’s the fun part: It is an incredibly small world, as we’ve been finding out all along this trip. Ken and I were having a drink and talking, then one conversation leads to another, and this is what we came up with: Ken graduated Elder the same year as Joe, Elle’s boyfriend. He knows Elle, and Elle graduated high school with Ken’s sister. Then, Ken and are were talking about getting a bite to eat, and he asked what the girls were doing for dinner. I said they were at Elle’s cousin’s for a cookout. Ken asked what Elle’s cousin’s name was, because of course, he knows Erin and Nick! They invited him to the cookout, but he said he couldn’t go because he had a visitor from out of town coming (me)! Damn Cincinnatians all know each other.
Anyways, Ken and I headed over to join the girls and friends for a fun cookout. After some good food and a few drinks, Ken, Elle, Sam, and I headed to a local watering hole to shoot the shit a little more. The bar we went to had tons of board games, so we drank and played Mad Gab…just another typical Sunday night. The best part was that Sully was in town visiting his grandparents and he met us at the bar. It’s always great to see friends from home…and to have some Cleveland blood around all the Cincinnatians (trust me, it helps).
On my second day in Denver I was the world’s biggest bum. While Ken was working, I was watching about five or six hours of The Office on DVD. Later on in the afternoon, Sully came over to his apartment and we watched some more The Office and started drinking a little. Ken got home and decided the best thing for us would be to take a couple shots of Tequila. He was wrong. I was decent drunk before we even left for the Rockies game.
We had a good crowd for the game. It was Erin, Nick, Elle, Sam, Ken, Sully, and me. The thing that sticks out most in my mind from the game is the food. Somewhere along the way on this trip, we met someone who told us we need to try Rocky Mountain Oysters while at the Rockies game. Luckily, he was nice enough to actually tell us what they are and not let us be surprised. They’re fried bull testicles. Well, as I’ve been saying all along, when in Rome…
In all honesty, they really weren’t too bad. They were kind of tasty, considering I was eating balls. Maybe the alcohol had something to do with it as well. However, I wouldn’t recommend trying more than a few because I had one too many. I felt like shit the rest of the night, and when we went out for a few drinks after the game, I was not feeling so hot (understatement of the year).
The game itself was awesome, but I missed a lot of the most important parts. The Rockies shortstop, Troy Tulowitzki, hit for the cycle and turned an unassisted triple play. These are two things that RARELY happen in baseball and they were somewhat of a blur for me. As we were leaving, I noticed Tulo being interviewed on the jumbotron and hearing that he hit for the cycle. I was thinking, “Did that happen in this game???” Someone said, “I wish they would have made it more obvious,” to which a woman replied, “They couldn’t have made it more obvious. The screen was flashing CYCLE! CYCLE! CYCLE!” The one thing that does stick in my mind is a catch that the Rockies’ centerfielder made in the ninth inning. He slammed into the wall full-speed and robbed a possible homerun.
Anyways, our last day in Denver was spent checking out a few sites around the city. Ken took off work for the day and took us out to Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Park. Then we saw a little of downtown and the 16th St. Mall before we saw Funny People at the movie theatre (It was just as funny the second time around). We had a nice dinner at a kick-ass pizza place with all seven of us for our last night in Denver. Afterwards, we went back to Erin and Nick’s and relaxed for a little while before our long drive to Minnesota.
We left in the middle of the night and got to Minneapolis around 4 or 5PM on Wednesday. We met up with a friend of mine from OU, Ashton, at her apartment before the Twins game. She’s living in apartments near U of Minnesota’s campus, subleasing with some students, and they’re all nice enough to let us crash for a few days. Ashton came to the Twins game with us last night. It was the best deal we’ve had yet (besides the free tickets). It was $16 total for four seats in the upper deck…a special student four-pack. Plus, it was dollar dog night. This reminds me, recent grads don’t ever get rid of your student IDs. They’re priceless.
Finally, today we saw a few more things on our last day in Minnesota. First, we went to Summit Brewing Company in St. Paul for a free tour and beer tasting. The best entertainment possible is a brewery tour because they’re almost always free and you get to learn about and drink beer. Did I mention it’s free? After that, we went to the Mall of America just to check it out. It was impressive and dull all at once. Impressive because it was so huge and had every store you could ever imagine. Dull because it’s just another mall, only bigger. The only special part about it was the mini theme park and roller coasters in the middle of it.
Tonight for dinner Ashton, Sam, Elle, and I met my friend Margaret (another Bobcat) at a place in the “trendy” part of town. It was cool to have another OU reunion and shoot the shit over some drinks and dinner. Anywhere we go, it’s great to see Bobcats and reminisce about the good ole days in Athens.
It seems that I’m always tired every day now, and today is no different. So I’m going to call it a night. Next, we’re moving on to Milwaukee and Chicago. Talk to you all sometime soon. I’ll try to put up some more pictures soon.
Peace,
Matt
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