The Final Days

To Anyone Out There Still Reading,

So I'm back in North Olmsted, Ohio and I've had a few days to rest and recoup - if you don't count Mike's bachelor party on Saturday. I'm going to be quick and to the point while explaining the last four days of our trip. After a few more days of rest and contemplation, I'll come back and try to write something profound to sum it all up...but for now, let's just keep it simple.

I left off on the morning of the White Sox game. We relaxed for the better part of the day, and then my parents and I drove into downtown Chicago and visited Navy Pier. We ate dinner there and took the train to the South Side for the White Sox game. I was very surprised at the high energy the crowd at U.S. Cellular Field displayed. I thought most people in Chicago were Cubs fans, but in all honesty, the Sox fans were intense. We endured another rain delay, but only for an hour this time. We watched the game for a while, then my parents left early and Sam, Sloan (OU friend living in Chicago), and I stayed for the rest of the game. Two things stick out in my mind. One, the Sox fans executed the best wave I have every seen. Two, we met Sam's friend Brandon at his seats for the last two innings. He got tickets from work and was sitting in the third row behind the visitors dugout...so that was a pretty nice view to catch the end of the game from! I thought the whole experience was pretty cool, and I really would have enjoyed it if I didn't DESPISE the White Sox.

I stayed at Sloan's apartment after the game, and then the next day I walked to Sam's aunt's house nearby and hung out with her and her cousins Morgan (7) and Keagan (2). I took the train out to Mike's house and had dinner with him for his birthday. I know, I know, I should have been cooking for Mike on his birthday...butttt he cooked me an incredible pasta dinner with homemade sauce and meatballs and sausage and the whole deal! We watched the new show "Shaq Vs." - really cheesy but kinda cool - and then I drove back into the city to spend our last night in Chi-town at Sam's Aunt Steph's place. 

On Wednesday we headed to Detroit for the Tigers game. We stopped just East of Ann Arbor to spend time with my sister's high school friend Corrin and her husband Tim. We drank a few beers and bullshitted, then drove to Sam's Dad's hotel (he was in town on business for the day.) We had a few more beverages, then the three of us drove downtown to Comerica Park for the game. I'll describe what it looks like for you since this is the ONLY game I forgot to bring my camera to. In a nutshell, it looks like someone puked up a  plethora of HUGE tiger statues. THEY'RE EVERYWHERE around the stadium. That's the only important thing to note. After the game Sam went back to the hotel with her dad and I went back to Corrin and Tim's house to catch up and hang out a little more. 

THE LAST DAY!

We drove to Toronto in the morning and had a little setback crossing the border. I've been to Canada three times before with no problems, but since Sam had a guilty look on her face, we had our whole car searched and were detained for a short while. After they found nothing but food, clothes, and baseball junk in the car, they let us go. We walked around the streets of Toronto for a while when we arrived and just wandered aimlessly into stores and the like. We made our way into the Rogers Centre (formerly the Skydome) for the game a little early and found our seats. The Blue Jays were playing the Red Sox, and once again their jackass fans were in full force. We only stayed for the first five innings for three reasons. One, we were driving back to Cleveland right after the game and didn't want to roll in around 4AM. Two, it started raining RIGHT AFTER they opened the retractable roof and we were getting wet. Three, I can only take so much cheering from Red Sox fans before I puke. 

So that puts me where I am now. We arrived back at my parents' house around 2:30AM last Friday morning. I'm still letting everything marinate for a few more days before I lay down some great insights about the whole summer and traveling in general...so keep reading! (If anyone besides my mom and Rachel still are!)

Peace,

Matt