As 2006 came to a close, I was starting to bounce back. I was starting to live for myself again, which was one of the biggest keys of all. I learned (and am still learning) that happiness is impossible to define in this life. Maybe it's impossible to achieve in this life, which is why we have faith there is a heaven.
But I knew that my quest to come back to Coney status was incomplete. I needed something to really bring me back to life. Something extreme. Then, I heard about the Adventure Cycling Association.
http://bobcats519.blogspot.com/2006/06/17-items-can-go-long-long-way.html
My goal was to literally bike down the entire Pacific Coast. It was an admirable goal, but not one that I can realistically achieve at this stage in life. I'm building a career and a life for myself. The bike trip has to come once that stage is complete.
But all the thinking, dreaming, planning and inspiring got me to the point where my heart was set on seeing the West Coast. California's Highway 1 just looked too amazing, and as my 25th birthday rapidly approached, I still hadn't lost my Western U.S. virginity. I was celebrating a quarter-century of ignorance, lousy landscape and no adventure. That had to change.
So the bike trip morphed into a much more realistic roadtrip.
http://bobcats519.blogspot.com/2007/02/road-trip-07.html
But there remained one more problem. Of all my friends, most of whom are young professionals or grad students and are all slaves to whichever system they dream of mastering, who would possibly be willing to give up two full weeks of precious vacation and let the world be our playground?
As it would turn out, there was only one answer all along: Blake Justin Nolan.
Over the next three months, Blake and I shot constant emails back and forth, tweaking and upstaging each other's idea of the Ultimate Road Trip (URT). Not only would we learn that there was a happy medium to behold, but also that maybe the greatest bond we'd share, in our already rock-solid friendship, was a love and appreciation of life on the road.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Spring Training '06: Winter Haven, FL!!!
Again, this is a very loose interpretation of the term "roadtrip," but it was easily the best work experience of my life, and something I wish I could do every single year for the rest of my career.
Because of my radio station's affiliation with the Cleveland Indians Radio Network, I was paid to be flown to Winter Haven, Florida for four days to broadcast live and conduct interviews from the Tribe's spring training facilities. When our plane left Cleveland, it was 17 degrees. When we landed in Orlando, it was 78. Beautiful.
The Indians were very hospitable.
Basically, Chain-O-Lakes Park served as a big, fat playground for me. This is me robbing Travis Hafner of a homer in batting practice by going ultimate barehand on the baseball Major League 2 style.... or just a cool pose.
Me and Indians pitcher Paul Byrd. I really, really hope Byrdie didn't use HGH unscrupulously like the Mitchell Report indicates, because he was really one of the absolutely nicest ballplayers I've ever met.
Grady Sizemore.
2007 Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia.
We caught a game at the Tigers' spring complex in ghetto-ass Lakeland, Fla.
It was actually a lot of work. Everyday, my alarm went off before the sun was up, and we worked all day at the ballpark until the sun went down. But when you're from Ohio, there's nothing like sipping on coffee on your hotel balcony and going over your work notes for the day while the sun rises over palm trees and you're wearing shorts in the first week of March.
Absolutely awesome sunsets from Winter Haven. Unfortunately, Beef-O-Brady's was pretty much THE only hangout in town. Not a lot happening in that part of Florida. Definitely a retirement community.
Because of my radio station's affiliation with the Cleveland Indians Radio Network, I was paid to be flown to Winter Haven, Florida for four days to broadcast live and conduct interviews from the Tribe's spring training facilities. When our plane left Cleveland, it was 17 degrees. When we landed in Orlando, it was 78. Beautiful.
The Indians were very hospitable.
Basically, Chain-O-Lakes Park served as a big, fat playground for me. This is me robbing Travis Hafner of a homer in batting practice by going ultimate barehand on the baseball Major League 2 style.... or just a cool pose.
Me and Indians pitcher Paul Byrd. I really, really hope Byrdie didn't use HGH unscrupulously like the Mitchell Report indicates, because he was really one of the absolutely nicest ballplayers I've ever met.
Grady Sizemore.
2007 Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia.
We caught a game at the Tigers' spring complex in ghetto-ass Lakeland, Fla.
It was actually a lot of work. Everyday, my alarm went off before the sun was up, and we worked all day at the ballpark until the sun went down. But when you're from Ohio, there's nothing like sipping on coffee on your hotel balcony and going over your work notes for the day while the sun rises over palm trees and you're wearing shorts in the first week of March.
Absolutely awesome sunsets from Winter Haven. Unfortunately, Beef-O-Brady's was pretty much THE only hangout in town. Not a lot happening in that part of Florida. Definitely a retirement community.Indianapolis: 2006 Final Four
I can't believe I forgot this other roadtrip of 2006. I'm pissed at myself for getting this out of chronological order, but on a boring Monday in early April, my roommate and I decided to hop in the car and just GO to the national championship game. It was a brilliant idea, with UCLA and Florida playing each other in Indianapolis on a workday, meaning extremely cheap tickets to be scalped. We got in for less than half of face value.
Talk about living life for the Tetris. A boring Monday turned into a trip to college basketball's most grandiose stage.
Starting lineups. I would later grow to loathe the existance of Joakim Noah, but I hadn't yet realized it at this point.
Classic March Madness shot. The opening tip...
So THAT's how they set up the RCA Dome for basketball.
National championship of college basketball... pretty awesome.
Florida wins 73-57 over UCLA, the start of a "dynasty," at least by college basketball's standards for the last 40 years.
Talk about living life for the Tetris. A boring Monday turned into a trip to college basketball's most grandiose stage.
Starting lineups. I would later grow to loathe the existance of Joakim Noah, but I hadn't yet realized it at this point.
Classic March Madness shot. The opening tip...
So THAT's how they set up the RCA Dome for basketball.
National championship of college basketball... pretty awesome.Saturday, December 22, 2007
UBW4: Atlanta
All other roadtrips considered "Ultimate Baseball Weekend" include seeing a MINIMUM of two baseball games. But the reason I consider this UBW4 is because we drove all the way to Atlanta for the sole purpose of watching a Braves game. Blake came along for this one, and it ended up being a highly ridiculous weekend.
I've finally cut my hair. Nice view from the home run porch, with downtown ATL in the background.
My boss, who's from Atlanta, hooked us up with pretty good seats for the game.
Kinda classic.
Blake's going ultimate views. The reason he's in a wifebeater is because the PKT house we stayed at on the campus of Georgia Tech made us go worst moment by pulling the fire alarms to wake up everyone in the house at 7 am. So rather than sit around and figure out what was going on, we just left without saying goodbye.
The drive along I-75 thru Tennessee is gorgeous. Columbus to Atlanta is one of the most underrated drives in the grade.
Blake is straight cashed on the ride back.
I've finally cut my hair. Nice view from the home run porch, with downtown ATL in the background.
My boss, who's from Atlanta, hooked us up with pretty good seats for the game.
Kinda classic.
Blake's going ultimate views. The reason he's in a wifebeater is because the PKT house we stayed at on the campus of Georgia Tech made us go worst moment by pulling the fire alarms to wake up everyone in the house at 7 am. So rather than sit around and figure out what was going on, we just left without saying goodbye.
The drive along I-75 thru Tennessee is gorgeous. Columbus to Atlanta is one of the most underrated drives in the grade.
Blake is straight cashed on the ride back.Concert on a whim
Picking up and driving to Pittsburgh for a Counting Crows concert is not something that can be considered a roadtrip. Roundtrip commute of only six hours is like going to the grocery store.
But some of these photos were too classic to pass up putting in here.
I'm in a foul mood on the way to the show...
"Mr. Jones and me... Gonna be big stars..."
Tailgating in the parking lot... I can't BELIEVE my hair got that long.
But some of these photos were too classic to pass up putting in here.
I'm in a foul mood on the way to the show...
"Mr. Jones and me... Gonna be big stars..."
Tailgating in the parking lot... I can't BELIEVE my hair got that long. 2006: still in a funk
Most of 2006 was spent feeling sorry for myself after my college girlfriend broke-up with me, then got engaged like 30 minutes later.
Looking back, the self-pity that I wallowed in was quite embarrassing, but it also made for some really classic Coney, too.
In June, my mom wanted to go to the beach for her 50th birthday, so I drove down and met her at Virginia Beach. While I was there, I took advantage of being on the Atlantic Coast and met up with my old college friend Beau for a Washington Nationals game and a day in D.C.
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington D.C. for an exhilerating NL East game.
RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. wasn't great, and it wasn't awful. It was just a Phillies-Nationals game. Cory Lidle had a no-no into the fifth. It wasn't his only "no-no" that year. Ooooh, too soon? Bad taste, at the very least.
Beau at Zero milestone. This photo has been named "Beau's moment of significance."
One of the strange byproducts of my self-pity was a 5-6 month refusal to cut my hair. I can't for the life of me remember why, but eventually I started doing TV stuff, so that didn't last long. There's me hanging out on Dubya's lawn.
If walking inside the mall is a good workout from elderly women, then walking the National Mall is a good workout of Beau and me.
A cool look at the Washington Monument, as seen from the World War II memorial.
Looking back, the self-pity that I wallowed in was quite embarrassing, but it also made for some really classic Coney, too.
In June, my mom wanted to go to the beach for her 50th birthday, so I drove down and met her at Virginia Beach. While I was there, I took advantage of being on the Atlantic Coast and met up with my old college friend Beau for a Washington Nationals game and a day in D.C.
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington D.C. for an exhilerating NL East game.
RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. wasn't great, and it wasn't awful. It was just a Phillies-Nationals game. Cory Lidle had a no-no into the fifth. It wasn't his only "no-no" that year. Ooooh, too soon? Bad taste, at the very least.
Beau at Zero milestone. This photo has been named "Beau's moment of significance."
One of the strange byproducts of my self-pity was a 5-6 month refusal to cut my hair. I can't for the life of me remember why, but eventually I started doing TV stuff, so that didn't last long. There's me hanging out on Dubya's lawn.
If walking inside the mall is a good workout from elderly women, then walking the National Mall is a good workout of Beau and me.
2005: The year of the weak sauce
2005 was the most shamefully embarrassing roadtrip year of my life. It was simply inexcusable. I didn't have my shit together. Period. My only roadtrip was to New York City for a weekend with a complete stranger. We had a good time, but I don't have any pictures from it.
I broke up with my college girlfriend, and 2005 completely sucked. But it would be a year that would springboard me into some of the more ridiculous and legendary roadtrips of my life.
I broke up with my college girlfriend, and 2005 completely sucked. But it would be a year that would springboard me into some of the more ridiculous and legendary roadtrips of my life.
August 2004: strong month
August 2004 was a very strong roadtrip month. Nothing extreme, but two great, short getaways. Dunn and I made it to a Tigers-Red Sox game in Detroit. Somehow, we didn't take a camera to the game, but it was one of the most awesome pitching performances I've ever seen, as Pedro Martinez mowed down Detroit's lineup for the first five innings. The other was with an ex-girlfriend, and unfortunately I have very few pictures of it, but it was a great drive to Toronto, thru Niagara Falls, in one of the best weekends I've had.
Niagara falls is an amazing display of beauty and power.
The CN Tower in downtown Toronto is gorgeous, and is probably the most recognizable part of one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen.
The Rogers Centre in Toronto, formerly known as the Skydome, was one of the most pleasant surprises of all the MLB stadiums I've been to.
Niagara falls is an amazing display of beauty and power.
The CN Tower in downtown Toronto is gorgeous, and is probably the most recognizable part of one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen.
The Rogers Centre in Toronto, formerly known as the Skydome, was one of the most pleasant surprises of all the MLB stadiums I've been to.UBW3: Baltimore & Boston: 1850 miles in 53 hours
With much enthusiasm, Dunn and I set out in 2004 to recreate the excitement generated on many of the 2003 roadtrips. It started with what is now, in retrospect, considered Ultimate Baseball Weekend 3: a journey from Pittsburgh on Saturday morning, to Baltimore for a Saturday matinee, up the coast for a Sunday game in Boston, with mandatory work on Monday morning. No big deal, standard commute.
For a ridiculous mockery of our weekend, check out: http://tonycastricone.com/fenway/index.htm
Our seats from the outfield gave us a good view of one of the trend-setting parks in Major League Baseball. Many of today's newer parks were modelled after Camden.
Baltimore's Camden Yards was a great place to start a ridiculous weekend. Jeff Green hopped a train up from D.C. to join us for the ballgame, as the Orioles beat the Royals.
Outside Camden Yards is a statue commemorating the birthplace of Babe Ruth.
After driving until 5 am, getting like 5 hours of sleep at the "Joke Motel" and giving up our car keys to some homeless-looking valet guy who left the windows down and the door unlocked for $30 in downtown Boston, we finally arrive at a baseball cathedral as old as the Titanic: Fenway Park.
We got to Fenway early before the game, so we'd have ample opportunity to take a stroll around the ballpark.
Standing room only seats was our only option. Still to this day, it's the only trip either of us have made to Fenway Park. Texas 7, Boston 6... but the Red Sox would later that year break their 86-year dry spell, and finally win a World Series.
For a ridiculous mockery of our weekend, check out: http://tonycastricone.com/fenway/index.htm
Our seats from the outfield gave us a good view of one of the trend-setting parks in Major League Baseball. Many of today's newer parks were modelled after Camden.
Baltimore's Camden Yards was a great place to start a ridiculous weekend. Jeff Green hopped a train up from D.C. to join us for the ballgame, as the Orioles beat the Royals.
Outside Camden Yards is a statue commemorating the birthplace of Babe Ruth.
After driving until 5 am, getting like 5 hours of sleep at the "Joke Motel" and giving up our car keys to some homeless-looking valet guy who left the windows down and the door unlocked for $30 in downtown Boston, we finally arrive at a baseball cathedral as old as the Titanic: Fenway Park.
We got to Fenway early before the game, so we'd have ample opportunity to take a stroll around the ballpark.
Standing room only seats was our only option. Still to this day, it's the only trip either of us have made to Fenway Park. Texas 7, Boston 6... but the Red Sox would later that year break their 86-year dry spell, and finally win a World Series. ALCS Roadtrip!!!
In October 2003, one of the more classic roadtrips of my life popped up. There wasn't anything extraordinary about driving to New York City from Athens, Ohio, but three things made this roadtrip extraordinary.
a) It was spontaneous.
b) We didn't "stay" in New York. We drove there for a purpose, turned around, and came straight back
c) It was for Game 2 of the 2003 American League Championship Series: Red Sox at Yankees!
The pregame hype was out of control for a high-stakes renewal of one of sports' greatest rivalries.
a) It was spontaneous.
b) We didn't "stay" in New York. We drove there for a purpose, turned around, and came straight back
c) It was for Game 2 of the 2003 American League Championship Series: Red Sox at Yankees!
The pregame hype was out of control for a high-stakes renewal of one of sports' greatest rivalries. It was by far the most intense baseball game I've ever seen. The Yankees beat Boston 6-2, and went on to play in the World Series thanks to a walkoff homer in Game 7 one week later off the bat of Aaron Boone.
City of Brotherly Love
The second stop of UBW2 was Philadelphia, which provided a great, unique experience, even though we were only there about six hours.
No longer standing, Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium was nothing special.
Game two of the weekend was Boston at Philadelphia, with Pedro Martinez on the hill for the Red Sox. We saw the 43rd to last game ever played at the dump known as the Vet.
Todd Pratt hits an exciting, walkoff homer to send the Phillies past the Red Sox 6-5 in 13 innings, almost four and a half years to the day before being exposed as a steroid user in the Mitchell Report. Dunn approves anyway.
Dunn does his best Rocky Balboa impression on the steps Sylvester Stallone made famous.
Philly was a key second leg of UBW2.
No longer standing, Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium was nothing special.
Game two of the weekend was Boston at Philadelphia, with Pedro Martinez on the hill for the Red Sox. We saw the 43rd to last game ever played at the dump known as the Vet.
Todd Pratt hits an exciting, walkoff homer to send the Phillies past the Red Sox 6-5 in 13 innings, almost four and a half years to the day before being exposed as a steroid user in the Mitchell Report. Dunn approves anyway.
Dunn does his best Rocky Balboa impression on the steps Sylvester Stallone made famous.
Philly was a key second leg of UBW2.Thursday, December 20, 2007
UBW2 (Ultimate Baseball Weekend II)
As awesome as UBW1 was for the hardcore nature of actually seeing THREE MLB games in THREE states in TWO days, UBW2 was even better.
All three games that weekend went to extra innings, and we actually had the time to explore downtown Philadelphia and midtown Manhattan. So I headed to Pittsburgh and picked up Mike for UBW2.
We decided to go all out and tailgate in the rain. Why not? With the Cleveland Indians in town to play the Pirates, there were a lot more chants of "Browns suck" than "Go Bucs!" (Photos ctsy Mike's mom, Nancy Dunn)
It was a wet and chilly PNC Park for a mid-June evening, but definitely one of my favorite parks in baseball. It's gorgeous.
All three games that weekend went to extra innings, and we actually had the time to explore downtown Philadelphia and midtown Manhattan. So I headed to Pittsburgh and picked up Mike for UBW2.
We decided to go all out and tailgate in the rain. Why not? With the Cleveland Indians in town to play the Pirates, there were a lot more chants of "Browns suck" than "Go Bucs!" (Photos ctsy Mike's mom, Nancy Dunn) 
It was a wet and chilly PNC Park for a mid-June evening, but definitely one of my favorite parks in baseball. It's gorgeous.The way the open outfield incorporates the beautiful city of Pittsburgh has to be the highlight of PNC Park. Let's face it, the highlight sure isn't the Pirates!
No clue what the hell we're doing here. We went from Pittsburgh to Penn State, where we crashed with Matt Hoffman for the night. Red Sox-Phillies the next day was awesome, but I don't have any pics of the city of Brotherly Love uploaded yet, so those have to wait. From there, it was the short jaunt up to NYC.
Dunn poses in the middle of Times Square. It was the first time either of us had been to New York. As we pulled up to the city the night before, with Manhattan lit brilliantly on our right and U2's "Streets" blarring in the car, we realized we were homeless. We didn't have a place to stay. That's when Blake Nolan came to the rescue, setting up with two of his friends in the Financial District, and solidifying himself as one of the most clutch people ever in my quest to see all 49 drivable states. At the time, I didn't even realize he'd be along for most of the rides.
The extra inning trend continued in Queens, where the Yankees beat the Mets 7-3 in 11 frames on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. The people at the ballpark were classic New Yorkers, and every one of their stories, whether it be about a neighbor, or politics, or 9-11, definitely gave you an appreciation for where exactly you were, and how proud New Yorkers really are.
No clue what the hell we're doing here. We went from Pittsburgh to Penn State, where we crashed with Matt Hoffman for the night. Red Sox-Phillies the next day was awesome, but I don't have any pics of the city of Brotherly Love uploaded yet, so those have to wait. From there, it was the short jaunt up to NYC.
Dunn poses in the middle of Times Square. It was the first time either of us had been to New York. As we pulled up to the city the night before, with Manhattan lit brilliantly on our right and U2's "Streets" blarring in the car, we realized we were homeless. We didn't have a place to stay. That's when Blake Nolan came to the rescue, setting up with two of his friends in the Financial District, and solidifying himself as one of the most clutch people ever in my quest to see all 49 drivable states. At the time, I didn't even realize he'd be along for most of the rides.
The extra inning trend continued in Queens, where the Yankees beat the Mets 7-3 in 11 frames on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. The people at the ballpark were classic New Yorkers, and every one of their stories, whether it be about a neighbor, or politics, or 9-11, definitely gave you an appreciation for where exactly you were, and how proud New Yorkers really are.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)