(Spring training pictures. First row: Brighthouse Field in Clearwater, FL, spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies. The second picture is Chase Utley taking a pitch inside. Second row: Pictures of Progressive Energy Park at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, FL, spring training home of the Tampa Rays. First picture is Dontrelle Willis of the Tigers on the mound. Second picture is of the park. And, third picture is the Detroit Tigers taking batting practice)
This entry to my blog is little about running. It is fufilling a boyhood dream. I've always wanted to go to at least one Phillies' spring training game. And, on Saturday, March 15 I did. Against the Twins. They lost 11-2 but it didn't matter. But, you have to know the whole story of what happened last year that makes this game so special.
You see, I was scheduled to see the Phillies-Yankees game last year. Had the hotel, the tickets to the game, the rental car and the flight down. We were scheduled to fly out of Newark, NJ on Friday at 11a. I woke up early that day, checked the flight on line and it was cancelled. A major ice/snow storm was predicted for the day. But, it wasn't snowing yet? How could they cancel?
I drove up to Newark (about 1 1/2 hour drive) to change my flight. When I got there, there was at least a 2 hour wait to get the ticket changed. As I was waiting at the back of the line, someone told us to go with him to a different counter. In truth, we had no idea who this guy was but he was speaking my language (and lots of other people's) and we had blind faith in him and followed.
He took us to another Continental Airline counter where we waited in a shorter line. The woman behind the counter changed my ticket and told me I had an 8 o'clock the next day. When I got out of the airport, it did begin to ice/snow and driving was an adventure on the way home.
As this ice/snow storm hit, we had scheduled family to take care of our pets. But, as the day wore on, the storm was getting worse. Yes, we had tickets to go out the next day, but, how is my family going to get to us? We didn't want to leave the pets without knowing that someone was going to be in the house.
Most airlines will let you check in on-line 24 hours in advance. So, when I got home, I decided to check in. But, it wouldn't let me. So, I waited assuming they just changed my ticket and it may not have gone through the system. An hour later, it still wouldn't let me. Then I read my new ticket. It was for 8 o'clock PM! We were suppose to come back on Monday. We were going to be there for less than 48 hours.
As Friday turned into Saturday and the storm was heading out, it was apparent there was too much ice/snow to get to Newark safely that day. So, I called Continental and they gave me a credit for my tickets. I followed the status of that 8pm flight. Before I went to bed, it was scheduled to take off on Sunday at 12:15am, arriving in Tampa at 3:00am. When I woke up to check it again, the flight was ultimately cancelled. So, I would have been sitting on the tarmac for 3 hours, have the flight cancelled, and drove home past midnight on icy roads. Sometimes the things that don't happen are the best things.
As for this past weekend, we had a good time. Friday was raining but the rest of the weekend was beautiful. Temps in the 80s. It beats the 40 degrees in Philadelphia at the time. A tip though. Make sure you have an idea of restaurants in the area before you go. We thought about it when we were hungry and wasted hours trying to figure it all out. Actually, Friday night we wound up at Disney World for dinner (about 2 hour drive) just because I was more familar with that area than Tampa/Clearwater.
And, yes, there was a little running involved as my wife and I went out Monday morning in the Harbor Oaks section of Clearwater next to the water. We didn't know where we were going when we started but ended up in a beautiful section of town. All in all, a great weekend. I couldn't have dreamed it better.
(Note: Still no word on Boston and my hopes are beginning to dim for this year. I'll give it one more shot and if not, then, try again next year. Might be better anyway as I will turn 50 (I still can't fathom that) and what a great way to celebrate. )
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