Park visited: Council Bluffs Recreation Complex
City: Council Bluffs, IA
Food of the day: Sweet & Sour Chicken @ Panda House
iPhone song of the day: "The Little Things" by Colbie Caillat
Miles traveled: 30
After being spoiled by back-to-back days off, the harsh reality of 6 a.m. reared its head WAY too early Thursday morning, as the Road Trip returned to the Council Bluffs Recreation Complex for "The Road to Rosenblatt" youth tournament. Luckily the Clarino in Omaha offers one of the best complimentary breakfasts I've ever had (minus the strange orange juice that is about four shades too orange), which was essential in helping the "wake up" process.
The fields featured some of the calmer crowds we've seen during our journey, but certainly did not cheat us in terms of numbers. And as the day went on, more and more players were drawn to our booths like magnets....much to the aggravation of some of their coaches, who preferred they warm up instead of trying to win free Airheads. We're such bad influences.
The Baseball Youth Road Trip did get a little recognition, as WOWT (the local NBC Omaha affiliate) interviewed Clink and shot footage of our "village" for the six o'clock news. The kids really took to the cameras as they got up close and personal as they waited in lines, tested bats and hit in the inflatable tunnel. Even Kohrs seemed to enjoy the camera time in the background....I'm pretty sure I saw him checking his hair in the reflection from the metal water fountain. See the news coverage screen shot below.
A few hours later, we called it a day and packed up the trailer....which led to a difficult situation that has become more and more of an issue during our trip: choosing where to eat. You would think four guys who were hungry enough to eat an aluminum bat would be able to make some kind of decision in a short amount of time. Much the opposite, however, we drove around for about 30 minutes, some moments in silence, as we stared at all the great options along the road. Eventually we decided that food quantity was our common denominator, so we stopped at Sizzler. Much to our disappointment though, we discovered that Sizzler no longer offers any kind of buffet. Plus the place was com-PLETELY empty, which drew some concerned looks from each of us. We decided to go elsewhere.
Back in the car, we were desperate for some final decisions, as the Sizzler fiasco had really thrown our lunch destination deliberation back into disarray. So finally, we did what any normal "family" does when making such a decision: we flipped a coin. Heads, I pick where we eat; tails, Kohrs picks. He won and decided on Chinese at Panda House. Whew. Thank God. This restaurant was ALSO empty, but the food was good and hit the spot.
We had originally planned on going to the North Carolina-LSU game at Rosenblatt, but we had spent so much time on the lunch process and all were vocal in the fact that a nap sounded really nice, so we took a detour back to the hotel where we all quickly crashed. It ended up being an excellent decision - we woke up to some pretty heavy rain outside, which we found out led to a LONG rain delay at the stadium, and eventually the postponement of the game.
Before we finally headed back to bed, we were treated to a nice care package that my parents had sent us to the hotel. Along with some DVDs and books for the trip, they also included various snacks and some homemade brownies (courtesy of Mom) that we really enjoyed. Thanks guys!!
Friday
Park visited: Council Bluffs Recreation Complex
City: Council Bluffs, IA
Food of the day: Pepperoni and Double Cheese Pizza (yes, pizza) @ Schlotzsky's Deli
iPhone song of the day: "Good" by Better Than Ezra
Miles traveled: 30
With rain coming down late into the night, the starting times for the tournament back in Council Bluffs were delayed on Friday. To pass some time, we hit up Walgreens so that I could find a replacement pair of sunglasses (success!) and so that we could pick up a few more necessities. Eventually we made our way back to the park for what felt like a pretty short day at the fields.
Later on the afternoon, we made took a shuttle from the hotel to our new home away from home, Rosenblatt Stadium, in hopes of watching the remainder of the UNC-LSU game that was postponed after Thursday night rain. Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones interested in checking out this game....as we approached the right side of the facility, the general admission line was ridiculously long and some people were already being turned away.
Not wanting to go home just yet, we scanned the streets looking for an establishment where we could stop off and watch a few innings of the game. We eventually stopped at an old church that had been converted into a temporary Famous Dave's Restaurant & Bar, complete with stained glass windows upstairs on the dance floor. After settling in, more rain showed up outside, thus bringing the game to yet another halt. We looked like geniuses. But after about 45 minutes or so of hanging out, the live "entertainment" hit the stage, and it was time for us to go.
Now, we're back in our hotel room trying to figure out a way to rent Guitar Hero, but the chances of that happening are beginning to look grim. Tomorrow we have the opening ceremonies for yet another session of the Omaha Slumpbuster Tournament....this time at the La Vista Complex actually located in Omaha. We're hoping to get back to a few more games before the week is up, so I will be sure to keep you updated on those.
A couple of "shout outs" are in order: first, Happy Anniversary to Kohrs and his girlfriend Candra. Also, to the boys in Louisville that are out for Tooth's bachelor party, have fun, be safe and call me if you need an attorney. That's all for now. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful weekend!
Until next time,
Chris
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