Whirlwind Nebraska Tour

This entry comes to you live from the lobby of the Clarino (formerly Clarion) hotel in Omaha, Nebraska. Despite the fact that WiFi and Internet are supposed to be accessible from all rooms, I was told by the front desk earlier that my room was too far from the network. What? Too far away? Then either extend the radius of the wireless capability or close the rooms that are "too far." And either way, PLEASE don't advertise free WiFi in "every" room if that is indeed not really the case.

On top of that, the hotel pool is closed for the next two weeks. The TV set in the room continues to mysteriously shut off every 45 minutes or so. And I will apparently have to sit on a rock hard couch for the next 10 days if I want to update this blog. Ugh. Oh well....these are simply some of the bad beats that you run the risk of incurring during such a lengthy trip on the road.

These past few days have been absolutely crazy, so let's get you updated...

Thursday
Park visited: La Vista Sports Complex
City: Omaha, Nebraksa
Food of the day: Chicken Finger Basket @ Dairy Queen
iPhone song of the day: "Silver Thunderbird" by Jo Dee Messina
Miles traveled: 177

Thursday was arguably the longest day of the trip work-wise since we set forth on our journey in May. After packing up and saying adieu to the windy surroundings of Kansas City, the Road Trip set its sight on the Cornhusker State - Nebraska. With no time to spare, we drove straight to the La Vista Sports Complex for the opening ceremonies of the Omaha Slumpbuster Tournament.

It was quite obvious after being in town for just a brief time that Omaha loves it baseball, as we were definitely not alone at this particular facility. Other vendors from various baseball equipment and memorabilia companies were setting up shop, along with concession stands, Hawaiian Shaved Ice carts and professional picture booths where baseball cards, license plates and throw blankets were all being made on site.

The tournament itself drew roughly 90 teams, which in turn attracted the cameras of YSPN and other regional web sites and production trucks who were shooting all the action for steaming feeds, etc. It is very apparent that with the success of the NCAA College World Series in Omaha, that the surrounding cities and counties have worked hard to extend the baseball community, in essence developing the town into a true baseball mecca.

We worked the Slumpbuster at La Vista from about noon until 11 p.m. on Thursday night. During our long day, we literally handed out thousands of baseball cards and pieces of Airheads candy, and I probably assisted in the testing of Louisville Slugger's 2009 line of bats for easily 300 kids. Later in the evening, we met a lovely lady named Ellen who happened to be running the shaved ice stand. She was nice enough to share the leftovers of her product with us, and was so thrilled to hear about the trip we were in the middle of. During our discussion, I also learned that her son plays for the Columbus Crew soccer team in Ohio, and that their last name is "Junge." She couldn't believe that my last name was so close. It was a neat conversation to say the least, and it's obvious that there are many like Ellen in this city who have much pride for their town.

After packing up and nearly 11 hours of being on our feet under the blazing sun, our night really began. Scott was flying into town that evening to assist in tournaments during the weekend, so we drove to the Omaha airport to pick him up. From there, we drove just over an hour to Lincoln, where Clink & Kohrs would be flying out of at 6:20 a.m. the next morning, so that they could attend the wedding of a close friend. By the time we reached our hotel in Lincoln, we didn't get to sleep until close to 2 a.m.

Friday
Park visited: Council Bluffs Recreation Complex
City: Council Bluffs, Iowa
Food of the day: Hot Dog from Council Bluffs Recreation Complex
iPhone song of the day: "Still Fighting It" by Ben Folds
Miles traveled: 90

After only about four and a half hours of quick sleep, Matt, Scott and I got up around 6:30 a.m. and drove back to Omaha to pick up some packages from our new hotel and headed straight for Council Bluffs, Iowa (located pretty close to the Nebraska state line) for the Road to Omaha Tournament at the Council Bluffs Recreation Complex. And just as La Vista had done, this place was equally decked out and ready for some awesome baseball action.

We couldn't get set up fast enough, as players and coaches were swarming to rent out the new bats, and the players' siblings, some of whom had already seen us at previous tournaments, were already abuzz about the booths they knew we were in the process of setting up.

Despite being two men down, the three of us were extremely efficient and had the tents up and running in no time. We were also joined by several Louisville Slugger representatives who set up their own booth next door. Their presence was helpful in assisting coaches and parents who had more specific and detailed questions pertaining to the bats, gloves and other gear we had laid out for display.

I got my first crack at driving the SUV/trailer combination (much to the delight of my always-concerned mother while any of her children are on the road when I told her later on) by driving to Wal-Mart to pick up some additional extension cords and drinks for our cooler. And of course my first route with 40 feet of vehicle included the narrowest lanes I've ever seen even for a normal car, as local construction was going on seemingly at every exit ramp and intersection. I eventually did find my way and made it back (myself and the Armada/trailer) all in one piece.

For lunch, I had the best little league concession stand hot dog that I have EVER consumed. They definitely do it right and I would recommend you going by there some time just to pick up a dog for lunch. Well done, Council Bluffs. The late afternoon was upsetting after I got the news from my Mom that Tim Russert had died. As a somewhat experienced and always aspiring journalist, I have always viewed Russert as a true mentor and role model. His wholesome demeanor and common "Joe" approach to the usual doubleheaded monster of politics and media was overwhelmingly refreshing during his days on NBC, and I can't imagine watching the next five months or so of election coverage without hearing his comforting voice or seeing his contagious grin as he discusses a topic he knew so well and loved so much. My condolences and prayers go out to his family, who MUST be devastated this Father's Day weekend.

We finally hit the proverbial wall late in the afternoon, and finally decided to call it a day around 6 p.m. or so. By the time we got back to the hotel, I think the combination of no sleep, crappy diet and consecutive hours in the sun decided to take their toll all at once, as I was overcome by what we like to refer to in my family as "don't feel good." I sent Matt and Scott off to dinner without me and immediately went into my Rem cycle as soon as my head hit all three pillows on the bed. It's amazing how much you take for granted having a bed all to yourself. Try sleeping next to someone else who isn't your spouse or significant other every night for a month, and you'll quickly know what I mean.

I woke up to Matt knocking/calling from the hallway, as his room key had malfunctioned. The guys were nice enough to bring me some food back from Charley's Restaurant, and the combination of it and the rest I had just taken advantage of helped me to feel MUCH better. But after eating and drinking some ice cold bathroom sink water (and one more botched attempt to access the Clarino Internet), I was right back to sleep ;)

Saturday
Park visited: Council Bluffs Recreation Complex/Rosenblatt Stadium
City: Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraksa
Food of the day: Sausage Pizza @ Valentino's
iPhone song of the day: "The Distance" by Evan & Jaron
Miles traveled: 25

After the most sleep I've gotten since we began this trip, I woke up refreshed and feeling good on Saturday morning. One of the things I've noticed since we've been gone is that with the weird schedule we keep, I can NEVER remember what day of the week it is....literally. And today certainly did not feel like a Saturday; in fact, I don't even know what it felt like. I really think they are all staring to just run together.

Anyway, after inhaling a McDonald's Southern Style Chicken sandwich on the way back to the park, we arrived for our last day in Council Bluffs. As soon as we turned the corner, parked the trailer and began unloading, there were masses of children running to the spot we had been the previous day, already forming a line before the first table even hit the ground. They didn't seem to mind waiting, and by the time we actually WERE set up and open for "business," we had lines as long as they have been during our trip. We even recruited a couple of regulars to run our Airheads booth. Child labor at its finest.

Because of more heavy winds (I thought we had LEFT Kansas City) and a few moments that involved an unstable tent, we were forced to disassemble our village, much to the disappointment of our young customers. It's funny watching the persistence of kids even when we tell them we are closed and actually begin to put our equipment away. As I stood in the trailer to rearrange some of the boxes, I heard some children on the sidewalk attempting to spin one of the prize wheels that had already been taken apart....free candy, baseball cards and t-shirts make these young'ins crazy!

After our day in Council Bluffs, we made our way out to Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, the home of the NCAA College World Series to try and catch the Georgia-Florida State opening round game. The atmosphere was absolutely electric around the field, and there were many similarities between it and the Kentucky Derby in Louisville. The neighboring area is full of tents and makeshift bars, with games of beer pong taking place right on the sidewalk. The merchandise tents and booths were booming and people were in every direction. Unfortunately with our general admission tickets, we had no luck getting in tonight, but we have plenty of time to see a lot more of the remaining games.

After so many long days, we enjoyed a relaxing night in the hotel with good pizza, some Mountain Dew and some of the greatest PGA major championship putts I've ever seen from Tiger Woods. As Pat said so eloquently during our conversation earlier, "he is the greatest golfer we will ever see." It's fun being so young, yet competent enough to realize that we are witnessing history every time Tiger hits the links, and knowing that as time marches on, he will shatter every golfing record that exists. I'm not sure why people insist on rooting against him. He's not a bad guy. He has overcome a lot with hard work and strong values. And even though he does win almost every time he competes, he does so with such a touch of class and professionalism, that it doesn't become annoying like Duke, the Yankees or Kobayashi. Yes, even professional hot dog eating can cause a man to become arrogant. What a country.

Now, it's time for me to return to the room. I've received a lot of strange looks, the front desk worker continues to flash some creepy eyes at me, and an intoxicated LSU baseball fan just asked if he could come join me for some online poker. I think that's my cue to call it a night.

Before I go, I am curious about your opinion on a topic: instant replay in baseball. Yes or no? I know the stance of one ironing redhead in Palma, and I'm curious to hear what the rest of you think. Love ya, Mrs. Clark ;)

Thanks for reading everybody. Good night and good luck.

Until next time,
The guy in the lobby