Leaving California

July 1, 2008

For the first time in about two weeks, we have a pretty big day of driving ahead of us.

We’re leaving LA this morning, making what should be about a 375-mile drive today to Phoenix. If we get on the road by 11 — after letting some of the morning rush hour die down — we should be able to make it there in time to grab something to eat before tonight’s 6:40 game between the Diamondbacks and Brewers.

We’ve been taking it easy in LA, not to tire ourselves too much for this final upcoming push to St. Louis in the next few days. After sleeping in yesterday, we grabbed lunch near the hotel and left early for Anaheim.

Google said that the 31-mile drive would take about 40 minutes, but that in traffic, it could take almost two hours; so we left at around 2, putting us there at around 3, well ahead of the game.

We drove around Anaheim for a little while — past the convention center and Disneyland. Without much else to do, we settled at a Hooters for a few drinks. John described our bartender the best: “She was fun,” he said. “Disproportionate, but fun.” We were in “Silicone Valley” of all places.

We got to the game about an hour early, making our way all the way to the top — our seats were in the very last row of the highest section. Sounds bad, but the newer stadiums do a pretty good job of stacking rows in the upper levels to make you feel closer. And we were pretty much right behind home plate, so we got a good overall look at the park.

Unfortunately, the game wasn’t too exciting. The A’s scored two in the 2nd, before the Angels responded with one — their only run of the game — in the 5th. Four more runs spread out over the last three innings gave the A’s a 6-1 win. No Rally Monkey magic for the Angels last night.

Didn’t take us too long to get back after the game. Watched some TV and got some sleep for today’s drive.

John has some family in Arizona, so we’ll try to grab dinner with his uncle before the game. The only other main stop on our agenda is Whataburger, which John and I have been craving for a while — Justin has yet to have it. The chain is across the South, but the only place it is along our route is near Phoenix.

Still need to go back and look at our plan for the next couple of days, but after Phoenix, we’ll start making our way to Denver, with stops at the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park and hopefully the Arches.

Regardless, we have to be in Denver for July 4th for a game between the Rockies and Marlins at Coors Field, where John and I can toast to seeing our 30th and final stadium.

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Posted by Phil

The Life of the Blond-Bearded Man

July 1, 2008

Now that we have reached the 32nd day of the trip and I have still not shaved, I can now draw some deeper conclusions on what life is like as a blond-bearded man.

While it has been a struggle, it has come with some unique benefits and disadvantages. I have summed up what life is like with blond beard in a few bullet points:

1. Opening line with the ladies. A blond beard is quite the conversation piece. It’s fairly unique (mostly cause it looks ridiculous and us blonds are not reproducing) and is something to talk about. I have talked to numerous ladies about the beard and have mixed reviews. One response, “Well I really couldn’t see it until I got close to you.” Couple approaches to that quote. Number one, as long as she is using that only in reference to my beard and not something else, not so bad. Number two, it gets the ladies to get closer to me (hello, hello).

2. Don’t get carded. I have not been carded as much inside bars or restaurants since growing the beard. Apparently people (intelligent ones) realize that a man with a blond beard must be at least 21 for it may have taken him 21 years to grow a visible one. Regardless, less pulling out (that’s what she said) of my ID.

3. Little kids don’t approach me. This is another one that goes both ways, I call it “the Phil.” One way it’s good is that I don’t have little kids come up and bother me. The other way is that I kind of look like a creepy drifter that kids could identify as “stranger danger.”

4. Shows dedication and commitment. Whether they like it or not (and most don’t) the blond beard shows that I am dedicated to something — that I can put up with constant teasing and taunting and still hang in there. I call this the “marriage material” value.

So in summary, I am going to ride my blond bearded wave until next week when I return to Chicago and show my family my beard masterpiece. Once that is done, I will ultimately re-enter normal society and shave. This experience has added to the respect I already had for the blond-bearded man.

Maybe I will give it another shot once I am older and don’t care what I look like.

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Posted by Justin