Since Lillian had finally fallen asleep in her unfamiliar surroundings at 12:30am, Debbie and I hoped that she’d sleep in a bit. No such luck as she awoke at her usual 6:30am - and so did we. We cleaned up and packed a bit and then prepared to go to mass. Today we were heading to a mass at a Catholic High School where Kristin was scheduled to sing with her singing group. She left at 8:00am and we followed shortly after at 8:15am. We wanted to get there early because Mr and Mrs Mihalcik were coming down as well to see Lillian.

We got to the auditorium at about 8:40am and went inside. Mr and Mrs Mihalcik arrived shortly after and we found a seat in front of the singing group. After a brief delay because of technical difficulties with the soundboard mass got underway. Lillian was very good and Mr Mihalcik amuzed himself with some of Lillian’s toys. After mass I pulled out the baseball I had brought for Mr Mihalcik and he seemed to like it very much.

We decided to all have breakfast together and the suggestions came down to IHOP or Bob Evans. I gave Debbie some funny looks and then I steered everyone towards IHOP. Whew - that was a close one.

Lillian fell asleep on the way to IHOP so I went in and found Kristin who had arrived 10 minutes ahead of us and put in our names. Debbie stayed in the car until Lillian woke up. Shortly after we were seated and then moved because of some rule that high chairs couldn’t be placed with that table. Ok - whatever. I talked with Mrs Mihalcik about Jay and Alex’s wedding guest list. Debbie called shortly after and told me that she had to go to the bathroom so I sat in the car with Lillian until she woke up.

Lily woke up a few minutes after I started watch and then we went in. Breakfast came a few minutes later and it was excellent. I got the stuffed French Toast - which I kept insisting wasn’t really breakfast but rather candy. Debbie got a la carte orders of hash browns and sausage. Kristin got an Omlette and someone got French pancakes.

After breakfast we headed back to Kristin’s. David, Lauren, Robert and Carrie arrived soonafter and Mr and Mrs Mihalcik left. After feeding Lillian her lunch we packed up and took off for the ballpark.

Two ballgames in a weekend plus Bengies? I don’t think I could have wished for a more fun weekend. Sadly with the schedule and the group I had to bite te bullet and miss out on batting practice. I figured that this was a good day to miss out - it was an 1;35pm game which doesn’t gaurantee batting practice and it was Little League Day so there would be tons upon tons of kids around.

Kristin drove gang number 1 while Debbie, Lillian and I took the other car. We found Mr. Mihalcik’s super-secret $5 lot (on S. Hanover and Henreitta Street) and walked over to Camden Yards. At the ticket office everyone gave me their voucher tickets and had me get the real ones. I guess they all trusted me. I asked for 3 in one row and 4 in the other and was accomodated immediately. We ended up with some sweet seats in section 352.

Rob and Carrie took off across the street for cheap hot dogs and the rest of us went in through Gate H and then went to the left field concourse and elevator. Listening to the PA while heading up the escalator I discovered that Brandon Fahey has been called up and was playing shortstop with Tejada moving to DH. The streak is still alive.

We found our seats easily and settled in for the game. Again the weather was perfect and the game was going great. Mora with a 1st inning homer and Conine with one in the 2nd. Then stuff started to fall apart and the O’s were down 4-3. Lillian was in and out of my lap, then took a seat in her own seat, bag of Cheerios in her lap. That’s my way to watch a game.

I started getting hungry around the 6th and Rob and Carrie were heading for a Uncle Teddy’s pretzel run so I decided to head down with them. We walked allll the way to the last stairwell in right field. As we reached the bottom I handed Ron $4 and asked him to pick up a cinnamon for me. I went over to Boogs, scanned the menu and grabbed a Pit Turkey platter so I could share it with Lillian.

Back at our seats I ate a bit of the pretzel and then gave the rest to Debbie. Lillian became a big fan of Boogs as I ended up giving her half my sandwich meat. It was delicious.

Like the day before, the game came down to the last at bat. The score was still 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th. Markakis almost hit one out to tie it but it hit off the wall for a double. He advanced to 3rd on a Chris Gomez grounder. The stage was set for a tie but Fahey struck out and Patterson grounded to third and almost beat it out. .00001 seconds more and it would have been enough. Go figure.

After the game Debbie and I suggested sushi at Matsuri and everyone was in. It actually wasn’t a long walk from where were were parked and after a couple of wrong turns we found it. Since we had a large group we were seated in the upstairs part. Instead of the usual highchair Lillian got a portable plastic chair which looked kind of like the one she uses here. David took over the ordering duties and did a great job. We ordered a spicy combo (spicy tuna, salmon, and squid), the Orioles roll (salmon, avacado and cinnamon) and a bunch of other great rolls. Lillian chowed down on a bowl of rice and a chicken teriyaki skewer. Appetizers - asparagus tempura and gyoza.

After dinner we all walked back to the car and said our goodbyes. It was about 6:30pm at this point. We found our way back to 95 and drove stopping once to feed the baby. We hit home about 9:30pm.

Debbie and I still had 3 tickets from our Orioles Opening Day 4-pack to use so we picked this weekend to go down and hit a game with Kristin. After some careful planning and scheduling we decided to go down to Maryland today. I would be dropped off at Camden Yards so I could hit a game and Debbie and Lillian were going to and hag out at Ilana’s and have lunch with some of her old roomates.

Debbie was worried that I might be bored in downtown Baltimore because as we had it timed, I would be dropped off at about 11:30am for a 4:35pm game. Nonsense I told her - with the Inner Harbor and my love of heading into the ballpark when it opened 2 hours before gametime I would have plenty to do. We decided to leave NJ at 8:30am and head south.

We actually left a bit after 8:00am because Lillian got up so early and Lillian took a nice long nap for about an hour and a half. We stopped at the Cheasapeake House for a diaper change, a feeding and an ATM stop and then we continued on. Debbie exited at Exit 53, took a circle around and dropped me off a black away from the ballpark at 11:36am.

I walked up Light Street towards Camden Yards. While I was walking it occurred to me that I might be able to trade up my Upper Reserved ticket with a face value of $10 for something better if I paid more. I thought about all the places I’d never sat before: the Club Level, Field Level near the baselines, the bleachers. I decided to go for the Bleachers in Right Center and the ticket office allowed me to upgrade for a mere $5 extra. With my ticket and a pocket schedule I then headed south towards the Inner Harbor.

My plan was to hit Five Guys for lunch first and then maybe grab a book at Barnes and Noble, hit the Sports Legends Museum and then start lining up in front of Gate H at 2:00pm for the 2:30pm opening. I entered the Gallery where Five Guys is and then I decided to hit the Harborplace first just to take a look around. I headed first to the sports store and checked out the Orioles merchandise. On my way there I started to hear some people singing and then I realized it was coming from the fudge place where the employees are supposed to sing. I affectionately call it ‘Fudgepackers.’

After the sports store I checked out the food stands both downstairs and upstairs and then I went back over to the Gallery. I realized that there was another sports store there adn went in. I was surprised to find out that they carried every New Era baseball hat for all 30 teams - both home and away. Amazing. Back in the day sporting goods stores would carry all the teams. Now they just carry the home teams and some of the more popular teams.

After the sports store I headed up to Five Guys and placed my order. A Little Hamburger (I was saving room for ballpark food) with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, ketchup, green pepper and hot sauce and an order of fries. The place was packed so I ate some peanuts while I waited. 20 minutes later my order came up. I stole a couple handfuls of peanuts on my way out and then stuffed the whole shebang into Debbie’s backpack and walked towards the aquarium.

I should mention here that it was a perfect day weatherwise outside. Not a cloud in the sky, sunny and about 68 degrees. I decided to walk over to the grassy area near the aquarium and eat my burger there. I found a nice spot out of the way and unwrapped the goods. The green pepper was a great topping that I had only had once before. The fires just came out of the deep fat fryer and were excellent - they were even better with the ketchup I grabbed from Five Guys. I had a bunch left over since they always give you a ton so I saved them along with the stolen peanuts.

After lunch I headed over to the Barnes and Noble and checked out the books in the ’sports’ section hoping to find something that would catch my eye. I thought about picking up ‘Moneyball’ but other than that nothing jumped out so I left. On my way out a girl stopped by and asked if I lived or worked near the area. She was from the Golds Gym next to the Barnes and Noble and was trying to sign people up. Not being from the area anymore I truthfully told her that I was from out of town.

Next I headed up Pratt Street towards the stadium and picked up a 24 oz Diet Pepsi from a vendor for a buck. It was about 1:30pm so I decided to take a circle around Camden Yards. I walked past Gate H, past the scalp-free some by Gate F, past the front entrance and past the players lot. I noticed a couple of autograph seekers with baseball card folders waiting nearby by no players walking by. I got to Gate A, went under the pedestrian tunnel, took a left and went into the team store. After exiting the team store it was about 1:45pm and I decided to skip the Sports Legends Museum - not enough time - but I did stop into the Sports Legends store. Inside a bunch of people were watching the NFL Draft on the plasma TV. I checked out their selection of hats and jerseys and then I went to Gate H and was the first to line up.

The gates opened a bit after 2:30pm and I ran straight to the bleachers. I checked the gap in front of the wall for any stray balls and then I moved over to my right. Someone on the field had tossed Sendy Rleal a ball that was on the track and I shouted his name. He saw me and tossed it over and I was off to a fantastic start. 3 weeks ago Sendy tried to throw me a ball and it went to some kid on my left. This time it was mine - Sendy’s a cool guy in my book. Probably my favorite Oriole reliever.

Over below the batters eye and in the grass was another ball. It looked to be too far for me to swing my glove out and snag so I left it alone. I hung out and waited for the home run balls to fly in. While I was waiting Leo Mazzone stepped out from the bullpen, grabbed about 4 balls and then started throwing them to people in the bleachers. The first ball went to a guy 10 rows above me. The second came towards me. As it was flying towards me I noticed that it was going to be high and to my right. I leaped but I missed. Luckily the ball landed in a seat behind me and I grabbed it. I held it up and yelled out a gracious “Thank You Leo!’

5 minutes later a home run was launched and started coming towards me. It flew over my head, landed in a seat and trickled down onto the floor and I grabbed it for my third.

At this point I decided to go for that ball that was in front of the batters eye. I swung out my glove and was just barely able to reach the ball. After about 6 more swings and tries I had it knocked closer to me and a minute later I lowered my glove over the ball and had it.

My celebration at obtaining my 4th ball of the day was short lived however. As I climbed down from the railing I started feeling shooting pains down both my calves. I was so intent on getting that ball that I didn’t notice that I was on my tip-toes for almost 5 minutes and as a result my calves were cramping up big time. It felt like they were in a vice made of razor blades. I sat down for a bit and tried to stand up a minute later thinking that the cramp had passed. bad idea - both calves cramped up again. I sat down again - this time for about 3 minutes and then I stood up and stretched. This seemed to work but my calves were still killing me. Fortunately it wasn’t debilitating enough to keep me from seeking out more balls.

Later on Bruce Chen came over to warm up along with Ramon Hernandez and I said a quick ‘Hola’ to him

5 minutes before the seating bowl opened up I headed to the flag court in hopes of catching a home run. As I stepped in I saw a ball launched in my direction. It was hit hard and I knew it was over my head. I turned around hoping it would bounce off the fencing and ricochet towards me. Somehow it made it over the tall fencing and then I heard a most sickening smack. I looked over and saw an usher who had not been paying attention clutching the side of his face. Ouch. For a second there I thought that perhaps his eyeball had exploded because there was a bunch of fluid at his feet. Turns out somene had just spilled their lemonade there. A vendor gave him a big bag of ice and then he was carted off presumably to first-aid.

Inside the seating bowl I decided to wait around by the dugout and see if anyone would toss a ball over after BP. No such luck. I then took off for left field and noticed a ball not too far from the wall. I made my way so I could be right over it, tossed by glove over the wall and had it in 10 seconds. Nice.

I spent the rest of the time trying to actually catch something on the fly. By now I had a good idea of where to position myself for a good chance. On one occasion a home run starting drifting to my right. I ranged over and put my glove up. I’m not really sure what happened but the ball tipped off the left side of my glove and landed harmlessly 3 rows below me and into the hands of the guy sitting there. Crap. The kids behind me claimed that they would have had it had I not stuck up my glove. My excuse is that one of them must have pushed my glove over. I’m still pissed about missing that one as it should have been easy.

Earlier I noticed a home run ball which had gotten stuck on the right center field bleacher gap. I decided to wander over and see if it was still there. I went down and sure enough it was sitting there right in reach. I lowered the glove and after a readjustment of the rubber band I got it. The guy next to me asked me where I learned that trick. I told him a friend showed it to me as I put ball #6 into my backpack. He then asked how many balls I had in there and I told him I had “a couple.” He then asked if he could have one. I told him that another one landed in the gap I would get it for him and again he asked if he could have the ball. “Not today,” I said and walked over to the rail near the batters eye to see if any more balls were out there.

A group of kids came out into the grass to sing the national anthem. I was hoping I could get someone from their group to toss me a ball that was waaaaay out but it didn’t happen. 15 minutes before gametime I left the railing and went to sit in my assigned seat in section 96, Row J, Seat 14.

The bleacher section got surprisingly packed. I saw highlights from the game before and it looked pretty empty out there when Tejada hit his home run out there the night before. With the perfect weather and the 4:35pm weekend time I guess the crowds came out. My seat was an aisle seat and the view was great. the only drawbacks - and the only reason these seats are on the lower end of the price spectrum is because you can’t see them jumbotron and the sound system out there doesn’t sound that great. Still I was able to turn around and check out the ketchup, mustard and relish race.

The game itself was great. Bruce Chen was cruising along with a 1-hitter (a leadoff bunt single in the 1st) and the Orioles offense appeared to have Frankie Rodrigues on the ropes. The Orioles were up 4-1 in the 4th and everything was looking great. It started falling apart however after the Orioles loaded the bases with no outs and failed to score a measly run. The next inning Bruce gave up a homer and a double and he was pulled for Jim Brower. Hit after hit came after that and before you knew it, 6 runs had scored and the Mariners were up 7-4.

In the 6th or 7th I decided that a Grille Dog was in order so I walked to the councourse under the seating bowl and got one. I then decided to just keep going and upgrade my seat to one down the 3rd baseline. I found lots of empty seats in section 66 and sat there for the rest of the game:

The view was great, however I was out of the sun and it started to actually get chilly. I then looked up at the lineup and noticed some odd changes. Tejada came out and was hurt as was Brian Roberts. Kevin Millar got hit by a pitch in the hand a few innings before so he was out. Enter the weirdest lineup ever. Ramon Hernandez ditched the catcher’s gear and moved to 1st. Mora moved to 2nd and Gomez went to short. Conine played 3rd. Patterson, Markakis and Jay Gibbons completed the outfield. So weird. I headed out for a $3.75 20oz Diet Coke and wished that I had picked up 2 $1 Diet Pepsis.

Things on the gamefront started to get a but bleak until the bottom of the 9th. The Orioles managed to get runners on second and third. A vase hit could have tied the game as it was 8-6 at this point. Sadly the next batter grounded out - game over. I headed over to the Mariners dugout in hopes of a ball but no luck.

I headed over to Fan Assistance to see where the best place to hail a cab would be. They told me to head to the mariott on Paca and Pratt so I walked over with the rest of the crowd. I saw a lot of Japanese people and a lot of Ichiro jerseys. A homeless guy in a pedestrian tunnel was begging for money “not for food - I need a 40″ he said. I appreciated his honesty and gave him a quarter I had.

I didn’t see any cabs at the mariott so I hung out at the street in front of it and soon an empty blue cab drove down and stopped for a light. I ran over and asked if he wanted a fare. I told him I was going to thr Bengies Drive-In in Essex and he told me to hop in.

I counted the cash I had remaining and hoped I had enough. With the money in my money clip and 2 $20’s in my wallet I had a total of $50. I was hoping it would cover the fare and a decent tip as it was a long drive and it wasn’t going to be cheap. Farther and farther we drove - heading east down Eastern Ave which turned into Eastern Boulevard. 30 minutes later we were pulled inf ront of the the McDonalds by the marquee - the fare was $41.00. I gave the cabbie the entire $50 and thanked him for taking me all the way out there.

I walked down the Bengies gravel driveway to the ticket office and joked with Kim the ticket taker and the security guy was jokingly said that he had ammended the rules to not allow patrons without cars inside. I signed the freebie sheet (for the ‘in car’ box I put down 1) and headed up to the projection booth where I talked to D for about 10 minutes. I then headed to row 5 and talked to Kristin about the game and my trip. Debbie was in the car feeding Lillian.

After Lillian and Debbie came out I headed to the snack bar for supplies. Nachos for Kristin, water for Debbie, another Diet Coke for me and then I ordered the super duper Ming Chen Chicken Finger Pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni:

Lillian was pretty tired and not sleeping after the first movie as we left after that. Kristin stayed for ‘The Benchwarmers.’

I saw this at Foodtown today and of course I had to try it:

It came in a 4-pack and was in a glass bottle. Sale price - $4.99.

From the press release:

Coca-Cola Blak is not just a flavor extension. It is a blend of unique Coke refreshment with the true essence of coffee and has a rich smooth texture and has a coffee-like froth when poured. We believe we have created a new category of soft drink — an adult product in a carbonated beverage — and a whole new drinking experience. This brand is ideal for any part of the day when people are looking for renewed energy or simply to take a break.

After drinking 3 of the 4 bottles I’ve determined that I like this stuff. It is really pricey though and for $1.50/8 oz bottle (non sale price is $5.99 for a 4-pack) I’d rather caffeinate myself with Red Bull or MDX or one of the Jolt Cola variations.

What’s it taste like? It’s as advertised - Coca-Cola with a smooth coffee finish. I might grab it for a road trip or something but otherwise it’ll sit unbought on a shelf.

Debbie packed up the car beginning at around 8:30am or so and a bit after 9:30am we were off. Mom packed up some Honeybaked Ham sandwiches for us and most of Lillian’s Easter gifts were carefully Tetris-ed into the car. The drive through Ohio on I-70 was fairly uneventful and in St. Clairsville I decided some BW3 would be a great idea. We parked and went in and had a good lunch.
in New Stanton, PA we stopped to feed Lillian and I ran to a Sheetz station to pick up the ultimate driving long distance drink:

Sadly TeTpee Tim’s BBQ did not appear to be open.

Later on down the Turnpike I decided to get something that I’d been looking for the whole trip. Years ago I noticed something among all of the beef jerkey that caught my eye. Tyson had put out something that called chicken chunks which were basically just dried seasoned chicken - chicken jerky if you will. The ones I saw were buffalo flavored and they sounded great - but I passed them up at the time and decided to get them the next time I saw them. Sadly I didn’t see them again until this trip. I couldn’t find the buffalo flavor no matter how hard I looked so I had to settle for ‘rotisserie’ flavor:

I thought they were good. Debbie would have nothing to do with them.

We all decided to hit the 9:30am mass because the other two alternatives were 7:30am and 11:30am. Too early and too late was more like it. I woke up at about 7:45am, showered and then dressed. As I put on my pants and tied my tie I realized that I had forgtten to pack any black socks. Crap. I was hoping maybe by pants were long enough to cover any hint that I was wearing white socks but it still looked like crap. Luckily mom let me borrow a pair of dad’s gold toe black dress socks. The outfit was complete.

With Lillan and Debbie dressed in their Easter best we all left the house at 8:45am. The road leading to St. Joan of Arc was backed up almost immediately after turning onto it because the exit of the church is also the entrance and the 7:30am mass was just getting out it appeared. We made our way in and parked fairly easily. Inside we found a seat in the back right and waited for mass to start. At 9:10am the house was full. at 9:25am Father Jeff asked people to start squeezing towards the middle to make room as the other hall was also full and also the NorthEx. As much as the Catholic Church would like everyone to attend weekly, they sure would have a huge problem is all of a sudden people decided to go more than twice a year.

Easter mass went by fairly smoothly although Lillian was a bit fussy because she was missing her first naptime. After mass we exited the parking lot surprisingly quickly and then headed home. At home I ate the leftovers from my excellent carnitas lunch from El Vaquero the day before. Patti and Jason came over and we went through the many gifts the 2 kids got for Easter. Lillian received a Pottery Barn Kids toy vaccuum cleaner that really works, a bunch of books and toy foods, a Little People Amusement park, a T-Ball set, a couple of rubber bouncy balls and a ton of other things.

At 2pm we put Lillian down for her nap and when she woke up a half hour later, Debbie, Dad and I took her to a nearby park we had passed coming back from church. We took her on the swings and the slides and she chased a ball around until we left at 3:30pm.

On our way back Debbie asked dad to drive down Powell road so we could investigate a ice cream place that was down there and it turned out to be a Handel’s Ice Cream - one of the many good places I had read about a day before. Dad stopped for us and I got a cherry vanilla that I split with Debbie. It was super excellent.

Easter dinner was a 5pm and consisted of the Honeybaked Ham I got on Thursday, snap peas, green beans, scalloped potatoes, potato wedges and bread. Lillian dug into the rice like she did the night before.

I called mom and dad to see what time they had left Ann Arbor. Mom told me they had left the house at about 9:15am making them on track to hit Columbus at around 12:15pm. We spent much of the morning waiting for them and hoping they remembered how to get there. At 12:15pm dad called and said he had missed the 315 turnoff so I told him to just make a right after the Meijer’s. Dad had returned from an errand and said that 750 was way backed up so I called back and told them to take Orange Road. They arrived soonafter.

After about 30 minutes or so at the house we took off for lunch at the newly renovated El Vaquero. Inside we were seated at a booth and quickly bought two bowls of chips and 3 carafes of salsa - my favorite part of the El Vaquero experience. Lillian went to work on the turkey we brought her and then we placed our orders. I had the Carnitas Express (#163). Debbie got the Enchiladas Verdes (#133), mom got the Burrito Colima (#162) and Dad got the Lunch Fajitas Express (#137). The food arrived shortly after and it was excellent. We decided to give Lillian some Mexican rice to try and she loved it and kept asking for more. It all came off of Debbie’s plate and I don’t think she got any for herself. Half of it went into Lillian’s mouth and the other hanf on the floor. I tipped a bit extra for the mess.

Back home Debbie tried to put Lillian down for a nap and my parents left for the Gong’s in Cleveland. The nap didn’t take however so I suggested we put her in the car and let her fall asleep there. I had my own motive for taking a trip as well - I wanted to hit Denise’s ice cream.

A short drive down 315 and down High Street and we were at Denise’s. The car trip had worked as Lillian was fast asleep. Debbie stayed in the car while I went in and asked if they had any egg free ice cream. They replied that almost all of their ice cream was egg free save for the ons which has stuff added inti it like cookies and cream, etc. I ordered myself a chai tea ice cream and got Debbie a mint chip scoop. We ate the ice cream near the car while Lillian slept away.

After the ice cream we gathered with the family and headed to Patti and Jason’s for dinner. Jason was grilling chicken on the new patio and mom prepared some seasoned potato wedges and a vegatable dish. Before dinner the kids were fed and then we headed out onto the patio where Lillian played with a rake while we tried to keep her out of the mulch. Patti brought out Boofus’ Thomas the Train push toy and pushed it around for a bit. Then we decided to see if she would push her cousin around in it so we plopped him on it and Lillian pushed him around.

After dinner pilot Jason busted out the remote control helicopter and took it for a spin. This attracted the neighborhoods kids who had just returned from getting ice cream from a neighbors house.

I just found this ice cream place in a Columbus Undergroud article called Denise’s Ice Cream in Clintonville. Here are their flavors:

http://www.denisesicecream.com/flavors.html

I’m adding this to the list. Chai Ice Cream!

Mom and Dad called last night and said that they were coming down afterall. We’re taking them with us to El Vaquero!

I woke up at 8:00am today and popped open the Dell determined to finish some of my started-but-unfinished blog entries from the past. I started on the ones from my weekend in NYC and didn’t get too far into it before I gave up. It’s not that I don’t remember the details of what happened but sometimes it feels like it takes as much time to write about something as it is to experience it.

I went downstairs to get some work done and had some breakfast consisting of a treasure I found at Trader Joe’s the day before: Kashi instant oatmeal. I also made myself a green tea latte with the matcha in a box from Tazo. Screw you and your $3.00 prices Starbucks!

Debbie, Lillian, Boofus and Patti had an appointment at the Target photo department at 1:00pm to take photos in their Easter outfits and other outfits. I decided to head over to Easton at this point. I got dressed, hopped into the Taurus and I was off. Before htting Easton I wanted to hit this little known ice cream joint I read about on Citysearch called Mardi Gras Ice Cream on Hard Road. I took the right hand turn before the 270 entrances and drove until I saw it on the left hand side. As I turned in it appeared to be closed. Oh crap I thought - jinxed again by the out-of-business jinx? Not so I discovered as I found out that Mardi Grad didn’t open until 3pm.

At Easton I parked and headed into Nordstrom to look for a pair of black Tsubo’s I had seen on the website. Sadly they didn’t have them. I then headed over to the Diamond Cellar to see what their Navitimer selection was like. They only had one on a black leather strap so I tried it on. I then asked what their price was hoping to coax a discount out of them. When she didn’t quote one I asked if they went down the standard 20%. We only go down 10% the saleslady told me - shoot - that sucks. She told me to come back in May when they had their annual show for a possible depper discount. Next I headed over to Ruehl and spent about 30 minutes trying on some of their better graphic tees and checking the 50% shelves for a shirt for Debbie. I also tried on a pair of cargo shorts but as with the ones at the dreaded Abercrombie - these were just way too big.

I then headed over to American Eagle for some lighterweight and better fitting cargos and found a nice dark brown pair. As I waited in the fitting room I was surounded by women - mostly teenage kids off from school that day. The cargos fit perfectly so I purchased them.

Next I headed over to see if they had any decent t-shirts at Banana Republic. All the colors that I liked I already owned. After Banana I went to Barnes and Noble and got a couple of Boxcar Children books to read to Lillian. I then stopped into a Guess store to check out a pair of heels that Debbie had tried on a few months ago but didn’t grab them. After that I left the mall headed south on 270 and West on 670 to the Short North.

I found ample street parking near Dr Mojoe, but before heading into the land of good denim I went to Phillip’s and Son’s Coney Island and had a seat at the bar. I ordered up one coney dog with everything and a diet Pepsi and checked out Columbus Alive while I ate. The hot dog was good with the coney sauce being more groud beef than a ’sauce’ like the Hot Grill or Libby’s. After eating I paid and then headed over to Dr Mojoe.

Entering Dr Mojoe is always dangerous because of their denim selection and good advice and service. I tried on a pair of Earnest Sewn’s, a pair of light wash Citizen’s of Humanity and a pair of Paige Premium Denim from their new men’s line (called Paige Boy I was told). They all looked great but I passed on all of them. Next time maybe.

I then drove north to Urban Outfitters. I was hoping they carried Havianas in the olive green color I was looking for - even moreso now because no one told me that it was going to be 81 degrees in Columbus. I found parking, went in and went up the stairs to the Mens and Housewares section. I found a whole rack of Havianas and looked through the green ones - shoot - no size 7/8 - everything they had was for people with big boats. I asked a saleslady if they had any 7/8’s and she started digging through some under a table that I hadn’t seen. A minute later she came up with what I was looking for and I thanked her. I also grabbed a couple of cheap BDG t-shirts and then headed back home.

It was about 4pm by now so I headed back up Hard Road to Mardi Gras ice cream. I entered and greeted the Indian woman behind the counter and started looking through the freezer to see what they had to offer. Most of the flavors were pretty predestrain - vanilla, strawberry, new york cheesecake. I then looked up at the ‘flavors of the day’ and notcied a bunch of Indian flavors. Malai Kulfi (Indian cream), Chickoo (a southeast asian fruit), Kaju Draksh (Indian nuts and grape) and Kesar Pista (saffron, pistachio and cardamon). I asked for a sample of Kesar Pista and was blown away by it so I ordered it. The international flavors were behind the counter which is why I didn’t see them before. While I ate I had a conversation with Mita, the woman who I greeted when I entered and the owner and operator. She told me of her trips to China and Taiwan and I lamented that I’d love to go back someday but that airfare was way too expensive. I finished up my ice cream and took a few photos and said goodbvye.

While I was stuck in the inevitable 315 traffic Kevin called and told me that the YouTube clip I uploaded the night before was freezing mid-way. Crap. I raced home and determined that I hadn’t completed downloaded the clip Zak provided me. Odd that the whole file opened fine though in QuickTime. I got the correct clip, reuploaded it and had the YouTube guy swap it out. If you want to check it out see here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XCW244Uu7vQ

Dinner plans were being discussed and it was decided that Papa John’s would be ordered (except for Dad who opted for Jersey Mike’s)

I got up at around 7:30am or so and finshed up my ‘Opening Day’ blog entry on the PC laptop. I then got some work done on the Movie Poop Shoot site and then started on a few things I had planned in Columbus for the morning. My plan was to hit Trader Joe’s to restock on dried fruit, oatmeal, chips and black bean dip and whatever else they had that day. Then I was going over to Whole Foods for Matcha green tea mix and organic pink lady apples. Before I left mom asked if I could pick up a few things while I out that way - namely some chicken, sundried tomatoes, arugala and deli turkey and deli chicken for Lillian. Mom also asked me to pick up an Easter ham at Honeybaked Ham. No problem.

At TJ’s I loaded up on McCann’s oatmeal, Indian lentil soup, dried flattened bananas, cili spiced dried mangoes, Scharffen Berger chocolate, guacamole tortilla chips, smokey black bean dip, smartwater and twice roasted salsa. The checkout girl asked what I was up to that day. I told her that I would be working but I might try to get outside since it was so nice - maybe find a way to work outside. back outside I sent a text to Justin to see if he was free for lunch.

Next I headed over to Whole Foods where I picked up stuff for dinner and decided to get some Nova Lox for breakfast. The Columbus Whole Foods is pretty amazing.

Next I stopped at Starbucks for a green tea latte and then skipped over to the Honeybaked Ham place. There was already a decent line as I went in so I just waited. I noticed a Columbus police officer inside the place and thought he was there to pick up a sandwich or something until I saw him go behind and start patrolling the counter. Odd I thought. When I got up to the counter to order my ham it all became clear. The dude behind the counter told me that earlier some guy had ran in, went behind the counter and made off with 3 hams and a bag of rolls. Too weird. I believe he was later caught but police presence had been beefed up to prevent further incidents.

Next I went over to the Einstein Bagels and got a reply from Justin saying he was free for lunch. I suggested the Korean place I had been dying to try and told him I’d be there around 1pm.

Back home I fixed up a bagel with cream cheese with nova lox and got some more work done. Lillian, Debbie and Mom left to visit dad’s work and have lunch and at around 1pm I left to meet Justin at his house.

After meeting Justin at the house we hopped into the car and headed over to the corner of Lane and Broad Street. We parked on the street and headed over the the very run down looking restaurant. No problem - I knew it was a hole in the wall. As we approached the dilapidated entrance I noticed that the place kind of looked really trashed with one wall completed torn down. I started to think that maybe the place was on hard times. I noticed a door to my right and turned it. I opened the door and saw this:

The place was completely cleaned out. A page from a Korean magazine was on the floor so I knew I had the right place. Justin and I wandered around the abandoned restaurant for a bit and then left dejected. I suggested we head to Aladdin for lunch instead.

At Aladdin we were seated and ordered a green bean and garlic appetizer, a falafel sandwich and a curry chicken salad thing. Next was dessert - the other thing Aladdin is known for. I had a chocolate cake with yellow custard and chocolate ganache. Justin had the chocolate raspberry cake. Excellent.

Hello from Columbus. The day started out at around 7:00am with a quick shower, some work and then massive packing. Debbie and I had packed our bags the night before but there was still all of Lillian’s stuff to go through. I also had to break out the garment bag and pack my Easter best - my charcoal grey suit, a white Ben Sherman dress shirt and a sweet yellow Prada tie I got last year.

Debbie packed up most of the car and I checked off the stuff on my list (cell charger, ac adapters for the Dell and Mac as well as the laptops they went to, the XM stuff) and had a nice breakfast of leftover sesame chicken. At sometime past 9am we were off.

The snack bag contents on this trip: Sunmaid yogurt raisins, Sunmaid california figs, Twizzlers, Keebler wheat and cheddar crackers, pretzel rods.

I slept through most of New Jersey and the beginning of PA. Our first rest stop came shortly before the exit for the Renaissance Faire. Sadly the Cereality stand that was here before was being torn down for something else. I was actually kind of in the mood for either cold cereal or oatmeal this time. Figures. I did wing up with a Green Tea Frappuchino and one of their ‘freshly made’ turkey and spicy mustard sandwiches which oddly, or maybe not so oddly had a sticket that said it was made on Thursday. Today was Wednesday - hmmm… Lillian enjoyed the sandwich too as I disassembled it and gave her half of the turkey part.

We next stopped at the Blue Mountain rest area because Debbie had to be on a 1:30pm conference call for work. While she was on the phone I took Lillian around the lot and rest area and then we went into the Sunoco station in search of Tyson buffalo flavored chicken bites and vitamin water. No luck. At 2:00pm Debbie told me the meeting might run long so I should drive.

We were actually on some sort of a schedule and had left earlier than usual for a reason. I wanted to hit Coleman’s Fish Market in Wheeling, WV and eat one of their world famous fish sandwiches. The problem was that the central market they’re located in closes at 5:30pm. So it was sort of a race to get over there on time. We made one more stop for gas in New Stanton and then we were off to Wheeling.

After a mishap with some bad Google Maps directions we found our way to Market street and the Centre Market and parked. I grabbed Lillian and we ran through some big raindrops into the marketplace. We found Coleman’s and I ordered up a couple of sandwiches, so Jo-Jo fires and some seasoned fries. We tried to get Lillian a sandwich at Michael’s Beef House, another coveted roadfood stop but they were closed.

After eating our delicious sandwiches we left Wheeling and stopped in the town across the WV/OH border to get something for Lillian to eat. We had hoped to find a Subway or something with some kind of sliced cold cut. After taking a turn into the Ohio Valley Mall roundabout I saw something that I hadn’t seen in a long time - a Rax. I don’t think I’d eaten at the Arby’s-ripoff-type place in almost 20 years and I thought they had all gone out of business. Then again it was located right next to a Bonaza. Remebering that Rax had roast beef and figuring they would have turkey we decided to go in. For old times sake I got a regular roast beef sandwich and the photo below is a reminder of why I haven’t been back in 20 years. The turkey was good though.

The rest of the trip went smooth except for the moment where Lillian scratched her face open and we had to stop. I hooked up the XM radio somewhere at this point and listened to the beginning of the Orioles/Devil Rays game.

We hit Columbus shortly before 9pm.

There will be a lot of family time involved in this trip since it is Easter and since my parents might come down on Saturday but I am still posting this ambitious to-do list:

• Have lunch with hopefully Justin and Suzi
• Eat at the hole in the wall Korean place on the corner of High Street and Lane. (I just found out that the name of this place actually is just ‘Korean Restaurant’)
• Hit the Diamond Cellar for research
• Hit Ruehl
• Maybe stop at Dr. Mojoe
• Urban Outfitters
• El Vaquero
• Indigo Nation
• Speeds
• That coney dog place next to Dr. Mojoe