Fenway Batting Practice Tour

I couldn’t get enough and on top of the park tour I signed up for the Batting Practice (BP) Tour. It was similar to the park tour but we got to hang out on the field for like 5-10 minutes. A bunch of the Padres were having media time in the dugout. It was most definitely worth it.

After the tour I immediately went back into line to be one of the first to enter the park and head down to the Padres dugout to get even more up close and personal. This is the first time i’ve ever done this and I find it interesting that you learn a lot from a player in their pre-game rituals and/or warmups. For example, Deno if the most most focused, O-Dawg is looked and talkative, Latos on game day you never want to talk to, Bud Black is a jokester, and the list goes on…

Of course they always throw balls out into the fans behind the dugout and it usually ALWAYS goes to the kids. I hate that, I was the kid that grew up with this sport and never had a chance to get any balls in the park from players and it wasn’t my fault I aged. Bud Black even gave his cap straight up to a kid wearing Red Sox gear. This was a very cool experience for me whose been brought up into baseball since t-ball.

Fenway Park Tour

I took the red eye into Providence Monday night, drove up to Boston and took the T into Fenway. It was pretty cool riding the T into the city and seeing the towns in and out of Boston. My first mission at Fenway was to take the tour. For $12 you can tour Fenway and learn a little about it. For one thing its pretty crazy playing at Fenway in baseball games your whole life and actually see it in person.

Fenway is the oldest ballpark which is set to make its 100th year anniversary in 2012. Pretty cool how much baseball and traditions have lived throughout this park. The tour was with about 100+ die hard Red Sox fans and 1 Padre fan (me). They sat us down and talked about the details of the park and noted that the seats we were sitting in were the oldest seats in the park or any baseball park in general. They are the same wooden chairs from 1913 or something like that but just repainted. Another cool fact is out in left field is 1 single red chair. That chair was the spot Ted Williams hit a crushing 502ft.

After the tour I had lunch at The Best Sausage Co. which was recommended by one of my coworkers, a native from Boston, to eat that amazing sausage. And YES it was amazing. Probably one of the best ballpark sausages i’ve ever had. I then hung out at the park and signed up again for the Batting Practice Tour…

Fenway Park – Padres vs Red Sox Game #2

Here is the first set of photos of Tuesday nights game. I had redunkulous seats on the 3rd base side beside the Padres dugout. Definitely was awesome to see my Pads out there in the stadium you only hear and see about in video games since I was a kid. To top it off, the Padres played an amazing game with Latos at the mound. It was good to see Gonzo out there but weird in a Sox uni.

Stay tuned for a whole bunch of photos from Fenway coming soon…

Kay’s Graduation K•L•O•L

Spent last Sunday at my sisters graduation at UC Riverside with family. It was the last siblings undergraduate graduation (thank god, i hate big graduation ceremonies). She graduated UCR with a BS in Biology with concentration in Medical Biology. And again, both sisters have finished what I couldn’t do, graduate with a bio major. My status records at SDSU still say pre-bio, but i’m glad the way things have turned out. Momma & daddy are happy and that’s all that matters. Now it’s time for her to take the big leap into dental school. BTW she left to Honduras the day after graduation to clean peoples teeth. That’s how we do.

After graduation we had dinner at the Mission Inn for a delicious buffet. Apparently my sister says LOL a lot so that’s what her posse’s signs are all about. Congrats sister and i’m glad I will have a new roommate back at home. I needed someone to bake me pastries.

Johnny & Lauren Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek of my manager Johnny & his lovely fiancé Lauren. Had a great time cruisin around San Diego taking photos. Now if only the sunset had played nicely that day. Can’t wait for their big day coming up…

Biggie’s Big 30 SD Beer Tour

On Saturday HD & I went on a SD beer tour for Biggie’s dirty 30. We hit up Stone, Lost Abbey and a 1st for me, Mother Earth Brewery. We also topped it off with a post meal at Carlsbad’s Pizza Port. This tour was super fun and definitely left me hangover after a nap. Unlimited samples at Lost Abbey can do a number on you.

Cheers to Biggie and his dirty 30!

Meb Keflezighi

During the Dodge Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon and 1/2 Marathon, I was on the 1/2 marathon press truck taking photos of the lead runner Meb Keflezighi who is the 2004 olympic marathon silver medalist and 2009 New York City Marathon winner. Meb is a hometown kid and it was awesome seeing him blow his competition out the door. Spectators all over the course was cheering on Meb and it was so awesome to see in person.

Busch Stadium – Cardinals vs Giants

Last week I went to the Cardinals vs Giants game solo. Ever since traveling for work, i’ve decided to check out ever stadium I could so Busch Stadium was on the list. This stadium is fairly new and its built pretty modern with a kinda retro stadium feel. The food is the usual ballpark food and nothing stood out. However they had a whole concession stand dedicated to nachos. Everyone around me had nachos so I figured I’d try it and yes was it delicious. The ushers aren’t really adamant about checking your tickets to make sure you’re in the right seats so I took my $21 tickets (retail $65) and scooted down the to the padded field seats along with the other ticket seat stragglers.

In conclusion, I believe Petco Park is still on top without being bias. Busch has nothing around the stadium and without having a iPhone I would have no idea to catch a beer after the game or have real food. At Petco you can literally take a step outside the park and see bars and restaurants everywhere. Another sucky part about Busch is the amount of time I spent to try to walk around outside the park. Little did I know is that I couldn’t. If I wanted to get from home plate to first base I would have to walk all the way around the park.

All in all, great experience.

St Louis Arch – Gateway To The West

During the little free time I had, I visited the famous St Louis Arch that resembles as the “gateway to the west”. Little did I know is that you can go up this sucker via little pods that take you to the top in 4 min. When I say “little” I mean little. These pods sit 5 people and you can’t stand up in it without ducking and you cant sit up straight without your head hitting the ceiling. I was seriously about to freak out.

If you survive to the top, you’ll get to see a great view of Missouri to the west and Illinois to the east. After spending about 10 minutes in a little room at the top I thought it was time to head back down.

Rooster – Crepe. Sandwich. Cafe

Last week I was in St Louis for work and I found one of the best breakfast/brunch restaurant/cafe’s on Yelp. Luckily it was close to my hotel that I could make a stop and try out what they had to offer.

In the heart of downtown was this little cafe that has wraps, sandwiches crepes and more. The dining area was very homey and felt very relaxing. All I needed now was a newspaper to read and to be in my pj’s. Everyone on yelp was glorifying their BLT sandwich they had. On the menu it was called the B.E.L.T. The “E” standing for fried EGG! Egg on everything is good but it just depends on how they make it.

I ordered a mimosa to get the party started and the B.E.L.T and a crepe with nutella & strawberries. I warned the host that I wasn’t going to finish all this and I just ordered it to try it. The first thing I bit into was the B.E.L.T. and yes they made the fried egg (over easy) perfect. After the first bite, the yolk was nice and runny. It had nice thick bacon and it was delicious as what everyone said on yelp. It also came with a side of breakfast potatos which are like soft seasoned potato chips. Now for the best part, the crepe. Even though I feel like you can’t really make crepes wrong, this one was amazing as well.

When in St. Louis I would give this place a try, however beware of the weekends, word around town is there is always a line out the door.

W: http://roosterstl.com/

Secret Agent

I recently did some testing for this shoe company. Actually today is the day I need to return it to the manufacture to conclude the testing with the wear & tear. Hopefully I get in on some future testing.

BBQ Republic Grub Burger

With a pretty weak lunch yesterday, I decided to have a delicious BBQ burger from BBQ Republic. I got the Grub Burger that has pulled pork and cole slaw to go on top of your hamburger patty. However, I was disappointed in this burger. Something was missing and there wasn’t any flavor blowing my mind. Even with spreading bbq sauce it was just lacking something.

I do recommend this place but I highly recommend ordering the Billy Club: Brisket, Pulled Pork and Link Sausage.

Video: Maiya Tanaka Closest to Pin Shot

Here are some videos of the perfect swing of Maiya Tanaka as well as me teeing off a couple of times. And also see what happens when Pro Skate meets Golf.

1st Annual Seany Foundation Golf Charity Tournament

Pro Skater Willy Santos invited me to join him in a charity golf tournament for the Seany Foundation at the Fairbanks Ranch Country Club. Celebrities that were there were Vincent Jackson, Steve Gregory, and women’s pro golfer Maiya Tanaka from The Golf Channel’s Big Break Sandals.

This private country club opened there doors for us and this was by far the best course i’ve played on. When we got there we hit balls in their driving range. You know when you’re at a nice golf course when they stack your driving balls into a pyramid. Afterwards we had a catered lunch in the back patio. It was delicious.

We were paired up with another four-some at the start which just happened to be the Jackson-Gregory four-some. So we trailed them the whole time and I said what-up every now and then and they weren’t too cool to say hi. Another cool part was have a cooler full of beer and soda along the course. Free cold beer is always a plus.

Maiya Tanaka was at our 3rd hole and played her closest to the pin I which I actually won! Definitely a moral booster. At the dinner reception I asked Steve Gregory for a photo and he was cool about it. What was even more cool was that he stood up to talk to me and not shun me off after the photo. I actually ended the convo because I went blank didn’t know what else to ask him. haha. Cool guy.

So much fun for my first tournament. Sure sets my future tournaments bar pretty high now though.

Palm Springs ACE Hotel Vacay

Kicked it in Palm Springs this weekend for a little vacay and it was amazing! Nothing but sunshine. Spent the weekend at one of the most awesome hotels ever at the ACE Hotel, poolside all weekend. Good times with good people. Much needed time away from the computer but not the iPad. Haha.

Oh yeah, they also filmed a Creative Rec promo video on Sunday when we were there. They put some crazy $$$ into this thing with the type of equipment they had. Sorry no pics, iPhone & camera were chillin in the room.