Gone to Cincinnati

If you know me at all, then you know that I love the Angels more than any other sports team. For my birthday this year, Kristi, my gorgeous wife, took me to Cincinnati to see the Angels play the Reds. Let me just say that it was an amazing trip, exactly how I would have planned it. First of all, our trip to Cincinnati was smooth in our new car, which we absolutely love. It got amazing mileage, somewhere in the range of 35 mpg, and it was extremely comfortable, and handles well at 70 mph (yeah right, we did 80 most of the way). When we got to Cincinnati, I was blown away but what a cool city it is. The Ohio River separates Kentucky and Ohio, and Cincinnati is just across the river. There are a number of really cool bridges to cross the Ohio River, like this one.

We got to our hotel very quickly once we got into the city. It was a decent hotel, especially considering I only paid $50 for it. We took the opportunity we had to go to the pool and Kristi got a chance to lay out, and I went for a dip. It was a very relaxing afternoon. Before we left for the game, we talked to the concierge and he told us that the stadium was close enough to walk to. It was only 5 blocks from our hotel. It was a nice walk as well. Cincinnati reminded me of Chicago, only smaller, but very cool none the less. So we walked down the street towards the Ohio, and the first thing we came to was Paul Brown Stadium, where the Bengals play. This isn’t a great picture, but it gives you an idea of the stadium, it was very cool. Between Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ballpark (where the Reds play) sits the Underground Railroad Freedom Center, which was a very modern looking building, one I’d like to check out if I ever go back to Cincinnati. Once you pass the Freedom Center, you get to Great American Ballpark, a really awesome stadium. We sat in the cheap seats on Wednesday Night and had really good mezzanine seats on Thursday. Both games were hot; who knew you could sweat that much just by sitting there…I can, we all know that.

Now, down the most important part of the trip: The Games. Of course the good guys won both that we went to. Big John Lackey pitched the first game and got the win, his 10^th, and he was the first in the majors this year to do so, hopefully he’ll pitch in the All Star game in a few weeks. He no hit the Reds for the first four innings, all in all he had a very strong outing. The Angels won 5-3. Shields pitched a strong 7^th and 8^th, and Frankie Rodriguez got his 20^th save in the 9^th. As usual, Vlad Guerrero tore it up with 4 RBI’s in the game. He’s amazing, yet very painful to watch. Everything he does seems pained, yet he absolutely destroys balls.

Before the start of the second game, the Army Golden Knights Parachute Squad dropped in in honor of Flag Day. It was very cool to watch these service men parachute with total accuracy into the stadium. The second game featured Kristi’s new favorite player, Bartolo “Fatboy” Colon. He threw very well, despite giving up 5 runs. It was quite comical watching him “hit” if you can even call that hitting. He ended up getting the win thanks to a little help from his friends, and a six run seventh inning. Reggie Willits, Eric Aybar and O.C. (Orlando Cabrera) all walked in the inning to get things going. Casey Kotchman and Vladdie each had RBI’s in the inning. Vladdie’s RBI’s put the Angels ahead for good. Shields and Frankie again closed out just another Halo Victory. It was an amazing trip, and I’d love to go back to Cincinnati sometime soon. Here’s a few more pics of the trip:
Stadium inside

Riverboat on the Ohio

The View from the Cheap seats