March 29th – April 2nd
2009 POWERade Jam Fest & McDonald’s All-American Games – ESPN Family of Networks – March 30th & April 1st
On Sunday morning I made the drive from Bridgeport to Hartford, CT. It was very rainy, but since there were 3 of us with similar flight times, we had a little caravan going.
My connection was at Washington-Dulles. It was a tight connection so I was a little concerned with me making it and even more concerned about my bags making it. I rarely ever check luggage, but had to since this was a 15-day trip.
Thankfully, upon arriving in DC, I discovered the flight to Miami had been delayed a little. Good news for me and my luggage!
Well, that little delay turned into a couple hours. But I had access to the Red Carpet Club, so it was no big deal.
It did screw up things on the other end of the trip though. Andy, Mike & I were supposed to share a rental car since we got in around the same time (but on different airlines). That didn’t end up happening since 2 of us were delayed.
I had been dreading the trip into Miami for weeks. That airport is a nightmare and I have avoided it for years. When I have to go to that region, I fly into Ft. Lauderdale as it is nice & simple. However, it just wasn’t going to work this time since it was so far from the venue.
I have to admit, it wasn’t so bad. The Miami airport has made numerous improvements since that last time I was there.
At this point, I am absolutely exhausted and so sick of carrying my luggage. I have been on the road for a week and entering my third city.
The wait for a cab wasn’t too bad. Of course the driver spoke no English and had a hard time understanding where my hotel was; even though it’s only about 6 miles away. He proceeds to drive 20 miles an hour so the price would escalate. I was getting really annoyed, but then relieved because he fell asleep behind the wheel 7 times! I didn’t know what to do, so every time his head would fall to his chest or he would snore, I would cough really loud to wake him back up. I was so happy we were on side streets because he was weaving all over the road. If we had been on an interstate, I would have been dead.
Eventually made it unscathed to the Holiday Inn. It was pretty much what I expected. Old, crappy and smelly! But it was going to be home for the next 4 nights, so I better accept it.
As I started to unpack, my friend Mike texted me – everyone was down the street at Friday’s for happy hour. Tempting… I wanted to get unpacked, but I was hungry and thirsty. And it was only a couple blocks away, so I could walk.
Spent the next few hours at Fridays. Happy hour was very cheap!
Later in the evening a few of us went to a place called “Titanic”. Saks had been there many times for lunch and said it had great food. It was karaoke night – oh my! All bad!
We had dinner and drinks and eventually wandered back to the hotel.
I was really bad at taking photos on this trip, sorry. I always had my camera with me – but for whatever reason, forgot to use it.
Monday was the POWERade Jam Fest – which is a cool event for the kids involved. However, this year, we were doing it live for the first time. We had always taped it over a few hours and then edited it down to 1 hour. It proved to be challenging – but fun!
I still want to watch the DVD of the event and count the graphics – I swear there had to be at least 100 over the course of the hour. It was by far the most insanely paced event I have ever done. I had one error, which angered me beyond belief. While one graphic was on the air, I changed it to the next graphic and it was an obvious mistake. It’s something that happens; but for me, it is extremely rare. Only making me more mad.
After the show, there was talk of going to South Beach since we had Tuesday off. But it ended up being just that – ‘talk’. We ended up down the street at Friday’s for happy hour again. We were there for 2 hours; ordered endless appetizers and A LOT of drinks for about 10 of us – bill was only $148! Insane! That’s usually 1 round of drinks for us!
On Tuesday, I slept in and made my way down to the pool around 10a. While enjoying the sun, I also did some laundry since the facilities were right off the patio. Eventually a bunch of the crew ended up poolside. It was a nice & relaxing day for all.
In the afternoon, there was the 3rd Annual ESPN vs McDonald’s basketball game. Stephanie (Saks’ girlfriend) and I went to watch my co-workers play.
2009 POWERade Jam Fest & McDonald’s All-American Games – ESPN Family of Networks – March 30th & April 1st
On Sunday morning I made the drive from Bridgeport to Hartford, CT. It was very rainy, but since there were 3 of us with similar flight times, we had a little caravan going.
My connection was at Washington-Dulles. It was a tight connection so I was a little concerned with me making it and even more concerned about my bags making it. I rarely ever check luggage, but had to since this was a 15-day trip.
Thankfully, upon arriving in DC, I discovered the flight to Miami had been delayed a little. Good news for me and my luggage!
Well, that little delay turned into a couple hours. But I had access to the Red Carpet Club, so it was no big deal.
It did screw up things on the other end of the trip though. Andy, Mike & I were supposed to share a rental car since we got in around the same time (but on different airlines). That didn’t end up happening since 2 of us were delayed.
I had been dreading the trip into Miami for weeks. That airport is a nightmare and I have avoided it for years. When I have to go to that region, I fly into Ft. Lauderdale as it is nice & simple. However, it just wasn’t going to work this time since it was so far from the venue.
I have to admit, it wasn’t so bad. The Miami airport has made numerous improvements since that last time I was there.
At this point, I am absolutely exhausted and so sick of carrying my luggage. I have been on the road for a week and entering my third city.
The wait for a cab wasn’t too bad. Of course the driver spoke no English and had a hard time understanding where my hotel was; even though it’s only about 6 miles away. He proceeds to drive 20 miles an hour so the price would escalate. I was getting really annoyed, but then relieved because he fell asleep behind the wheel 7 times! I didn’t know what to do, so every time his head would fall to his chest or he would snore, I would cough really loud to wake him back up. I was so happy we were on side streets because he was weaving all over the road. If we had been on an interstate, I would have been dead.
Eventually made it unscathed to the Holiday Inn. It was pretty much what I expected. Old, crappy and smelly! But it was going to be home for the next 4 nights, so I better accept it.
As I started to unpack, my friend Mike texted me – everyone was down the street at Friday’s for happy hour. Tempting… I wanted to get unpacked, but I was hungry and thirsty. And it was only a couple blocks away, so I could walk.
Spent the next few hours at Fridays. Happy hour was very cheap!
Later in the evening a few of us went to a place called “Titanic”. Saks had been there many times for lunch and said it had great food. It was karaoke night – oh my! All bad!
We had dinner and drinks and eventually wandered back to the hotel.
I was really bad at taking photos on this trip, sorry. I always had my camera with me – but for whatever reason, forgot to use it.
Monday was the POWERade Jam Fest – which is a cool event for the kids involved. However, this year, we were doing it live for the first time. We had always taped it over a few hours and then edited it down to 1 hour. It proved to be challenging – but fun!
I still want to watch the DVD of the event and count the graphics – I swear there had to be at least 100 over the course of the hour. It was by far the most insanely paced event I have ever done. I had one error, which angered me beyond belief. While one graphic was on the air, I changed it to the next graphic and it was an obvious mistake. It’s something that happens; but for me, it is extremely rare. Only making me more mad.
After the show, there was talk of going to South Beach since we had Tuesday off. But it ended up being just that – ‘talk’. We ended up down the street at Friday’s for happy hour again. We were there for 2 hours; ordered endless appetizers and A LOT of drinks for about 10 of us – bill was only $148! Insane! That’s usually 1 round of drinks for us!
On Tuesday, I slept in and made my way down to the pool around 10a. While enjoying the sun, I also did some laundry since the facilities were right off the patio. Eventually a bunch of the crew ended up poolside. It was a nice & relaxing day for all.
In the afternoon, there was the 3rd Annual ESPN vs McDonald’s basketball game. Stephanie (Saks’ girlfriend) and I went to watch my co-workers play.
ESPN won in overtime.
That evening, Saks, Steph, Mike and I went to a sushi place in downtown Coral Gables. It was really, really good! Of course, I don’t eat sushi – but they had some non-seafood options. After that we walked to an Irish bar for drinks. Sure enough, in no time at all, we had racked up a $150 tab. After 2 nights at Friday’s – we decided it was time to go! And what better place to go? Friday’s for yet another happy hour! Can’t beat $2 drinks!
On Wednesday we had the McDonald’s All-American Girls Game, followed by the Boys Game. Again, a long day and a double header. But this trip is always worth it. We work hard, but we also play hard :)
It was probably midnight before I got back to the hotel. Everyone else went out – I had to pack and catch a few hours of sleep. Mike and I were leaving at 6:15a for the airport.
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