Back in Denver for one night following my flight in & out of Houston, I woke at 6:00am the next day to begin the longest drive between stadiums Denver to St Louis (about 15 hours total).

In order to break the drive up, I decided to check out somewhere new (as the main highway travels through Kansas City where I’ll be for a game shortly), and settled on heading slightly north along interstate-80 to Lincoln, Nebraska.

In stark contrast to the previous drives in the scenic desert of Utah and the picturesque Rocky Mountains of Colorado, I pretty much had 7 continuous hours of this.

 

Although there were some nice spots to rest and recover…

 

Nebraska also had this WILD arch over the highway. No idea why (did not do any research)….

Despite the repetitive scenery and heat, it was a pleasant drive with few interruptions and I arrived in Lincoln (with the clock moving 1-hour forward to Central Time), at about 2:00pm.

First things first, it was important to maintain the car so I booked in for an oil change and quick service. Once “Casa del Nitro” was all clear, it was on to check out the University of Nebraska’s football stadium.

Nebraska has a proud football tradition, with multiple National Champions throughout the 1990’s – although recent seasons have not been as fruitful. The stadium was cool and it felt as if it was the centrepiece of the entire town both literally and figuratively, with every single person walking around rocking their finest “U of Nebraska” or “Go Big Red” t-shirts.

 

 

 

Following my self-guided tour of the stadium, I ventured to local bar “Barry’s” to grab a bite to eat and seek some refuge from the heat. It was here that my server – who’d never met a REAL Australian before – advised me that in the evening there would be a professional baseball game between the local “Lincoln Salt Dogs” and “Fargo-Moorhead Red Hawks”, and I should check it out.

After giving it about 5 seconds of thought, I immediately paid my bill and was back in the car driving 10 minutes away from “Haymarket District” to the Salt Dogs Stadium.

General admission tickets were a steep $5, but I didn’t care. You can’t put a price on an experience like this. Basically, it felt not to dissimilar to a Mosman Rugby game day, with locals relaxing on a grassy hill taking in the action, some people electing to take a seat, plenty of cheap beers & food and kids running around having a blast high off all the sugar.

 

Unfortunately, for the local Salt Dogs, the Red Hawks were too strong and took them down 9-4, though it wasn’t for lack of effort or enthusiasm!

Following the game, I decided I’d treat myself, and booked a hotel in downtown Lincoln (shout out Hotels Tonight app) to properly “Stop, Revive, Survive”. The solid nights sleep and breakfast I’m about to get will be worth it before I continue driving to St Louis for game 9/10 on Thursday.

Until then, be good.

Game number 8/30 came to us from the city of Houston in South-East Texas (basically right on the gulf of Mexico). I managed to survive my flight from Denver only using the bathroom twice – quite the feat from me – and pleasingly the plane arrived 20 minutes early.

As soon as I got off the plane and outside the MASSIVE Houston Airport, the humidity and heat hit me like a ton of bricks. Most people that know my wardrobe will attest that 90% of my t-shirts are grey, so this made for a pleasing spectacle for locals as I sweated up a storm waiting for my UBER ride.

Arriving at my Air Bnb in the “Historic District” of Downtown Houston (located on the North Side of the city), I was greeted by my host “Devon”, a HUGE Houston local (too shy for a picture), that gave me a tour of the historical mansion that had been converted into a hotel of sorts with my own private room and bathroom – I’d highly recommend this place if you ever find yourself in Houston.

Not having much time before the game began, I showered, grabbed my ticket (shouout foodora for the ticket), and put on my Super Bowl XXXVIII Hawaiian Shirt (Patriots over Panthers) as this game was played in Houston and was a nice tie-in that’d surely get me over with the locals.

I arrived at “Minute Maid Park” – home of the local Houston Astros – did a few laps of the perimeter (it pretty much looks just like a massive building with some interesting statues outside), and decided to cool down by having a couple at the dive bar across the street “HTX Fan Tavern”.

Once my whistle was whet, I made my way into the ballpark, which much like Phoenix had a closed roof and PUMPING Air Con (thank god).

The park also had some neat features (see above) such as a train that runs above left field (if someone could explain this to me that’d be great – I assume it’s sponsorship?), plenty of decals highlighting Houston’s triumph in the 2017 World Series, and what has been by FAR the best mascot I’ve seen (apologies to the Elephant in Oakland), “Orbit”.

I assume Orbit is meant to be some alien (shoutout Mark Williams – they’re real god dammit), that fires up the crowd, plays pranks on opposition players (not during play of course), and pretty much has a hand in every activity on game day. They posted a highlights video at the stadium, so check this out via the YouTube below – you won’t be disappointed (note these are from 2016).

The game itself was a beauty, with a big Texan crowd getting LOUD for the Astros contrasted by a decent turn out for the always popular Boston Red Sox who to be fair made just as much noise when their boys went up 2 runs (after a BOMB 2-run homer) in the top of the first.

Houston would get on the board in the bottom of the first with a solo home run of their own which is how the game would stay until the fifth when the Red Sox would tack on 1 run for a 3-1 lead heading into the sixth.

Houston would rally in the seventh reeling in two runs after some solid hitting and Red Sox errors, however power hitting and getting runners on base would prove the difference as the Red Sox piled on another run in the eighth and two in the ninth for a 9-3 victory.

An exciting and fun game for sure, but it was the little differences in the Texas ballpark that made it a unique experience for me.

First off, cheerleaders aren’t a massive thing in baseball, they’re typically reserved for football and you’ll probably see some dancers at an NBA game, so that was very interesting to see (they had plenty of interaction with Orbit too which was a lot of fun).

Secondly, following the traditional singing of “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”, the Houston crowd then all joins together to sing another song “Deep in the Heart of Texas”. A cool tradition that is unique to the Astros, which made me feel as if the locals perhaps viewed themselves as “Texans” first and as “Americans” second. In any case, check the song below (it’ll be stuck in your head all day).

As I was leaving the game, I could see lightning outside and knew I could be in for one of those Gulf Coast storms you hear about. Sure enough, as I exited rain was HAMMERING down and you could legitimately see lightning was striking the buildings in the Downtown area. A situation for sure, but besides getting wet feet, like the hero I am I made it through once again surviving in a situation where a lesser man would have perhaps perished!

I’ll be checking out some more of the historical neighbourhood I’m staying in today, before flying back to Denver to grab my car and continue my quest East for game 9/10 in St Louis Missouri! It’ll likely be at least a two day drive, so I’ll be keeping you all updated via all channels and the blog of this drive through corn fields and ummmmm corn fields.

Also, a quick shoutout to my guy Sam Wolff-Gillings (SWG), for providing feedback and putting together this map of the journey so far – Sam, if you’d like an internship with GDThirtybefore30 it’s yours!

Until then, please enjoy some more pictures from last night!

Following on from my drive through Arizona and delicious food (shoutout Eddie McStiff’s), I had a delightful night sleeping in the “Casa del Nitro” (what I’ve decided I’ll now refer to my car as), waking up early to tackle one of the hikes of Moab within Arches National Park.

Much like the previous day, the scenery was unreal and being surrounded by all of the nature allowed me to further reflect on the journey so far and what was upcoming.

The hike itself wasn’t difficult – despite plenty of people literally looking like they had enough gear to scale Everest – however there were a few cool rocks that you could climb up to check out different views of the vast surrounds (again, I’m no good at describing this stuff so I’ll let the pictures do the talking).

Once this was conquered and feeling like the great explorers of a bygone era, I saddled up once again to begin my drive to Denver – with a bonus pit stop at Wendy’s Burgers (4.2/10 – never again).

Being fortunate enough to have done this drive East along the I-70 a few years ago with my mate Dave (shoutout David Cohen), I knew I was in for a treat and once again the scenery did not disappoint (only the traffic which caused me to be delayed about 2 hours).

I did get to fuel up at what is probably the best named city in the country though 🙂

Feeling good after that fuel stop, I powered through and arrived in beautiful Denver Colorado where I was to stay with my mate from Santa Monica Rugby and recent Denver transplant Saeed (yes – shoutout Saeed).

After being reacquainted and catching up on the last few years over some BBQ (I think I gave it an 8.9/10), we hit the hay ready for the grand tour of Denver (aka – checking out Mile High Stadium, the “Pepsi Center” – home of the Nuggets / Avalanche, and a little bit of downtown).

Arriving early to “Mile High Stadium”, which is the home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos, I was instantly filled with resentment towards the team and specifically the plaques rubbing their recent success of the Patriots in AFC Championship games.

This resentment was quickly offset however, as there was a fun run for heart disease awareness and we found ourselves fortunate enough to be able to join in the fun and even go inside and check it out from field level – something I haven’t done since I went to those two Superbowls (hehe humblebrag).

Following the stadium, we checked the Pepsi Center (no fun run here) and a bit of downtown where there was some chalk festival going on with artists applying their trade to the pavements of the city – not really up my ally, though it was interesting to see how passionate some people are about chalk……..

We then retreated home to chillout (read: sink a couple), before meeting up with our other mate David Jollie (who we’ll just call Jollie from here on) and head downtown to the game (via Jollie’s house as he forgot his wallet – geez that’s not relatable at all).

Coor’s Field is located pretty much smack bang in downtown Denver, and given this was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the fans were pumped to see their boys go up against National League West rivals the LA Dodgers (yay!).

It took a while to get in, but once we found our seats (after meeting up with another friend of a friend – shouout Marianne [sorry I forgot your boyfriend’s name, nice guy though]), we were truly able to take in what was not only an incredible view of the mountains that seemed to frame the entire city, but also some high quality baseball surrounded by typically rowdy Dodger fans (God bless ‘em).

The game itself was a beauty, with both teams scoring runs in the second inning including a Grand Slam Home Run to the Rockies (remember – a home run with the bases loaded). With the Rockies holding onto a 4-2 lead heading into the fourth, the Dodgers would hit a solo home run (Joc Pederson was on fire) to shave the deficiet to 4-3 and then would tie it up in the sixth to make it 4-4.

It was the seventh though that the Dodgers would EXPLODE, silencing the sold out stadium (well only the Rockies fans, the travelling Dodger fans were LOSING it), by piling on 8 runs, to rush out to a 12-4 lead which they would ultimately hold on to for the rest of the game in a CRUSHING victory for the boys in blue.

The action on the field wasn’t the only thing that was getting my engine going. As the time ticked over, Coors Field really began to turn it on with a spectacular sunset that served as a fitting backdrop to what was an awesome day in Denver.

Having a flight to Houston early the next morning, we all agreed to head home and relax so I’d be fresh and ready to go. Smart thinking all round, except I am NOT smart and actually an idiot, so kicked on with the boys and some their mates (shoutout all of you, cannot remember a single name) and eventually ended up asleep on the floor at about 1:00am.

(I don’t actually have any pictures of the night, so here’s a reminder of the best photo ever taken of me)

I’m now sitting within Denver international airport awaiting my flight down South to Houston Texas. I’ll be spending one night there staying in an Air Bnb downtown and taking in what should be an awesome game with the World Series Champion Houston Astros welcoming the always consistent and big drawing Boston Red Sox.

Plenty of content coming, so make sure to keep that dial on GDThirtybefore30 (all channels please).

Have a good one!

 

 

Coming to you live from “Eddie McStiff’s Restaurant” in downtown Moab Utah, the “Thirty before 30” tour is feeling at ease after an eventful few days with some of the most beautiful driving scenery, meeting some awesome people and experiencing game 6/10 played in an air conditioned dome in downtown Phoenix!

This section all began when I was welcomed into Phoenix (after a 7-hour drive from San Diego mostly along the Mexican border) by my host for the next two nights Nicole (who I had previously only met via a phone call and was linked with by my new friends from Seattle – shoutout Paige).

Nicole was an awesome host who went above and beyond providing me with my own room, bathroom, a full stocked fridge and chicken tacos that had been cooking “low ‘n slow” in the crockpot all day. I was extremely thankful for the hospitality, and with Nicole’s hilarious chat and outgoing personality I knew that the game the next day in Phoenix would be one to remember.

We started our morning how any good morning should start with a plethora of bloody mary’s washed down with a couple cold ones before making our way into downtown Phoenix using the light rail. The temperature was beginning to rise into the 40’s by about 11am, so hydration was key – hence why we ensured to pack a few extra coldies for the ride.

We arrived at the stadium where the bar directly across the way had a bunch of games including cornhole, Connect 4 and ping pong ready to go for everyone to get in the mood. I unfortunately lost a tight battle in cornhole, without getting the opportunity to school Nicole in Connect 4 or table tennis (I could smell the fear on her).

 

It was an awesome experience and something that I wish more stadiums would do to get their fans into good spirits (as opposed to Sydney’s train delays and cops protecting us from ourselves…..)

The stadium was my first proper indoor experience (a few years ago I was lucky enough to go to a game in Toronto – shoutout Simon Clarke – however the roof was opened that day).

It was really impressive how the closed roof combined with the air conditioning made for a vastly different contrast to the brutal temperatures outside, and clearly is beneficial to the players who probably wouldn’t make 9 innings if it were set up any other way.

The game itself was a cracker, with the in-form home team (Arizona Diamondbacks), racing out to an early 3-0 lead at the end of the first and putting another run on in the third to take a huge 4-0 lead.

This is where the party would stop for the hometown boys though, as the visiting Cinncinnatti Reds would hit a Grand Slam Home Run (a home run where there is already a runner on each base), to tie it up at 4-4, before adding 2 runs in the sixth, and another in the ninth to storm home winners 7-4.

However, whist it was an action packed, tense game, it was especially notable for two reasons:

The first: Nicole’s friend TJ was pitching and came into the game during the ninth inning (unfortunately giving up a run). It was really cool to see him wave to us from the bullpen and it’s safe to say TJ and I (despite not verbally communicating) are now best friends.

The second: I was able to snag my first ever ball used in a game (with a little help from Nicole)! I truly understand the joy my parents felt the day I was born, holding something so small and precious in their arms whilst instantly falling in love! I promise to love and care for this little guy the rest of my days!

Following the game, Nicole again used her local expertise to take me a few of the awesome bars downtown, including a rooftop with a pool which had incredible views at the mountains and desert in the distance – I wish I could remember the name of this place, because it was truly something special, Nicole please feel free to advise within the comments. We completed an awesome day by grabbing a bite to eat at the local and watching the end of the Stanley Cup (NHL Hockey) finals where Vegas would unfortunately lose to the Washington Capitals, before retiring to my room in preparation for an early start and a lot of driving the next day.

The next morning I woke up, packed the car and sincerely thanked Nicole for the unbelievable hospitality – seriously if you go to Phoenix look her up, she should be running a hotel and tours!

I then set off for Moab Utah, which would be my destination for the night before heading to Denver on Friday.

My friend Dave called me in the morning (he’s been following the road trip closely and providing some expert guidance), and advised that on my way to Moab I had the opportunity to check out a section of the Grand Canyon. After about 3 seconds of deliberation, I decided to take the detour and check out this amazing natural wonder.

Its difficult to describe the scenery and the actual Grand Canyon, so I’ll let the pictures below do the talking. One word that came to my mind was “fake” – as it seriously looks like some perfect painting and it really took my breath away (in a similar vein to getting the ball yesterday did).

Further to the experience, at the risk of falling into the trap of being too “introspective” on a blog where I (poorly) attempt to make people laugh, the land I was driving through and the Grand Canyon was considered Native American “Navajo” land.

Some of you may know that my Dad tragically passed away whilst cycling in these parts back in 2013, and being there by myself allowed me to reflect on his life and how at peace he would have been just enjoying the natural beauty and being on his bike – something he loved more than anything (well a close second after his family & friends).

I missed him a lot today, but rather than be sad about it all I know that he would be proud of what I’m trying to achieve and be stoked that I’m (somewhat) of a “chip off the old block” as they say when it comes to adventurous spirit.

As mentioned in the opening stanza, I’m now comfortably enjoying some free wifi, a bite to eat at “Eddie McStiff’s” (I went with the “Southwest Burger”) and penning this latest post – whilst also tuning into the NBA Finals Game 1 – when will all the sports end? (answer: never).

Thanks again for reading and following, I’m looking forward to more beautiful scenery as I made my way to Denver for game 7/10 on Saturday evening.

Until then, take it easy and please feel free to provide any feedback!