Thursday, March 11, 2004
"Townies!" -yelled from the Subaru Outback towards anyone and everyone walking along the street
4HIPHOP -License plate seen on the ride home. We then yelled this out at the guy driving the car.
"Don't look over here." -Mark, to a girl in the car next to ours. She then looked over at us. Talk about not following directions.
The Sausage Race!
"Beer, Peanuts, Ice Cold Water!" -Beer vendor walking the aisles prior to the game.
"What are you selling?" -little kid, immediately after the beer vendor said this.
Mark, Mike, Brian, and Aaron attended the Brewers vs. Athletics game as part of a sparse crowd of just over 3000. The Maryvale complex is nice, with immaculate practice fields and training cages. Jim Powell, WTMJ Brewers broadcaster, provided us with tickets to the game. Thanks Jim! Mark decided that he wanted to get Geoff Jenkins' autograph. Brian noted "You'd better hurry up before he gets injured." Mark achieved the goal, getting one of the previous day's baseballs signed after Jenkins was taken out of the game (but not due to injury).
Maryvale Stadium, spring training home of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Ben Sheets
Mark Mulder
Wardrobe malfunction
The Brewers provided a fun opportunity for the kids after the game- running the bases....
What's that white blob out there?
Take note of the height of the rest of the runners.
Mark crosses home plate.
Mark, Mike, and Brian in front of Maryvale Stadium.
Don & Charlie's
After the game, we returned to the hotel. We hung out at the pool and then got ready for dinner. We were to meet one of Mike's friends at a bar, but never did find the place. We then headed to Don & Charlie's for dinner. The restaurant was filled with sports memorabilia, including many autographed baseballs. Brian's friend Aaron joined us for dinner. Aaron, Mark, and Brian all ordered the full slab of baby back ribs, as recommended by our server Rachel (affectionately called "Rach"). Rach claimed that there would be "12 to 14" bones in the ribs. Brian asked that his order have 14. Aaron and Mark received 13 ribs each, and Brian was left with only 12.
"Whoa whoa whoa" -Brian, calling Rachel over
Rachel with the guys
Rachel and another waitress.
At a nearby table, there was a party of two men, one of which looked like Yogi Berra (but likely was not). Rach told these men that their first round was "on the house". Brian then called Rach over and jokingly gave her a hard time, asking why our first round wasn't on the house. Following the meal, Mark and Brian ordered dessert. Mark had creme brulee and Brian a hot fudge sundae. Brian made quite a mess of the sundae, spilling all of the whipped cream and nuts onto the table. He ate all of his fudge and whipped cream, and then asked Rach for a refill of both of those. She granted his wish. When Rach returned with the bill, she let us know that the desserts were "on the house". Rach earned a nice tip.
After dinner, we proceeded to two bars near Don & Charlie's. Upon our arrival at the second one, the place cleared out. We played with the chain mail curtains until the beers were finished (or spilled in Mark's case).
Next up was the PCL, a decent bar with an interesting video of a woman blowing out candles. There was a bachelorette party present, and the bride-to-be insisted on telling Brian how much her implants cost ($4000 each).
Not too far away wasAxis Radius, a two level club with the second level being for VIPs. The beer was pricey and the Axis part of the club was quite crowded. After some time, we managed to sneak upstairs. Once up there, we witnessed a fight which concluded with one of the fighters being pinned by three very large security guards. The guy underneath the pile insisted on continuing to struggle with the guards. We watched as the guards forcefully put the guy's arms behind his back. Result: one dislocated shoulder. Ouch.