2013 Ballpark Visits

I had the chance to visit two Major League ballparks this season, bringing my total to 29. In April, I took a trip to Miami and got to see a game at Marlins Park (above). It's the newest of all the parks and it definitely showed, although the attendance for a Friday night was paltry at best. In September of 2013, I was able to take a long-awaited journey to Portland, Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. Washington and Oregon became the 40th and 41st states I have spent time in. Portland blew me away as a city, was not expecting it to be that exciting of a place. Seattle was also a great city, and Safeco Field (below) didn't stand out as much as I had hoped, but was a good place to see a game. Just one more ballpark left-- Tropicana Field, which I hope to check out in 2014! When I finish I'll be sure to rate all 30 parks here in my blog.

2012 Ballpark Visits

In 2012, I got a chance to visit 3 Major League ballparks on 2 separate trips. In April, I spent a week in Arizona and Nevada, and got a chance to see a game at Chase Field (see below).

In September of 2012, I took a trip to Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota. This included a game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis (above) and Target Field in Minneapolis (below). Busch Stadium was a nice venue, but Target Field was an absolute gem, one of my top-10 favorite ballparks. I also got a chance to check out the "Field of Dreams" in Dyersville, Iowa, on this trip. It was completely worth the trip and I'd recommend it to anyone who has a remote interest in baseball or the movie.

It was St. Louis that impressed me most as a city in my travels of 2012. Along with Kansas City, it's one of the most underrated cities I've visited in the United States. Missouri as a state definitely surprised me on my two visits there, and I hope to make a return trip to Kansas City and St. Louis in the future.

2011 Ballpark Visits

 In 2011, I took a weeklong trip to Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Kansas City was one of the most underrated cities I have visited. A lot of good BBQ to try, the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, a great brewery in Boulevard, and one of my favorite ballparks in Kauffman Stadium (above).

Texas was a good time as well. I wasn't overly impressed with the Ballpark in Arlington (above) but Minute Maid Park (below) became my favorite of the retractable roof stadiums.

Dream Ride 2013

An article I wrote in August after the conclusion of Dream Ride 2013:

This past weekend, I witnessed pure joy. In one extremely kind act, I was floored by the actions of one man, and the reaction of another. If this is what Dream Ride is all about, I’m hooked. I’m getting ahead of myself though…

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For those of you that don’t know, Dream Ride is a charity event that started in 2001 as a few motorcyclists in Connecticut from Bozzuto’s riding out to raise money for Special Olympics. Bozzuto’s is an independent food distributor in the Northeastern United States. Dream Ride has turned into a huge fundraiser that brought in $520,000 for Special Olympics this year alone. It has expanded from Connecticut to include 10 states and Canada. Dream Ride is a weekend-long event held in CT featuring motorcycles, classic & exotic cars, food, music, and much more. This year was the inaugural Dream Ride Rally, which saw a group of bikers ride from West Palm Beach, FL to Farmington, CT over the course of 8 days and 10 states, leading up to Dream Ride weekend. The Rally alone raised $120,000 of the total for Dream Ride.

Enter Brandon Boterf, a 27-year-old Special Olympic athlete from Wellington, FL. Brandon has both developmental and neuromuscular disorders. This does not keep him from being one of the most knowledgeable people you will ever meet on the subject of cars. If he sees a car, it’s pretty much guaranteed he can name the make and model from memory. At the Kickoff Party for the Dream Ride Rally in West Palm Beach on August 15^th, Brandon got the chance to sit in a few different classic cars, which was so meaningful to him that he was moved to tears. http://youtu.be/4PAcyLLE8eE.

This touched “The Man” behind Dream Ride (he wishes to remain anonymous in this article) so much that he promised on camera that he would get Brandon a ride in a Ferrari. That night, “The Man” handed me the business card of Brandon’s stepfather, Ronnie Wood. He asked that I make sure the contact information got to his assistant so that the Ferrari ride could be set up. Little did I know how soon and on how big of a stage that would happen.

On a side note, Brandon works at a Publix Super Market at home in Florida, often bagging groceries. It is not uncommon for customers to roll their eyes at him, becoming impatient as he tries to do his job right. Brandon just keeps on smiling his thousand-watt smile, and keeps on doing his job. More on this later…

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“Sometimes people do things and they don’t realize the magnitude…it provides so much for these kids that people sometimes don’t even see that.” ~Beth Boterf-Wood

Flash forward six days, as the Dream Ride Rally was making its way through northeast Tennessee on up to Virginia on August 21^st. I’m sitting in the passenger seat of the Sprinter van that was following the motorcycles on their ride. We’re stopped for a minute for construction, which has the road ahead down to one lane. “The Man” behind Dream Ride pulls up alongside the van and gives me the “roll down the window” sign.

“Do you remember the kid from Florida that got emotional when we let him sit in the cars?” “The Man” asked.

“Of course,” I replied. “Brandon. I gave his stepdad’s contact info to Julie so we could set up the Ferrari ride.”

“Well, I want to bring him and his family up to Connecticut for Dream Ride weekend. Can you call him up and invite them? I’ll take care of all of it.”

“Uh… sure!”

Off went “The Man” on his bike, up went the window, and I called Ronnie Wood, Brandon’s stepfather. I left a voicemail explaining that we wanted Brandon up in Connecticut for Dream Ride in less than 2 days, and to please call me back. It was one of the best voicemails I’ve ever left. It would all only get better.

When I got a hold of Mr. Wood shortly thereafter, he seemed even more shocked than I was. He wanted to make sure he understood me correctly, and wasn’t sure that Brandon could make the trip on his own. I told him that “The Man” wasn’t just inviting Brandon; he was inviting Mr. Wood and his wife, Beth, as well. Mr. Wood didn’t know what to say, so he told me he’d check with his wife and Brandon and call me back.

Less than 5 minutes later, I was on the phone with both Mr. and Mrs. Wood, saying how excited Brandon was about the opportunity to come to Connecticut. They told me Brandon could barely speak on the phone when they told him about the invitation.

Brandon and his parents flew from West Palm Beach to Hartford, CT, two days later and were at the Farmington Marriott to welcome in the Dream Ride Rally’s arrival. The Rally group was thrilled to see Brandon, and vice versa. Still, it would all only get better.

The next night, Saturday, August 24^th, was when the magic really happened. The party planned at the Farmington Club had no idea what it was in store for. Hundreds of people filled the big tent, and “The Man” took the stage at 7pm.

“Where’s Brandon?” he boomed over the microphone.

The problem was, 10 minutes earlier Brandon and his parents were waiting for a shuttle at the Farmington Marriott to take them over to the party, which is a 12-minute ride away. Enter Darryl Thomas to the rescue. Darryl is a Bozzuto’s driver who made the trip from Florida to Connecticut and recognized the trio waiting outside the hotel for the shuttle. Darryl had heard a surprise was being planned for 7pm and thought it was going to be cutting it a little close if the group waited for the shuttle. So he had the family hop in his Hummer and sped them over to the Farmington Club. As “The Man” was asking for Brandon over the mic, he was pulling up to the tent in Darryl’s truck, just in the nick of time.

Brandon was already having a good weekend, but it was about get much better. “The Man” announced that courtesy of Peter Castellana, Brandon was going to get a ride not only in a Ferrari, but in the newest, fastest Ferrari model, an F12. Everyone in the tent moved outside to watch Brandon get this chance.

He buckled up, Mr. Castellana started the car, and then it came—pure, unadulterated joy. Brandon wept tears of unbelievable happiness. And I’ll be darned if there was a dry eye in the parking lot. It wasn’t the VIP treatment he received all weekend, it wasn’t being on stage, and it wasn’t the celebrity status that came with being a guest of honor that weekend. No, it was the simple, kind act of letting him sit in his dream car. Brandon got the dream ride of his life, and he showed his thanks without saying a word.

I’d love to show that video to every single person back in Florida and at Publix that has ever grown impatient with or rolled their eyes at Brandon. Show me anything as simply inspiring as this man getting an opportunity to have his dream ride. He smiles through your impatience and rudeness, but is moved to sobbing at the simple kind gesture of a near stranger. If only we could all be wired like that. I’d love to show that video to everyone who is obsessing over Miley Cyrus’ performance and whether Christopher Lane’s murder was racially motivated or not. We’d be worrying a lot less about those things, and a lot more about what we can do to move someone to tears of joy. Let’s not just dream about it, let’s make it happen.