Another day of practice was done and I was off to the showers. I got changed, emptied my locker stuff into my travel bag, got my ziti and meatballs for lunch and got on the bus. We shipped over to the Tampa airport and the whole team unloaded to check their bags, 1 team credit card paid for everyones bags at the check-in, a number that came to about $5000 dollars...yeah we had a lot of bags. We waited at the gate to board the plane and hopped our flight to Phoenix where we had a quick layover, I ate a brutal burrito in the airport, and then caught our flight to Vancouver. We landed in Vancouver at 11:30 or 2:30 for everyone on the east coast now, and I awoke from my 3 hour nap that pretty much got me through the next 2+ hours. Going through customs was quick for the most part, one of our guys Nick Baligod an outfielder from Oral Roberts forgot the team name when getting questioned because he was so tired, swearing up and down that we played for the Canadian Canucks even though our bags told us we were the Vancouver Canadians, but eventually the customs people just accepted the fact it had been a long day and we needed to keep moving. Everyone at baggage claim was giving us looks and pointing as we kept grabbing our bags with the blue jays symbols all over it, it actually was pretty cool to watch, knowing they were pointing at you. We applied for our work visas next, battled it out with the lady at the desk over the currency exchange and then boarded the bus to the hotel. I got to bed about 2:00 out here and then woke up this morning at 10 to get ready. We boarded the bus with all of our luggage and headed for the field and went on into the clubhouse. I walked into the club house to find my locker full of jerseys, hats, undershirts, and other gear for the Canadians. Our colors are red, white, and black, the uniforms are sick and so are the hats. After putting on our white jersey and red hat we took to the field for picture day. You all are going to laugh at this but I got my mug shot for the program and then, no joke, got my picture taken for my baseball card...yeah I have a baseball card. I did a quick film clip for the jumbo tron for when I'm pitching that they show the crowd and then went back to the clubhouse to hang out. Our club house is cool, the skipper's office is where you walk in and then lockers are on the walls all the way around. A big flat screen TV hangs off the wall with a nice stereo and all for music. In the middle are leather couches and chairs for us to hang out on...cards is popular in the clubhouse. Its pretty crazy looking around the clubhouse at everyone because you can tell who signed for big bucks and who were the seniors that didnt have a bargaining chip and took their check and went to play. The high round picks pull out 4 different gloves that haven't even been worn yet, names stitched in, brand new spikes, multiple pairs of shoes, shirts, and you name it, all of which match our team colors. The group of guys on the team seems cool, nobody sticks out as annoying or cocky, everyone has been warm and friendly so far.
We got lunch in town and then came back and went around the stadium meeting people and looking at the stadium itself, its really nice. They just installed a brand new HD jumbotron in the outfield that is unreal. Then we went on the roof of the stadium and saw over to downtown Vancouver...the view is unreal. Skyscrapers that are dwarfed by snow capped mountains that look like they could fall over and crush the city. The mountains are HUGE, and in the evening you can look up and see lights at the top where ski resorts still are open and people ski. Literally people can swim in the ocean and hang out and drive 30 minutes and ski that same day...ridiculous. The 7th game of the stanley cup was tonight in Vancouver and unrfotunately they lost or else this would have been fun night in this town. The whole city was shut down today because of the game, over 100,000 people were in the streets watching the game on TV's they moved in for the game in the middle of the them. I met my host family tonight also at the field, they are nice, Ashley and her 11 year old daughter Olivia. There was a barbeque for the players and host families at the field and then I came home with them, about a 5 minute drive from the field and 10 from downtown is where I live. I have my own floor in the house with my bed room and bathroom and all. It should work out well. Our first game is this friday and of course they are expecting a sellout of over 7000 people. Well, I have practice tomorrow and gotta get some rest, I will post again this weekend.
-Ben
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