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A New Level of Respect.
This entire trip has been devoted to strictly baseball. We have been to 10 stadiums around the country, walked on the field at Wrigley Field, sat atop the Green Monster in Boston, and had the opportunity to get up close and personal with Babe Ruth’s bat. Today, however, we took some time to pay our respects to this nation’s real heroes.
We began the day by getting our expected dose of baseball by touring the Nationals Stadium in Washington D.C. The tour was awesome, and included walking on the field, sitting in the dug-out, peeking inside the immaculate home locker room, and throwing a couple of pitches in the National’s bullpen. Our tour guide set up a plastic mannequin to simulate a real batter. I toed the rubber first and had trouble finding the zone as I bounced my first pitch and nailed the plastic batsman in the ribs with my second. VanZandt had much the same result on his first pitch, but showed his best stuff on his second offering, freezing the already frozen plastic batter with a fastball at the knees. Ethan filled the zone nicely with his first pitch but went up and in on the second, while Ed had a hard time shaking his jitters, throwing his first pitch low and his second behind the batter.
The tour seemed to end as quickly as it had started, so we headed to the subway and made our way to the famous monuments of D.C. We started at the Washington Memorial before moving on to the World War II memorial. I can’t speak for the rest of the Horsemen, but this memorial gripped me as I walked around reading the quotes and stories of battle sculpted into the granite. One particular quote from Admiral Chester M. Nimitz really got me thinking. It read: “They fought together as brothers-in-arms. They died together and now they sleep side by side, to them we have a solemn obligation.” I have always been thankful for the freedom we enjoy in this country, but I feel like that gratefulness was taken to a whole new level today as I viewed this solemn reminder of the price of our freedom. Millions of men and women died for our freedom, and oftentimes it seems we take it so lightly. I think every American should visit this memorial at least once in their life. I have been awestruck by some of the stadiums we have visited over the last week and a half, but none of them have brought me to tears, as the WWII memorial so powerfully did.
After tearing ourselves from the WWII shrine, we moved on to the Lincoln, Vietnam and Korean Memorials. All of these were as gripping as the next. After walking through all of these historic monuments, my patriotism was strengthened, my thankfulness to our veterans re-awakened, and my sense of responsibility invigorated.
After an emotionally charged early afternoon, our day took a wild twist. We had a tour of the White House set up for 7:30 with Ray, a White House chef. However, we let time sneak away from us while we were looking at the monuments that we did not have time to go back to our hotel before the tour. As you can imagine, we were hot and sweaty after walking around all day in the D.C. humidity, but we had nowhere to shower and not much time to make our appointment on Pennsylvania Avenue.
To add to our lack of showering facilities, Waller forgot his dress clothes at his house. So we came up with a solution; we dropped Waller off at Jos. A Bank in downtown D.C. and set off to find somewhere to park, in hopes there would be a bathroom nearby where we could change. The only place we could find was a parking garage, so we pulled in, got out and begin to hurriedly strip out of our sweaty tourist clothes and into our elegant White House attire. As this was going on, Waller had completed his shopping trip and was trying to call us. However, because we were in a parking garage underground, we did not have a signal and thus did not get his calls. He began to worry and began walking up and down the street looking for us, thinking we had gotten into an accident of some sort.
We finally got changed, and hurried back to ground level in our wrinkled dress clothes that have been smashed into the back of the Tahoe for the last week and a half. We found Waller, who had to run back into Jos. A Bank and change into his complete outfit he had just purchased, while we hailed a cab for the short journey to the President’s abode. We pulled up late to the White House, complete with wrinkled shirts, sweaty bodies, and a great story to tell.
After passing through heavy security, Ray showed us around outside the House, then took us into the West Wing. Once inside, we were not able to take pictures but saw the Oval Office, the kitchen, the outside of the Situation Room, and all kind of other cool secret stuff. One really cool place he took us was the Media room, where major press conferences take place. We took pictures in front of the lectern, with the presidential seal in the background, and even got to use one of the White House’s 26 bathrooms. Not many people can say they relieved themselves inside the most important house in the world, the Four Horsemen can now add that to our list of accomplishments!
There is a ton of other stuff that happened today that I have failed to share, but it the hour is late and the sheer magnitude of what we witnessed today is weighing on us! We’re going to try and get some sleep, but we are planning to stick around D.C. through tomorrow afternoon and try to go see Arlington National Cemetary and the Iwo Jima Memorial before heading to Atlanta for a game on Saturday.
Donation totals are up close to $2,000, but we still need $3,000 more to reach our goal! Can you help us get there? Every little bit helps, and it is for a great cause! http://www.active.com/donate/tylerkomen08/4horsemen
Until tomorrow, I’m Aaron Bearden, for the Four Horsemen, signing off!
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Crab Cakes and Baseball!
According to the movie Wedding Crashers, Maryland is known for crabcakes and football. However, it was crabcakes and their baseball team that impressed the Four Horsemen today.
I’ll get to the game, but first let’s talk about how we got there.
We enjoyed a quality night of sleep last night at VanZandt’s cousin’s house in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, until we awoke to Caeser the parrot squawking in the next room. We went ahead and got up, went downstairs, and called Big D & Bubba to sing the song we wrote a few days ago. We sang our hearts out, with our hosts Brian and Stefanie, humming along with the tune. The catchy little ditty caught Big D & Bubba by surprise and surely delighted our fans. After our tune, we sat down to a huge stack of pancakes, scrambled eggs, fruit salad, and blueberry muffins. After stuffing ourselves, we packed up the car, thanked our generous hosts, and hit the road.
The trip to Baltimore was smooth until an intersection incident where we rear-ended a car in front of us, right in front of the stadium. As it ended up, no damage was done to the other car, so we proceeded into the parking lot and found a spot. Clay Buccholz hooked us up with sweet tickets once again, and we thoroughly enjoyed our perch 35 rows behind the plate.
Red Sox started Jon Lester sailed through five innings of shutout baseball until he floated into stormy waters and was pulled after only 86 pitches. After a duo of Boston relievers loaded the bases, Hideki Okajima entered the game and was greeted by Jay Payton with a go-ahead grand slam to left field. This big fly put the O’s ahead for good, sealing their 6-3 win.
On the way to our hotel, we found a ziploc bag of leftover pancakes from breakfast and took turns hurling them at cars as they exited off the highway we were on. Although we were unsuccesful in our attempt to frisbee them inside open car windows, we received dirty looks and some laughs along the way.
After our pancake escapades, we checked into our hotel room, given to us by a friend of Ed’s mom, and headed to O’Brycki’s for some crab cakes. Although a little pricey, the delicate chunks of crab formed an indivisible melody of goodness that alerted our tastebuds to the delicacy of the pinching little creatures.
We are back in our hotel room now, watching some playoff basketball and regurgitating today’s happenings. We’re headed to Washington D.C. in the morning for a tour of the White House and the Nationals Stadium, as well as a stop at any of the other famous landmarks we see.
Thanks to all the people that donated today for the Komen foundation! We recently received word that a friend donated $1,000 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure in our name, so we have now raised close to $2,000! Keep spreading the word and donating at http://www.active.com/donate/tylerkomen08/4horsemen !!
Sleep is calling my name so I am signing off- see ya’ll tomorrow!
-Aaron
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Cheese steaks and baseball!
Tuesday, May 14
Our day began at 8:58 this morning. We had planned to get up around 8, eat some breakfast, and call Big D & Bubba before we headed to Philadelphia. However, our plans were thwarted because of our serious lack of sleep over the past week. Ethan made the call in time, though, and told Big D & Bubba about our day in the Big Apple and about our plans for today. They suggested we visit Gino’s, a cheese steak joint in Philadelphia made famous by the movie Rocky. After signing off the air, we all crawled back into bed and fell back asleep.
Around 11, we all were finally up and moving around, rested and ready to see what fresh, exciting experiences a new day would have for us. After a delicious brunch cooked by Mrs. Waller, we packed the Tahoe full to the gills and left Connecticut, bound for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with VanZandt at the wheel.
We pulled into Philly around 5 p.m., 30 minutes before we were supposed to meet our Phillies P.R. contact at Citizens Bank Park. We decided to take Big D & Bubba’s advice and hit up Gino’s.
It’s a good thing we did.
Gino’s had three cheese options: Swiss; American; and wiz, as in cheese wiz. We each ordered one and dove in teeth first. I think all of us chose wiz, and 3 out of the 5 of us ordered ours with onions. I am here to tell you, a genuine Philly cheese steak is much better than the attempts at a cheese steak I have tasted before in Texas. The cheesy, meaty, salty, oniony, awesome goodness really hit the spot as we chowed down on the way to the stadium. The food on this trip has been awesome; as we have taste-tested the food each city is famous for. I think we are all in agreement that Philly did not disappoint.
Upon arrival, we received tickets, a tour of the park and an opportunity to get on the field during the Atlanta Braves batting practice.
As we walked onto the field, Ethan was speechless as he watched his favorite players, Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, and Jeff Franceour swing the lumber, just 20 feet from where we were standing. We weren’t on the field very long but it was an awesome feeling as we stood there in the beautiful new Citizens Bank Park.
Our park tour included a view from inside the press box, a look at the Phillies World Series trophy from 1980, and a picture wearing the World Series rings of one of the Phillies old coaches. One funny thing we learned while on the tour of the park is that the sign labeling every room, such as the photography room and grounds crew locker room, has Braille on it, except for the umpires room. “Umpires don’t have a very good sense of humor when it comes to things like that,” our tour guide explained.
After the tour, we headed to our sweet seats located in the second deck, down the third base line.
The visiting Braves opened up the scoring in the first inning with 3 runs off Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick. But the Phils bounced back and took a 5-3 lead into the ninth. Former Astros closer Brad Lidge entered the game, trying to nail down the save in front of the sellout crowd. Due to his past performances with the Astros, we had our doubts, but after allowing a couple of walks and hits, and one run, the Phillies emerged the victor in a classic 1-run game.
We’re staying at VanZandt’s cousin’s house here in PA tonight and heading to Baltimore tomorrow for an afternoon match-up between the Orioles and Red Sox. Before the game, we’re going to try to hook up with some crab cakes; which is apparently the thing to eat in B-more. Any suggestions on where we should go to score some good crab cakes?
It’s time to practice the song we wrote that we are planning to sing to Big D & Bubba in the morning. Until tomorrow, keep us in your prayers and keep donating to the Susan G. Komen for a Cure at http://www.active.com/donate/tylerkomen08/4horsemen !!!
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Four Horsemen take bite out of big apple.
After an exhilarating day at the Hall of Fame yesterday, it was extremely hard getting up this morning at 6 a.m. to begin our trek to NYC. However, we were up and at ‘em early, leaving Waller’s house around 6:45. We took the trusty tahoe to the train station about an hour from the house, and took the train the rest of the way. We ran into some difficulties when trying to call Big D & Bubba because of poor cell phone signal on the train, and when we finally arrived in the big city, Big D & Bubba were swamped with finishing up their show and we were not able to go on the air today. Sorry to all of our loyal listeners [Cook and Callie Bearden especially!]
The day was cold and rainy, but the grim weather did not dampen our spirits as we plunged headlong into the city, ready to see and do as much as possible. We got off the train at Grand Central Station and took pictures inside the magnificent structure. It really is a cool place to hang out and just watch people.
From there, we headed to the World Trade Center site. However, they are doing construction currently on the new trade towers and a memorial, so it was not a great photo opportunity. We continued on through the less than desirable elements and blazed a path, by taxi, to the Statue of Liberty. We saw Lady Liberty herself, beckoning us to come taste of the freedom which she offers with arm outstretched to the heavens, however, we were unable to enjoy the fruits of her liberty due to the ferry being shut down because of the rain. We contemplated making a swim for it, but decided against it, considering the fact we had to walk around the rest of the day.
We then hopped on the subway and shot over to China Town for some delicious Chinese delicacies which were hard to pronounce, but fun to eat.
Next up: Times Square.
With billboards flashing, and our camera bulbs popping, we made our way through the hub of activity that is Times Square. From there, we walked to the Empire State Building to take some pictures and attempt to see the city from a bird’s perspective. Once again, our hopes were dashed as the observation deck was closed.
Undeterred, we continued on with our plans of the day. VanZandt and I, made our way over to the Ed Sullivan Theater for a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman. Unfortunately, we were only able to score two tickets so the other guys walked around Central Park and enjoyed Serendipity 3’s famous frozen hot chocolate. “It was freaking awesome,” said Ethan. But it was not all fun and games in serendipity land, “hot chocolate was $8.50!” He added.
On mine and VanZandt’s end, we arrived to the Ed Sullivan Theater early and waited in line. The girl that gave us our tickets informed us that we were guests of CBS, thanks to Eric Sullivan at CBS19. They sat us in the second row of the balcony. It seems like sitting in the bottom section would be the best seat in the house- not the case. From our perch in the balcony we were able to survey the show as it progressed. It was really cool seeing David Letterman in person and even being shown on-air when they panned the crowd!
All in all, today was an awesome day. We ran into rain. We ran into wind. We ran into ferry closings and $8.50 cups of frozen hot chocolate, but we marched on. Many people would let these disappointments get them down and would probably have given up.
Not the Four Horsemen!
Today concluded our New York excursions. We enjoyed every last minute of it, from sitting by sleeping bums on the subway, to tailgating in the rain at Shea, and from sitting thirty rows up from the plate at Yankee Stadium, to being literally inches away from Babe Ruth’s bat! New York had a lot to offer, and I think the Four Horsemen gave New York a little something in return.
It’s getting late and the excitement of the day is definitely wearing on me so I am going to sign off now, but I will leave you with this line from the movie The Sandlot- “There’s heroes and there’s legends, heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart, and you will never go wrong!”
That might not make sense right now, but it will in time.
Just give it time, and keep donating. We really want to reach our goal of $5,000!
until tomorrow, goodnight and farewell!
-Aaron
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Mother’s Day at the Hall of Fame!
The Four Horsemen took one small step into the Baseball Hall of Fame today, but it ended up being one giant leap ahead in our quest for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
We woke up early this morning at 5:30 to make the 3 1/2 hour pilgrimage to baseball immortality: the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. We had set up a tour with Brad Horn with the Hall, who had agreed to give us free passes and show us the basement. We didn’t know what the basement tour would entail but our minds were racing as we strolled inside the hall, not knowing what we are about to get ourselves into.
Mr. Horn met us, and introduced us to the man he walked up with. His name was Barry Bloom, a reporter for mlb.com! He explained that he was in town covering the Hall’s mother’s day happenings and heard about what we were doing. He asked if it was okay if he followed us around for the day and wrote a story for the official site of Major League Baseball! Obviously, we complied and were more than happy for Mr. Bloom, a seasoned veteran in the sports journalism world who has covered everything from the Super Bowl to numerous World Series’, to follow us around and chat.
We began in the basement.
Mr. Horn led us into the bowels of the Hall. We went through several locked doors as we twisted our way down to the basement, where some of the most priceless baseball artifacts are housed, hidden from the public eye. As we walked into the cool room, the first thing that caught our eye was a cart bedecked with three old wooden bats. On each bat was inscribed the name of the original owner.
Bat number one read George “Babe” Ruth.
We were transfixed, however, we kept our eyes moving to the second bat. Mickey Mantle.
The cool room was definitely not the reason for the chill bumps forming on our skin.
Bat number three continued to reek of excellence as we whispered the name to each other. “Joe DiMaggio.”
The room was silent for a moment as we drank it in- bats belonging to Babe, Joe D. and the Mick, right before our eyes and unimpeded by glass or any other barrier. Not wanting to move, we slowly peeled our eyes away from these wonder sticks to take a look around. Mr. Horn showed us a sweater worn by Ty Cobb and a first-baseman’s mitt sported by Lou Gehrig himself when he was at Columbia University.
The tour didn’t stop there.
Mr. Horn opened up more boxes, housing autographed baseballs, game used cleats, and a glove worn by Bill Haselman when he caught the second of Roger Clemens’ 20 strikeout games.
As we exited the room, we adorned white gloves and took a picture with a pink bat donated by Brandon Claussen, a pitcher for the Reds. Claussen had used the bat on mother’s day in 2006 in the breast cancer awareness game and even though he was a pitcher, he connected and got a hit with it. We were not able to hold the Babe’s bat, but we were able to take a picture with Claussen’s pink bat, which matched perfectly with our pink shirts we were wearing, in honor of Mother’s day.
The rest of the day consisted of touring the regular viewing areas of the Hall of Fame. We spent several hours inside, but could have spent several more days taking in all of the history and reveling in the glory of each artifact. The whole day was a surreal experience, and was almost emotional as we gazed upon the artifacts of the best of the best.
We then headed back here to Waller’s house and ate a delicious mother’s day meal prepared by Andrew’s dad and sister.
Mr. Bloom published his story this afternoon on mlb.com and it can be viewed by clicking here. The story can also be seen at www.baseballhalloffame.com.
Be sure to tune in to www.knue.com to listen to Big D & Bubba in the morning [Monday] at 9:45. We have a little song brewing about our trip and plan to share it on the air.
Although we couldn’t be with our mom’s today, we want them to know we love them very much and appreciate all they have done for us over the years. They are the biggest reasons we are raising money for Susan G. Komen! Help spread the word and let’s raise a lot of money and wipe out breast cancer!
We’re off to NYC tomorrow for sightseeing and a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman. We’ll be back tomorrow with more exciting updates from our day in the big city! Special thanks to the Hall of Fame, mlb.com, and Mr. Barry Bloom.
I love you mom- Aaron
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Yawkey Way!
Greatness. We have seen many great sites so far along our journey: Yankee Stadium, Comerica Park, and Arrowhead Stadium just to name a few. However, our experience today surpassed these other landmarks, in my opinion.
Today, we went to Fenway Park.
I’ll be honest, I am a Texas Ranger fan first and foremost but there is just something about the Boston Red Sox that attracts me. Maybe it’s the 86 years of suffering before they won that beloved World Series trophy in ‘04, or the colorful characters such as Big Papi and Manny Ramirez, or maybe it’s the big green monster, sitting powerfully in left field, daring hitters to scale it’s heights… whatever “it” is, “it” was definitely there today while we toured Fenway.
We left this morning around 9:30 with the Dropkick Murphy’s hit “Shipping up to Boston” blaring from the Tahoe speakers. We arrived in Boston, a little bit early for our tour so we decided to look around the stadium. We hit the team shop on Yawkey Way and circled the perimeter of the park, basking in it’s glory.
At long last, our tour guide, Ryan, met us at gate A and we disappeared inside the friendly confines of Fenway Park. He took us all over the park; from the stands right next to the home dugout, to the top of the green monster, and from the pressbox all the way down into the front office. It was quite the experience as he pointed out numerous historical facts about the ballpark. For instance, we saw the red chair in right field where Ted Williams’ 502 foot homerun landed. He also showed us a display case which housed numerous gold glove awards won by Sox players, past and present.
After touring the stadium for over an hour, he left us with a parting gift: dirt from the field. While this may not sound like much, it is pretty awesome to say we have dirt from the field where Carlton Fisk waved his homerun fair, and where Ted Williams completed his .400 season.
After the tour, we headed out to Boston Harbor and dared Ethan to jump in by offering him over $100. He declined, because Ed wouldn’t hold his clothes.
By this time, we had worked up quite an appetite and headed to Tia’s for some authentic Clam Chowder. We then caught the train back to Fenway and returned to Waller’s house, anxious to embark on a Mother’s Day to remember with a trip to the Hall of Fame.
Over the last few days, we have been working to refine our “Bawstahn” accent. It has been hard overcoming our southern drawls, but by the end of this trip I think we will be ordering pizza pies and eating them in the pawk. [park]
Today has been a memorable day and tomorrow should only get better. We are in the process of uploading more pictures and video and should have them up soon!
Thanks for all the support and keep the donations rolling in for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. With your help we can reach our goal! Go to http://www.active.com/donate/tylerkomen08/4horsemen to donate!
Until tomorrow, for the Four Horsemen, I’m Aaron Bearden, goodnight from Bawstahn, fawget about it!
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Smooth sailing until…
Until today, our trip had been sailing along rather smoothly. When we went to bed last night, we knew rain was forecasted but did not know the extent to which it was scheduled to fall. We woke up early, as has become our custom, and called Big D & Bubba. When we awoke, the green grass of Connecticut was soaked with rain from above. We decided to go head on into Queens, hoping and praying the rain would subside and the Mets would host the Reds as planned.
We packed up the car and pulled out around noon, equipped with a grill, chicken, corn on the cob, and all of the necessary utensils for tailgating. As we drove in the rain, we began to worry that the game would be cancelled. However, we pressed on, valiantly holding out hope that the skies would close and we could hear the two best words in the world: “Play Ball!”
We arrived at Shea Stadium around 3 p.m. only to find a constant drizzle falling upon the stadium and the parking lot we decided to park in. Being the true baseball fanatics that we are, our tailgating went on as planned. We did have to make a few minor adjustments, however, such as using a whole bottle of lighter fluid to get the fire going, and holding an umbrella above the grill for an hour and a half while our grub was being cooked to perfection. At long last, our chicken was ready and we climbed back into the Tahoe to begin masticating.
The chicken was excellent, but we had to wait a little while for our corn on the cob to be fully-cooked. As soon as it was ready, we grabbed an ear and set off on the wet trek to the ballpark. Along the way, we had to cross a road, over which the subway runs, and had to wait a few minutes to cross the street, along with about 15 Mets fans. It was a funny sight indeed; southerners wearing raincoats, toting cameras, and chomping down on ears of corn underneath the subway.
Luckily, we made it to the ballpark and entered in, hoping that the rain had stopped. Unfortunately, as we found our seats, the rain picked up and the temperature dropped considerably to around 45 degrees. We walked around the concourse, ate a foot-long dog, and waited until about 8:15 until the official word came down that the game was cancelled. The Mets were very generous in offering us free tickets to the game, which we unfortunately did not get to see. However, THANK YOU METS!
Unsure of what to do in Queens on a Thursday night, and cold and wet from our previous tailgating experience, we decided to drive back to Andrew Waller’s house and get some rest before we head to Boston tomorrow!
Since we have returned to his house, we have been hard at work concocting a catchy piece of music we hope to share with Big D & Bubba on Monday morning. Make sure you listen in, it is sure to tickle your eardrums as it filters through the airwaves and into your life. We will be on the air around 9:45 on 101.5 KNUE in East Texas, or you can stream it live at www.knue.com. Check it out Monday morning and see what you think about the Four Horsemen’s music making abilities.
It’s after 1 a.m. here in the Northeast and it’s been a long day. I am signing off for now, however, we will be up bright and early tomorrow morning and making our way to Boston for a tour of Fenway and hopefully a delicious meal of authentic clam chowder and perhaps a Boston cream pie or two.
Make sure you keep donating to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure at http://www.active.com/donate/tylerkomen08/4horsemen. We are still a long ways from our goal of $5,000 and need your help to get there. Don’t wait until the trip is over and you can’t donate. Donate today and help put an end to breast cancer!
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love of the game vs. hate of the Yankees
love of the game vs. hate of the yankees Thursday, May 8 - 10 p.m.
Yankee Stadium.
Few sports venues conjure up the level of emotion and history as the home of the Bronx Bombers. Love them or hate them, one must admit the historical significance of a place such is this is unmatched. We arrived today around 11, and could feel a buzz of greatness in the air as we approached the hallowed stadium. To see Yankee Stadium on t.v. is one thing, but to actually walk inside and see the batters box where greats such as Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Joe Dimaggio once dug in is a great feeling. I personally despise the Yankees, but I could hardly contain my excitement as I emerged from the tunnel and found myself staring history in the face.
Although the stadium itself is old and rundown, the chills running up and down our spines were hard to shake as Mike Mussina took the hill, or when Derek Jeter kept his hands back and took a Paul Byrd breaking ball to right field. I hate the pinstripes, but I respect the legacy they have built in the Bronx with their 26 world championships. That respect was strengthened today as I got my first taste of “the house that Ruth built.”
I will quit rambling about this subject now because I am starting to sound like a Yankee fan, which I never want to be accused of, but I just wanted to accurately express what it felt like to finally enter Yankee Stadium, after waiting for years to do so.
A couple of other cool things about the game. Because Latroy Hawkins hooked us up with tickets, we were sitting in the family section, and sat right behind the brothers of Robinson Cano, Bobby Abreu, and Melky Cabrera. We didn’t talk to them much, but it was still cool to rub elbows with the siblings of Yankees.
Also, the Yankees recognized us on the jumbotron during the 5th inning. They flashed a message on the screen and also read it on the public address system. It stated that we were driving five-thousand miles to lots of stadiums and raising money for breast cancer. It was an awesome feeling to know that we really are making a difference by raising money for breast cancer.
We are now in Connecticut at Andrew Waller’s house, our catcher from LeTourneau. We’re worn out and just lying around tonight, but tomorrow we’ll be up and moving early as we plan to see some sights in NYC and catch a Reds-Mets game at Shea Stadium tomorrow night.
Thanks for reading and keep donating! We have raised close to $700 for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure but we’ve driven 2,000 miles, so we need some more donations to keep pace with our goal of 5,000 miles for 5,000 dollars!
Stay tuned, new pictures and video from Detroit and New York will be coming soon!
Keep telling people about what we are doing and donate if you can! Every little bit helps!
Also, we have been talking with Big D & Bubba everyday so far, and will continue to do so throughout our trip. They have been airing our melodious voices around 9:45 a.m. Central Standard Time. You can tune in to 101.5 fm or listen online at www.knue.com.
Goodnight from Connecticut!
-Aaron
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The Motor City!
The Motor City! Wednesday, May 8 - 12 p.m.
Unfortantely, we’re headed out of Chi-town! We ended up staying with Ally, who we met at the White Sox game. She works for the Cubs and is quite the baseball fan. She was gracious enough to let us crash on the floor of her apartment after showing us the sights of Chicago after the game. Chicago is an awesome place, and we wish we had time to spend a few more days and see the Cubs play, but alas, Detroit is calling our name. It’s raining pretty hard as I write, but we are in good hands with our trusty Tahoe and GPS system, which we have named Mindy. Mindy has been a reliable source of direction on this exciting trip, and we are eternally indebted to her. Check back with ya’ll tonight after the Tigers play host to the Red Sox at Comerica Park.
11:30 p.m.
After seeing two great games, we didn’t know if our luck would be sustained through tonight’s game—
It most definitely was.
Thanks to Red Sox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz and his sister Ashleigh, we sat about 30 rows behind the plate at the immaculate Comerica Park. Buchholz started and did not have his best start of the year as he allowed five runs on 10 hits in four innings pitched, however he did strikeout six Tigers. Armando Galarraga was on the bump for the Tigers and had a similar line as he gave up five runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings. He mirrored Buchholz in strikeouts and each pitcher received a no-decision as it came down to a walk-off single by Placido Polanco. The ballgame was knotted up at 8 heading to the ninth until the Sox pushed a run across and seemed to have the game in hand as Jonathan Papelbon cruised in from the bullpen. However, after a bloop hit, an error, a perfect bunt by Pudge Rodriguez, and a broken bat single by Polanco, the Tigers notched the victory, handing Papelbon his first blown save of the season, and Todd Jones his first victory. After seeing great pitching in Kansas City and Chicago, it was refreshing to see a traditional American League slugfest by two of the most high-powered offenses in all of baseball.
We have been eating hotdogs at each stadium, and in my opinion, Detroit’s Italian sausage, with onions and peppers was by far the best. I also think Detroit is the classiest ballpark we have seen thus far on our tour. From the level of play, to the park, to the food, to the fans, Detroit is a great baseball city that every fan should visit.
Well, we have a 1:05 matchup to catch at Yankee Stadium tomorrow so we’re about to pull an all-nighter from Detroit to New York tonight. I’ll check back with you if anything fun happens along the way.
4 a.m.
I’m barely keeping my eyes open as I write this but we just swung through Cleveland to make a stop at Progressive Field, formerly known as Jacobs Field, home of the Cleveland Indians. Because of the late hour [or early, however you want to look at it] we were able to pull right up to the stadium and it was an instant kodak moment as we were all dead-tired. As we were walking back to the Tahoe, a Cleveland cop rolled up and asked if we needed help. We told him what we were doing and that we just wanted to take a picture. He said that was fine but that we needed to hurry up because this is not a very nice part of town and can get dangerous. We jumped in, locked the doors, and continued on. Yankee Stadium here we come!
-Aaron
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no-hit bid and Wrigley Field!
Tuesday, May 6 - 5 a.m.
It’s really early. We’re leaving Kansas City right now and headed to Chicago…more to come later today.
2:30 p.m.
We just enjoyed real pizza—Chicago style! This pizza pie was deep dish and about three inches thick. The cheese, meat, sauce, and other toppings all melded together into a beautiful symphony of taste. It was quite the experience. We’re now back in the car and headed to find Wrigley Field!
3:15 p.m.
We’re pulling up to Wrigley, and it’s located right in the middle of town. Luckily, we just found a parking spot about 100 yards from the field, check back with you in a few.
3:52
Wow! We just walked onto Wrigley Field and sat in the home dugout. It’s hard to put into words how we felt as we stepped onto such an historic playing field. So many great players, so much baseball history, and we were right in the middle of it! As we were leaving the field, I stole a little bit of dirt while our tour guide wasn’t watching. The Cubs are out of town but just getting the opportunity to walk onto the field was the experience of a lifetime. Off to U.S. Cellular Field for a White Sox-Twins game! Special thanks to the Cubs front office!
10:40 p.m.
Game two of our trip was just as good as the first. Sox RHP Gavin Floyd was masterful as he twirled a 1-hit gem in 8 1/3 innings. He had a no-no going into the ninth until Joe Mauer came up with a 1-out double to left-center. The White Sox dominated the Twins 7-1 behind Floyd’s pristine performance. U.S. Cellular Field is nice and their fans are really friendly. Lou Hernandez with the White Sox generously gave us free tickets and BP passes which allowed us into the stadium before the gates opened. We got inside a little bit early and got some pictures with several players, including Jim Thome. Also, the polish sausage with grilled onions is amazing here at U.S. Cellular. We’re not sure where we’re staying tonight but we met several different groups of people who have offered us a place to stay. We’re leaving our options and hopefully we’ll get to sleep tonight! Day three down.
Kauffman Stadium- DONE!
Arrowhead Stadium-DONE!
Wrigley Field- DONE!
U.S. Cellular Field- DONE!
On deck: Detroit tomorrow, with tickets from Clay Buchholz, special thanks to his sister Ashleigh and Clay! New York on Thursday!
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End of a long day…
The first real day of our trip is over and it has been quite the adventure. After throwing around a football on the field at Arrowhead, we set off to conquer Kauffman Stadium. As soon as the gates opened, we were inside!
The Royals donated tickets to our cause and told us they wanted to talk to us on their jumbotron during the game. They weren’t lying when they called it a jumbotron either, that thing is the biggest jumbotron in the world. Our own Dallas Cowboy’s new stadium will soon house the only jumbotron bigger.
After watching batting practice and getting lots of cool pictures of some of our favorite players such as Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter, and Gary Matthews Jr., we strolled to our free seats.
Despite our original predictions, the game was a classic pitcher’s duel throughout. Brett Tomko battled nicely against Ervin Santana for the Halos, however, Santana’s live fastball and devastating offspeed stuff won out, earning him a complete game shutout of the hometown Royals. Final score- Angels 4, Royals 0.
In the 8th inning, they did come talk to us and interview us on the jumbotron. They let us explain our trip to the crowd and Ed deftly spelled out our myspace URL. Hopefully Royals fans will catch the vision and help us reach our goal of $5,000.
We are now bedding down for the night, because we have an eight hour drive to Chicago in the morning. We are leaving KC at 5 a.m. in hopes of arriving to Wrigley by 3. The Cubs have hooked us up with a tour and the White Sox have offered free tickets and said they will allow us to get in the park early and watch BP before the gates open.
….And so, with heavy eyes I sign off for the night, ready for a new day of adventures, and hopefully more donations for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure!!
-Aaron
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Arrowhead and beyond…
Monday, 4:46 p.m.
Monday has been a historic day in horsemen history. We slept in a camper trailer at VanZandt’s aunt and uncle’s house last night, and slept great due to the stresses from our first day on the road. The day began early at 7:30 a.m. as we woke up to prepare for our first national media event. We called Big D & Bubba and got right through. We explained a little bit about our trip, outlined our itinerary, and told them about our myspace page.
Thanks to Ryan Cook we were able to listen to our interview once it was played around 9:45 a.m. We are scheduled to call in every morning from now on at 8, and they should play it around 9:50 a.m. every morning. If you don’t have a local affiliate, you can listen at www.knue.com and stream it live.
Right now, we are sitting in the parking lot at Kauffman Stadium, where the Royals play. The gates don’t open until 5:30, so we are killing time with the Kansas City faithful in the parking lot, throwing a football, and talking baseball.
Our first stop in Kansas City was at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Chiefs. The organization was gracious enough to offer us a quick tour of the bowels of the stadium, and also allowed us to out onto to the playing field. Our jaws dropped and our hearts lifted as we took to the gridiron. My first pass was incomplete, but I rebounded quickly with two touchdown passes in a row. The first was to Ethan “the flying hawaiian” Cravalho, the second was a spiral right into the hands of Ed “the big hurt” Hurta.
Hurta capped his td grab by spiking the football through the uprights. We quickly posed for a group shot on the field before being whisked away to reality, and back on to the street.
It’s time to head up to the stadium now because the gates are soon to open. The Angels are in town, which should make for a slew of firewords from the likes of Vlad Guerrero, GMJ, and Torii Hunter.
We’ll be back after the game with another update!
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post-game….and dinner
I sign back on with a sweaty shirt and a full belly. Before you spend too much time wondering why this is the case, I will enlighten you. After enjoying a delicious home-cooked meal of hamburgers, baked beans, french fries, and tortilla chips, we took to the driveway to ball it up. Considering we only had our headlights to illuminate the court, I think our slam-dunk contest and pick-up basketball game were a riveting success.
Despite exerting ourselves in the hard-fought game, the hamburgers are still sitting rather heavy, and our freshly printed “Four Horsemen” shirts, courtesy of Texas Logo Pros in Longview, are soaked with sweat. The fine folks at Texas Logo Pros generously printed up very high quality garments, which served the dual purpose of road-trip attire and basketball jersey.
Because of the boutiful amount of food served up by VanZandt’s aunt, all of us stuffed our faces beyond belief. Ed devoured three hamburgers, three helpings of french fries, one heaping mound of baked beans, and topped it off with two helpings of a creamy whip cream and butterfinger delicacy. As I look around at my fellow horsemen, everyone appears bloated and worn out from the first day of the trip of a lifetime.
Today served as just an appetizer of what is to come on this journey. Although we have not yet even been to a game, or had any wild and crazy adventures, it feels like we’re in for a very special two weeks.
Tomorrow, our agenda consists of waking up about 7:59 a.m. to call Big D & Bubba at 8. Chances are, VanZandt will not be awake in time, so we plan to have them call him on his cell-phone to wake him up.
After this early morning phone-call on the nation’s airwaves, it’s off to Kansas City! First stop of the day: Arrowhead Stadium. Team representatives for the Chiefs have promised us a tour of the stadium, including a few minutes to throw around the old pig-skin on the Chiefs home gridiron. I plan to score several touchdowns, and probably nail a few long field goals before it’s all said and done. After we display our “futbol americana” skills, it will be time to take in a real sporting event. A clash of two American League opponents: The confusingly named Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim versus the hometown Kansas City Royals. The Royals have graciously offered a tour of their stadium and recognition during the game.
Just to update you on the fund-raising, $485 has been generously donated by all of you for the Tyler affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. This is short of our goal of $5,000, but we still have two weeks to go!
Keep logging on, donating, and telling everyone about our shenanigans! Together we will reach our goal and make a difference!
Until tomorrow, this is Aaron Bearden, signing off and excited for day two of this exciting journey!
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The first leg of many…
As the sun sets on day one of our journey, we are nearing the completion of the first leg of our trip. We are planning to stay in Tulsa tonight with Ryan’s aunt and uncle, before we head to Kansas City tomorrow.
We planned to leave Longview at 3 p.m. but due to a few minor setbacks, we were not able to leave until about 3:45. We still made good time, however, as this road-trip has been everything we ever dreamed it would be.
Although we were sad to leave the great state of Texas, we found nothing but good times waiting on us as we merged onto the Indian National Turnpike in the Sooner state. Armed with a video camera, we approached the first tollbooth where “Shareen” was holding down the fort. Ed, our fearless pilot and navigator for this first leg, struck up a conversation with her and informed her of our road-trip.
“We’re driving five thousand miles in the next two weeks,” he explained in his syrupy voice. “We’re going all the way to New York and back down, visiting ballparks along the way.”
Her face was a mixture of disbelief and astonishment as she smiled and offered a few words. “Ya’ll be safe,” she said, “and have fun!”
Although the exchange was not very long, the horsemen definitely left an impression on our tollbooth friend.
Along the way, we also began trying our hand at writing songs. We started out by going around and each saying one word, hoping it would end up producing a song of memorable proportions. It didn’t take long to realize we were going nowhere fast in our music creating quest. So, we changed our approach, and with the help of Ethan’s beat-boxing abilities, we began to let the lyrics flow like a river current. We broached subjects such as baseball, road-trips, school, and other necessary elements of life. While we have yet to draft a final manuscript of our song, we plan to continue our music exploits tomorrow when we are once again on the road.
We are now pulling up to Ryan’s family’s house and dinner is on the table, so, for the Four Horsemen, I’m Aaron Bearden signing off.
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The Big Day!
Graduation is over and it is time to embark on the “trip of a lifetime!” Although we were excited about graduating from LeTourneau University yesterday, this 5,000 mile road-trip around the country to 13 major league baseball stadiums overshadowed the commencement ceremonies just a little bit. It’s still amazing to us that we can go on the trip of our dreams, and raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Breast cancer has touched all four of us in some way or another and we know the pain it can cause a family. Hopefully, we can reach our goal of raising $5,000, just one dollar for each mile we plan to drive over the next two weeks!
However, the big day has arrived and we are rushing around trying to get packed. Our plan is to leave at 3 p.m. today and head to Tulsa, where we will stay with Ryan’s aunt. The journey really gets going on Monday when we call Big D & Bubba at 8 a.m. as we head to Kansas City for a private tour of Arrowhead stadium and a Royals-Angels game that night!
Everything has really fallen into place over the last few weeks, and local media such as the Longview News-Journal, CBS19, and KLTV7 have been extremely helpful in getting the word out about what we are doing.
To summarize our trip itinerary, we are making stops in Kansas City, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Atlanta, and end it all with a Astros-Rangers game back here in Arlington, Texas. The Royals have donated tickets and have promised an in game interview on the stadium jumbotron, the Cubs are not in town but they have agreed to give us a private tour of Wrigley Field, the Mets have donated tickets and in-game recognition on the jumbotron, the Yankees have agreed to recognize us over the public address system and on the jumbotron, the Baseball Hall of Fame is giving us a “behind the scenes” tour, the Red Sox are not in town while we will be there but they have agreed to give us a free tour of Fenway Park and the Phillies have promised tickets and a “behind the scenes tour.”
Eric Sullivan of CBS19 has helped us score tickets to the Late Show with David Letterman, and a friend of a friend has hooked us up with a tour of the White House while we are in Washington D.C.
We are pumped about this trip and the fund-raising possibilities for the Tyler affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Can you help us reach our goal of $5,000? Check out our myspace at www.myspace.com/drivingforacure and click on the link to donate.
Stay tuned to the News-Journal to track our journey and all of our shenanigans. It is going to be a wild two week ride and we want to give you an inside look! Log-on, get involved, donate, stay up to date, and help us reach our goal for the Tyler affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure!
Special thanks to everyone who has donated so far, including the above mentioned teams, Best Buy in Longview for donating a video camera, and the Longview News-Journal!
-Aaron
Latest comments
Hey John, Long time no see. Hope you’re behaving in the Rose City! Let us hear from you. Paul Walker says hi.
... read the full comment by Ana Walker | Comment on love of the game vs. hate of the Yankees Read love of the game vs. hate of the Yankees
Aaron: Tell Ethan I am glad he didn’t strip down and dive into the harbor for a couple of reasons. First, I told you guys before you left I didn’t have bail money for you. Second, I don’t want any photos of that showing up on the blog. Take care, and bring
... read the full comment by Jack Stallard | Comment on Yawkey Way! Read Yawkey Way!
Aaron —
I’m sure you learned how the New York Jets got their name, despite the rainout. Make sure you take your time in Cooperstown. Ya’ll can get a good breakfast at the Cooperstown Diner — on Main Street.
Be safe.
... read the full comment by Adam J. Holland | Comment on Smooth sailing until... Read Smooth sailing until...
Hey guys, I am a big Yankees fan and I only hope to see Yankee Stadium before the Bronx Bombers move next season. I am formerly sports editor and formerly SID at LeTourneau, too. You guys are doing a great thing for the Susan Koman fund. I envy you for
... read the full comment by John Inman | Comment on love of the game vs. hate of the Yankees Read love of the game vs. hate of the Yankees