Day 6: Key West to ????

I'm filing this bad boy from a Red Lobster in Ft. Pierce, Fla. My waitress finally stopped looking at my screen over my shoulder, giving me the chance to post. It got kind of creepy when she started correcting my grammar in my emails.

I have no idea where I'm going to end up tonight, I've got an eye on Patrick AFB, but think I have the stamina to drive even further north.

I began the morning in Key West, and while I enjoyed driving the Keys during the daytime, the trip is slow (a lot of 45 mph driving) and redundant.

The biggest highlight of my day was my visit to LandShark (sic, nee Joe Robbie, then Dolphin) Stadium in beautiful downtown Miami Gardens. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the New Yankee Stadium for all the things I've said because I think I've found the most soulless place in the entire MLB.

If there were 500 people on hand for the first pitch I'd be shocked (seriously). This is a Major League team that has won more World Series than the Yanks in the 21st Century (2000 was the 20th Century) and has a bunch of exciting young players.

I do have to give credit to a sizable Wisconsin contingent that came out in force. Although, I was kind of creeped out by the grifters wearing Marquette jerseys. Alright, I get it, you're proud you're from Milwaukee, but that D. Wade jersey is not flattering on you. On a side note, is there a word in the English language that sounds like it means more than "grifter"? And why are there so many of them in South Florida?

Granted there was a--surprise--rain delay, which apparently happens often (this is Florida, if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes and it'll change), but that could not have possibly driven away more than a couple dozen fans. Seriously. That said, thank God the new ballpark (scheduled for 2012) will have a retractable roof.


Florida weather

There was some buzz about the Yanks coming to town in a couple weeks, in fact they advertised Derek Jeter and A-Rod during the pregame announcements. It's a sad day when you have a highly successful franchise (2 world titles in less than two decades of existence) and you resort to advertising other teams' players to sell tickets. It should also be noted that the Marlins team shop also sells Mets and Yankees souvenirs, which is just weird.


I'm so lonely

The stadium is huge (it's a football field, first and foremost capable of seating 76,500), but even when the Yanks come into town and it's sold out, it's going to feel empty (baseball capacity is only 38,560). You're so removed from the field. At the same time, the lack of patrons enabled me the opportunity to have a shot at a couple balls during batting practice, and you can get real close to the players on the field and in the bullpens. Also, I didn't have to worry about lines at the concession stands or in the men's room. I did feel awfully lonely, though.


If a tree fell in LandShark Stadium...

So there you have it, LandShark Stadium, Morganobrien.com's least favorite ballpark in America!

Day 5: Key West

Woke up this morning at the Navy Lodge on the campus of Key West Naval Air Station. I was on the third floo...errr I mean third deck. Alright, we get it, you like everything to be like a ship. Shout out to Blake Byczek, former Key West resident, who directed me to the base after I found myself lost last night.

One thing I wasn't expecting was the salute I received upon arriving at the gate. I haven't been saluted in two years, and I'm sporting the worst Irish beard in history, but the sailor still gave it to me. I was kind of embarrassed, but quickly got over that and remembered the pride with which I served when I was in uniform.

Had a great workout this morning, running into downtown Key West and then lifting at the Coast Guard station. Of course, the Coast Guard facility didn't have a shower. I found one, but didn't have soap so I had to use hand soap from the men's room. I smell like Dial right now.

I knocked around town, basking in the 90 degree/sunny weather and visited the Southernmost point in the United States:


Greetings from the bottom of America

I should mention that I tooled around town on a rented moped. I went without my shirt too, that's how cool I am.


Lots of fun to ride, just don't let your friends see you on it!

I was going to try to catch the Marlins tonight, but I think I'm going to stay down here for another night. You can't beat the price at billeting, and I hear the sunsets here are ridiculous. I'll be sure to photograph the events as they occur.

Day 3: Jacksonville to Rockledge

Went for a quick run to kick off the morning and I can tell that New York's cool weather hasn't done me any favors in terms of prepping me for running in the humidity. I haven't sweat like this in a long time.

I was tipped off by one of my former colleagues, the Buckeye State's #1 Gator fan Jill Bohn, about the fact that I was barely an hour from Gainesville, home of my main man Tim Tebow.

Taking a quick look on mapquest showed that Gainesville was kind of on the way to St. Pete, so I had to go. Note: I was looking for the football stadium by typing "The Swamp, Gainesville" into Google. My search yielded a dive bar that Skynyrd probably played in '73 to tune up for Quadrophenia. The Swamp's actual name is Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.



On my drive down, I realized that Florida is the Dodge Challenger capital of America. I've seen five of them on the highway since getting down here. The UF campus is exactly what I expected, and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium was easily accessible. I found the words of Tebow's "Pledge" immortalized on the wall (covered on morganobrien.com earlier this year) and took a picture in front of it. After the picture, I patted it. At that very moment, my doctor called and said that the cancer is in remission. Also, I heard that Kim Jong-Il is planning on stepping down and surrendering all his nuclear ambitions. I'm beginning to think that Tim Tebow's powers are on par with the three wolf moon t-shirt.

Fun Fact: The Swamp also happens to be a magnet for hot coeds who like to run stairs.



After Gainesville, I headed to St. Pete, where I was poised to see your defending American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays square off against the Minnesota Twins. On the way there, I saw a sign for "George M. Steinbrenner Field" and had to make the detour to see the Yanks' Southern Command. It was pretty sharp, and some of the Tampa Yanks were practicing. Nothing much more to report.



Tropicana Field was disarming in that I was expecting it to be hokey, but the place actually had a nice buzz and was fun. Isn't that what baseball should be? The fan base is still working out some kinks (the place felt packed), and they're still learning how to root for a team. The cowbell gimmick they've developed is a lot of fun, and must be f'ing annoying for opposing teams.

The simple fact is that it's tough to sit and watch a ballgame under a dome on a 90-degree/sunny day, and I'll never get over the artificiality that comes with an indoor baseball game.

While we're on the topic of baseball, I've been meaning to mention a couple things about the Yanks trip to Cleveland this weekend. Things kicked off with a bunch of the Yanks taking in Thursday night's Cavs-Magic game. One thing I learned as a coach was that team trips are an awesome opportunity to build camaraderie, and I like that the fellas decided to catch the game together. And don't tell me that the attitude these guys have brought in the past four weeks or so isn't tied at least in some small way to the fact that they're really enjoying playing together.



The NY-Cleveland connection is pretty cool. Little known fact: George Steinbrenner is from Cleveland. Lebron James: Yankee fan. I also always enjoy seeing Mariano in the same arena as other great athletes--seeing Tiger Woods at the Stadium a few years ago when Mo came out of the bullpen was a cool moment.



One more quick note--I have XM, so I can listen to the home feed of ballgames. As the Yanks are in Cleveland, I can listen to the Indians announcers (who have an unhealthy fixation on the Yanks payroll, fwiw). I accidentally hit 880 on my dial and lo and behold, John Sterling's pompous pipes suddenly began filling my ears. I was getting the WCBS signal all the way in Jacksonville. How 'bout that?





The Rays have a tank with stingrays. I pet one (see photos above). It felt like a fish. RIP Crocodile Hunter.

After the Trop, I was off to see my Godmother in Rockledge, outside of Orlando. Made the trip in a little over two hours, and am bedding down for the night. Look forward to heading South tomorrow.

Day 2 (Part I): Chapel Hill to Jacksonville

I left Chapel Hill after my run this morning and headed to Ft. Bragg. As I've said a million times, I'm so happy to be done with my service, but so freaking proud that I can say I served. There's something comforting about going back on a military installation and knowing that I can identify with the folks in uniform. At the same time, I have mixed feelings about not having to shoulder the same responsibilities (the weight of the world) as those men and women.

I was also struck by how young the jr. enlisted folks are beginning to look. And I've noticed more than a few gray hairs sprouting around my temples. Great.


In my mind, I went to Carolina

I picked up some workout clothes (Army PT gear) at Bragg and headed back down 95. I made the requisite pit stop at South of the Border (see photo), did not pick up fireworks, and quickly returned to the highway.



Next stop was Savannah. When I rolled into town, I decided I needed a picture and the first thought that popped into my mind was the cover photo from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. So I Googled the name of the statue, and was directed to Bonaventure Cemetery in neighboring Thunderbolt, Georgia. I punched in the directions into my GPS, saw I was only 5 miles away, and headed over to the graveyard.


Not there anymore

I got there at 8pm to find a bunch of locked gates and the cemetery closes at 5. Do you think that stopped me? I jumped the fence and started looking...and looking...and looking. I couldn't find the dang statue. After a while, I wasn't even sure what it looked like. As the day grew shorter and shorter on light, I decided to cut my losses.

Wouldn't you know, the cemetery is huge! All of a sudden, I was lost in a place I shouldn't be, running out of daylight...and did I mention that this was a creepy graveyard with Spanish Moss and freaky statues? And there was a ton of lightning in the sky.

As much as I wanted to, I didn't panic and found the fence and just followed it around until I could find my car just as the last vespers of daylight shone on this Georgia sunset. Disaster/weird cult sacrifice averted.

As I write this from Denny's, I also learned the following tidbit, which might have been of some use a couple hours ago:

The Bird Girl
The cover photograph of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, taken by Jack Leigh, featured an evocative sculpture of a young girl that had been in the cemetery, essentially unnoticed for over 50 years. The sculpture, which has come to be known as the "Bird Girl", stood on the family plot of Lucy Boyd Trosdal. After the publication of the book, the sculpture was donated to Savannah's Telfair Museum of Art to avoid disturbances by visitors to the cemetery.

Wow. Nice attention to detail. For the record, I did not break into the Telfair Museum of Art tonight.

Got Yanks and Indians on satellite for the ride down to J'ville (there was an hour-plus rain delay tonight), so it should be a smooth trip.

Road Trip Day One: Strong Island to Chapel Hill

I commenced my road trip around noon Thursday departing rainy, 60 degree weather in hopes of finding bluer skies on the South side of the Mason-Dixie. Sure enough things heated up the further South I traveled, and soon I was stuck in the middle of DC rush hour traffic.

Luckily, I have family in the area, so to kill some time and catch up I looked up my brother, Officer O'Brien and we decided to do dinner (at Macaroni Grill). I totally forgot that Officer O'B had recently welcomed a new addition to the family, but was reminded soon after I entered his apartment.


Meeting my Nephew

That's me and my nephew, Barnabas "Barney" Hasinger-O'Brien. I still love Homer, but Barney's pretty cool.



After dinner, I continued my trek, ending up in Chapel Hill, N.C., home of my alma mater and generally considered the Southern part of Heaven. I checked in to a Courtyard by Marriott, which is also hosting members of the Kansas and Dartmouth baseball teams, who are both here for the Super-Regionals of the College World Series. The Road to Omaha starts here!

A fire alarm roused my awake at about 7:55, so I decided to run up to campus. Of course, I forgot to pack workout clothes, so I had the pleasure of running in cotton in 90% humidity. Ah, the days before moisture wicking, how I don't miss thee.

There's a ton of construction going on up on the campus, but I also noticed that a lot of the guys here bear a striking resemblance to Kenneth from 30 Rock. Just saying.

I'm going to keep heading South, looking to end up in Tampa. I don't think I'll make it in time for tonight's game, but should be able to catch Tropicana Field on Saturday morning and add it to my list of ballparks visited.

Day 3: Albuquerque to Salt Lake City

Woke up in Albuquerque and hit Kirtland Air Force Base, my old stomping grounds. I was a shark in the pool and ran another 4.5 for some great cardio. A quick word on exercising out West: the weather's so great, the scenery's so awesome and the pace of life is just right that I find the West the perfect place to get outside and run. New York really doesn't size up on that end (although I still love NY).

At the same time, while I love New York and the pace of life here, I'm truly inspired by the West. Moreso than any other place I lived, New Mexico is my favorite place to press the reset button. More on this when I do my post-trip wrapup.

After leaving base, I met up with some of my old base colleagues and then had lunch with loyal morganobrien.com fanatic, Celena Soto. Man, I worked with some terrific folks.

After lunch, it was time to head back to Salt Lake. The GPS took me on a little different route than I would have figured, I didn't take I-40 but 550. A cool part of that route was that I drove through Bloomfield, which has some tie to the Derby winner. I hear that New Mexico is thrilled about Mine That Bird. From there, it was a scenic drive into Utah.

After driving through Moab, which appears to be an awesome mountain town, I came upon Arches National Park. This time, I got a picture of myself in front of the sign, but I have to admit that I didn't get the shot on my first try:


12th time's the charm!

After Arches, I had a couple hundred miles to Salt Lake...piece of cake, right? It was right up until I was about 150 yards from my exit (about 5 miles from the airport) when the flashing lights appeared in my rearview. Man, I was so close--I'd driven more than 600 miles. I was so close. I was exhausted. I had a little work to do before going to bed. I just wanted to get to my hotel. Alas, it wasn't to be.

I was told I was going 90 in a 65! Damn you, Infiniti FX and your 303 horsepower!!!

The officer was nice, however he brought me back a ticket for 76 in a 65 (which honestly did me a favor, and I appreciate it). But before I signed the ticket, the following exchange occurred:

Me: Would it have helped if I told you my brother was a cop?

Officer: (pulls back the ticket) Where's his jurisdiction?

Me: Fairfax.

Officer: Virginia?

Me: Yes.

Officer: (handing me a the ticket) 90 in a 65, I can't let that go. My wife and kids drive these roads.

END SCENE

Hey, I can't begrudge the guy, that's a fair point. I'm just glad he didn't ask about the contents of the Fiji water bottles on the floor of the passengers side. To tell the truth, didn't even put a dent into my overall awesome time. Just the cost of doing business out West, I guess.

Miles Traveled: 621

Daily wrapup

States visited: 3

Trip Stats

Total Miles Traveled: 1921
Total States Visited: 5
Total National Parks: 2

Day 2: Cheyenne to Albuquerque

Spent the night at the Plains Hotel and woke up to put in a solid hour of roadwork on the streets of downtown Cheyenne. Things are so dead around this city, I could have run in the middle of the street. I felt great exercising at 6,000 feet, which is always reassuring. Too bad I won't be up here for more than a couple days, I love the benefits of legal blood doping.



There's an awesome Union Pacific train depot right across the street that I love to check out.



It's fun to wonder where the tracks and trains are headed:



After that, I hit I-25 and headed on down to Albuquerque. I didn't stop in Denver, Colorado Springs (although I did sneak a peak at USAFA from the road), or Pueblo, which are all great towns. If I had a little more time, I would have stopped in Las Vegas, NM, but really wanted to make it to the Duke City before sundown.

After rolling into ABQ, I dropped by my old crib and took a picture of the view from our apartment:


Sandia means watermelon

Back in town, I made a few phone calls to some of my old colleagues and made dinner plans (Red Lobster, duh). But before meeting up with my old First Sergeant, I ran around Albuquerque Academy, my favorite old trail. Again, I kicked the trail's butt, at 5,500 feet nonetheless. Yeah, that's two workouts in one day. Nice.

After Red Lobster, I turned in for the evening...La Quinta style.

Miles Traveled: 549 miles

Daily wrapup

States visited: 3

Total Miles Traveled: 1300

Day 1: Salt Lake City to Jackson to Casper to Cheyenne

Temple Square

Leg 1: Salt Lake City to Jackson


Got into Salt Lake City around 10:30 Mountain Time. Slept well over the five-hour flight. Thanks to the LIRR and the Air Train, I literally walked to JFK.

Upon arrival, I picked up my rental car. I like feeling like I'm in the cockpit of a fighter jet when I drive and the good folks at Hertz didn't let me down with an Infiniti FX, which was pretty badass:



There's not much to do in Salt Lake, so I drove to Temple Square and took a couple snaps and decided where to go. Thankfully, my FX was equipped with a GPS and after deliberating between Vegas, Reno, Pocatello and a few more garden spots, I decided to head up to Jackson Hole.

One of the cool towns I drove through was just inside the Wyoming/Idaho border, a town called Afton, Wyoming, the home of Olympic champion Rulon Gardner.


Apparently, not everyone loves Rulon


Those are antlers

There was a ton of snow (I drove through some flurries) en route to Jackson, which is a pretty cool little town with some energy too it. I was reminded of Santa Fe when I was there. Spent a little time walking around, and then decided to head over to Casper next.

Miles Traveled:275.15

Leg 2: Jackson to Casper



En route, I drove through the Grand Tetons, named by some lovelorn French explorers (you don't have to be bilingual to figure out what "grand teton" means in French). Unfortunately, a low cloud ceiling kept the lovely tetons concealed. I took some shots by the sign out front, but my laptop ate my memory card, which sucks.

After plowing through the Tetons, I drove through the town of Dubois, which is the hometown of Chance Phelps, the namesake of HBO's awesome flick, Taking Chance. The town was exactly what I expected, with flags and yellow ribbons everywhere. I would have like to have visited the cemetery to pay my respects, but I couldn't find it and felt weird asking.

From there, I drove to Casper, the hometown of Richard Cheney, our 43rd president. I would have loved to have seen a roadside attraction named "Hell's Half Acre," but it was dark out. And it turns out that it's way more than a half acre.

Upon arriving in Casper, I called 411 and got the address of the local Red Lobster, punched it into my GPS and was soon eating lobster pizza. I like to eat seafood as far inland as possible. If I was more like Christiansingstheblues, I would have taken a photo of my meal, alas I did not.

Miles Traveled: 286.93

Leg 3: Casper to Cheyenne



Got into Cheyenne, one of my favorite cow towns, at around midnight. I checked into the Plains Hotel (pics tomorrow) and headed out to the Crown, a local watering hole.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my flack vest. That said, I love that Guinness only costs $4 at bars (that's like buy one, get one free).

Some housekeeping:

To the house band, do we really need the 3 minute guitar solos for every song? Sweet Home is a good enough song on its own merits, trust me.

And to the meth addicts (in my opinion) I spoke with at the bar--just keep your heads up, that DUI isn't going to keep you out of work for too long sweetheart. Besides, I'm sure management was restructuring so it was going to happen anyway.

Hitting the sack and turning in. Looks like I'm headed to Albuquerque in the morning.

Miles Traveled: 178.95

Daily wrapup

States visited: 3

Total Miles Traveled: 741