Red Sox vs Twins 5.8.13

Went to the Sox game tonight, with Alaina. The Sox sucked and lost 15-8. But I love being at Fenway anyway! The fans this year are not taking the BS of the Sox, if they lose most leave, as was the case here. It was kind of interesting to watch the place empty out before the game ended, something I had never seen before. Hopefully this isnt the start of a losing streak! Even though they lost, I still had fun...only thing was it was probably a bad idea to book a Sox game so close to returning from vacation!! Almost fell asleep around 8 pm, as had been my MO lately!

Johnny Baseball-Post from 2010 That I realized had never posted

This was not a show I saw in NYC, but at the American Repertory Theater in Boston. I had been in anticipation of this show for over a year(when the Boston Pops promoted it at their Red Sox Album concert in May of 2009!), so I was excited the show was finally open!

I was not disappointed!

Synopsis:
This is the story of a young ball player, Johnny O Brien, who is on the Red Sox in the early 1900's, and befriends Babe Ruth. Ruth takes him to a night club where he falls in love with the singer, Daisy Wyatt, who is African-American. Being that it is the 1900's, white and black marriage is not acceptable in any way, but Johnny is prepared to deal with that as he proposes to Daisy. Daisy however, doesn't accept due to a deal she was given to NOT accept, so his career wouldn't suffer and for compensation, hers could take off. She couldn't turn that down, so she left town to save his career and start hers. About 20 years later, baseball and the world is changing and black ball players are being allowed to try out for the professional teams. Two black ball players try out for the Sox, and it turns out that one is the son of Johnny and Daisy. Daisy had implored to Johnny to help her son achieve his dream, finally admitting that her son is actually his son. His son doesn't make the team, and he turns to God, and says "God curse the Boston Red Sox, and all the boys who dream." The Red Sox(as everyone knows) does not win another game. Flash forward to 2004, all the fans are in the stands at Fenway hoping and praying the Sox are going to win. Right now, the prognosis is not good. An elderly black gentleman has been telling the story of Johnny O Brien to this little boy the entire game. The little boy questions the motive of the black ball player by asking why he cursed the team for the future players and fans. Here you learn the black gentleman WAS that ball player, and he lifts the curse by saying, "God bless the Boston Red Sox and all the boys who dream." And then David Ortiz gets that homer, and wins the game and the rest is history! I like the fact that the story goes back and forth between the 1920's and 2004. The songs are excellent also! And the acting was excellent! I would definitely see another show here! I just wish they had a soundtrack out! ** I just would like to add that I still feel this was a top notch performance, and it SHOULD go to Broadway...hint hint producers out there...its an ORIGINAL MUSICAL(which we need MUCH MUCH MORE of, no more movies to musicals please!) It also covers a subject that is America's pasttime: baseball...and its an underdog story...plus the Sox have a lot of fans out there(this girl included!) Damn Yankees got their shot on the Great White Way, why not the Red Sox???

Hawaii and California, 4.28.13-5.5.13

Aloha! I went on vacation to BEAUTIFUL Hawaii! We stayed in Princeville, on the island of Kauai from Sunday-Thursday. Hawaii is GORGEOUS!! But very hot! And there is no air conditioning, not even in our resort! Walmart is considered a tourist attraction. They have air conditioning, but no bags! You have to bring your own! Unreal! Our resort was the Wyndham Bali Hai, and it was gorgeous! Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, washer/dryer, jacuzzi, dishwasher, and two patios! We were right near the pool, which was also gorgeous! Our Resort: The first day we were tired(we had come from California where we had had an overnight) but we did a lot of sitting around, me in Lihue(Kauai's airport) because I got on a flight before my family, and they did a lot of time sitting in California. The resort was an hour from the airport, and you have to drive S-L-O-W in Hawaii, the speed limits are ridiculously slow! So we only ventured out in the evening, where we learned the only thing open til a decent hour was the grocery store! Everything else closed by 8! Interesting. Second day, we went exploring. We discovered the feral chickens and roosters all over the island. We also found a random beach with high surf, Wailua Falls, Where Fantasy Island was filmed, and Opaekaa Falls, where Gilligans Island was filmed. The areas were really pretty! In the afternoon/evening we went to the Smith Family Garden Luau, where we took a boat over to Fern Grove, which was really pretty! And we got to walk the gorgeous gardens filled with flamingos! Then we had a real luau dinner and show, which was great! Random Beach, Wailua Falls, Opaekaa Falls, Fern Grove, Smith Family Luau Third day we went to the Kauai Coffee Plantation, which was kind of cool to see. They even gave out free cups of coffee, many different flavors. Too bad I don't like coffee! My family said they had the best malasadas there, too. Then we went to see Spouting Horn, which is really cool, the ocean hits up against lava tubes and "spouts" like Old Faithful! After Spouting Horn, we went to one of the Botanical Gardens on Kauai, which was gorgeous! We also found Glass Beach, but that was a disappointment, as the pieces of glass were so tiny! After that, we went on a sunset cruise on a catamaran. Saw the Napali Coast, which is amazing and gorgeous, a beautiful sunset, and even some breaching humpback whales! Kauai Coffee Plantation, Spouting Horn, Botanical Garden, Napali Coast, Sunset, Whales Day 4 we were up bright and early for an airplane ride around the island! We got to see the entire island, and it was beautiful! In the afternoon we just relaxed and took it easy, as we were leaving early for Ohau. I did get some nice pics of the resort and pool though! Kauai From the Sky, Resort and Pool Day 5 we bid adieu to Kauai, and hopped a flight to Ohau where we spent the day at Pearl Harbor-USS Missouri, and USS Arizona Memorial. I liked them both, it was really cool to be on the Missouri, and sad to be at the Arizona Memorial. However, I was annoyed by the group of late teen-early twenty somethings who thought it was appropriate to make duck faces and smile and pose for pictures. It was a sad place, a place where people lost their lives 72 years ago, and here were these children being disrespectful. There is still oil leaking from the Arizona, which rests beneath the surface under the Memorial. So incredible that it is still there! After Pearl Harbor, we went to the Bishop Museum, which was a great museum, featuring a working volcano three stories high! Amongst other cool things. After the Bishop Museum, we closed the day at Waikiki Beach, which was busy and fun! After Waikiki we hopped a red eye to California! Day 6 and 7 we spent in California, visiting our relatives. We were in the San Francisco area. It was really nice to see them, but too quick a visit! I did take pics of the marina, though. San Francisco Marina