Father/Son Bonding Time

A few years ago we offered a fantastic incentive to Douglas.  The deal was...earn your Eagle Scout award and Dad will take you to a professional baseball game wherever you choose.  We always have skymiles so it sounded pretty reasonable.  Well, the Eagle was earned and when it came time for us to pay up there was just one minor little complication, the economy!  Three years ago we had no idea the market would be where it is today.  So, we turned Douglas loose on his planning and had to tweak it just a bit.  He originally thought he wanted to go to Tampa Bay to watch the Rays.  Where did that come from?  I think he was thinking beaches and sun and pina coladas which were never in the deal to begin with.  As we started researching the trip to Florida we found that the skymiles we had saved up wouldn't get them there, the hotel would be a little pricey not to mention the 6 hour flight if you are lucky enough to go straight through.  I was a little sick to my stomach thinking of the price of that one baseball game.  Another intriguing option to Douglas was St. Louis.  Once again, not enough skymiles and hotel and car and tickets were adding up quickly.  So, I got creative.  We found a time when Boston was playing in Texas.  I have an aunt that lives in Dallas and I knew she would be kind enough to take my boys in.  The flight was low miles, the car was cheap and the lodging was free.  Whew...a way to keep our promise but not break the bank.  When I proposed it to Douglas he was such a good sport.  He agreed that it was an acceptable compromise to our original plan and I am so grateful for his good nature and understanding.  He is truly a great young man.

Day 1 held an afternoon flight that got into Dallas just in time for a little Chick-Fil-A for dinner.  Russell and Douglas made their way to my Aunt Dena and Uncle Mike's house where they settled in and relaxed in front of the Cowboys/Raiders pre-season football game.  We looked into getting tickets for that and weren't willing to pay the $75 for the nose-bleed seats.  Can you believe that?  $75.00 for a pre-season game.  No thanks.

Day 2 was Six Flags day.  Douglas was really excited for this one and Russell was nervous he would get too sick and ruin the outing.  Luckily, he survived.

I am told this was a pretty cool roller coaster that started in the building and then went outside to do a few loops and drops...or something like that.

Douglas' favorite ride was the Titan.  This is one angle.

Towering 25 1/2 stories above the earth, the muscular steel superstructure features one of the world’s mightiest drops at hyper-speeds of 85 miles an hour. Presented by SNICKERS®.

Here is a full view of the coaster from a completely barren parking lot.

I noticed in all of the pictures they took there were hardly any people in the background.  Apparently, it wasn't very crowed.  They walked right on most of the rides.  It was, however, VERY HOT!  With temps in the 105 range and humidity of 30% these guys were melting.  I guess the locals aren't dumb enough to go to the park this time of year and the boy's fun meter ran out in the afternoon.  They took in a movie on the way back to my aunt's house.  Mike and Dena fed them a home cooked meal of steak and potatoes and they were able to hang out with some of my cousin's kids, Joey and Lily, and cool off in the backyard pool.

Day 3 was packed.  Uncle Mike took Douglas and Russell to breakfast at IHOP followed by a tour of the city.  They saw upscale neighborhoods, the American Airlines Center where the Mavericks play, some cattle statues and they drove the parade route where President Kennedy was shot.  That was the most interesting thing to Douglas.

Next on the agenda, tour Texas Stadium.  Of all the things they got to do, this one makes me the most jealous.  I am a die-hard Cowboy fan and I have never been.  Douglas said the building was just huge.  He was impressed by the extra-gigantic jumbo-tron and he LOVED that it was air conditioned.

They got to tour the locker rooms.  Luckily the cheerleaders were only there in picture form!

Russell thought this light was pretty cool and I love the picture of Douglas at the press desk.

Still Day 3. I know, I know.  This is the post that never ends.  I wish the pictures were a little better than phone quality but try to get your husband to carry a camera around!  After the tour of Texas Stadium the guys crossed the parking lot to Ranger's Stadium.  They were finally to the real reason for the trip, the game.

They got to the game 2 hours early so they could watch BP (batting practice) and get autographs.  This is more fun than the game itself!

Douglas thought the players were a little rude.  He would ask for an autograph and they would say "in a minute" and then they would never come back.  He did manage to get 2 signatures...Terry Francona the manager for the Red Sox and Clay Buchholz, a Red Sox pitcher.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this next picture!  The lighting is good, the angle is good, the boy looks so handsome and grown up.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this man.  He is handsome and grown up too but the angle just isn't the same.

One thing Douglas told me was the fries at this ballpark were AMAZING.  He couldn't really tell me what made them so wonderful but he loved them and Russell agreed.  They had to wait for their fries to cook and while they waited they were offered free refills on their soda, quite a bonus on a hot day and a tight budget!

Day 4.  Before coming home the guys were able to pack in a few more things.  I sent them to a store called University Co-Op that I found out about just the day before.  It is packed with Texas Longhorn stuff of every variety and I thought Russell might find some fun things for Stockton's team party this weekend.  It was a fun store but they were pretty rushed and didn't have a lot of time to browse.

They went to another game this day.  It was a mid-day game and it was hot, hot, hot once again.  There were no pre-game warm ups so no need to arrive early.  They did have to leave early to get to the airport.    As they were leaving they could hear the announcer call the play, the crowd start to cheer and the fireworks go off.  They left just as one of the Texas Rangers hit a homerun.  And, they missed it for nothing since their flight was delayed due to lightening.  Oh well.  Nothing you can do about that one!

So, there's my summary of the vacation I didn't get to take.  Hopefully, I got it right.  Earlier I mentioned that the real reason of the trip was to watch the game.  That was part of it but the biggest reason was to make a memory.  There are so many ways we could have rewarded Douglas for earning his Eagle award, all of them would have been equally appropriate and cool.  But, how fun for him and his dad to have a few days together, riding roller coasters, cheering at ball games and eating amazing fries.  I know they have made some memories to last a lifetime!