Dependence Day Weekend

The annual summer baseball trek across the Northeast. It has quickly become the most anticipated event of the season for the Toast. Chock full with plenty of Stoh's, sleeping with men, Big K, armbands, Chigago deep dish pizza, and Malorts; last summer's trip quickly became dubbed the "Classic Over-binge Weekend" and this journey would not be the same if it wasn't given the same treatment. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my esteemed pleasure to introduce you to, "Dependence Day Weekend". The countdown till the 4th of July starts now.

Loaded with a tremendous roster of dudes, "Dependence Day Weekend" does have definitely has some potential. We are loaded to the brim with characters old and new, but will there be a Phelps??? Only time will tell. I just hope I can come close to repeating the performance of last year's baseball trip. I did some damage let me tell you. Damage that can never be erased from there brains, no matter the number of Pabsts! So far, it seems that we're all in order. We have Javen, Billy, Willie Moe, Tucker (hopefully with Reyn), JT, Danny, Danny's friend, the Toast, and Dunford. Now that's a full van there. Burly dudes looking to get loaded and enjoy some games. Let us not forget about the pre- and postgame Oklahoma Drills.

As of this Thursday, following a well thought out Beginning II stop on Wednesday night, Jitter and I start heading towards Chicago to grab Danny for a highly touted Brewers matchup with the Twins. Seats in the Beerpen you ask, you better believe it. We get free T-shirts!! From there, the three of us will pick up shop and head to St. Louis for two games at Busch Stadium with the Cards taking on the mighty Jason Bay and Pirates of Pittsburgh.

But we don't stop there. That's just the first leg of the trip. A warmup if you will. Heading back to Syracuse to rendezvious with the rest of the boys is where this thing really gets under way. After forcing the 9/10 of us in a rented van pointed south, "Dependence Day Weekend" takes off in a whirlwind of stops over the course of three days. A game in Philadelphia between the Phillies and the Braves, Camden Yards in Baltimore to see the O's take on the Indians (and some Boog Powell BBQ), and finally a drive down to RFK stadium in Washington to see the Nationals and the Mets. We got a hotel in Philly for a night and one in Baltimore for the two nights. The Atlantic Coast has no idea what is about to hit.

These baseball trips seem to have taken the place of going to concerts and music festivals that my summer's used to hold. I am still waiting for a copy of the tape made by Billy from last year's adventure. I need to study it a bit so I can freshen up on my moves and have a repeat performance of proper drunkening. If last year was any indication of what these annual trips will have in store, there is no way I will be disappointed. I'm just looking forward to getting all of us together again for some sweet beautiful drunk talk....and the eating of grilled meats. I can not wait for the beer brats in Miller Park.

Well, that's about it for now. I have to continue compiling lists of classy 80's hits for some mix cd's to provide a soundtrack for D Day weekend. Feel free to throw out any requests. And don't worry Bill, there will be plenty from Bon Jovi's New Jersey album.

"Who Died and Made You Mark Bellhorn?"

Where have you been Toastedblog?? Let me be the first to apologize to my loyal readers for my blog production has been slipping steadily. The only way to correct this problem, write a little synapsis of what the hell I have been up to. So, in order to satisfy Toastedblog supporters (if they still exist) and to coincide with weather restrictions (its summertime), I give you the short version of my last month. See future Toastedblogs for "real" posts.

Well, let's see, where do we start? I did find myself a job for the summer (that is til grad school) working for a Contractor who knows my father real well. Remember, if you will, back in March I lost my job for some seedy reasons. I now find myself actually making similar money to what I was getting at my last joint; and the real bonus, I am working outside all of the time as opposed to crappy office. Can you say golden brown Toast? Reverse Dang It!! A semi-tan Irishman!!! Its great let me tell you. No longer am I a pasty Toast.

We finished our spring rugby season the other week beating Saranac, and drinking afterwards!! Nice!! As a quick sidenote, I think I have been playing the last few weeks with a broken bone in my hand, right near where the thumb meets the wrist. While tackling some dude three weeks ago playing against a team from Fort Drum, my hand got stuck underneath him and we kinda slammed on top of it. I continued playing only stop to quickly tape up my thumb to prevent it from moving around. However, the days that followed saw my hand swell up to twice its size and me not being able to turn a doorknob. Well, its been a while and it really isn't bothering me anymore. From time to time I can notice something but, if it really was broken, I would have known it right?? I broke my wrist similarly in a hockey game in high school. By similarly, I mean that I didn't know anything was wrong until three days later. Anywho, we're doing ok now.

So, how does this Toastedblog title fit this post?? It makes no sense!! Well, it would if you were where I was last week. I WENT TO FENWAY!! Last weekend I hit up Boston with good buddies (and fellow Sox fans) Joe and Kyle for a few games. Some dude I ran into in the beer line had the best t-shirt ever!! The aforementioned "Who died and made you Mark Bellhorn". Simply put, a great tee!! So, I saw the Sox bullpen get ripped in a 13-6 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from the bleachers in Right Field last Saturday. We followed that up by sitting in the fourth row behind home plate in a 6-3 victory on Sunday. I sat in front of the radar gun guy!! We stayed in a hotel about a half mile from the Park and just soaked in all of the sites and the sounds of a weekend in Beantown. Let me be the first to say, it was good times!!

Well, time restrictions have hit and its time for me to head on out. One of the best things about summer, the outdoor beer. I would like to extend another apology for my lazy posting. Please continue to read. They'll be better I swear!! That's it, I'm out!!