ddddddddd…we interrupt this inactive baseball blog to bring you notes from Other Teams!!! dddddddddddd

(btw – the Ds are like that “breaking news” sound that happens before old timey announcements.)

Yo baseball…waaaz up??

So, I have been MIA. I know that. You know that. Hell, my mom knows that because she follows my whereabouts via my blog!

BUT, I was on vacation (no, not for 2 months – smartasses) but it takes a lot of mental energy to plan and execute a successful vacation. Well, it takes some drinking, a couple maps, a plane ticket and my Sidekick (cellphone). Let me recap very briefly. Trust me, there’s baseball in it!

Landed in Philly.
Picked up my rental (a glorified peugeot but without the funness of saying “peugeot”) and stopped at every Sonic I could see.
Drove to Delaware.
Ate some crab cakes from a roadside stand (I am hardcore).
Went to Delaware State Fair.
Saw Gin Blossoms and made a prolific statement that they did not age well (sorry…they sounded good though!!!).
Slept in shady motel notell (no, it didn’t rent by the hour.)
Went to Maryland.
Visited family.
Met the famous Metsgrrl.
Sat in sweet seats at the Orioles vs. Royals game thanks to Metsgrrl.
Took a ridiculous amount of pictures of Grienke pitching.
Ate the World’s Best Pretzel (in the shape of an O too).
Realized that I have an accent.
Met with friends
Headed to Pittsburg to meet up with Sarah from Those Girls.
Pretty much fangirled all things related to the Pittsburgh Pirates
Went to Musikfest and pretty much dorked out with The Dirty Dozen
Sang karaoke
Flew home to Minneapolis

Let’s talk about Pittsburgh for a minute (since those are the pictures I have ready to post)!!! The City of Bridges!!! Home of the Super Bowl Champions Steelers and Pirates.

Let’s keep with the abbreviated theme - Things that sum up my trip to Pittsburgh:
*PNC Park
*The coolest mascot!
*Friendly staff
*Beautiful city
*Food
*Beer
*Build Your Own Slushies
*Fantastic seats
*Scoreboard graphics
*Garrett Jones
*Duct Tape Jerseys
*Hot Dogs launching
*Giveaways
*Free country music concert
*Hand Dipped Ice Cream
*Smorgasburgh
*Yingaling
*Vegetarian sandwiches with your choice of roast beef, ham or turkey
*Beer cheese dip
*Sarah

It was an amazing experience and I think Sarah and I fangirled/flailed/oooh-ed/awww-ed enough to have our own travel show – or at least a Visit Pittsburgh.com commercial. I’ll let these pictures tell the story!

Mullet! Straight ahead!

Confused? So were we. WTF Pittsburgh???

View from our seats

Heeeeee’s baaaaaack and throwing out the first pitch

Oh hey Garrett Jones! Zup?

This made me so happy!!! I received a couple “what the hell you doin lady” looks

Criiiiiiiistan Guuuuuuuuzman

Shit! He’s looking right. At. Me.

Why so pretty Pittsburgh?

Some third base coaches use signs. This dude yelled.

I don’t think you mean “vegetarian”

Paper plates with the Pirates logo on it made us say “OMG! This place has EVERYTHING!!!” and add that to our list of Things The New Twins Stadium Needs list.

This dude says “CHEER”, you say “WTF?”

You can check out all my Pittsburgh photos here.

Non-baseball but no less important - Cap in Hand Edition

Hey, are you a fan of live music? Do you want to support keeping smaller bands on the road?? Well, check this out!

I am a fan of this band called Burn Halo. Actually, Vee introduced me to them about…a gazillion years ago. He kept sneaking Burn Halo songs on mixed CDs (that’s soooooo 1999) until I finally admitted that “YES I LIKE THEM!” and went out to buy a copy of their new self-titled CD (which is rad by the way). I know, I know…I usually fangirl Adam Lambert, American Idol, and other random music BUT this band is pretty badass. It’s rock. Harder rock. Like, headbang, turn it up loud, won’t be embarrassed to be stopped at a light in South Minneapolis singing along – rock. Well, they need our help. A series of unfortunate events is hindering (not to be confused with the band, Hinder) their tour. They are asking for monetary support to get themselves back together. Check out their Myspace Blog here – it’s legit yo!

Help Burn Halo, please donate

Also, if you are in the Minnesota/Wisconsin area you should check them out on Thursday, August 20. They are playing at The Rock in Maplewood. Now, y’all know how I feel about the fucking suburbs but I am hauling my city-girl ass out there to check this show out. A.) It’s Burn Halo B.) It’s the Rock which seems pretty awesome and tiny and cool and character-y C.) I am going to this show solo – I am a brave toaster and I can do it!!!

Music of the Day – ch ch check it out
Burn Halo – Dirty Girl