The Road to Atlanta

Weddings are a lot like vacations. They both require a ridiculous amount of planning and when successful, the end result is something beautiful. But anyone that has ever planned something relatively complicated knows that plans are like college students; they like to get fucked up.

I was fortunate enough to get to stand in my friend, Kyle's, wedding this past weekend. I've known Kyle longer than I've known almost all of my friends. We met through a semi-Nintendo related message board while we were both still in middle school. I don't really know how it was that we managed to remain so close over the years but I'm sure it didn't hurt that we have nearly identical taste in movies, music, and literature.

Ali, Paul, Kyle circa 2004

We met for the first time in 2004. One of the most interesting parts of our friendship is that we also gradually began to become friends with each others friends as well. A quick glance at Facebook shows me that we have 16 mutual friends which I find kind of impressive for two people that have only met in real life a handful of times. Kyle's friend, Ali, thought it would be a great idea to fly me down as a surprise for Kyle's birthday. It was actually a great idea, though Kyle managed to figure it out ahead of time due to his super sleuthing skills.

Day Tripper: Ohio

Panoramic view from my seat

Now, spending an entire day or two in Ohio, isn't exactly what I'd consider the ideal get-away, but it was still an opportunity to experience something new.  The original plan, was to drive to Cincinnati and go to the Bengals tackle football game and then jump over to Columbus to see my cousin, stay at a hotel for the night and go to the highly touted Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

I originally came up with the idea to travel to different stadiums when I was writing my entry about my trip with my father to Toronto.  I decided to start with Cincinnati because of it's relatively short drive and had decided against Indianapolis because I wanted to experience an outdoor football game.  I wanted to experience the elements, not be pampered and sheltered like I am when I visit Ford Field.  But I still had to find tickets.  I found one a few rows back in the corner of the endzone and when my order processed, I had no choice but to go to the game.

I knew that in order to make it on time (Google Maps told me that it would be about a 4.5 hour drive), I would have to leave very early.  Now, I'm not the smartest man alive and decided to hang out with other family members the night before to watch the Tigers game, which, by the end of it, allowed me a little more than 4 hours of sleep.  So I set my alarm and miraculously woke up on time at 4:30 a.m. to begin my journey.