I Made It To Connecticut

Welcome back, everyone!  I know it's been awhile since I've posted (last Monday was the last time I had a post), but it's been a pretty busy last two weeks.  If you've been reading  the blog for awhile, you'll know that I moved to Connecticut this past weekend. 

The ride out wasn't as bad as I anticipated, but that may be because my wonderful boyfriend did most of the driving.  I drove for about forty minutes in New York while he took a quick nap, but that was all.  I was very thankful for this, since I didn't know what exits to take and didn't feel comfortable driving on the highway (side note: in the Northeast, they do not call Interstates "interstates," they are called "highways."  My boyfriend has been telling me this for months now, but I don't think I'll be able to say "highway" when they technically are "interstates.").

I thought I'd post some of the pictures I took while on our drive:

I needed a pictures of the "Davenport" sign before I left.  I'd like to eventually get this pictures put on canvas and hang either in our office or living room, as well as an "Amesbury" sign for my boyfriend's home town of Amesbury, Massachusetts.

We weren't too far out of the Quad Cities when we came across the Jelly Belly RV and Bug.  I particularly enjoyed the stuffed Jelly Belly "driving" the car in the second photo.

We made it to Peru, Illinois before my bike rack broke.  Word of warning: if you have a step-through bike (like I do), you may need to check to see if an adapter is needed to mount onto a bike rack.  I went to a bicycle shop to make sure the bike rack I bought was going to hold-up for the 18 hour car drive.  The bike shop did not sell me the adapter though; and 1 hour and 15 minutes in, the bike was flapping around behind my car.  

Luckily, we were about 20 feet from an exit, and we were able to pull into a gas station parking lot.  My boyfriend's great and never seems to get flustered, unlike me.  I was a little anxious about my bike.  The two possibilities for me would be to leave the bike at the gas station for my parents to pick up or wait at the gas station for my parents to pick the bike up.  

My boyfriend, however, figured out how to take the bike apart into three pieces and fit it into the car.  We may have gotten grease from the bike chain on our clothing and the back headrest of my car, but the bike is at the apartment and put back together.  Thank you, Cole.

We were in Indiana when we game across this guy.  If you're unable to read the sticker, it reads "Sasquatch Research Team."  It was legit too.  It was this guy with California license plates smoking a cigar pulling a U-Haul trailer behind him, probably containing his equipment.

Lastly, "The Jake," formerly known as "Jacob's Field."  We checked to see if the Indians were playing at home, but they were in Detroit.  I kind of wanted to see Francona.

My boyfriend's dad and his family live in Buffalo, New York, so that was our stopping place Saturday night.  We were exhausted, but somehow managed to stay awake to watch a movie.  The next day, we went to waterfront and had lunch.  I had authentic "Buffalo wings" and "Beef on Weck" for lunch.  I got the staples in.

We arrived at our apartment around 9:45 Sunday night.  It was a little strange walking into this apartment and saying "we made it home."  Davenport has been my home for the last 28 1/2 years, and it's strange to think of any other place as "home."  However, change can sometimes be a good thing.

I'm going to miss my family and friends greatly while I'm in Connecticut, but I know that I can visit them and they can visit me whenever we like.  For those who would like to visit, Hartford has an airport and an Amtrak station.  It is pretty exciting that I will get to see two of my closest friends this coming weekend...

... which brings me to my Red Sox news!  As I've mentioned before, I will be going to the Red Sox v. Yankees game at Fenway Park on the 14th.  However, as of last night, I will be going to the Red Sox v. Yankees game at Yankee Stadium this coming Saturday too!  I've never been to New York City before, so I'm pretty excited for that, even if it will be brief.  Just being able to have the opportunity to go to both these games is amazing!

Unfortunately, that's all I am able to write about the Red Sox at the moment.  The cable guy doesn't come to the apartment until tomorrow, so I haven't been able to watch a game since last week.  (Kind of ironic that I move CLOSER to the Red Sox and can't watch a game, right?  Thank you MLB Blackout restrictions...).  

I also won't be having a Twitter Friday post this week, as I didn't have Wi-Fi until Monday evening and haven't been able to keep track of the tweets.  I will do a regular post of some-sort on Friday though.  You can still follow the blog's Twitter feed @BornIntoItInIA and my personal Twitter account @AshleyAries.  

Red Sox Win and Moving Week

The Red Sox were able to pull off a series victory of the hot Dodgers this weekend.  The Red Sox became the first team since mid-June that had beat the Dodgers in a series.  There were definitely some good things to take away from this series.

The Red Sox starting pitching was very impressive.  Even though he received the lost Friday, Lackey held the Dodgers to two runs (coming off a Hanley Ramirez home run).  He had a complete, eight-inning game with only 3 hits, 0 walks, and 6 strikeouts.

Saturday, Lester was back in top form to get the 4-2 win.  He pitched 7.1 innings, gave up 3 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, and had 6 strikeouts.  He also lowered his ERA to 3.97. 

Sunday, Peavey pitched a complete game in a 8-1 win.  He was rolling too.  It only took him 111 pitches to get through the dangerous Dodgers line-up, and he only surrendered 1 run on an Adrian Gonzalez home run.  In his 9 innings, he had 3 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts.

So, in the course of 3 games, the Red Sox starting pitching gave up a total of 9 hits to the hottest team in baseball.  I'd call that a successful trip.

Xander Bogaerts had his first Major-League hit on Saturday when he pinch-hit for Breslow in the top of the 9th inning.  He followed that up on Sunday with 2 hits, including a double.  In the small sample size, he's hitting .333.

The Red Sox have an off-day today, which is deserved after taking two series on the West Coast.

In other news, I will be starting my move to Connecticut on Saturday morning.  What does this mean to the blog?  This will probably be the only blog post for the rest of the week, as I still have a lot to do both at work and at home.  The hope is to post once I get semi-settled in Connecticut next week, either Monday or Tuesday.

This blog has seen a huge surge in views over the past couple months, and I really appreciate it.  Remember, you can also follow the blog on Twitter @BornIntoItInIA.  I'm sure I'll find a few minutes to tweet this week, so check it out.

Thanks again for finding the blog, and I'll let everyone know how the move (and Red Sox) went next week!

I Am Moving To Connecticut

http://www.ronsaari.com/stockImages/hartford/HartfordSkylineAtTwilight.php



Well, this is slightly Red Sox related (but not really), but it does impact this blog.  Remember that HUGE news I’ve been hinting at?  Well, I couldn’t wait any longer!  I am moving to Hartford, Connecticut!  I wanted to make sure my family, close friends, and work knew before I made this public, which is why the delay.

Why am I moving to Connecticut, you ask?  Well, my boyfriend was offered a new position with the company he works for, and he asked me to go with him.  He is actually moving next Friday, July 12^th.  I have a few things I need to get finished in Davenport, and I wanted to give my work plenty of notice (9 weeks should be sufficient).

My boyfriend found the possibility of the new position about a month ago, and we discussed it at length as soon as he found out.  At that time, it was just a possibility, and we went over every scenario that could play out for us (I’m sure of this because it was mostly me going through those scenarios in my head). 

His company offered him the position a week later, while he was in Kansas City, and he had to let them know that day.  He texted me around 11:00 that morning, and the texts were flying back and forth the next hour or so.  I knew he couldn’t pass up the job, and I let him know this.  He asked if I would go with him; and at the time, I really didn’t know. 

See, here’s something you may or may not know about me, I’m a planner.  A BIG planner.  I plan out EVERYTHING: menus for the week, tasks I need to accomplish, shopping lists, etc.  I even plan out what I’m going to wear for the entire week on Sundays (it’s just easier that way).  Moving half-way across the country was not something I had planned.

My poor boyfriend.  When he got back from Kansas City, I think I asked him about a thousand questions during the next week and a half.  One of my first questions to him was how far Hartford, Connecticut was to Fenway Park (Answer: 1 ½ hours drive).  He had an answer for pretty much every question; and if he didn’t, he said we’d figure it out.  My boyfriend is seriously the most amazing man.

I told my parents, brothers, sister-in-law, and my youngest brother’s fiancée last weekend.  That went well; especially considering most of them were lobbying for me to go and kept telling me to apply for a job at ESPN.  One of my brothers also told me that if I didn’t go, he would physically put me in a box and ship me to Hartford.  I wanted to make sure I told my grandparents and my closest friend before I let the rest of the world know as well.

I’m not sure how this will entirely affect the blog.  Obviously, Connecticut is much closer to Boston compared to Iowa.  My goal is to go to more Red Sox games, since we’ll be so close!  Less than 2 weeks after I move, I’ll be attending a Red Sox-Yankees game, which I’m psyched about! 

I’d also like to visit the stadiums in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and even New York, while I’m there.  It might even be worth the drive to hit Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh.  One of my goals is to visit every ballpark in the Majors.  I would also like to go to some Red Sox Minor League level games while out East.

This is seriously the biggest decision I’ve ever made in my life.  I’m both extremely excited and nervous about moving, as the farthest I’ve ever moved away from Davenport is Ames, Iowa (about 3 hours away) for college. 

So, I guess I'll have to get a Hartford Whalers shirt and start chanting "Let's Go, Whalers" for an NHL team that hasn't existed since 1997.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartford_Whalers

With all that said, the Red Sox played very well against the Blue Jays this weekend, taking 3 of the 4 games.  They are the first American League team to 50 wins, and are 3 games up on the Orioles.  Let’s hope they can continue!  I’ll have more Red Sox-related stuff on Wednesday!