Preakness 2002
Now you might be wondering why
the hell I went to a horse race up in Baltimore this past weekend but let me
tell you, the Preakness is a poop load more than just a horse race. And
actually most of the time you don't even know there is a race going on, unless
of course you have money on it. Well let me start from the
beginning. Evan and I leave Ponte Vedra at about 7:30pm to drive up to
Florence, South Carolina to meet up with my cousin Lee and his friend
Josh. Stop at the local Piggly Wiggly to grab a few beers...60 something,
then hit the road. The road trip was basically uneventful. Me, Lee
and Evan carried on the usual road-trip discussions while Josh slept. By
the time the nice gentlemen on the side of the road assisted us to our parking
spot directly across from the race track everyone was pumped and ready to
go. Josh had a huge ass cooler, more like a storage bin, that fit all of
our beers, but no handles and no wheels so it took the 4 of us to carry it as
there were lots of beers plus ice. After a few blocks we tired quickly and
asked a nice young lad who, along with about 50 other young lads, had a shopping
cart and offered his services for a small fee. So the 4 of us throw the
"cooler" covered with PhilVilleza.com stickers into the shopping cart
and begin the short journey to the ticket counter. Unfortunately the young
lad was not allowed past the entrance so the 4 of us carried the cooler to a
spot we felt would provide the most entertainment. Evan and I went walking
around while Josh and Lee stayed to guard our treasures. The infield of
this place was like that of a music festival. People everywhere, food
stands, and a port-a-potty village. Unfortunately Evan's cell phone was
not working that great so we couldn't get in touch with our friends from Jersey
who were coming down. Low and behold as we are walking around we spot Weez
(if you know Weez you know that he is kind of noticeable), and everyone
else. Alright now the party is getting started.
It's about 9am we've already had a few beers and now we've found the people we were
planning to hang with. We bring them back to the spot we had, make all the introductions
and crack open some more beers. I also gave most of them a PhilVilleza.com
sticker. Anyways, the fellas weren't impressed with the spot we had chosen
so they went searching for another while we fished through our grab bag of only
the best cooler goodies available (Natty Light, Bud Light, Bud Heavy, and Busch
Light). After moving to the new location that the William Pat boys picked
out the rest of the day is sort of fuzzy. I lost some money in the 6th
race which was the only race I bet on other than the big one, I flirted
continuously with a couple of my new fans who desperately want me to take the
Summer Tour up to Jersey (it's a possibility), picked a fight with an offensive
lineman from South Carolina (I didn't really pick a fight with him I just went
up to him and said that the Gamecocks sucked), and hosted a lunch-meat buffet
with someone else's food. After all was said and done we sat around for a
little longer to ponder how we would get back to the car as well as say our
goodbye's to our friends. Using the port-a-potty's one last time was
definitely a physical challenge as most all of them were filled to the brim (a
nasty sight if you've never seen that before). We couldn't find the car at
first, but did manage to get a double Italian sausage and serenade a few black
sorority sisters with Usher's "U Don't Have To Call." And to
tell you the truth my running man was a lot better than Arnold Schwarzenegger's.
So we find the car and drive around for an hour or so trying to get to some
place in Towson that these girls we are with are staying. Eventually with
the help of some security patrol, a functional cell phone, and of course a short
nap that our driver decided to take on the sidewalk while we decided where the
hell we were trying to get to.
Nothing too eventful occurred at the apartment. Everyone was damn tired from
drinking the past 12 hours. Eventually it's the original 4, Josh pilot, Evan
co-pilot, I'm the navigator and Lee was bombed more than Baghdad. Sluggish and
ruggish more than Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, we get off at some exit to find a place to
eat and sleep. While Josh and Evan argue like a married couple in the front seat
I try to pretend that I'm sleeping so that they don't yell at me. Hey it worked
when I was little and it still works today! No food, but we find a Days
Inn. After droppin 80 we fall asleep to some soft porn on HBO, wake up
around 11 or so in the manana and hit the road. After endless car games we
finally arrive in Florence, South Carolina. We pick up my truck, say
goodbye to Lee and Josh, and are back on the road towards Jacksonville.
The trip to Jacksonville from Florence was a pretty quick one as we were
following a group that was averaging about 95. Anyways the next time
you're on a road trip try this game that I think me and Evan invented. Put
the radio on scan and try to go along with whatever the people on the radio are
saying. This includes, news, music, commercials, and when they are just
talking to each other. Alternate turns, the fun will never end. So
we get back to Ponte Vedra Beach around 11pm, watch some sports center, some
real sex 21 and hit the sack. The next morning I woke up at 6:30 to drive
back to Gainesville to make my class at 9:30. All in all the Preakness
2002 Road Trip was a great success! Special thanks to Lee, Evan, Josh,
Weez, Erin, Brianne, Krissy, All the guys from William Patterson that Weez
brought (sorry I forget all your names), all the girls from UDel, and all the
guys from Vorhees that let us chill at their place in Towson.