Thursday was great. Golf at Phoenix Links in Columbus was very nice. Not a great course, but challenging enough for us duffers (most of us). The scramble resulted in the first ever tie at -6 so that was pretty cool. Afterward, lunch then off to Cleveland where, believe it or not, we arrived at exactly 5:30 on the nose. 5:30 is the start time for the Embassy Suites' Manager's reception that serves free beer. Perfect timing!!
After the reception we made our way to 'THE ALLIGATOR!!!!!" aka the "Winking Lizard" as you can see here
Friday morning was supposed to be another round of 18 holes at Seneca Course, which is a municipal course in Cleveland just about 15 minutes from our hotel. It was a good, long course which was more challenging than Phoenix Links, but still a very nice course. The team of Fish, Jason, Matt, and Joe defeated Shane, Paul, and Jeff even to +1 in another evenly matched contest. About hole 16, Shane brilliantly pondered if anyone would be interested in playing the other 18 hole course on the property since the day was so nice and we were all having a great time. So, surprisingly we decided to make it a 36-hole day. I think everyone did all right until about the last five or six holes. 10 hours or so of sunshine and physical activity can take its toll on us older dudes.
Oh, proof of golf? Here ya go...
L to R: Fish, Shane, Jeff, Joe, Jason, Paul, Matt
Jeff: this one goes right, as all my drives do
Paul getting ready to blast one farther than any drive Keith has ever had. #teebox
Shane hits this one about 350 yards. Or is that 350 feet? Can't remember.
Sadly, Joe did not run and catch this tee shot in the air
Matt making better contact than at last year's #1 tee box.
Jason - You probably heard this oil can make contact from Cincinnati or wherever you are in this world
Fish with a likely perfectly played draw off the box, leaving himself with a full shot to the center of the green.
Following golf, we returned to the hotel to get pretty for our night out on the town. And then it went up a notch. Keith, unable to make the whole trip, decided to surprise us in the hotel on his way up to Geneva to do some work on his wife's grandma's (uncle's nephew's dogsitter's) house. So at least for 14 hours we got our boy to join us for our usual crazy night of debauchery. And that's when we met the Douchebags of Cleveland. Lucky us. Let me paint a quick picture: popped collars, too much tanning, shirts two sizes too small (said shirts apparently are sold in only "deep vee" style in Cleveland) guys trying WAY too hard, bad attitudes. This all took place at a very cool place called the "Barley House" in the Warehouse District in downtown Cleveland. It started out great. We ate outside basically on the street. Good food, excellent "scenery". Plaid skirts are ALWAYS nice.
But then, around 10:00 the worm turned. So maybe we're all too old and don't get out much. Maybe every city is like this now. Good lord I hope not. If so, I feel sorry for the younger women who have these guys to pick from in the love pool. Anyway, despite a few fights, spilled beers (including the ones Jason cracked), we managed to still have a good time staying above the fray. As usual, don't ask what happened between 10:00pm and 2:00am when the bar closed. No one knows or can remember. But here is a fuzzy representation of what the night was like...
L to R: Joe, Fish, Matt, Paul, Keith, Jeff, Shane (bottom)...Jason nowhere to be found
Following the club, half of us went back to the hotel (Keith, Paul, Joe, and Matt). Keith proceeded to lose every one of his worldly possessions in the process. Keys, phone, flip flops, wallet, and yes even his wedding band even though some of us think that was on purpose.
Shane, Jason, Fish, and I decided drunk gambling was the thing to do. So, Horseshoe Casino was our destination. 2 1/2 hours later (not the 30 minutes Shane believed it to be) we headed home a little heavier (oh yes, we won some money) in the wallet. After arriving back to our hotel at a little after 5:00am, I found this gem...
Oh yeah, that's our boy 9er dreaming of lord knows exactly what
After a refreshing four hours of sleep, it was time to greet Saturday. OK not really. It was a slow start to Saturday. But we finally got rolling around 2:00pm and headed back downtown to see pretty much nothing in Cleveland but a place to eat and hang before hitting up the Indians-Angels game. Nothing exciting at all. Kinda boring really. But relaxed and laid back, which is just what we needed.
As for the game. Just like the past few years, couldn't tell you who won. But here are some lovely pictures from "The Jake" (not Progressive Field).
L to R: Jeff, Joe, Shane, Paul, Jason, Fish, Matt
Following the game, I think we'd about had enough. Not sure if we're all just getting old or what, but there was no drinking. There was really nothing else. We went back to the hotel where we basically vegged for a few hours. Sat in the hotel lobby and just chilled and hung out. It was a nice, laid-back night.
Sunday morning...Bob Evans for breakfast, then we returned home. Along the way, we saw this which made perfect sense for anyone who knows exactly why it is called the "Dan Lipscomb Ball Trip"
So, #DLBT2013 is in the books. Great time as always. Next year's trip destination is up in the air. Detroit, Chicago, DC, or NYC seem to be the names most mentioned. But, it all depends on how we can align our schedules. It's amazing that we can still find one common weekend over the summer where all 8 of us can get away for a few days. Hopefully that continues. Until next time, I'll leave you with this year's theme that began on the car ride to Columbus. Enjoy... The "Odd Couple" Theme (just don't ask).
