This was definitely an Epic Weekend In Pictures that we will never forget. My parents were able to continue our tradition of them visiting me Memorial Day Weekend. They're my parents, and still my very best friends too. I'm always humbled by my amazing friends who take time out of their busy schedules to see Madre and Padre. We were able to have an enormous amount of fun with our friends. My celebrity first pitch at Skylands Stadium was absolutely horrific, but time with family can make the pain go away slightly. Along the way during the weekend, we were able to celebrate one of the proudest moments in my entire radio career.
We will start with all of our Friday fun. Friday night Awesome Girlfriend Megan and I were able to kick off summer in style, first at The Irish Cottage Inn in Franklin, then at Minerals Sports Club after that with our friends. Awesome Girlfriend Megan and I enjoyed our usual Troegs Perpetual IPA, laughed with some of our regular buddies, then made our way to Kite's. We were so happy to see our outdoor bar back open. Meg and I were laughing with our besties Jasen, Brendan and Spooner all night. It was a chilly Friday night out, but we didn't care. Okay Meg froze, but we still had tons of fun and laughs. Jasen then declared that the party would continue at his place on Campus in Vernon, and he didn't have to twist our arms to join them. Spot was very happy to return on my Weekend In Pictures.
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Saturday morning, time to get ready, The Clowns are coming! I jokingly sometimes refer to my parents as Cold, Calculated Clowns. I was stressing because my place was clean enough but not totally ready for them. I went to get me and Awesome Girlfriend Megan an iced coffee. I've finally downloaded the Dunkin Donuts App and I'm loving it. That being said, I haven't done the "on the go," mobile ordering yet. Saturday morning with Awesome Girlfriend Megan's guidance I attempted it for my first time. I went to Dunkin Donuts in Hamburg and was waiting several minutes. My order wasn't showing up for some odd reason. Ah well. I then declared I was going old school, and ordered at the counter like any other normal day. Meg figured out later that I accidentally ordered our iced coffees from Dunkin Donuts in VERNON, not Hamburg. Whoops! Technology fail!
Saturday from 11am-1pm I was hanging out with my friend Wally Darwish at Audi Of Newton. They have done such a great job making people smile whenever they're in that dealership. Also shout out to my new friends Nart, Daniel and Jenna from Sparta. They were out and about, listening to our radio station and swung by to meet me. Then after my live broadcast, I was able to fly back to Vernon and arrived at the exactly same time as my parents did. Meg had our place in tip top shape. She definitely earned her iced coffee, that's for sure!
My parents had fun relaxing on my deck with me and Meg. I was even able to throw a few warm up pitches with Padre in my street parking lot. Warming up is very important with these celebrity first pitches. I'm always scarred from my first ever pitch 4 years ago when I threw it in the dirt hitting home plate. A heckler in the crowd yelled "Stick to the radio show!" It is humiliating when your pitches don't work out well. You feel like you're alone on an island and everyone feels sad for you.
We got to Skylands Stadium at 5:30, plenty of time for the first pitch at 6. My first pitch happened much quicker than I expected, and I rushed it throwing a horrible wild pitch. I'm fiercely competitive, so this has been weighing me down for days. I can't freakin wait for my next pitch when I can try to make it up. It was great to get hugged and supported by Awesome Girlfriend Megan and my parents, even after my embarrassing pitch.
Saturday night, we were able to hang out and enjoy so many of our friends back at Minerals Sports Club. We were having fun enjoying drinks and being merry at Moonshine Poolside Bar. Everyone was still laughing and teasing me over my bad first pitch, but at least I was able to drown my sorrows with great friends and my parents.
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Sunday, big day. My parents were able to meet Meg's Awesome Mommy, Rita! We picked Applebee's in Hackettstown because that was a great halfway point. Meg's Mommy lives in Pa, approximately 2 hours southwest from me in Vernon. Hackettstown was the perfect midway point, and we were able to enjoy time with two of three Awesome Daughters, Caitlyn and Hailey. Our meals were good too.
Sunday afternoon we then ventured back to Campus. We had a nice drink at The Cottage, where my friend Damian was all too excited to bust on me for my horrible pitch. We were laughing, when my phone went off. Whenever my parents are visiting, my phone blows up so much from many wonderful friends, I figured it would be for that. The text was from Garret, my dear friend at Father John's Animal House. MY PET OF THE WEEK MARILYN GOT ADOPTED!!!! Marilyn is one of the friendliest cats we have ever had on my show. She's over 10 years old, was paralyzed last fall in a rat poisoning accident, and is still working her way back on the comeback trail. She's also overweight and is on prescription diet food. This was a major feat to get her into a home, and we did it. The power of radio can be so moving. I was moved to tears knowing that we were able to get Marilyn her new Furever Family, and in less than 3 days after she came on my radio show!!!
Sunday afternoon, the rain wasn't going to stop our spirits. We showed up at 5:10pm instead of 5:00pm because poor Meg had a flat tire that we needed to pump up. We still weren't going to let that stop us. We enjoyed drinks with my besties from work Shawn Stinnett and Stacey. Everyone always cracks up over how much I resemble Madre, and how much my sister resembles Padre. Then more of our besties like JG and Tati came out to play with us too. We had a great time.
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Ugh Monday. Time for my parents to go home. We swung by Jimmy Geez for lunch. I always want to get them out there, because I feel like I'm giving them a 40 minute head start on their 4 plus hour drive. We had a yummy meal, and Padre got some Growlers too. The porter I highly recommend and will be enjoying with Meg soon.
Monday afternoon, back at Tiki Bar wooohoo. I had a great time hanging with Jasen, Spooner, Bryon and more. How did I end my Monday night? On my couch sleeping to the Boston Bruins playoffs game. I still need to get the cable box in my bedroom fixed, it's been probably over a year or two lol. Overall, we had an amazing weekend. I hope you had a great weekend too. Time to start planning next weekend, bringing Meg back up to Boston for a graduation party!