Each time we go to Vegas, we try to stay at a new hotel on the Strip, and this time we decided on the Luxor, towards the south end of the Strip. Getting there was an easy 3-4 hour drive through the desert. We left Saturday morning and we were in our room by noon. We ended up getting a great room on the 29th floor, one floor from the very top, with a view of the airport! The Luxor is the pyramid shaped hotel on the Strip. The rooms are on the outer edge of the pyramid, leaving the middle section of the building open like an atrium. Each floor going up has windows looking down onto the atrium, and it was VERY cool to be at the top of that and look out and down!
We had 4 full days in Vegas, and not one thing on our to-do list except the Sky Sox games at 7pm each night! It was bound to be a very relaxing trip.
We pretty much relaxed in our room on Saturday afternoon, then hit up one of our old favorite food places, Jason's Deli, on our way to Cashman Field. We weren't sure whether the Sky Sox or the 51's would be taking Batting Practice before the game, so we got there just before the gates opened, just in case. When we got to the stadium, there were a lot of people there, which seemed odd because the 51's aren't that great this season. Then we found out it was Jersey Night, one of their promotions that they do. When we got into the stadium, we made our way to just behind the Sky Sox dugout. It turns out neither team took Batting Practice, most likely due to the heat. The players started trickling out of the dugout about a half hour before first pitch. Robbie and I have a bunch of Minor League players autographs, but there were still a few marquee players we were seeking out to complete our collection, so we came prepared with a bag of 12 balls. Each player's autograph that we have has had their own ball to sign on. In total on the trip, we got 12 new autographs! For the game, we ended up sitting in the second row just behind the Sky Sox bullpen (where the relief pitchers sit), which was right down the 3rd base side. Although the stadium was pretty full that night because of the free jersey giveaway, not a lot of people were sitting near the visitors side. I liked it.
The Sky Sox pitcher that night was Brandon Woodruff. He was actually all set to make his major league debut for the Brewers in June, but an injury during his pre-game warm-ups sent him back down to the minors, and he's been re-habbing ever since with the Sky Sox. (Side note: as I write this blog post a week later, Woodruff had his first start with the Brewers on Friday, August 4th, and it was a win! Way to work hard and bounce back)! Unfortunately for the Sky Sox, there wasn't a lot of offense, and they lost the game 0-3.
There was one thing that happened during this game to make it worth attending, however. As I stated before, this series was being played through the MLB trade deadline, which was on July 31st, so while we were watching the game, we were also watching the players closely. If a transaction happens, it is very normal for that Triple A player to be taken out of the game to go directly to their new team, or leave to join the Brewers if they are called up to the majors, even if it's in the middle of an inning. So, it was exciting for us to keep an eye on our highly touted prospects because we did not want them to leave our organization. We would watch for them to be on deck, and come back onto the field for defense. Anyway, towards the later innings of this Saturday game, we saw one of the bullpen guys, Wei-Chung Wong, head to the dugout, then come back to the bullpen about 10 minutes later. I then heard another bullpen player ask "back to Japan?" Then Wong shook his head 'no.' Wong then proceeded to hug and shake hands with the rest of the bullpen, then leave the field. Being we were sitting so close to the bullpen, Robbie asked one of the bullpen guys if he was just called up, and he said yes! I couldn't believe that we just saw a major transaction take place right before our eyes, and we were the first to catch wind of it outside of the Brewers and Sky Sox upper management. The players on the field hadn't even found out yet! This was pretty powerful information to have. Normally, the Brewers like to keep their transactions secret until they NEED to make it public, so naturally and very legally, Robbie took this coveted news to Twitter! Robbie was the very first person to Tweet this news, before any of the Brewers Beat-Writers even caught wind of it (the Brewers Beat-Writers are who we get our information about transactions from in the first place). Almost immediately he was getting blown up with thousands of people liking and re-tweeting his post, including the Beat-Writers! He told me the next morning over 50,000 people viewed his tweet. So, if you read or heard about this particular transaction from the Beat-Writers, they got it from Robbie first! I'd say he was trending that night in the Brewers baseball world! Considering I have wanted to immerse myself in everything Brewers over the years, this was something I never thought I'd get to experience, but I was VERY glad I did.
Sunday morning was spent at the Luxor pool. It was nice to have a wide open schedule and not have to worry about getting to one place or the other. Early in the afternoon, we headed for Giordano's at Bally's. We love this Chicago-based pizzeria, and we were stoked when they opened this first location out west a couple years ago. Each time we go to Vegas, we MUST go there! After Giordano's, we were headed back to Cashman Field for the Sky Sox 2nd game out of 4. Sunday's crowd was MUCH lighter. We bought tickets for the cheapest seat in the house, and we were able to move down to the dugout again without a problem.
This time around, autographs weren't enough, so we sought to get pictures with the more popular Sky Sox players this time! We found out a few days before going to Vegas that the Brewers center fielder, Keon Broxton, was sent down to the minors as he was struggling in the majors. The Brewers just wanted him to re-work his rhythm a little bit. Perfect timing for us to see him with the Sky Sox, but probably not the perfect scenario for him. Either way, he was on our list. Another stand-out for a picture was a bullpen player, Tim Dillard. He was called up to the majors about a half a decade ago, and has been in the minors ever since he was designated for assignment again. We are sure he's on his last few seasons with the organization, however, he makes the most hilarious Twitter videos. About 2-3 times a week (or every series), he creates a Dillard Original. Most of his videos are lip-syncs performed with a few other Sky Sox players, and they are usually lip-syncing Spanish songs. Tim Dillard is definitely the comic relief on the team. The other player we were targeting for a picture was our old friend Brett Phillips. We have seen him multiple times before at the Spring Training game we attended in March (where he signed a ball for us twice, and taught us about the Sweet Spot), and at the Extended Spring Training in Phoenix in April. When we saw him in Vegas on this trip, he actually recognized us! Ha! Phillips was also called up to the major league team a few weeks before this Vegas trip. He said his time up with the Brewers was humbling. You just never know when you're time will come! So, in the end, I was able to get a picture with all 3 of these players! It was pretty awesome, especially Keon Broxton, because he has had the most success with the Brewers. They were all super nice and seemed super grateful for their opportunities. Also, at the time of this posting, Keon Broxton is back up in the majors and doing significantly better!
Center Field Extraordinaire Keon Broxton
Twitter Video Funnyman Tim Dillard
Our old pal Brett Phillips
At the end of the night, the Sky Sox ended up losing 12-6! It is very unlike the Sky Sox to have a 2-game losing streak this season! The team is pretty good, and they DO play at a higher elevation at home, which makes the ball fly even more!
Monday morning we both woke up with the same thought: it's Monday morning, and neither of us were at work! Can you tell we needed to get away?? We spent even a longer time at the pool in the morning. In the afternoon, we went to the Titanic Exhibit at the Luxor. We both have wanted to go to this for quite some time, even when we were still living in Vegas. But it was a bonus that we were staying at the Luxor because we got a discount on the exhibit! Score! Anyway, the exhibit was a self-guided tour, taking you into different rooms with several artifacts that divers brought up from the actual Titanic wreck. Along with the artifacts were numerous plaques telling the story of individuals on the Titanic, how they scored a ticket, where they were going in America, and what their plans were after they got here. A lot of those biographies were really sad. In one of the last rooms of the exhibit was the part of the ship that actually hit the iceberg! It was a huge slab of the outer wall that they were able to salvage and transport to this exhibit! The tour also had a mock iceberg that was actually ice! When we thought about it, it was probably the biggest piece of ice being kept in the desert! At the start of the exhibit, we were given cards that had information of actual people who boarded the Titanic. It was in the last room where we could find these people's names written on a wall to find out whether they lived or perished. Both mine and Robbie's people on our cards lost their lives. :( The Titanic exhibit was fascinating, and it prompted Robbie and I to watch the movie again on Netflix when we got home later that week!
On Monday night, we opted not to go to the Sky Sox game, and instead do the tourist thing and see a show on the Strip. We decided to see the Jabbawockees at the MGM Grand. The Jabbawockees are a group of 6 hip-hop type dancers who wear masks, and their only form of communication with each other is through mime. One of mine and Robbie's first visits to Vegas, even before we moved there, we saw the Jabbawockees. It was a great show both times, and I would highly recommend it for any age! And, it was a bonus that we were able to secure front row seats! It was a great way to spend a non-baseball night in Vegas.
Tuesday was our last full day in Vegas, and we wanted it to be the most relaxing day. We started the day with room service breakfast, then Robbie made spontaneous spa appointments for both of us! We spent a good hour and a half getting pampered with massages and facials! After our time at the spa, we went to another one of our favorite Vegas eateries called Miller's Ale House where the food was just as delicious as we remembered! We made the decision that night not to attend the Sky Sox game again. Summer evenings and nights do not cool down very much in Vegas; after the first 2 ballgame nights, as we were driving back from he game to our hotel, it was still triple digit temps. Just sitting in our seats those first 2 nights we ended up a sweaty mess. So on the last night, in the interest of relaxing, we opted to stay indoors. We did, however, watch the Brewers game on our iPad with a beautiful view of Mandalay Bay and the airport from our hotel room window. We thought it was the best way to end our trip!
We were on the road on Wednesday morning by 8am, and we pulled into our garage at 12pm exactly! It was nice to have the rest of the afternoon to re-cooperate. It was then that we watched Titanic. :)
Although this Vegas trip was meant for Triple A baseball, I think we were able to really balance out the Vegas part of our trip as well. It was a good mix of baseball and Vegas life. Unfortunately we didn't get to see any of our friends while we were there, but it was probably hard for them as well being we were there on weekdays, and on both weekend nights we were watching baseball. There is always next time! We know we will be back, but maybe not during the "hotter than Hades" months next time! Ha!
"Vegas is the answer no matter the question." -Unknown
