Finally, another installment in the never-ending travels of this here kid. As mentioned earlier this week, I traveled to Detroit for the preseason opener. Here’s how it went down:
Thursday 5:15 a.m. In the car on the way to work, I hear local morning radio hosts talking about the airline-related plot that was foiled in England several hours earlier. Knowing that we’re to fly, I wonder what this means for us.
9:30 a.m. My PR cohorts and I all dig through our bags and toss our toiletries in one large bag for travel.
11:30 a.m. Because waiting times at Denver International are around three hours, we have arranged to be bused directly to our gate. So while the rest of the country faces a slow-down at airports, we are pushed through more quickly. DIA sets up a makeshift security line for us to file through as we board the 767.
In all, our scheduled 12 p.m. departure is pushing off by 12:10. Not bad.
4:30 p.m. (Eastern) We touch down at Detroit Metro, where five charter buses pick us up on the tarmac. We have a police escort to our hotel, a
Ritz-Carlton. One night’s stay is probably worth two weeks’ pay for me.
7:30 p.m. Eight of us head down to Greektown for dinner at
Fishbones. If you’re in Detroit and get a hankering for some Cajun eats, this is a good option. We ate dinner and headed back to our hotel because morning comes early for PR folks.
Friday 5:30 a.m. This particular Ritz-Carlton, in spite of being a very fancy hotel, proves to have a horribly inadequate business center. I nearly have a coronary trying to meet my 7 a.m. deadline. No one on their staff can help me connect to wireless internet. Ugh.
8:30 a.m. After successfully navigating the treacherous waters of the technology-issue-filled morning, I crashed in bed until about 2:30. This sounds bad, but you’ll soon understand why it was necessary.
4:00 p.m. Catch the bus to
Ford Field. Again, police escorts are the rule. About 20 minutes later, we arrived at the stadium.
7:30 p.m. Game time. Lots going on. I was busy. We lost, but it’s only preseason.
11:30 p.m. A mere hour after the game’s conclusion, our five buses, two equipment trucks, and police escort head for Detroit Metro. On the way, we encounter some heavy traffic. At one point, the wonderful driver of my bus nearly collided with the one in front of us.
As much as I like my job, I don’t want to die in a bus in Detroit with my face smashed into the back of an assistant specials teams coach’s head. I though for sure we were going to rear-end the guy and flip. Then I could’ve been on SportsCenter.
One note about charter bus drivers: Everywhere I’ve ever been, they either (a) get lost, (b) didn’t know where they were going in the first place, or (c) nearly get into an accident. I’m starting to have bad feelings toward the profession.
Saturday 12:30 a.m. We fly back to Denver. I sleep at least half the way.
2:30 a.m. (Mountain) We land at DIA and board our five buses back to the training facilities. The five buses rolling along remind me of
Swingers. “You’re so money, and you don’t even know it.”
4:00 a.m. After tying up some loose ends at the office, I finally arrive back at my place. I barely remember crawling into bed I was so tired. Good thing I didn’t have to be back at the office for another six hours…
By the way, a big congrats to the newly-minted Mr. and Mrs. Calvin. Wish I could’ve been there.
