Opening Day!

Opening Day for the Tigers in Detroit is pretty much a holiday in our house!  Before kids we were season ticket holders and always went to opening day.  Tailgating with all our friends long before the game started, getting more and more elaborate with the set-up each year created some really fun memories for us.  Obviously, once we had Sean, we dropped our season tickets and got more realistic with how often we could go downtown.  That also made our chances of getting opening day tickets pretty slim.

For the first time in a few years, we got opening day tickets when they went on sale.  I wasn't too thrilled about standing room only tickets, but this is Scott's "Disney World".  So, I took one for team Ferstle and agreed to go.

Little did we know it would be a high of 40 and a chance of....snow.

So, we bundled up in our winter Detroit sports gear.  Gave me a good opportunity to wear my cute Tigers winter hat!  And an opportunity to pose with Frosty at the game.

We started our morning at home with the boys.  My mom came to watch Evan, as usual for a Friday, and drove Sean to school.  Scott and I took off after that in the hopes of getting there early enough for a parking spot at Greektown Casino.  $50 for a parking spot in the garage, but the promise to get reimbursed for getting a players card and we were relieved to be parked and on our way to win some money (I mean spend some money).

Free t-shirts, free Budweiser beads, playing slot machines, and cracking open our first beer at 11am and we were having a blast!  Scott even chose to play at a Disney themed slot machine...Alice and Wonderland.

After getting our parking money back at the cashier's counter of the casino, we decided to walk through some of the tailgating parties on our way to the park.  Man, the best spots were by the Detroiter bar!  People playing music on the flatbed of their truck, bean bag toss, hillbilly horseshoes, grilling food, etc.  It was fun to just walk around and see everything going on.

And then, a miracle happened.  We walked in to the game, stood near the Tiger's Den with our standing room only tickets, grabbed a sausage and beer, and an usher came and told us we could sit in the Tiger's Den.  No joke!  Some of our favorite seats in the entire ballpark and we got to sit there with standing room only tickets.  Thank you!

Even better than that?  Per tradition, as Miguel Cabrera came up to bat at one point during the game, I bet my usual bet with Scott.  I always bet a vacation.  And Miguel has never lost one for me yet.  It's simple.  If Miguel hits a home run, we go on vacation somewhere this summer.  If not, then we don't go.  What does he do?  Hits a home run.  Jackpot!  He's won me a trip to the Dominican Republic and Portland so far.  This summer I picked something a little more in our budget...a trip to Lake Michigan.

And we're booked.  Kalamazoo, Saugatuck, Holland, and Muskegon for four days, three nights right when school lets out in June.  We'll see the Air Zoo, go on a sand dune ride, go see the windmill, and hit up Michigan's Adventure.  Now just hoping the weather is warm and sunny for some lazy days at the beaches!  Thanks, Miggy!!

After the game, we went back to Greektown for dinner with some friends.  We ate at Santorini on the corner and enjoyed both the food and the DJ/entertainment they had for the day.  By eating dinner downtown, we avoided rush hour getting out of there and made it back to go to the video store and pick up a movie for our evening in without kids.  It was a great game and a great day out!  A much needed day to focus on each other.  :)