Round Two

So my Nashville stay has ended and I am now in Fort Smith, Arkansas. I must say that my stay in Nashville was a much needed "vacation." I put vacation in quotes because of this: 7 days in Nashville, 10 hours in the gym!! So although I got to visit my buddy, Weston, I still had to get my work done. The gym I went to was pretty cool. It was called Urban Active and it had half of a basketball court inside. Everytime I lifted I would get in about 30 mins of basketball too; fun way to get in the cardio.

Scary Stuff....

On Sundahy afternoon the weather in Nashville turned pretty scary. We were under a tornado warning for the entire day and I think throughout the night as well. When we got out of church on Easter there was a loud sirene going off and I immediately thought of the tornado alarm from grade school when we would get in the hall and kneel down against the wall and cover our heads. The next couple of days were filled with bad weather and scary nights. I can't remember the night-I want to say it was Tuesday night-but, I was up watching a movie on TV and watching the weather on my computer at the same time. I was tracking a really bad storm that was heading straight for us and I wanted to be awake when it hit in case there was a tornado. I have never seen a tornado and I figured I would have a better chance of getting to a safe place if I were awake. Well, the weather got there and it was pretty bad. Eventually I couldn't stay up any longer and went to be with the weather still kinda bad. The scary thing about going to bed at Weston's house is that there is a tree about 2 feet from the guest bedroom so if a tornado wanted to knock the tree into my head it could. Not a comforting feeling when you're going to sleep. So, I don't think I was completely asleep and if I was I hadn't been out for long when the loudest wind I have ever heard in my life kicked up. It sounded like a train was going doing the street and I went straight into "fight or flight" mode. I lept out of bed (not sure what I was gonna do) and went for the bedroom door(I guess I was just trying to get away from that tree). As I was going towards the door I fell into my suitcase and jumped right back up and raced out of the room. Remember, I am an athlete in pretty good shape. My heart rate sits around 58 bpm and my guess is that my heart rate jumped to about 135 bpm in this 10 second race between me and the tree. Luckilly nothing happened. It was apparently just some really strong wind but no tornado thankfully. I went back to bed and probably didn't get to sleep for about 30 minutes or more.

Final Night

For my last night in Nashville my friend wanted to take me to this great restaraunt downtown called J Alexanders. It was AMAZING. But before we get to the food let me tell you about my interesting trip to Buckle at the mall. Michaela, if you're reading this you will probably get the best laugh from this story. The last pair of jeans I bought was from men's wearhouse about 2 years ago and that was a lucky find. Since 2009 I have been working out really hard on my legs and butt trying to get them as bulky as I can since I am a catcher. Us catchers need big thighs and butts to get us through the season. So we headed to the mall to find some jeans at Buckle for me. This is after I tried on about 3 pairs of jeans at TJ Maxx that fit me like a pair of spandex. Ok, so my waist size is a 34 and length is the same. Buckle is supposed to be really good with their jeans and fitting you, helping you out, having whatever you need to fit your body, etc. Apparently they don't have much of a section labled "Benji Johnson." What I thought was going to be a quick trip to grab a pair of jeans and go eat dinner turned into us being there after the store closed. We were there for over an hour!!! First, this guy named Jessie who worked there helped me pick out some jeans that I would like and had me try them on. I think I started with 5 different pairs which were all different makes and styles. Well, sure enough, they all fit like spandex. Funny thing is most of them were too big in the waist too. But to try to fix the problem of the tight legs we decided to try out a 36 which ended up being great for my legs but huge in the waist. No way I was pulling those off. That's what 6 pairs so far? K, so Jessie went on to pick out 2-3 more pairs for me that he thought would be better suited for my legs. Nope. Not at all. Just the same. So now we are to around 8-9 pairs of pants tried and failed. I was about to just give up and get maybe a cool t-shirt when this other dude decided he would try to help me. I think he prides himself in fitting guys' jeans. So this guy had this brilliant idea that the problem wasn't that my legs were too big but that they were slender and small!!! REALLY? Was he serious? Apparently he hadn't seen me try on 9 pairs of jeans already. I decided to humor him and try on the jeans he selcted only to show him that my legs were way too big for those. I thought the seems were gonna pop! So this prompted him to go on a mission to find me a pair of jeans, I mean this guy was determined. He brought me two pairs, didn't work. Another pair, didn't work either. Finally instead of me having time to get out of the dressing room he started hanging jeans over the door. I'm gonna just guess here but I think we are at around 14-15 pairs tried on now. I was putting them on and taking them off all in the same motion. I mean it was getting to the point that I was just cracking up at each pair of jeans this guy brought me. Then finally, the pair appeared. Probably one of the coolest pair of jeans I have ever seen. They actually fit! I was so relieved! After over an hour of trying on jeans the determined little guy found a pair I could wear! I honestly have no clue the number of jeans I tried on at this points. It had to be 20+. In the end I got to walk out with a great pair of jeans and one of the funniest mall experiences I have had.

Now, for the best part of that night. J Alexanders. This place was great. If you are ever in Nashville...GO! You are really missing out if you don't. It is a little pricey but well worth cost. I think they are spread out in TN so if you come accross one you should stop, you won't regret it. I had the prime rib and mac'n'cheese and for dessert and piece of chocolate cake with chocolate syrup and vanilla ice cream. It was such a good meal. That prime rib just melted in my mouth. Loved it!

Present Time

I am currently in Fort Smith, Arkansas. If you have ever seen the movie True Grit it is the same Fort Smith from the movie. I plan on going for a little tour of the historic sites tomorrow morning before I make my final leg of this long haul to Amarillo. I have 8 more hours to drive tomorrow to get to Amarillo and I have to be there by 6 for a meeting! The sun is gonna be coming up early tomorrow!

Once I get to Amarillo and baseball gets started I will be posting probably everyday so be looking forward to that.

Road Trip

Here goes, first blog ever......

Yesterday was the first day of my trip out to Amarillo, TX. My day got started a little later than I had planned because of the fence Michaela and I were having built around our back yard. I didn't want to leave until it was finished and we thought it would be done around 11 but it ended up being after 12 when the guys finished up. Once they finished I headed over to my parents house to say my goodbyes until I return home. My parents, Michaela, my sister Megan, and her little daughter Brighton were all there to tell me goodbye and give me hugs and kisses! This is always the hardest part of the year for me because I have always been really close to my family and a big homebody.

After the hugs and tears I got in the car and headed off towards Amarillo. First stop- Nashville. Or so I thought....About 7 miles down the road I thought that I may have forgotten a catcher's mitt at home so I pulled over and checked my car and sure enough I did. So, only 10 minutes away I had to turn around and go right back to get my mitt. Once I got my mitt I was off, for real this time. First stop- Nashville. My best friend from home, Weston, lives there so I decided to leave a few days early to hang out with him. When I got in last night we went straight to Outback Steakhouse for a good dinner. Needless to say I was starving after an 8 hour drive. I had a blooming onion, one of my favorites things, and a ribeye with a sweet potato and a salad. It was delicious!!

Since today is Easter we decided to go out and eat a great restaurant here in Nashville before church. The place we ate is called Monell's and it is a family style restaurant that serves great southern food and the menu today was incredible. We had biscuits, rolls, chicken casserole, green beans, asparagus casserole, corn pudding, fried chicken, mashed potatos, and strawberry pie. So it was more like a lunch but we ate it at 10 and it was awesome!! One of the best meals I have ever had. After breakfast we headed off to church and had a great Easter service. The pastor was really funny and they had a really good band playing some great music. It was a great Easter Sunday. I even played a little catch today too. Always gotta get some baseball in no matter where I am!

I will be here in Nashville for a few more days then on the road again. I'm not sure whether I will go straight to Amarillo from here or stop at one more place on the way. All depends on how far the drive is from here.

I'll keep you posted! Happy Easter!!!!! Jesus is risen!