May 2012 - Daddy's Birthday Trip

Flight #7 - United 1125 
Newark (EWR) – Fort Lauderdale (FLL) 
Friday, May 25, 2012
Depart: 1:23PM / Arrive: 4:26PM 
Duration: 3hr 3min 
Aircraft: Boeing 737 
Seat: 8E and 8F (Economy Plus)
Earned:  1,065 miles
Lifetime Miles:  15,473

My father grew up playing baseball.  He started playing when he was 9 years old (a few years later than everyone else started) so he ended up playing against kids 1-2 years younger.  As a result, when he was 12 playing against 10 year olds, he did pretty well and it gave him a false sense of accomplishment so he tried out for his middle school team in 7th grade.

He was never that good, but he kept making the team through high school (probably helped by Affirmative Action, if you ask me). Nevertheless, baseball has been one of the few things he still remains emotionally passionate about, even though hasn't played since he was 17.  Since then, he just spectates.

Over the years, he's been to games at 26 of the 30 Major League Baseball team's active stadiums across the US and Canada.  It was a lot easier to visit baseball cities and attend games when he was single and traveling a lot for work, but since my mother moved to New York, he has tried not to stay overnight during work trips, even when the Yankees were in town.  So instead, my mother and he spend Memorial Day weekend every year (it usually overlaps with my father's birthday) to visit the remaining baseball stadiums on his bucket list.

In 2012, the schedule worked out so that we'd all be going to Miami for the May 26 Marlins vs. Giants game at the new Marlins Park.  My father has been to South Florida a few times and generally hasn't been a fan but that was before he was rocking some sweet arm candy and even cuter stroller candy.

Being a cheapskate value-conscious consumer, he made sure to optimize the trip as best he could.

• Flight - fly into Ft Lauderdale (cheaper flight and cheaper rental car than Miami)
• Hotel - stay at the Westin Diplomat in nearby Hollywood, FL (using the Starwood Cash & Points)

Meanwhile, I was starting to learn the 10,000,000 rules of baseball so that I could enjoy my first game.