RAYMO’S RAMBLINGS -LIVING THE DREAM!

us-bank-stadiumus-bank

LIVING THE DREAM!

I can’t put into words how excited I am to broadcast football from US Bank Stadium Saturday morning. I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve waiting to open presents. I’m so excited it seems that’s all I have been thinking about the last few days.

I have never been to the new Viking stadium. I have driven past it a number of times, so this will be my first time inside. I’ve seen posts on Facebook from friends going to the Vikings game and have talked with people about how big and nice it is. When you drive by it, it is a huge building.

I have broadcasted state high school sports from all the other major stadiums in the cites. Target Center, TCF Bank, Williams Arena, and this past weekend I was covering state volleyball from the Excel Energy Center. When the LQPV baseball team played for the state championship, I got to broadcast from the Herb Carneal press box at Target Field which was amazing.

The biggest thrill for a local high school radio broadcaster is to broadcast a state game in these major league stadiums. The memories I have doing them will always live with me. I remember well the Dawson/Boyd football teams in the Metrodome and sitting in the booths that the national broadcasters call games from. After the Blackjacks won the state football championship, I ran from the booth and outside of the Metrodome to try and get an interview with the boys and coach Larson. Which I did, out of breath from running.

 I’m a regular at Target Center. I have covered state dance for about 14 years, thanks to the LQPV/DB Shadows. And it is one of my favorite state competitions to cover. I can’t forget the Minneota Vikings girls’ basketball teams playing at Target Center also. I remember I had to be the first person at Target Center on championship Saturday that one year. I like to be early.

Broadcasting from TCF Bank Stadium is amazing as well. Beautiful press boxes, but you are so far away from the field it is hard to see numbers on kid’s uniforms. That’s what I remember about that. During the state championship game between Dawson/Boyd and Minneota and the next year with Minneota and Minneapolis North I actually called the game watching the television monitor in front of me in the press box because it was easier to see.

My favorite memory of Williams Arena is calling the Canby Lancers boys basketball game when they lost in triple overtime too Fond du lac. It wasn’t fun losing, but what a game that was, I actually lost my voice. Also when Minneota’s Taylor Reiss stole the ball with just seconds left and made a layup and teammate Megan Larson grabbed a rebound and scored to beat Goodhue, to put the Vikings in the state championship game. Williams Arena is unique and I love broadcasting from the upper deck.

So come this Saturday, I will enter US Bank Stadium for the first time, thanks to the Minneota Vikings football team, and I will have a big smile on my face!

Posted: November 14, 2017
Under: Raymo's Ramblings
Leave a comment

RAYMO’S RAMBLINGS – ANOTHER HAWAIIAN ADVENTURE

image_1643

ANOTHER HAWAIIAN ADVENTURE

We went to Hawaii to attend our daughter’s wedding on the island of Kauai. The wedding occurred at the Grand Hyatt. Listed as one of the top ten resorts in the world, and believe me it is an amazing place.

The day of the wedding went much like a normal wedding day, with the exception of a church building we were on a beach with waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing at our feet. Which was really cool! The weather was absolutely perfect and everything went as planned. My daughter looked stunning and so beautiful in her wedding dress. The wedding party, relatives and friends that made the trip over all looked awesome and were having a good time. And I must say I looked pretty good in a Hawaiian shirt.

Seth and Brianna were married on Friday and Roxie and I were scheduled to fly back home Saturday evening, leaving Hawaii at 9pm. We arrived at the airport early, went through security and boarded our plane. To make a real long story short, our plane backed away from the gate and experienced mechanical problems before taking off. So we went back to the gate and sat on the plane for over three hours while mechanics worked on the left engine. Finally, about 11:30 they cancelled the flight and let us off the plane.

We stood in line at American Airlines for another hour with 300 other people. We received our vouchers for another night at the Grand Hyatt and three meals a day. After getting our vouchers we were told to go stand on the corner and a shuttle bus or taxi will come pick you up and take you to the Hyatt. Well after waiting for a while with 300 people on the corner, we all realized no taxi or shuttle bus is coming to get us. This airport is about the size of the Sioux Falls airport, so people were calling taxis themselves and I saw only two or three taxis come and they were mobbed by people trying to get to their motel.

I called my son who was sleeping at the Grand Hyatt and he came and picked us up with his red Mustang car he had rented. That was funny watching all those people still waiting watching us jump in a Mustang. I found out the next day from someone that most of the people were still standing there at 5am.

We returned to the airport the next night with the 300 people and were told that flight to go at 11pm was cancelled and they gave us another voucher, this time to the Marriott resort, with three meal vouchers. On Monday evening at 11pm we finally boarded a plane and left Hawaii. Arrived home Tuesday evening around 8:30pm. Another adventure to talk about for years. We did really enjoy our trip to Hawaii, it was a trip of a lifetime.  

Posted: November 8, 2017
Under: Raymo's Ramblings
Leave a comment

RAYMO’S RAMBLINGS – HAWAIIAN ADVENTURE

img_20171016_211003284

HAWAIIAN ADVENTURE

We had an interesting day on the island of Oahu during our vacation/wedding in Hawaii. It was an adventure. It started at 6am in the morning when we were to be on a street corner outside our hotel on Waikiki beach to catch our coach bus to take us on a tour of Honolulu, then up the northern coast to the Polynesian Cultural Center.

The Polynesian Cultural Center is like a theme park and is Hawaii’s #1 visitor attraction, with villages and exhibits representing the island cultures of Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa, and Tahiti.

We really enjoyed the ride up the coast to get to the Polynesian Cultural Center because our tour bus took us by a number of sites where movies were made, we saw the mountains and valleys where Jurassic Park was filmed. A favorite movie of mine, First Date with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler the café on the ocean where most of the movie was filmed. Not to mention President Obama’s home, and where Obama and Bruno Mars went to high school.

After a full day at the Polynesian Cultural Center, which included an amazing luau we were tired. It was time to get on the bus to go back to our hotel in Honolulu. It was about 9:30pm when we boarded our coach bus, the bus was full. Roxie’s sister Becky was with us, Roxie and Becky sat together and I sat behind them. The bus took off for our hour and half drive back to our hotel.

About halfway down the highway, our bus died alongside the road. It just quit. The bus driver got it pulled over to the side of the road before it stopped. My first reaction was that he ran out of gas. The bus driver tried over and over again to start the bus but It would not start. That’s when the fun started!

With no air conditioner running it started to get warm quick with a full load of people on the bus. People were trying to figure out how to open the windows. Then another bus from an another company pulled alongside us. The bus driver from that bus climbed aboard our bus and made an announcement. “I have room for fourteen people”

Well, of course mostly everyone jumped out of there seat to get off. We were just about close to the cutoff since we were sitting up front. Roxie and her sister Becky stood up to hurry off the bus. I stayed seated behind them. My wife looked at me and said “Get up!” I responded “No you go ahead I’ll wait” Her response was “Get Up, you’re coming with us!!”

I said “Women and children first”. She said “This isn’t the Titanic…get up!!!!

So I stood up and got in the aisle, embarrassed that I was one of only a few men standing to get off. One young man in a hurry to get off started climbing over the seats to be one of the first fourteen off the bus. Unfortunately, we didn’t make the cut and had to return to our seats. When I sat down I crouched low still embarrassed that I tried to get off the bus ahead of women and children.

Another empty bus finally arrived and we all boarded that bus and made it back to Honolulu around midnight. Fun day, but tiring day. Roxie still shakes her head at me when we talk about that bus breaking down. Good for laughs.

Posted: November 8, 2017
Under: Raymo's Ramblings
Leave a comment

RAYMO’S RAMBLINGS – HAWAIIAN THOUGHTS

img_20171014_180916_035

HAWAIIAN THOUGHTS

As many of you know Roxie and I went to Hawaii for the first time. The reason for our trip to Hawaii was a wedding. Our daughter Brianna married the love of her life, Seth, on a beach on the island of Kauai. It was a beautiful and perfect day for a wedding.

Hawaii was a bit of a surprise to me, it was much more than what I had envisioned it to be. The beauty, the Hawaiian people, the resorts, Pearl Harbor, the beach, and the ocean all were amazing.

We spent four days in Honolulu and then flew to the island of Kauai. Here are some of the observations about Hawaii that surprised me.

  1. From the moment we landed on Hawaii, the Hawaiian people were so nice and friendly and welcoming. Everyone was very nice and kind. From the guy picking us up at the airport, to the many tour guides we had, waiters and waitresses, hotel workers, cleaning ladies and the list goes on. I was very impressed with the friendliness of everyone.
  2. The weather. I had a mindset before I left that while I was in Hawaii I would be hot and sweaty every day. That was not the case. Temperatures in the mid 70’s to high 80’s. Breezy. Biggest thing was the absence of bugs. No bugs of any kind! Sitting on a park bench at night on the beach was the best!
  3. How different the islands of Oahu and Kauai are. We saw most of both islands. They are both beautiful, but in their own way. What shocked me the most was how many homeless people were on Waikiki beach in Honolulu. Sleeping on the ground everywhere. I felt sorry for them. Here I am sitting on a park bench enjoying myself and a guy laying at my feet is struggling in life.
  4. Pearl Harbor brought me to tears. I have always wanted to visit Pearl Harbor and the memorial Arizona. I can’t put into words what that morning was like for me. I love reading about history, especially about World War 2. Being there on a Sunday morning at 8 am the same time of the attack on December 7th 1941, also a Sunday morning. The bugle plays, then the national anthem was played, it was very emotional for everyone standing in the park that morning. Complete silence. The ride out to the Arizona, and reflecting on that over one thousand Americans are buried with that ship. And to see the oil still leaking from the Arizona was too much for me.
  5. How big and beautiful these major resorts are. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt on Kauai, and for a day at the Marriott. Amazing places, the engineering of the buildings and pools, the number of people that work at these places, the organization of how everything works. The many kinds of services available. Blows my mind.
  6. Especially on Kauai, the amount of wild chickens running around. They are everywhere!! Friendly little buggers. I never found out why they are running around free on the island, and why there are so many of them. The children love to chase them.
  7. The food and the prices of the food. I know this will be hard to believe, me being a meat and potato guy. The best thing I ate during our trip was a pineapple salad. It was a pineapple cut sideways filled with all different kinds of Hawaiian fruit and I don’t even know what the different fruit was. Then it was topped with a coconut yogurt and that was topped with granola. After you were done eating the fruit and yogurt, you got to spoon out the pineapple! Best thing ever! I had two of them on our trip.

Many more things to blog about our trip to Hawaii, including my daughter’s wedding day, and some really funny things that happened to us, including trying to get home for two days, when our flights kept getting cancelled. More to come.

Posted: November 1, 2017
Under: Raymo's Ramblings
Leave a comment

RAYMO’S RAMBLINGS – BEST TIME OF THE YEAR

Autumn at Sleepy Hollow Farm, Vermont, USA

Autumn at Sleepy Hollow Farm, Vermont, USA

BEST TIME OF THE YEAR

This is my favorite time of the year. Why? Mostly because of the weather. I love the cool, crisp mornings and the color of the trees. With excitement I enjoyed the first snow fall. Fall high school sports are winding down and the section playoffs are underway . I’m looking forward to going down to the Twin Cities to cover the state high school tournaments. The excitement that surrounds these section tournaments is so much fun to be around.

The last week of October is the busiest time of the year for me. Section volleyball and football, along with state XC. Winners advance and losers leave the tournament and go home. For me, broadcasting a section championship is the best. The winning team goes on a trip to the state tournament and to watch the kids, parents, coaches, and fans celebrate at that moment of winning a section championship. It is so much fun.

It’s also harvest time for my farmer friends. I like watching the combines, tractors and trucks in the field this time of year. Sometimes I wish I was a farmer. To be your own boss and work the land.

When I was a hunter, I always looked forward to deer hunting and duck hunting. I’m not a hunter anymore, but when fall comes around I do get the urge once in a while to hunt. I have great memories of hunting with my family and friends, full of stories and laughs. I don’t really know why I quit hunting. Maybe I just lost interest or I guess life got real busy. I miss it.

Another reason this time of the year is my favorite is because I know winter is coming and winter is my favorite season. I love the beauty of the snow and the cold. I catch a lot of grief when I mention that winter is my favorite season. When people complain about winter I ask them why do you live in Minnesota? My grandma Myrna always loved winter. Growing up this is something we shared together.

Before winter comes, Thanksgiving arrives. This is by far my favorite holiday. To me, Thanksgiving is all about thanking God for all the blessings he has given me, like family, friends, living in this country, health, food etc. Thanksgiving means family time.

So when the temperature this time of the year drops, I think of all these things. That’s why it’s my favorite time of the year

Posted: October 18, 2017
Under: Raymo's Ramblings
Leave a comment
KLQP Podcasts 2024
Vega Wordpress Theme by LyraThemes