After watching our IronPigs take a 2-0 lead in the best of 5 series against the Pawtucket Red Sox Friday night, four brave IronPig fans decided to make a spontaneous decision to road trip to Pawtucket for Game 3. While the trip was a series of obstacles, delays and heartbreaks along the way.. us fans made it to the game and saw the IronPigs win their way into the International League Championship series vs. Columbus.
The below is a true account of the trip:
10:00am – Dan’s house
Sara Haydt (Full name used), Jason DiPro and our driver Jay arrive.
All seemed well. While loading the car.. our official Road Trip mascot had a fatal fall onto the concrete and was left behind.
Hula Holly was placed on the Disabled List just prior to departure.
The next blow to the trip came early as well as the Mix-CD of crowd participation stadium music (that I spent an hour making the night before) would not work in the car’s player. We left with a resounding version of “Yakkety Yak” and got on our way at 10:30am.
Below is some footage of us enjoying the Noise Nation’s iPhone app (courtesy of Enter.Net) and Driver Jay mistaking our cheers for driving directions.
We had a slight snafu entering NYC… there was one ticket lane and 20 Easy pass lanes. Guess we’ll pay that toll by mail.
Then tragedy struck, or so we thought. While heading up 95 North, DiPro’s rear side window came down to a crashing end. The official prognosis was that the window came out of its slide but DiPro sat in the furious wind like a champ. Luckily we happened upon a Home Depot…
Stopped to fix the window
We found a tape measure in a nearby trash can
DiPro supervising the repair
Do not feed the DiPro!
So we were back on the road again with a slight delay. No worries at this point. We enjoyed a nice rest stop lunch of McDonalds.
We stopped for a nice view of the Mystic River.
We did not stop to try the pizza
We were cruising along 95 about an hour short of Pawtucket when this conversation happened:
Jay – “Uh guys, the battery light just went on”
Dan – “Keep driving”
DiPro – “Googling BMW Dealers in the area, found one calling now”
(5 minutes pass)
Jay – “Look the brake light came on… now the transmission light.. now the other lights are coming on”
(5 more minutes pass)
Jay – “Ummmmmm yeah I can’t shift the car”
DiPro – “I WILL GET TO THE GAME!”
Yes, we broke down.
Trying to signal other traveling Pig fans
Side of 95 north 1 hour short of Pawtucket
So we had some decisions to make. We were going to make it to the game no matter what. AAA (The auto version) was called and a truck dispatched.
Our plan:
1. Get towed to BMW dealer
2. Have rental car waiting there
3. Drive to Pawtucket
4. Watch Pigs win
What actually happened:
1. The tow truck driver arrives in 15 minutes. (Yes, impressive)
2. Driver informs us he can take only 2 people with him.
3. He will not leave the other 2 on the side of the road. Suggests 2 of us walk to a nearby road.
4. Sara Haydt (full name) and Jay head out with the driver
5. DiPro and myself begin the hike to the road where it was not illegal to be a pedestrian on.
Now this road wasn’t quite just a short jaunt from 95. We thought a nice nature walk would be wonderful. The 200 yards of thick brush and (according to DiPro) snake and bear infested woods led us to our safe haven. After some tripping, stumbling, branches flying into faces (I “really” didn’t do that on purpose:-) we found a small clearing near the road with some rocks to sit on.
Not happy with the path that Dan led him on 🙂
Looking back over the beaten path
Taking a break
Even I started to go native for a bit
Preparing our signal fire
Fashioning a help sign
This is what I heard every 2 minutes while stranded…
Meanwhile, while DiPro and I were having our own version of IronPig Survivor…
Jay and Sara arrived at the Dealership. They called the rental place to ask where their car was and were told they wouldn’t be delivered that they would have to pick it up at the airport. Sara swiftly got on the phone for a cab and (insert Sara’s not-so-family environment speech to the taxi agency) a cab soon arrived. Plagued by constant update requests from the Noise Nation tribal members, they literally sprinted through the airport and aquired a rental car and headed back to pick us up and it was none too soon…
The license plate on the rental car
We got back on the road and arrived mid-first inning!
Yes, we will get there... and we did!
The Pigs won! The folks in Pawtucket were great! We were particularly impressed with Pawtucket’s game program and scorecard. It did cost $3 but it is nice. The large pages, roughly 8×10 inches, were in full color and had a full page profile of each player that would be great for autographs. Also included was a large 2 page spread scoresheet with current rosters for both teams. If we pull anything back from our experience in Pawtucket to bring back as a suggestion to the IronPigs it would be this wonderful game day program.
Also ran into two of our favorite IronPig employees there to support the team!
After the game we went outside to congratulate our guys and waited with PawSox fans by the bus. Made some great new friends up there and many Pig players came by to talk and sign autographs for the folks waiting. Sandberg signed for a few, Mathieson for almost 20 minutes and we witnessed a very happy Zagurski trip and nearly faceplant coming out of the stadium doors. Daniel Nava of the PawSox also stayed and chatted with fans for close to an hour and Moss was happy to see some old friends from his days in Pawtucket.
Dweezy came by for a photo
Kratz stopped by too
We also noticed that Matt Provence hadn’t yet boarded the bus… it closed its doors and pulled away! We texted him and despair not, he had gotten a ride home from his good buddy Jon Schaeffer.
So the ride home began…
(Queezy readers, stop here)
Now, to flash back to earlier in the day, there was some contention that I was responsible for the window breaking. Granted I didn’t intend for the window to break (Jay had a similiar problem with the car this past summer) but the finger was pointed or should I say their noses were pointed away from my general direction. While we stopped to fill up with gas early in the trip there was no need for me to do the same… the sudden opening of all 4 windows was in direct correlation with an “event” that happened just moments before the window crashed into the door frame. I will leave it to your imagination to understand what happened….
So on the ride home we stopped at Wendy’s for a bathroom break and I had an idea for a prank. Jay and I were the only to go inside and I obtained a container of chili. Yes, chili. Jay set me up with a “You will not believe what he ordered!” comment and when I got to the car I held it up and announced.. “EXTRA CHEESE, EXTRA SOUR CREAM!!!”
DiPro looked like he was going to cry, Sara pleaded with me not to eat it.
The joke was on them though.. the chili bowl was empty.
It wouldn't have been a road trip without a prank
The windows remained up for the rest of the trip home.
We arrived safely home at 3:30 am and had nothing but smiles. I cannot overstate what a great time it was and how great Sara Haydt (full name), DiPro and Jay were during all of the above. We laughed, sometimes to the point of tears, and all took everything in stride.
I think I will hear DiPro screaming “I’m STUCK in the middle of the WOODS in RHODE ISLAND!” for many days ahead..
OinK!
noisenation.mlblogs.com 
Great story! Glad you all had a memorable time!
Will Hula Holly be going on the 7 day DL with an injured Velandia?
I have cousins who live in Mystic, CT and I’ve been to Mystic Pizza. You didn’t miss anything special by not stopping.
Just an idea to help the Ironpigs… The Reading Phillies are done. Why don’t the Phillies call up Juan Perez since he is still on their 40 man roster and then promote Les Walrond from Reading to Lehigh Valley to replace him? I don’t think anyone wants to see Perez pitch in a playoff game for the Ironpigs. I also wouldn’t mind seeing someone like Tyler Cloyd get called up from Reading just in case there’s an extra inning game and they need someone who can pitch more than 2 innings. He could replace Chance Chapman who hasn’t pitched since being called up from Clearwater on September 4th. .
Good point about the Reading pitchers–gotta be a couple there we could plunder. Rosenberg threw well the other night when I was there, but Walrond did not. He got a rousing “hey, we know him!” from my group, but ultimately couldn’t get out of an inning–maybe just a bad day, but he couldn’t find the strike zone. Chapman’s filler at this point and Juan scares the @#&$ out of me. Heck, I’d take Brummett back.
One more thing: kinda surprised DiPro didn’t get voted off Rhode Island. 🙂
I prolly would have been voted off but there was only two of us at tribal council and the vote was a tie – hahaha
Ha! I voted you should stay and you voted to get out of… the MIDDLE of the WOODS in….. RHOOOOODE ISLLAAAAND! 🙂
Great story Dan ! I loved reading it !
Dan you did an amazing job at sharing our story. It will be something I never forget!!
p.s. I’m still a little sour about the chili joke…hahahaha jk!!!
Bring on the next road trip!!
That’s what you get for taking a BMW instead of your classy car, Dan!
You ought to make a movie about this trip! What an epic adventure! Talk about making memories!! Wished I’d have been with ya!! Oink Oink!
Having once known people who drive from the LV to Penn State sports events — almost as arduous, tho with far fewer if any tolls — no way am I surprised at what happened!!
But there are questions:
1. How’d you get a shot of the two of you building a fire?
2. Was JD’s car ever brought back here to PA?
3. Are you flying to Columbus, too?
I won’t ask about not getting coffee-milk at McCoy. Two people confirmed to me last year it wasn’t happening.
1)I took the pic of Dan and Jason building the fire before we left with the tow truck lol
2) Jay needs to go back to Rhode Island to get his car this weekend. 😦
3) I’m thinking it may be safer to listen on the radio..but we wanna fly to new Mexico lol!!! 🙂
Good luck on the flight. To get to Albuquerque you generally have to go through Denver or Phoenix, whether you can get there directly or through Chicago or some other hub.
And once you’re there, it sounds like they won’t open up the GA seats until the others are gone; as of now they have plenty in that upper deck down the LF line.
Who’s renting the RV for Albuquerque?
Caution: it’s common to take a ‘wrong turn’ at Albuquerque. 😉
Also, Despite online and ticket info posted last night, the potential game 5 for Saturday would be 6:35PM (I’ve been told by unnamed source within the organization).
Which would make for a problem, ’cause Lehigh’s football game at Princeton (televised on WFMZ and radio’ed on 1230/1320) is that night at 6; 69 would corporately soil themselves at the opportunity of a clinching game on their usual night.
Pigs confirm, ‘cuz they want to resked a fireworks night if there is a G5…
Didn’t notice it before but there’s a nice 3 masted (Columbus) Clipper ship just coming into view on the far right side of the Mystic, CT photo. You have to view the photo full size to see it clearly. Must have been an omen.
Awesome story……I admire you guys for your dedication to the ironpigs
I recently moved to South Carolina from the Lehigh Valley. I will always keep my season tickets,,,and I am opening my house to Pig fans when the Pigs travel to Charlette and points south next year, All southern traveling Ironpig faithfull will have free lodging at my place….
Nick
484-951-2949
That’s awesome Nicholas! Thank you!!
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