ENERGIZER FAN PHOTO OF THE YEAR CONTEST WINNER'S STORY
Kristopher Krawiec won the first secondary prize this year and, along with his wife Monika, he went to see the Blue Jays play the Angels in Anaheim in July. This is his story.The trip to Los Angeles was a wonderful reward for being that guy who painted his body blue and put a wig and made his little brother do it too.
We arrived on the Fourth of July and upon our arrival to the hotel we crossed paths with Lyle Overbay who gave me a minute of his time to chat and shake my hand. Then my wife and I went straight to Huntington Beach which was overrun by barbeques, which is customary for that civic holiday, so that we could dip our toes into the Pacific. Later we got lost in the Hills looking for a good spot for a photo with the old Hollywood sign; although daylight was fading and the streets of Hollywood Hills are tough to maneuver we managed to get in and out without harm. Having accomplished our task and after a long, long and even longer day of travel we were bagged and needed to head back to the hotel; however, we did not expect the trip back to be so tumultuous as the entire city had their own fireworks display to show-off, and driving along the highway underneath of myriad of lights and colors it was to say the least, extraordinary. When driving past the Walt Disney World, the traffic all stopped and parked on both sides of the highway to witness the incredible display which they've been apparently planning for the past several months.The next day would be the special day for myself as I was fortunate to choose the restaurant where majority of the team would go for sustenance for the game later that day. For a fan like me that was really cool. I was lucky enough to meet more players and coaches from the team. Rance Mulkins was particularly friendly and I thanked him for being part of the World Series Blue Jays team. Angels Stadium was packed and it's a nice ballpark, though it lacked the big screen and the giant tower behind first base it made up for it with a rally monkey. The game was stud vs. stud with Halladay and Lackey pitching and my Blue Jays came up with a big 7-5 win with V-dub blasting a homer, with Rios on in the 5th to give Doc the lead. Though the Angels attempted a late monkey inspired rally, B.J. Ryan shut that down.
Prior to checking out Sunday morning I was in the lobby wearing my Doc Halladay jersey and there he was standing; so, carpe diem, I asked him if I could shake his hand and though I had a million things to say and ask I simply said, "Great game yesterday and thank you for being a Blue Jay."
Before departing from LAX we hit a restaurant and grabbed some burgers for the flight home, and that In and Out burger joint was the only place that we saw some movie stars, imagine that. Sadly I did not take my ball glove or jersey or a baseball to be autographed, which in hindsight I wish I did, but I didn't want to be the stalker in the lobby with a Sharpie as I thought it would be disrespectful of their private time and it was my first time in LA so hanging out at the hotel was not an option.
From the bottom of my heart, Thank you! for selecting my picture for the Energizer Fan Contest. Monika and I had a wonderful experience and have a new affinity for pink bunnies.