JT in Venezuela

That picture is of Justin Thomas ('06) and Shawn Kelley ('07 & '08) and it is from the latest diary of Thomas at the Mariner site.

The opening line reminds me of one of Steve McQueen's jokes in The Magnificent Seven.

It goes a little something like this: Fella, I know back home climbed to the top of an eight story building and jumped off. As he passed a window on each floor, someone would ask him how it was going. He would respond, "So far, so good."

So far, so good.

After a four-hour flight to Atlanta, a three-hour layover and another four-hour flight to Caracas, we finally touched down in Venezuela last Friday. All that was left was the five-hour bus ride to Barquisimeto.

The bus ride was remarkable. Being able to see the neighborhoods and dwellings in Caracas was something that had everyone's eyes wide open, even though it was about 2 a.m. here in Venezuela. The homes are stacked one on top of another and go up mountain sides like nothing that I have ever seen before. It was very different than anything in the States.

We finally arrived at the hotel around 6 a.m., not exactly totally alert after a long trip from Peoria, Ariz., and were able to check in. I wasn't able to fall asleep right away because I was filled with nervous energy, so I set up my internet connection and watched some television.

Sounds like a Midwest League roadtrip.

The food court offers many restaurants that are common in the States, such as Wendy's, McDonald's, KFC and Subway. The only hiccup is ordering. The first time that I tried to order, it was a little intimidating because the employees speak absolutely no English, but I was able to get out of there with my Subway club and Pepsi with minimal problems.

When Shawn Kelley ordered his meal, it didn't go quite as smoothly as he had hoped. Ordering his sandwich wasn't the problem, but when he tried to get Doritos as part of his combo, he was given an oatmeal raisin cookie instead. So we figured that Doritos either means cookie in Spanish, or there was just a little misunderstanding.

I'm going to guess -- with Shawn Kelley involved -- misunderstanding. What about Opening Night for the team?

The game was scheduled to start at 7:30, so we started to go out on the field around 7, when the pregame festivities started. They were really something to see. There was everything from dancers to mascots to fireworks and it was truly a media circus on the field. The player introductions were really cool, and they also had all of the Lara Venezuelan Olympic representatives that competed in Beijing at the game, and one of them threw out the first pitch.

Sounds like a good time.