Hot and Go!

With Erin back with me, I felt great. I was looking forward to our games on Sunday against Bonn, as well as the break. Erin and I had a great itinerary to travel around Europe for 14 days. The Saturday before our Bonn games Erin and I enjoyed time together in downtown Paderborn and we sat outside one of my favorite places and eateries, The Cafe and Bar Celona. A fun little play on words. We were pleasantly surprised when a giant Parade began, which seems to be a theme here in Germany, as this was the third time I had been ambushed by a street parade while sitting outside a cafe.

The next day Bonn came into town and it was HOT! I grew up in the Nevada desert, so heat has no meaning in my head, but it was downright unbearable on this particular Sunday. The worst part was trying to sleep the night before. Having no fan and no screen to keep the bugs outside only allowed me to keep my window open a little. Also, our house is surrounded by concrete and asphalt which doesn't exactly keep things cool around the house. I did not get a great nights sleep, and the only thing I could do to cool down was get a wet towel and put it on my forehead.

As the day started I immediately started chugging water. I think by the end of game one I drank about 3 liters of water, plus I added electrolytes to the water in order to battle the heat. We beat Bonn in game one by a score of 15-5 and I went 2-3 at the plate with an RBI and 4 runs scored. During the break in between games I was soaked with sweat and all the water from running my head under the sink in our dugout. By the time game two came around I had not cooled down much and started the game uncomfortable hot and sweaty. Danny threw really well as he only gave up one run the entire game and we got him a lead and a win. I can't say I remember much of the game because I couldn't stay focused. At the end of the game I headed home with Erin and cleaned up. I still wasn't feeling too great because of the heat. As I began to cook the two of us dinner I got dizzy and very light headed. Erin could tell something was wrong as I felt like I had a high fever. Needless to say I was experiencing heat exhaustion. Erin took over from this point and as the minutes passed and I sat at the table in the dinning room I felt as though it was getting worse. She helped me up and moved me into the bathroom where I turned the shower on cold water and got in fully clothed and sat on the shower floor for about 15 minutes under the running water. I felt better after a while although I didn't want to move. Once I felt like moving again I got up and drank as much ice water  as I could and finally ate dinner. Not a fun feeling and poor Erin was so worried.

I felt better as the hours passed and the next day I needed to pack and get ready as we were leaving for  our two week trip around Europe from Dusseldorf the next day. Danny was coming with us because he was headed home from Dusseldorf the following day so we all decided to share a room and enjoy a night together in Dusseldorf.  I was so happy to be traveling with Erin and we were all really excited to be leaving the next day. Upon our arrival to Dusseldorf we made our way to "the worlds longest bar," once again to enjoy the great nightlife that Dusseldorf offers. It was fun sharing the night with Danny and Erin and we all had a really good time and enjoyed great food and the fantanstic "Alt Style Beer" that is so famous in Dusseldorf.

The next day Danny left early in the morning to fly to Seattle. Erin and I jumped on the plane for Dubrovnik, Croatia and as I watched the exciting smile Erin carried all day (especially with her first glimpse at the Alps as we flew over them) I knew it was going to be a very exciting and eventful trip.