Day 1

We arrived at the airport at 4:15 AM and much to our surprise all the tv station reporters were there with camera's rolling. The boys flew out at 5:45 AM on time. We connected in Houston for a 3 1/2 hour flight to Baltimore. The boys slept almost the entire way. When we arrived our bus was waiting to take us on the 4 hour drive to Williamsport. We stopped half way to let the boys eat at Subway and Arby's. As we got closer to Williamsport, the countryside became more beautiful. We passed old farms with old barns like you would see in the movies. We crossed over rivers and drove along rivers that were breath taking. Everything up here is so green. The closer we got to Williamsport, the more excited the boys became. The city of Williamsport is set in some very scenic hills. We passed the stadium as we pulled into town and the boys started hooping and hollering. It was around 4 pm. When we got to the security entry gate, there was a large party waiting for us including our 2 uncles (hosts), Bill and Walt. These two fellas are the image of the "All-American grandfathers". The first thing the boys did before departing the bus was have a PA come on board and take all the boys' temperatures. They were then allowed to deboard and the microphones and cameras were already rolling. We were then escorted to our dorm which is much nicer than the word dorm would lead you to believe. Mike and I each have our own room and the boys are in a giant room with seven bunkbeds. We share our building with Venezuela, Japan and the Mid-Atlantic Region. The boys have received their jerseys and not all got their regular jersey number. The jersey number were based on the boys' sizes. They've also received their hats and wind breaker jackets. Tonight the boys have been busy meeting the other teams - trading pins. There's a large cafeteria and upstairs is a large game room with lots of free arcade games for the boys and ping pong tables. A notable accomplishment in ping pong tonight is Wyatt got beat by Japanese players 11-0 and 11-0. Nick Smisek beat multiple California players in Wii baseball. The name of where we are staying is The Grove. The name does not come close to describing its beauty. The flowers, the trees, the landscaping are awesome. There is a large Olympic size swimming pool complete with diving boards set in the middle of The Grove. The entire complex has very high security and sits on a hill over-looking Lamonde Field. If there is a baseball heaven for little leaguers and their dads, we have arrived! It is 10:30 here and we are getting the boys showered and into their room. We are expecting another very exciting day tomorrow. I have never seen 12 boys as excited as I have today. If I'd have known how awesome this was going to be, I would have been more nervous when we were behind 4-2 in the 5th inning. To say we are blessed is a huge understatement. Good night till tomorrow. Coach Lee