First, let me start by saying I highly encourage you guys to continue asking me questions and commenting on my posts. Oftentimes, if I’m just talking about what I’m doing I’ll never know what you really want to hear about. The more feedback I get from you, the better this blog can be. At that, I’m going to answer some reader questions.
Last time I was asked if I had ever been to the Caribbean because dikmench7 is going on his honeymoon there. Unfortunately, I’ve never been. However, I asked a couple of guys on the team and they said that you absolutely have to snorkel when you’re in the Caribbean and you have to catch some bone fish. I guess bone fish put up a tremendous fight and in order to catch them you have to cast perfectly every time. Do it and let me know how it goes.
This reader also asked my thoughts on the local Cincinnati restaurants. My wife and I have fallen in love with a bunch of the establishments in Cincinnati. If you’re looking for a great place to eat, it’s tough to top Montgomery Inn or J. Alexander’s. I prefer the Montgomery Inn Boathouse but the ribs are just as good at either location. I’ll take a Donatos pizza over any other in town. And when it comes to dessert, Graeters cookies and ice cream is amazing. I can also be tempted with some UDF caramel cone crunch too. Most people wouldn’t think it, but Cincinnati has some great eating establishments. You should check them out!
Now, I wanted to give you guys a little snapshot of what goes on when we were on the road in Dallas. After boarding a chartered Delta flight, the atmosphere on the plane is typically pretty light. Guys are usually watching movies, napping or getting some last minute review of their playbooks. I’m typically studying for the game. However, at some point, I have to step away from it for a little bit and take my mind off the game by chatting with the guys or playing cards or just decompressing altogether. When we land we take buses to the stadium for a walk through. As you can see from the picture above, my brother and I were checking out Texas Stadium in Dallas. As you may know, this is the final season that the Cowboys are going to play in this stadium. They have a new billion-dollar stadium under construction right now that is supposed to be unreal. After the walk through we check into the hotel and then we’re in meetings for the night. As you can see from the picture, my hotel room is your standard hotel room - nothing spectacular. After meetings and dinner, we’re in bed by curfew and ready for the game the next day. We leave immediately following the game, head to the airport and it’s back to work the next day. Like I said, nothing too glamorous.
In the next blog, I’m going to tell you guys a little bit about want I like to do on my day off. I have a hunting trip planned and our bye week so there should be a good story or two for you. Anyone out there hunt? Any recommendations?
Lastly, here’s a picture of Cincinnati Enquirer writer Paul Daugherty after USC beat OSU. We had a wager that he would have to paint his face. In an effort to show this picture to as many folks as possible, Delta has been kind enough to post it here. Pretty funny, huh?
Fight on!
Carson
Carson Palmer is the Quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals and a frequent Delta flier.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Speaking of baseball, I have photos from the final Mets game at Shea Stadium. I know it wasn’t a great game, but email me if you’re interested in posting some. (A bunch have Delta-related things in them too!)
November 7th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Hi Jayo Z - Awesome! If you’ll add your pics to our official Delta Flickr group at http://flickr.com/groups/flydelta/ we can definitely review and potentially post. Thanks so much!
November 7th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Carson- Interesting look into the life of an NFL player!
I missed your last post, so I’ll add my comment about it here. I agree with dikmench7 about the Caribbean. I’ve gone to several islands there & it seems you can’t go wrong anywhere in that part of the world. Puerto Rico & St. Maarten are two favorites of mine (Puerto Rico being my favorite destination overall), although Jamaica was pretty cool, too.
PR’s full of culture and is a mix of history & the 21st century. Old San Juan is an interesting area to go visit…there are two Spanish forts that are worth checking out. There’s also the town of Ponce, Vieques and Culebra islands, and the El Yunque rainforest, which all make good day trips. Ponce & El Yunque are about 45 minutes to an hour’s drive from San Juan & you can either fly to or take a ferry to either of the islands.
St. Maarten is a much smaller island, but there are some great beaches there. It’s part Dutch, part French, so you’ll need a passport to get there (different from PR because PR is American). I’d definitely check out Maho Beach if you ever get there. The beach is right at the end of the runway for their airport & there’s nothing like standing on the beach being buzzed by a Delta 757 that’s flying so low that you could throw a hail mary pass & have the ball hit the plane. (Not that I’d recommend that.) The snorkeling on this island is really good in spots, too.
November 9th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Carson,
Always an interesting read, from a perspective with which most of us are unfamiliar. Keep up the good work.
As for hunting, you could do a lot worse than Alaska.
You might want to come on up and give it a try!
Regards,
Yukon
November 14th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Thanks Carson for the insight. The honeymoon isn’t until next October but I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.
That is a great picture of you and P-Doc.
I did have another question regarding the life of an NFL player. I was wondering how much you talk with players on other teams. Often times you hear on ESPN how Chad talked to Ray Lewis or Donovan McNabb about the upcoming game. I was just wondering how true that was? Are you NFL players really that close or is that something the media is wanting us to believe?
Also man, I just wanted to say to keep your head up. I’m sure your very frustrated with this season and the injury right now. I know the fans have sort of lashed out against the team, especially the owner, this year. I hope that doesn’t alienate you from wanting to be a Bengal anymore.
That’s it from me.
See Ya! Boo the Eagles!
November 17th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Carson,
As I commented in your previous post, thank you very much for giving us some insights on the travel experiences of a NFL player. I have a curiosity question for you piqued by your hotel room photo: do NFL players have their own rooms, or is it like the NHL (I have a neighbor who used to play for one of the NHL teams) where after a certain number of seasons a player is entitled to their own room? Just curious… my neighbor loved not having to debate (or try to win bets) over what’s on TV, or have someone listen in on his calls to his kids… but occasionally missed the comraderie.
thanks, pmcary