My trip to the Classic - Day 5

[blakstr1]

Day 5 - Sunday 2/26


The final day at the Classic allowed me to get a little extra sleep.? We had decided not to be observers today but rather rest for the long drive back to Michigan.? Ken decided he wasn?t going to attend the morning blast-off but I was determined to see it, felt as if I would have been missing something if I hadn?t seen at least one from the dock while I was there.? I was fortunate to witness the blast-off from 3 very different vantage points, the first in a camera boat, the second in a tournament boat, and lastly from the edge of the walkway along Lake Toho.? The weather had taken an extreme turn for the worse today, heavy rains and lightning delayed the blast-off for nearly 20 minutes, but once the lightning had passed and the storm was reduced to a steady, annoying shower, the National Anthem was sung and the boats were released.? The winds were brisk early and were expected to increase to 30mph within the first 3 or 4 hours of the morning, it was crucial that the anglers be released as quickly as possible so they could get their fish in the boat before the heaviest of winds began to blow.

I stayed along the docks for a while during the Sunday morning Basscenter, ESPN had cameras out there filming us crazy weather bearing fans.? After I devoured a couple complimentary morning Johnsonville Brats and claimed a couple free t-shirts from various early morning crowd pleasing vendors, it was back to the motel to pack up 5 days worth of wrinkled clothes and head over to the Classic Expo for the final day.?

I had resisted buying much throughout the week, but today my will power was low.? I had marked my anticipated shopping path in my mind all week, when I entered the building I was sure to be a madman on a mission; I did just that.? I had my arms full of Bomber products when I bumped into Bobby Murray, he laughed a bit at my clumsiness but thanked me for buying the products.? We talked for a bit, turns out he and his brother Billy travel around training people to sell, the Bomber, Booyah, Smithwick, etc items at these shows.? He expressed his envy in me that I was still fairly young and still had the tournament angler excitement along with a body that could keep up.? The conversation almost turned melancholic as he talked about the surgeries he has endured and the small number of tournaments he can handle a year, I felt the mood changed, cracked a small joke, and the tables turned?he seemed to cheer up, told a story about Hank Parker and himself then we parted ways, smiling together.

I wandered around the show most of the day, buying things sporadically as the fever hit me.? It was a long day that found me for one short spell, napping in a less than comfortable chair near the Berkley display.? The line to enter the weigh-in began to form early, but with our volunteer credentials we were able to slip backstage and miss the line, straight to the expo floor area called the ?live well?, which was right in front of the stage.? We worked our way to left stage along the rail where the boats entered the arena to watch the weigh-in; this is where we stayed throughout the show.?

While Luke Clausen was being given the trophy for his Classic Championship, we began to file out, not out of disrespect but rather to get a jump on the traffic.? Our trip back to Michigan began about 6:30pm and ended at my home port in Saginaw, around 2:30pm on Monday, another 1300 miles and 40 hours of eye straining alertness...what a great trip, one I won?t soon forget!?

The memories made and the experiences lived on this trip will long stay with me, I have many more stories about the trip but some will just stay with me.? I hope you've all enjoyed the first installment series of Blake's Excellent Adventures.?

[superjay5]

Awesome Write Ups Blake!!!!!!!

What a Ride!!!!

[stackenem]

Sounds like you had one awesome trip. Keep up the great stories.

[blakstr1]

much appreciated fellas, thanks for reading, glad you enjoyed it..

[dartag]

i guess you were sitting somewhere by my brother in the live well.  he was at the show and went by the entrance for family.. he told the guard a little tale,  that KVD was his neighbor and they were there to see him.. ( they are both from Michigan )  they let him in and he sat right behind Rick Clunn's family... he had a great view of everything.. he has had a tough 2 years health wise so this was a great treat for him..

enjoyed reading your articles..

keep up the good work 

[djkimmel]

"I cracked a joke with Bobby Murray at the Classic and all I got was this T-Shirt"  (not really obviously - did Ken get 'my' steak dinner?)

[blakstr1]

(did Ken get 'my' steak dinner?)

Shhh!  i didn't let him in on that deal!!     what he doens't know won't hurt him...

[rudycard72]

Thanks for the write Blak, Ii feel like i was there myself.