September 2010
Mike grew up playing baseball with his dad as his coach until he left for college. So it goes without saying that Field of Dreams is one of his all time favorite movies (and just about the only thing guaranteed to make him bawl like a little girl). With this in mind, Alaina concocted an amazing, elaborate present for his 28th birthday. But when she surprised him with a trip to Dyersville, Iowa (via Madison, WI), his reaction wasn’t exactly what she expected. As they hung out that night Mike slowly got quieter & quieter until Alaina got tired & went to bed in the other room. When she texted him (in tears) from the bed that she knew something was wrong but she couldn’t figure out why he hated the gift, he worked up the nerve to tell her that while he did love the gift, he had always envisioned going there with his dad and so he was conflicted. Awkward, right? Just wait…
At hearing this Alaina bursts out into tears again because she now had to spoil the best part of her surprise. Mike’s parents were meeting them at the airport in Madison! She had planned the whole thing out & Mike ruined it because he’s a jerkface.
We spent a day exploring Madison, including the amazing Farmers Market surrounding the Capitol Building before jumping in the car and driving out to Iowa. Field of Dreams was straight out of the movie. Mike & his dad got to have a catch, we all got to walk out of the corn & we bought a souvenir bat that we all autographed to keep at Mike’s parents house as a keepsake.
Go the Distance.
