Dusty Baker, Chris Welsh, Homer Bailey and Todd Frazier signing autographs on the Columbus stop of the 2011 Reds Caravan
Alright, Van Hagar is a HUGE stretch, but I somehow had to tie in my inability to “Drive 55*” while heading up 71 North for the final stop of the Northern Leg of the 2011 Reds Winter Caravan. I was nailed doing 85 in a 65. My excitement for the Reds and malls in general could not be contained.
As for the Caravan, like all of the rest of the stops, attendance was up significantly. It was estimated that over 600 folks were taking in the festivities at Polaris Fashion Place just north of Downtown Columbus.
While standing in line, I was unable to hear anything from the stage at the center of the mall. I’m not sure if they did a Q&A, but if they did, it was short and they got on with the autograph line pretty quickly. From my spot, maybe 250 folks from the front, I was able to move through in under an hour and a half. I was really happy to finally add Homer Bailey to my autograph collection. He’s one of the few guys on the team I haven’t been able to track down between Redsfest and other events. Along with Homer, I snagged sigs from Todd “The Situation” Frazier, Chris Welsh and Dusty Baker for my son and myself. Dusty did a very nice personalization on my son’s baseball card. That will be a special card in his little collection. Thank you, Dusty!
All-in-all it was a nice reason to take a little road trip with the family and remedy the winter blues. It’s always great seeing the folks we know with the Reds and Cincinnati USA as well as getting some autographs.
*Yes, yes yes, I know Sammy Hagar did that song solo, but CaraVan Hagar was too good to pass up. Will you let it slide this time?
