Steve's Thunder Travelogue: Atlanta, D.C., Brooklyn & Miami

January is always the month the NBA crams in a lot of games in a short span of time. They play 17 games over a span of 31 days, so here we go.

I left Oklahoma City early, missing the home game with Boston so I could get to Atlanta sooner and avoid flying in the day of the game. I'm not a big fan of flying to a destination on the day of the game but sometimes it can't be avoided. 

My flight to Atlanta was early enough so I could attend Hawks practice (the day before they played the Thunder) and request a chance to interview Norman native Trae Young. He talked to the media group in attendance, so leaving OKC sooner was not a bad idea after all.

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I usually try to stay at hotels that I have stayed at before, but this time I changed up my location. I remember my dad saying that he had a few business suppers at the top of the Westin in downtown Atlanta, so I stayed there for two nights. Great spot, within walking distance to the arena, and a short two blocks to Centennial Park. Incredible view from my hotel (floor 52). As usual, I ate at the downtown Waffle House in Atlanta across from the Park, it's always busy - but worth it.

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Image Provided By: Griffin Media

Image Provided By: Griffin Media

Next up - New York City.

From Atlanta we moved onto New York City. One game in Brooklyn, but the team stayed in the Big Apple for an extended stay, instead of moving onto the next destination, Washington, D.C..

My wife and daughter met me in NY to make it a family occasion once again in the Big Apple. My daughter is 16-years old, and I believe this was her 5th or 6th trip to the Big Apple.

I was 49 years old when I first visited the Big Apple. I remember it well. The area was hit with over a foot of snow soon after I arrived, I did more weather reports than Thunder reports on that trip. 

On the day of the game, the team had a practice in Brooklyn, and somehow someway I finally figured out the subway system correctly and was able to ride the transit to and from. The exit point in Brooklyn is right in front of Barclays Center, super convenient. Our Capitol correspondent Alex Cameron went to the game that night with his family. They drove up from Washington, D.C.. My family met up with his at halftime. I joked with him that he had to leave because the team was playing subpar after two quarters, and I blamed it on him.

Alex loves the Thunder; he was sporting his Steven Adams. I wish Steven would come back; the fans loved him.

Saturday was a complete off day for the Thunder. Some went shopping I was told. We did the same thing, my daughter slept in so Deanne and I went to a coffee shop and then walked about 6 blocks to Rockefeller Center to see the tree.

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I think we walked about 3 miles that day, and made another trip to Times Square. My daughter is drawn to the area. She did some shopping, looked at shoes etc., while Mom and Dad stood by her side. By mid-afternoon it started snowing and then it turned to light rain, not ideal for walking in NY -- but we made the best of it.

I always go to Joe's Pizza while in NY. I think we ended up going twice. I love the crust and apparently so does everyone else. There always seems to be a line waiting to order, but well worth the wait. 

On Sunday morning, Deanne and Annabelle had an early flight back home to Oklahoma City while I got to sleep in a little bit before the Thunder had a morning practice at Baruch College. Luckily, my hotel was a short mile walk to the college. The rain finally stopped, so I didn't have to deal with that anymore. I used Uber to get back to the hotel. I was racing the clock to make sure I didn't miss my train ride from Penn Station to Union Station in D.C.

I misjudged traffic on a Sunday in Manhattan. I made my train with three minutes to spare, some unneeded stress for sure. Wouldn't you know, the sun peaked out for a moment as I walked into the station.

If you ever have a chance to go on a train ride, go for it. I looked out the window for three hours with stops in New Jersey, Wilmington, Baltimore and finally to our nation’s capital.

My hotel was less than a mile from the train station. I stayed at a different spot this time, picking the AC Hotel at the Navy Yards. An improved area from 10-plus years ago, I was told. The ballpark for the Nationals was about four blocks from my hotel and a short walk to the U.S. Capitol.

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On Monday, the day of the game with the Wizards, the Thunder opted to not have practice, so that gave me a chance to see Alex and his wife, Ann, again. We met for lunch at the Longworth Cafeteria, a place Alex frequents. It's located right across the street from the Capitol. Good food prices, too. I think my soup and salad ended up being less than $10.

Once we wrapped up lunch, Alex gave us the nickel tour of the Capitol. His press access gives him two guest passes, so we just followed him around. He was the perfect tour guide; without him I would have been lost in the tunnels. He guided us to the Rotunda, and it was amazing, so clean and full of history. We took a few pictures to capture the moment.

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Image Provided By: Griffin Media

Image Provided By: Griffin Media

Alex turned this stop into my best one ever since I started covering Thunder games while in Washington. So much to see in D.C., it's one of my favorite stops on the Thunder road. The Thunder won the game in Washington. Alex did not attend, but his son and son-in law were in attendance, so the Camerons were thrilled with the win. 

Miami was next, the final stop on this long four-game road trip. For obvious reasons, Miami may be my favorite spot of all. This time the weather didn't pan out. They only direct flight from D.C. to South Florida on Southwest Airlines was a 6:00 a.m. special that landed in Fort Lauderdale. That alarm went off at 3:45 a.m. Here we go again. The weather was semi-rough when we got up in the air. The flight attendants barely left their sights for the 2-hour-plus flight. It was too bumpy to serve drinks etc. My room wasn't ready when I arrived, so I walked around the area. The hotel is right on the waterway. I needed a haircut, so I burned some wait time and knocked that out. Three hours into the wait, I asked if my room was ready and the person behind the counter noticed I had been waiting on the lobby couch for a while, so she found me a room. The wait was worth it, a corner room with a larger balcony overlooking Brickell Avenue.

The sun was barely out when I arrived, but the main issue was wind. My hotel pool wasn't open due to Hurricane-type winds when I arrived. Guessing 30-40 mph wind gusts in downtown Miami. On game day, the Thunder had a practice in the morning so I walked to practice and back, but still no sun. It was cloudy, but at least the winds died down.

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My hotel is off Brickell Avenue. Brickell is a trendy spot with tall condos, office buildings, restaurants and high-end shopping. I did my best to stay low-end, eating at Whole Foods three times during my stay. 

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The trip started with two losses but finished up with two victories.

The win over Miami was Mark Daigneault's first over the Heat. My stay at home is a short one; we're back on the road starting early Sunday morning with a flight to Los Angeles. Wash the clothes and repack the suitcase: two games in L.A., one in Utah and one in Minnesota. 

So that's warm-cold-cold.