Day 2 of The Back to Da’ Beach vacation at the Riu Palace Bavaro in Punta Cana was an informative one for Bears fans and me. The Riu Bavaro has a beautiful stretch of beach just outside of the pool area where we all met in the morning. The players and fans all came ready for a football learning experience. The 5 players separated into their personal coaching stations and put the fans through position specific drills to really understand what’s happening on the field every Sunday. The first station was Henry Melton’s. He was teaching to “get off the ball” as a defensive lineman while not committing and offsides penalty. Needless to say, it wasn’t as easy as everyone’s TV makes it look. Gabe Carimi wasn’t too far away coaching Bears fans on 3 person blocking combinations. Matt Spaeth was also involved with Gabe’s station; as well as showing correct pass catching technique. The station that was the most informative for me and many others was the Tillman/Roach “Cover 2″ station. Charles & Nick gave the Riu Bavaro pool side relaxers a greater insight as to how the defense is played correctly and what the quarterback does to make an entire defense converge on where they think the ball is going. After all that information, the group split into two teams and put what they learned to use in scrimmage that was made especially for a white sandy beach vacation atmosphere. After a great lunch at The Montecristo Steakhouse, Nick Roach and I talked about the off-season. We then got into the business of media and player interaction.

Later that night, the entire collection of Bears players/team reps and Apple Vacation staff dined at La Bambola on the Riu Bavaro Palace grounds. The Shrimp Linguine with White Wine Sauce is what I went with as we shared stories. To end the night, we headed over to the performance area in the resort, where we were treated to The Dominican Dance Group. Local flavors of dance, mixed with crowd participation (by that I mean they had me on stage dancing), was a perfect way to end the night (or early morning). So Day 2 was another successful one as the fans who chose Apple Vacations and The Riu Palace Bavaro resort were informed and entertained once again. Day 3 is the Q&A with the players by the fans and me. Should be interesting to hear what these die hard ladies and gentleman want to know about their beloved Orange & Blue.

Days 3 & 4 coming soon…

Click here to read Jason’s full blog.

For those of you who have never traveled with us before, you may find yourself asking “is Apple Vacations all it’s really cracked up to be?” Rather than hearing it from us, we thought we’d take the opportunity to share “The Score’s” Jason Goff’s published blog detailing his trip to Punta Cana with Apple Vacations.

Day 1

Whatever expectations I had for the beginning of this 7 day experience, consider them surpassed. Apple Vacations really knows how to host a Bears player fan trip. A slight delay at O’Hare was more than made up for by the welcome we received once we set foot on Punta Cana soil. A little apprehensive at first about my interaction with the players, whom I’ve only dealt with on a professional level for the most part. That uneasiness was put to rest as soon as we all gathered on the chartered transfer shuttle from the airport to the hotel. As the guide pointed out everything from the local sights to the 3 person motorcycle taxi, Gabe Carimi and Matt Spaeth talked about previous vacations and picture taking. It was at that moment that I relaxed and tried to remember what it was like to be on a vacation. When we arrived at the Riu Palace Bavaro, all I could think about was checking in and getting to the room. Before I could be bothered with those thoughts, we were escorted off of the bus into a hospitality room where the locals greeted us with mixed drinks, food, and dancing (I have the pictures of Henry Melton to prove it). Everyone was friendly and they even had a “little zoom” (a staff member who looked like a deflated Jerry Azumah) that Melton, Charles Tillman; and was quite amusing. After check-in and a quick shower, we all headed down to a meet and greet by the pool around 7pm for the reason we’re all here; the fans. Chicago Bears fans are the most intense, passionate, loyal fandom that I hear from on a daily basis during the football season. Sometimes I forget that there are lots of nice people mixed in as well (you should take some of our Monday phone calls). Fans young, old, male, and female; all appreciated the time that Nick Roach, Matt Spaeth, Gabe Carimi, Henry Melton, and Charles Tillman took to talk football and interact with them. I might add that there are also plenty of women who brought their husbands along on this trip, so the following isn’t gender specific. After a couple of hours of hanging with the people, we all dined at The Grill Steakhouse. The players shared stories about various topics. Weddings (because a mother of a bride staying at the Riu brought us the wedding cake), exotic pets, and Gabe Carimi’s place at the head of the table, were all discussed (light heartedly of course). After being hustled by the pool shark that is Nick Roach, we called it a night. Day 2 was all about showing the fans what each player goes through on the field. A beach workshop by position at 10AM should get the juices flowing. Did I mention it’s all inclusive and there was a complimentary bottle of champagne in my room? This is going to be a good 7 days. Apple Vacations and RIU Hotels are spoiling us.

Stay tuned for Day 2!

Click here to read Jason’s full blog.