The lovely Penny, 45 minutes before the first pitch, from centerfield at Coors Field 

Denver: The Rockies; a hitter's park; a tourist's downtown

Coors Field and the area around

August 5, 2019

San Francisco Giants 6, Colorado Rockies 5

This is like welcoming an old friend. The baseball blog.

Life has gotten in the way of happiness – if I’m defining baseball as happiness, that is, which I am.

This is a late, late blog entry, which certainly defeats the purpose of writing a blog, I suppose..

But here’s what happened. Penny and I visited Denver in August 2019 and took in a Saturday night game at Coors Field between the Colorado Rockies and the San Francisco Giants. It was, in fact, one of the best games we’ve seen on our journey of touring ball parks. 

The number of parks we've visited is now 23, by the way.

But about life interrupting us, since that excellent, warm night at Coors Field in August, we have experienced sickness in the family, personal illnesses, the birth of a grandchild and the onset of COVID-19. The coronavirus event means little to no chance of Major League Baseball for us this season – whatever season there is.

Our plan in 2019 had been to hit Denver and the two New Yorks, which would have put us at 25 MLB stadiums visited. Alas, we didn't make it to New York..

Aside from the Yankees and Mets, we have Arizona, Los Angeles (twice), San Francisco and Seattle to go. Oddly, on other travels we have driven right by the San Francisco and Seattle stadiums, but neither team was home. Since we started this whole journey in Oakland, with the Giants not in town, it seems only fitting that we should return to the Bay Area and make San Francisco the final stop. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Whereas life often blocks happiness, sometimes it gives you an assist. I had a business trip planned for Denver during the first week of August. Tah-dah. The Rockies were hosting the Giants on Saturday night before my conference started. Penny joined me for the first couple of days.

We had been to Denver before. Last time we experienced a bunch of Colorado-tourist experiences. We visited Pike's Peak, the Air Force Academy, the State Capitol, Colorado Springs, the Garden of the Gods, Boulder and Buffalo Bill's burial place. We hit downtown on our last trip and even drove by Coors Field, in a similar way to what we did in San Francisco and Seattle.

This trip we stayed in downtown, just a couple of blocks off the extraordinarily trendy and cool 16th Street, better known as the Pedestrian Mall. The street is filled with high-end and some medium-end shops, plus a million bars and restaurants.
And, yes, the pot shops are somewhere close by. I asked a friend what one should expect if he were to venture into one. He said: "Expect more security getting in than you'll get at Coors Field.

Coors Field, by the way, is also close by, five blocks or so north of 16th. It's an entertaining walk.

And Coors Field was a nice, clean, comfortable venue for a good game. On a side note, it's somehow satisfying that there is a stadium in the Major Leagues that has the same name it had (in 1995) when it opened. Not iconic in the Yankee Stadium, Dodger Stadium, Fenway Park, Wrigley Field sense, but still, Coors Field definitely says baseball in Colorado.

Bottom line: Terrific area, pleasant stadium, reasonably good atmosphere, full house, even though neither team was playoff bound.

An added bonus for me was that one of the best pitchers of this era, Madison Bumgarner, was on the mound for the Giants.

It only diminished the evening a little for me that Bumgarner got shelled in the third and fifth innings. He lasted five innings, giving up five earned runs. Still, the dude was humming it.

Good tickets, behind third base, therefore, screen in the photo.

Another extremely cool part of the evening for me was that the winning run came off the bat of Buster Posey, who was pinch hitting in the eighth. With the Giants trailing 5-4, Posey’s single to right drove in the tying and winning runs.

I remembered watching Posey’s clutch play in the 2010, 2012 and 2014 World Series. I am a fan.

I wondered if Bumgarner’s less-than-stellar outing had anything to do with Coors Field’s reputation – backed by a wealth of stats, I will add – as a hitter’s paradise. You know, these baseball trips always dredge memories for me, and I recall when the Rockies first entered the league, I would hear Skip Carey and

Buster Posey, game-winner coming

Ernie Johnson, the Braves announcers on Superstation WTBS, discussing the fact that hitting a baseball in Denver was sometime like teeing up a golf ball and slamming it with a driver.

We saw three homers, none of them cheap. Gennett homered for the Giants, Story and Blackmon for the Rockies. Ian Desmond almost added another Rockies’ homer, but Steven Duggar made one of those leaping reach-over-the-fence grabs to rob Desmond.

It was a fine night at the park.

KC: City of Fountains AND a team on a down cycle

Kauffman Stadium (and other places)
Kansas City, Missouri
July 23, 2018

Detroit Tigers 5, Kansas City Royals 4

I spent my seventh wedding anniversary in Kansas City enjoying the company of my beautiful bride, Penny. That accounts for the picture at the top of this page, which ordinarily would be a baseball stadium photo - or something along that line. This photo, however, is a shot of Penny standing near the base of the World War I Memorial and Museum, located on a beautifully landscaped hill that offers an impressive view of downtown Kansas City.

The trip to Kansas City was prompted by a visit to Stadium No. 22 in our multi-year quest to see - wait, make that "see a game in" - all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums. We could claim 24 if if all we had to was ride by an empty park. (We did that in Denver and Seattle.) We've also thrown in a few minor league games, by the way.

I should point out - as Penny often reminds me - that this baseball journey was her idea. Men across America are jealous, she adds. That is, no doubt, true.

As has been the case with some destinations, we didn't know what to expect on our trip to Kansas City. Oh, you can read all about the stadiums and follow the standings, which can give you a heads up on some aspects of what to expect at the park. But every park looks different in person than what you've imagined or what you've seen on television and via photos.

The same holds for the cities themselves. You can read all about a city, but until you get there and nose around a little, you don't have a clue what kind of vibe you're going to get. Our trips are short in duration, but certainly long enough to form a seemingly reasonable first impression.

Trivia: Did you know that Kansas City is the City of Fountains? If no, I’m right there with you.

Funny the things you learn, even after you've hit your sixties. You’d think I’d have actually wondered

why, during those Kansas City Royals games I’ve seen on television since the seventies, that the stadium has a bunch of fountains in the outfield. But no. Never questioned it. Not enough intellectual curiosity, I suppose.

Now I’ve seen a Royals game live. We had enviable tickets right behind the third-base dugout, with a nice view of the Kauffman Stadium fountains and waterfalls and the enormous king-crown thing at the top of the enormous scoreboard.

KC is the City of Fountains. Got it now.

Just one evening before, Penny and I had taken a walk through section of the city known as the Country Club Plaza, which is essentially a modern shopping district that evolved from a historic section Kansas City. There are many, many, many fountains and statues in the plaza. It was not bad at all.

We also visited the downtown City Market, which also was not bad. It offered an eclectic group of shops and restaurants, including an Ethiopian diner, where we ate in what made for a first-time dining experience for me - Ethiopian food, I mean. I should add that I'm aware that Kansas City is considered barbecue Mecca. But we missed the barbecue, primarily because Penny is a long-long-time vegetarian, which - in the words of Pulp Fiction's Jules - pretty much makes me a vegetarian. I might have been tempted to cheat for some Kansas City barbecue, but we all make our choices.

I also know that Kansas City is famous for jazz. Aside from a couple of street musicians, one in town and one outside Kauffman Stadium, we missed the music scene - sad to say.

We also intended to visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, but it was closed during our time window of opportunity. We took that time to cross state line into Kansas, where we checked out the Kansas City T-Bones stadium. The T-Bones play in the independent American Association, and their

Home of the Kansas City T-Bones

park if phenomenal. The T-Bones, by the way, average more than 4,000 fans a game, which is near the top of all the ranks in minor league attendance.

Kansas City had hills. I had expected mostly flatness.

Regarding expectations generally, I had figured we'd try to find something interesting to do in our off-time, but we would be mesmerized by Kauffman Stadium and seeing the Royals. After all, this is another place that I had seen a million times on television. Watching the World Series games from Kansas City three years ago had seemed nothing short of amazing. And the stadium is located in the suburbs - far out in the suburbs, in fact - on a plot of land that also holds Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Chiefs and, allegedly, some of the loudest and tail-gating-est fans in the NLF.

In short, I had no special expectations for Kansas City, but plenty for the Royals.  

Well, the Royals experience was ... ok. Nothing special, unfortunately. In fact, on our trip Penny and I concluded separately that we truly enjoyed the city of Kansas City, but Kauffman Stadium did not rank high on our we-d really-like-to-go-back-there list.

I can't seem to pinpoint exactly what the issues were. Whereas a small-town feel, compared to other venues, might not be such a bad thing, our experience was that it was a little too small-time - even with the scoreboard with the crown thing on top, which is roughly the size of Delaware. Ushers and other stadium officials were friendly, kind of in the manner that a Walmart greeter is friendly. By that I mean we generally got smiles; but when we asked a few questions about the stadium, we got a "can't really help you with that one" response. Easy questions, I might add.

A group of fans wanted to enter the Royals Hall of Fame museum, which is opened every game an hour prior to the first pitch. It was closed. No one knew why. Not even stadium officials, who eventually informed us that they weren't aware of this, but apparently it had been rented for the evening by a private company. It should be open sometime after the first inning, but, sorry, it will be closed at the end of the seventh inning.

Penny told a stadium manager, "We came halfway across the country to see a game here. We came to the park when the gates opened, so we could see your Hall of Fame AND not miss any of the game."

We received an Amos Otis bobble-head doll as an appeasement gift. Ah, the joys of the small-town feel.

Baseball, however, almost always delivers. The game was interesting, as baseball often is, even when played by two teams with sub-.500 records. The Royals are actually dreadful this year, but they entered the game with the Tigers on a three-game winning streak, having just swept the Twins.

And life looked good again for the Royals. Rookie Heath Fillmyer was dazzling for seven innings. The Royals held a 4-2 lead going into the ninth when veteran Brandon Mauer gave up three straight hits without recording an out. Four-to-three, just like that. Two men on. Mauer gave way to Jason Hammel, who gave up a rocket-shot double that scored two runs. Five-four Tigers.

Game over.

***

KC Royals

Welcome to the City of Fountains! There are more than 40 public fountains in the city. It was so hot when we got there Sunday, we decided to skip the Sunday afternoon game and do some sight seeing.

We stayed at the Hilton by the Country Club Plaza. The Plaza is an outdoor shopping mall that opened in 1923 and is supposed to mimic the architecture of Seville, Spain. It is full of luxury shops, along with regular retail and unique shops. There are more than 30 Statues, murals and tile mosaics, as well as many fountains. Someone told us it was built to accommodate car parking, which was forward thinking in 1923. 

We took the streetcar from Union Station to the City Market. Just a word of advice: A lot of the places at the market are closed on Monday. The streetcar is free, and it is an easy way to get from one area to the next. We ended up eating at a great Ethiopian place at The City Market. 

We also visited the Toy and Miniature Museum. I'm not sure how I feel seeing my childhood toys in a museum! The miniature exhibits are amazing. It is well worth the $5 fee.

Another must-see is the WWII monument and museum. The view at the top is stunning!

Since we were close, we drove over to Kansas and went to the minor league stadium of the Kansas T-Bones. It was a really nice stadium and, although we didn't see a game there, we enjoyed walking around the park.

We really enjoyed the city, and I guess it is a good thing we did. The stadium was a disappointment. At least, to me it was.

You must drive to the stadium. Like Philly and Milwaukee, the stadium is out of town. Randy and I have both decided we like in-town stadiums. It is a lot more fun to walk to the stadium or take a metro than to drive. Whatever you do, do not make a wrong turn. The parking lot attendant will severely reprimand you!

The stadium is known for it's outfield fountain Water Spectacular. The water fall flows constantly and the fountains display before and after the game and between innings. There are several statues at the stadium. 

The Kaufmanns, founders and first owners of the Royals 

Dick Howser, Royals Hall of Fame, Manager 1981-1987

Frank White, Jr. Eight career Golden Gloves

George Brett, Royals Hall of Famer

The Hall of Fame was closed for a private event. Believe me, we tried everything, but getting into the HOF did not happen for us. No one we questioned seemed to know what was going on. Customer services didn't even know it wasn't open. The text for help number assured me it was open - until I emailed the picture to them. I was pretty disappointed, but not enough to leave the game after it started in order to go inside. I hate to say, it but no one seemed to care that we traveled across the county and did't get to go in. 

The red seat in honor of Buck O'Neil. Each game someone who represents the O'Neil spirit sits in the seat. O'Neil played for the Monarchs of the Negro League from 1937-1955.

I don't think there is a bigger jumbo-tron anywhere. This thing is huge!

Sluggerrrrr and Little Sluggerrrr. 

Almost every park has one. Don't think we've seen a condiment race before though. 

Great seats as always. Thanks Randy!

Thumbs up:

Interaction with fans, enough without being annoying.

Vendors didn't get in our line of sight.

The scoreboard has a lot of stats, and I really like that. 

Thumbs down:

Closing Hall of Fame until the game starts.

Lack of knowledge/concern of staff.

Ushers did not stop people from going up and down the aisles during play.

Other things to do in the area.

Prydes Kitchen Store- this is a fabulous store with a lot of unique items. As a collector of Fiestaware, it was heaven!

The Negro League Museum- take note, it is not open on Monday!

The Nelson Atkins Museum for Fine Art

Kemper Museum for Modern Art

Despite the lackluster excitement at the stadium, we really enjoyed Kansas City. 

Tampa Bay Rays: Two good games, a laid-back St. Pete, and a record-spinning kitty

August 22, 2017
Tampa Bay Rays 6, Toronto Blue Jays 5
August 23, 2017
Toronto Blue Jays 7 Tampa Bay Rays 6

(Randy's Perspective)
We'd been warned about Major League baseball in Tampa Bay. We'd read about it. We'd seen pictures of Tropicana Field. And I talked to a couple of people who had been to St. Petersburg to see the Rays, who are the newest team in the big leagues playing in one of the worst pro parks in America.

These stories and pictures and what-nots on this blog site are documentation of my wife Penny's and my journeys to Major League ballparks across the country. Tampa Bay was trip No. 21 out of a potential 30 - even though Penny says we have to go back to Atlanta, because the Braves have left Turner Field. So does Atlanta count? I vote yes.

Sadly, with life and work getting in the way, we haven't had much time to travel during the past year. We caught three parks last year; one this year. Our odyssey is now in year six (I think), and we still have nine more stops to make. They've all been good; some better than others.

One of the rewarding things for me has been the connection to baseball that Penny is making - I mean, she's the one with the scorebook every game, even tallying the balls and strikes - as well as the re-connection that I - a sportswriter in a past life- am experiencing.

Tampa Bay is one trip we've talked about. It almost felt as if we were getting this one out of the way before we hit more traditional, historic and/or just plain well-known places that remain to be seen: Dodger Stadium, for example, or the New York parks. ... But to get to 30 you've got to check Tampa Bay off the list. So off we went.

I have a work friend from the Sebring, Florida, area, an hour and a half from St. Pete. He offered a curious, but accurate, analysis of going to a Tampa Bay Rays game.

He said, "Well, it's ... it's ... actually kind of interesting. It's not as bad as some people say. One of the good things is that the Rays don't draw big crowds. You can always get good seats. And it's inside, so you don't have to worry about the heat."

All of those things were true. In fact, in retrospect, it was kind of quirky and fun. ... What's not to

It's not an optical illusion. The roof is slanted, apparently
in deference to preserving cool air.

like about a stadium named after orange juice that features: an intentionally lopsided dome roof; catwalks that have been pelted by fly balls; a fan base that includes Dick Vitale as a regular; and a rally video that stars a record-spinning feline named D.J. Kitty?

Seriously, D.J. Kitty spins tunes. His first video went viral. Almost a million people saw it within a week. ... The Rays drew 11,000 a night during the two games we attended. Interesting doing the math on that.

Check out the kitty: D.J. Kitty on the scene

In fact, we saw two close, event-filled, one-run-victory games between the Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays - and the loudest crowd-noise moments during our evenings at Tropicana Field happened when: (a) the Blue Jays scored, prompting rowdiness from the 300 or so (apparent) Canadians that dotted third base-line seats; or (b) D.J. Kitty made his sixth-inning nightly appearance.

Speaking of quirky, allow me to mention an oddity about Tropicana Field. Penny talks about this in her entry, too, but there is a museum behind centerfield that has some interesting, but unusual exhibits. Since there's not enough Tampa Bay Rays history to house a museum, the Rays have broadened the scope. The bell cow of the Tampa Bay museum is the Ted Williams "wing."

If you're a baseball historian, your first thought is: Ted Williams - considered by many the greatest pure hitter of all time - was born in San Diego and spent his entire career in Boston. The connection to Tampa and St. Pete, we found, is that he liked Florida and once caught a big fish in the Gulf of Mexico near the St. Petersburg-to-Clearwater coastline.

The museum's historian told Penny: "Ted Williams really, really liked Florida." To the historian's credit, Williams was living in Inverness, Florida, in 2002 when he passed away.

One other thing. I found a personal connection in the baseball museum. They had a great hitters' collection. It contained a picture of Jim Rice, the Red Sox slugger, who happened to be four years ahead of me at our mutual high school alma mater, T.L. Hanna (Anderson, S.C.)

Two members of T.L. Hanna's athletic hall of fame are Jim Ed Rice (as we knew him then) and Radio, of Hollywood movie fame.

                                                                   *



Before quickly discussing the two games Penny and I saw, let me offer a two-day visitors' version of St. Petersburg.

St. Pete had a downtown thoroughfare – Central Avenue – that seemed trendy and chic. It had coffee bars, regular bars, ice cream shops, local – not chain – retail stores, vegan-friendly restaurants, a reflexology parlor, and a few artsy places of varying stripes. By golly, St. Petersburg had everything but people.

If fact, my first thought was that Central Avenue in St. Petersburg wasn't all that different than Capital Street in Charleston, West Virginia, the state in which we reside. Only Capital Street has more bars, seems busier and has more people meandering about. St. Pete had a smaller-city feel, in other words. Not that that's a bad thing.

Of course, Charleston, West Virginia, doesn't have beaches, theme parks and a major city, Tampa, right up the road. So there's that. But St. Pete and the beaches we cruised were pleasantly not overcrowded. That was kind of cool.

It being August in Florida, however, the weather was scorching, which might account for the lack of bustle. Perhaps Gulf Coast Floridians are smart enough to stay indoors.

That theme – something to do, no one doing it - even carried to its Major League Baseball venue: Tropicana Field. We saw two outstanding baseball games played by two slightly-under-.500 baseball teams. As I mentioned, the crowds were around the 11,000 number, and I think that total was generous.

Penny and I pose, 10 minutes prior to the first pitch ...
Did I mention that the announced crowd of 11,000 seemed
a rather generous assessment?

The notoriously small crowds, I would only guess, would be larger were the park more up-to-date and in Tampa. Then again, what do I know? It was odd, though, seeing such sparse, quiet crowds because the Rays seem to be a pretty solid club. They're not likely to make the playoffs, but they're technically still in the race. A nice winning streak could make things interesting. Perhaps it would get the crowds up to 15,000 to 20,000. They tell me that when the Yankees or the Red Sox are in town, the Rays can draw 30,000 - but the majority are Yankees and Red Sox fans.

The first night we were in St. Pete, the Rays won 6-5. The second night the Blue Jays won 7-6. Two excellent games that came down to the final at-bat.

Our Game 2 was an odd affair that included nine home runs, six by the Blue Jays. And they weren't exactly the just-over-the-fence variety. These were titanic shots.

This makes me proud.

Penny, who is fast becoming a scorekeeping wizard - an astonishing development considering that she probably had never fully paid attention to a baseball game until a couple of years ago - turned to me sometime around the fifth inning of the second game and asked, "Is this stadium known for giving up a lot of homers? It looks like the fence is pretty close in."

Penny's observation, I had to admit, was astute. I, who have seen lots of baseball games (and played in a few) in stadiums with playing fields ranging in size from the 180-foot fences at Embler Field little league field in Anderson, South Carolina, to the 420-foot centerfield fences at Fenway and Comerica parks. (By the way, I never played at Fenway or Comerica - just Embler.) When Penny said the outfield fences look short, I said, "You're right, these home runs are making the place look small."

So I jumped on the Worldwide Interweb and checked the stats, only to discover that Tropicana Field is not considered a hitter's paradise. In fact, it's not ranked in the Top 10 in terms of homers given up.

But I swear, from our seats behind the third-base dugout, when Kevin Pillar hit a solo shot in the eighth inning to give the Blue Jays the 7-6 win, the ball looked like it was shot from a howitzer.

Excellent game.

Oh, one other thing. During much of the 7-6 game, a torrential downpour with a lot of thunder and lightening were hammering St. Pete. We were indoors, and the temperature was 72 degrees.

                                                                      *

The Trop

August 22 and 23
(Penny's Perspective)

We weren't expecting a lot from the Trop since it is at the bottom of most rankings of MLB parks.  I was particularly dreading it, because I was afraid I would feel the need to bring a "Free the Stingrays" sign. Yes, the tank was as small as I dreaded and they actually allow people to reach in and touch them. We avoided this area but did take a picture from above. And yes, it smells!

We had great seats! We sat in the same ones both nights we were there.

The gold seat signifies Wade Bogg's 3,000th hit in 1999. Although he was known as a singles and doubles hitter, his 3,000th hit was homer. He also earlier had hit the Devil Rays' first home run in franchise history. .

You can't see the #98 on this shirt but it signifies the first year the team joined the league. This big plastic guy is coming out of the wall above the first level concourse.

I really enjoyed the Ted Williams Museum, but not because of Ted Williams. The exhibits were really interesting! I especially enjoyed the League of their Own display and the entire section devoted to the Negro leagues. Oddly enough, Ted Williams did not play in Tampa Bay. He did retire there but apparently was a local hero. Of course, I had to take a picture of Cal Ripkin's display in the Hitters Hall of Fame, since I am an Orioles fan.

                                                                                                                                                                     A rarity in ballparks, salad! This one was especially good at Ducky's. The guy behind the counter told me there are only four ballparks that sell salad.

Al Lang Field, a staple in the Florida training camp world, is about a mile or so from the stadium. It is now the home of soccer's Tampa Bay Rowdies.

We couldn't visit Florida without a trip to the beach! This beautiful shot is at Treasure Island.

You can find Raymond at the entry before every game if you get there around 5:30. 

I have found that I have to ask Randy less questions about scoring. I love having my score book as a record of the games we have seen. The man sitting beside me even asked how I scored a play and then replied that was he thought that was the appropriate way to score the play, too. Now, if I could just figure out to recognize and correctly score a fielder's choice, I'd feel I was making even more progress. I always mess that one up!


We also enjoyed staying at the Cordova Inn. It is the oldest hotel in St. Pete and more like a bed and breakfast. The rooms are super small and I think the bathroom was a closet but I liked the atmosphere, the staff and the big porch to sit on.

Thumbs Up:

• The Dome and AC!
• Easy to get to location and parking.
• Free programs.
• Salad!
• Vendors were around frequently but didn't really get in the way.
• Plenty of help and very friendly staff. Well, except for one security guy the second night. Evidently, he hates his job. 
• We were overloaded with canned noise, but there was just the right amount of information on the scoreboard. We also weren't bombarded with people in the audience playing games.
• I liked that the mascot was visible before and during the game. 
• I wouldn't really give the scoreboard a thumbs up, but it wasn't a thumbs down either. It was adequate. 
• I was amazed by the D.J. that was a cat. Randy will explain that in his blog.

Thumbs Down:

• The stadium is hard to get around. The layout is just plain difficult. You cannot walk around the entire stadium on any concourse. You have to maneuver steps and walk in the seating area to get to parts. I suspect this is part of the reason it falls at the bottom of almost every ranking.
• The crowd is very quiet and sparse.
• That stupid stingray tank. Free the stingrays!!!
• The catwalks above the playing field were somewhat of a distraction and I'm not sure what purpose they served.
• There is no outside entertainment at all. 
• I enjoyed the museum, but if we hadn't know it was there we would have missed it. If you go, it is up the stairs across from the stingray tank. 

We enjoyed two really good games - with a lot of home runs - at the Trop!

A trip to our local Minor League park to see the West Virginia Power

(Randy's and Penny's Perspective)
We took a hurried trip on Friday night to Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, W.Va., to see the West Virginia Power. It was one of those evenings where baseball served as a getaway.
For starters, some areas of West Virginia have been hit by horrible flooding, including a community called Elkview, which is roughly 15 miles north of Charleston. We are fortunate to not live in a flooded region, but in a state with a population of less than 2 million, there is always the chance that you'll know people who ARE dealing with flood issues. We do, and our thoughts and best wishes (and donations) are with those who were not as fortunate as we were.
There are some tough stories and circumstances, and we are thankful that we also live in a state that reacts fast when its folks are in trouble.
We stayed overnight in Charleston. It was difficult finding a room, because almost every hotel from Charleston to Huntington was full. FEMA and other disaster-relief workers seemed to comprise about half of the Charleston Marriott, where we stayed.
With life going on, however, most of the rest of the hotel included players, coaches and family members of players involved in the U.S. Youth Soccer Region 1 championship, which was being held in nearby Barboursville and Huntington.

On a personal level, we had a few layers of stress during the week. Our excellent cat, Dave Matthews, the world's finest cat (in our humble opinion), died on Tuesday.

The great Dave Matthews

Two days later, Penny let our dogs outside first thing in the morning. The dogs charged out the door and met head-on with a raccoon. Not good, a raging raccoon running around the neighborhood on a sunlit morning.
Jumping to the end of that story, with help from a local animal control specialist, the raccoon is no longer in the neighborhood.
Also during the week, Penny traveled to her hometown of Fayetteville, West Virginia, to attend the funeral of an uncle.

So Friday night, we decided to try and get our minds on something different and better. Baseball to the rescue.
Thanks to a friend at the Cipriani and Werner law firm, we had an invitation to use a suite and a couple of box seats above the first base line.
The evening was pleasant. The game was nothing special. We chatted with nice people throughout the blase 2-0 win by the Columbia Fireflies over the home team, the Power.
Much of the conversation revolved around our Major League ballpark tour. A gentleman sitting with us had been to 10 parks. He wanted to know our favorites, which listed as Orioles Park at Camden Yard, Turner Field, Wrigley Field, PNC Park and Comerica Park - all for differing reasons. His favorite has been PNC.
Penny has discovered that when she's not keeping a scorebook, she has trouble paying attention to the game.

When the last out happened, Penny was in the middle of a conversation, with her back to the field. She turned toward the field in time to see the Columbia players congratulating each other.

She asked, "Is it over?"
"Yep. A 2-0 loss for the home team."
"Oh, well. That was fun, though."

(Penny adds: In my defense, I also spent much of the night talking with a really sweet lady that I met in the box. Turns out I worked with her mom. Also, her nieces and nephews were students at my school. She is a teacher, I am a retired teacher and principal. We talked a lot about school.)

The racing pancakes must be a new addition.