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.