CARDINALS

St. Louis Cardinals vs. neighboring Kansas City Royals (didn't we just see them?)

The last time Jim, Ann, and Robert were at Busch Stadium, it sat in what is now the parking lot. No, they don't get earth quakes that big in St. Louis. They have built a new stadium right next door. But we generally wondered why they bothered. The stadium is industrial looking and concessions are positioned away from the field of play. Ushers (except for Eddy!) were stern, businesslike, and unfriendly. The sound system was inferior to much older stadiums we have been in. And they didn't do much to keep the fans occupied during a slow-moving game. Overall, we gave the fan experience a C-.

Of course, Carter made the best of it. He was tossed a ball by a Royals catcher. Then, after the game, a Royals fan saw him in his Royals cap, and handed him another one! (The boys now think that between them they should wear both of the team caps, if possible, to each game.)

In the end, even the "Rally Caps" weren't enough to help the Cardinals. They lost to the Royals 2-1.

The best part was all the great people we met. Mia and her parents became Carter's new best friends. Some very sweet folks behind us gave us advice on visiting Chicago. Eddy-the-usher came up with some baseball cards for the boys. And we are hoping that Mo and her gang will follow along with us on our blog, as we continue our journey.

Our FIRST game of the season!

21 days until we leave.
But...
Today we saw our first game of the season! Giants vs. White Sox at AT&T Park. This was not only a fun outing and an exciting sneak preview of what is to come. It was also a chance to try some things out and work out some details of routines we will need to make our trip run smoothly. The backpack is now packed with everything we will need to take to games; binoculars, snacks, gum, etc. The camera is charged, and we now know how to download photos and upload them here. We know how we will be saving ticket stubs, as a memento. And Jim has decided to collect a baseball from each park. He bought his first one today.


Our A's Jack antennae-ball came with us to be our official mascot. Here is his picture at AT&T Park to prove to all of you that we really were there!





Robert and Jim kept "The Book" a play-by play recording of the game. Robert got good at it last year, sitting in front of the TV. But this year he will help record each game we go to. Any questions? Just ask him! He will follow this with an entry of his own, telling you the game stats.




Carter had a great time. He learned some things about the game of baseball, like what "top" and "bottom" of the inning means. Jim and I love that he is asking questions! He was his usual social! self, and made friends with all of our neighbors, and Iron Man, too! He wore his Rally Cap proudly, and made sure that both he and I went down the big slide (he is so excited to be tall enough this time!)

Although the Giants lost, all in all I think the Beloves would call this a good first game!