ORIOLES

There is just something about a brick building. This old train warehouse really adds a special element to Camden Yards, the home of the Baltimore Orioles. But this 16 year old stadium is starting to show its age. The green seats are faded, and the Diamond Vision's color is so bad, you would think the team's colors are black and RED! As in the older style, you can't see the field from the concession stands. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our game.

Robert was tossed his 5th ball of the trip by Royals left-fielder, David DeJesus in batting practice.

No, it's just a mural. But we thought it made a fun picture with our little slugger in front of it! There were several things for a young fan to do while waiting for the game to start, and all were free.

For most of the game, the folks at Camden Yards let the baseball game speak for itself. There was little music, statistics, announcers, or games and contests. It seemed eerily quiet. But when a mere 19,000 Orioles fans cheer, they make quite a noise! And we never knew that The Star Spangled Banner had quite such a prominent "O!"

Their Diamond-Vision entertainment contained some items we had not seen before: "The Double Bubble Challenge" searched the stands for the fan who could blow the biggest bubble. "Name That TV Tune" had Ann guessing correctly a show she NEVER watches (Two And A Half Men), and the best was certainly "This or That". A question is posed, in this case "The Beastie Boys or the Beach Boys?" Then the team members are polled to see which one they prefer. (Beach Boys won by one vote!)

Our seats on the 3rd deck, right behind home plate were really very good. The best $8.00 tickets in all of baseball! They weren't too high up, and we had a very good view.

The 4 teachers behind us, and the family from Milwaukee in front of us with 4 kids, provided a lot of interesting conversations and kept Carter busy for nearly the whole game.

We would like to extend a special thank-you to the folks at Fan Relations who went above the call of duty at a very late hour to find the exact attendance for the night's game.

But we've got to tell you, $1.00 for a squished penny is extreme!