"America's Favorite Pastime," they say! Maybe so because every year we always want to go at least once to our Turner Field of Dreams, so when Donica looked and found tickets online last week (on the spur of the moment), she took me...the very next day!
It was the "rubber" game between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros. We had just beat them soundly the previous 2 nights (12-4, 12-3), so there was lots of excitement in the air.
We didn't eat the proverbial hotdog but we did eat at the stadium before heading to our seats. Watching them get the field ready always fascinates me. How many men does it take to hose down the bases? TEN!
Donica happened to find seats directly behind home base, 26 rows up. Apparently two season-ticket holders couldn't make it that night. Their loss, our gain.
See the catcher? That's Brian McCann. And because we got there early enough, we were 2 of the 10,000 people who got T-shirts with his name and number. He's one big asset to our team, so we'll give the shirts to Donica's teenage twin nephews with pride.
Besides watching the game (I really did!), I spent lots of time figuring out night shots on my camera. In the beginning, while it was still light, it was easy. But as the darkness descended, I wanted to get good long-exposure shots. So I experimented!
This Coke bottle (from which fireworks are sometimes launched) was directly across the field from home base. I had my gorilla tripod with me and set up the camera on top of a railing. It worked!
BUT! After all that, we lost the rubber game, 12-11 in the 14th inning! Boo Hoo. Talk about a game! We actually left the stadium at the beginning of the 11th inning (it was late, folks, and it was a work night for Donica), drove the almost-hour home, got into bed, and watched the end of the game before the last out. I'm guessing that was after midnight. Don't know. We were too tired to remember.
Ah yes! Once a year is about all we need to get that pastime into our system for good, enough to appreciate the TV viewpoint from the family room from then on.
Still, there's nothing quite like being taken! It really still is America's favorite pastime for so many people in our country! We happen to be two of them. :)
Ah yes! Once a year is about all we need to get that pastime into our system for good, enough to appreciate the TV viewpoint from the family room from then on.
Still, there's nothing quite like being taken! It really still is America's favorite pastime for so many people in our country! We happen to be two of them. :)
