A Day Well Spent

Today is Memorial Day, a day to give thanks to all those men and women who have made sacrifices both large and small so that we may remain a free nation.  As a veteran myself, I was one of the lucky individuals who served in a peaceful location (Germany) during wartime (Gulf War).  So many others are not so lucky and I do appreciate the sacrifices both they and their families made for us.  So, as you have been hearing all day, I give you a heartfelt thank you.

So, you might wonder, how did I spend my day?  Well...I spent it outside enjoying a beautiful sunny day along with my wife and working in the garden!  We got quite a bit accomplished today.  First, my wife finished securing our new picket fence while I spread pine straw around to help keep the weeds at bay.  Then, I put some flower seeds into some pots to add a little color around the vegetables and hopefully attract more ladybugs, bees and dragonflies.  I transplanted some kind of crawling vine from the side of the house to a hill in the hopes that it will take over that area and make mowing considerably easier.  Then we transplanted a tree to the same location.  If they both take, it will be a miracle but it was worth a shot.  Now, it is time to simply relax.  I enjoyed myself and the holiday, I hope you did the same!

Beautiful day for a ballgame: A trip to Zebulon

Since my wife won the tickets and the weather was gorgeous (low 70s when we left the house and low 80s by the time the game ended), we figured it was the perfect day for a 2:00 ballgame.  We hopped in the car and made the 50-something mile drive to Zebulon to Five County Stadium.

Because this was our first Mudcats game, we didn't know exactly what to expect.  We have attended plenty of games at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP), but the Carolina League is a bit further down the development ladder.  When we arrived, we learned it costs $5 to park in the lot.  No biggie but not something we are used to with all the free parking around the DBAP.  We waited a long time at the ticket booth to turn in our vouchers for actual tickets.  But we were definitely ready for some baseball.

Entering the stadium, we found it to be quite nice, just over 20 years old.  In fact, the team boasts that it's ranked as one of the best parks in minor league baseball.  The seating capacity of the stadium is 6500, so it has a quaint feel to it with no bad seats anywhere in the park.  We sat in the general admission seats, moving from the third base line to the first base line.  The stadium also has a nice concourse with a small store and lots of food vendors to select from, depending on your mood.

The Mudcats are the Class A Advanced team of the Cleveland Indians.  This means they are pretty far down  the line in terms of development.  This became evident pretty quickly as the game progressed.  Although there were no errors in the game, there also weren't a lot of balls hit very far.  Most stayed on the edge of the outfield.  And, what was worse was the pitching needs some serious development.  The top of the seventh inning was horrible with eight runs let in, half of them resulting from batters being walked!  In the end, the game ended in an 11-4 loss for the Mudcats.

All of that being said, it was a beautiful day to be outside and we enjoyed ourselves.  I would consider attending another Mudcats game in the future if there wasn't anything going on at the DBAP!

Just getting started...

This morning I decided to create a new blog.  Although I have blogged before, I have never really kept up the habit.  I am hoping to change that and do at least a little writing every day from now on.  We'll see if that really happens...

If you are interested in learning more about me, I have added some basic information on my About the B page.