Okay, it's done and I can go back to posting about other things, right? Wrong. One more day of recap from a great opening day at The Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
7:00am - Alarm sounds, the day begins!
8:00 - Leave for Ft. Worth
8:15 - Stop in West, Texas for a Kolache (no place better...anywhere)
10:00 - Arrive in Fort Worth to 40 degree temperatures and blistering wind - Uh Oh, I'm in shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt
10:15 - pick up pants at Old Navy off the sale rack, then go to Lids to look for Cameron a Ranger Hat, meet two other Ranger fans doing the same thing...Go Rangers!
11:00 - Grab a burger at the BEST BURGER joint anywhere - Kincaids!!!! See sample...if you get close to your screen you might can smell the greatness!
11:25 - Engage in baseball banter with the suit that sat down next to me wearing a Cleveland Indians tie..."You can't sit there wearing that," I snapped. He growled back at first, but then with a puppy dog look in his eyes, I caved and let him sit down. We proceeded to heckle him all through his meal and out the door, though!
11:36 - Crap! We're late, let's go.
12:10 - Arrived at our "secret" parking spot and began the treck toward the park. You can see what we go to admire on the way...that's right, JerryWorld - the same stadium that our Baylor Bears will host the dreaded texas tech red raiders on the Saturday after Thanksgiving next fall!!!
12:05 - We are almost there and the full ballpark is finally in view...oh, it's a site of glory. We see the tailgaters and the die-hards, and then we smell it...not sure what we smelled exactly, but Cameron said, "It just smells right, doesn't it?" I concurred.
12:25 - Fighting through the crowds in the Ranger Shop still looking for Cameron a hat...found one, now we can proceed to our seats.
12:45 - we pass the Texas Beers booth...okay, it's located
, but I'm so cold, I can't even think about a cold beer yet...but it's there!
12:55 - we are walking up to our seats, and walking up, and walking up...row 15, 16, 17...not looking good...20, 21, 22, 23!!! There is no 24. I am now officially the prouder renter of a seat at the highest possible elevation in the ballpark, it's shaded and the north wind is hitting us right in the back and did I mention that it was FREEZING!!!!
12:56 - we move into someone else's seats in the sun and no wind...ahhh, much better...even if only for a little while.
12:57 - The national anthem and the fly-over is awesome!
1:00 - President George W. Bush throws out the ceremonial first pitch - and a strike it was. He's walking toward the catcher in my picture.
1:05 - the Rangers take the field wearing their new red tops and red hats...blue skies, green grass and baseball...greatness realized.
1:06 - First pitch from Kevin Millwood...a strike. We're off and running now.
1:08 - we have to move back to OUR seats...oh no...
1:30 - after a couple of nothing innings, the Rangers break through for 4 runs...oh baby!
2:03 - enough is enough, I cave and go back down to the other shop and find a hoodie...I shouldn't have, I know, but it was miserable up there in OUR seats...
2:20 - Warmed and aptly prepared to tackle OUR seats again, we head back to our section. There's the Texas Beers again, this time I am warm and prepared...I have peanuts in my central pocket and I'm ready. "Hey Dude, should I get the Buffalo
or the Ugly Pug?" I say to Cameron. "I don't know...I think you should get the Buffalo Butt." Okay. I'm confident. I get up to the counter and I ask for Buffalo Butt (I know...it was as creepy as it sounds). She looks at me and says, "We don't have that!" "What? It's been advertised (at that moment, I felt like someone had played a cruel joke on me, throwing in Buffalo Butt in the middle of all the weird names, just to see if some dork like me would actually ask for it). "Do you have Ugly Pug?" She said yes, and after a discussion about the type of lager that was, I decided to go with the Rahr's Amber Lager - it was a signature beer for them and it was on tap. Okay, done...now we move up to THE seats...but this time I'm ready to win this battle.
2:25 - the crowd screams and I'm in the tunnel...fireworks go off and that means one thing at the ballpark. Someone on our team just hit a homerun! I back up and check the monitor...Hank Blalock goes yard and adds 3 more runs to our total...I'm loving it.
3:00 - Salty goes yard from the left side of the plate. And we're watching it this time. Fireworks go off! Yes!
3:39 - Michael Young squeezes the glove on a pop up to end the game. Rangers win 9-1 and the game lasts 2 hours 36 minutes. Pitching? Outstanding. Hitting? Expected. Elvis at short? Watch this kid. Young at 3B? He's played other positions? Kinsler? MVP watch. Wilson? 3 up 3 down 8th. Francisco? 3 up 3 down 9th. Jobs done well on this day.
We now drive back to Mt. Calm. We share fried chicken with Cameron's in-laws and laugh hard. Tried to check out the basketball game, but it wasn't much of a game. Then we head out to the back yard to check out the stars, the moon and partake in the great leaf. Padron 1964 Anniversario Editions. We are lucky to participate in this ritual once a year. This was the perfect night. Two pastors enjoying the smoothness of a Padron, while discussing our church and how we can help more people fully engage in the Christ-life where they live and and work. After a great day at the yard, we had a great night in the yard. Today, we work. We carry that conversation further....and we'll eat lunch at George's in Waco.
The stars are aligned and all is right in the world of Brad right now. Don't post anything to mess with that either!
All times posted above are approximations and in no way should make you think I was some weirdo watching my watch all day!
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