The Crack of the Bat

“To travel is to take a journey into yourself.” -Danny Kaye

Yesterday was a very busy day with LTD paperwork, a walk on the Alter G anti-gravity treadmill (along with a few other things) in physical therapy, a stop at Big Spoon Creamery for a Coffee Almond Toffee scoop in a homemade cone and a bowl of Vanilla Cake Batter soft serve with homemade sprinkles for mini-me, then running home to get ready for what I have been excited about for MONTHS!! Opening Night at Regions Field! The Birmingham Barons vs. the Montgomery Biscuits. I like football, but I LOVE baseball. I love to hear the crack of the bat, smell the freshly mowed grass, listen to the sounds of the crowd and the taunting of the batter with “hey batter, batter, SWING”. There is very little I don’t like about baseball, even if both teams are playing as badly as they did last night. With Regions Field being closer to home than any of the other fields, we spend quite a bit of time going to Barons Games, and I really like Regions Field. It isn’t my favorite, but typically an all around great place to visit. Last night the park was full of Naval personnel handing out NAVY imprinted items, a portion of the Navy Band playing as you came in, along with the National Anthem, and Seal Team members parachuting onto the field, which was all pretty magnificent. That being said…you already saw it coming didn’t you? The disappoint in my voice. The cocked, unhappy stance. Yep, you knew something wasn’t right. Well, let me tell you. Opening night is one of the busiest nights of the year. Typically everything is all polished and gussied up, the staff is full of smiling faces, and the food is amazing. Last night was more like the end of the season when everyone is tired, ready for the season to be over, and they don’t purchase more menu ingredients because they don’t want them to go bad during the off season. The staff was curt and unsmiling, the beer carts were selling WAY past the point of intoxicated, and before the 6th inning they were sold out of everything but hot dogs! What kind of opener is that?! So much excitement for the new menu items, along with the old, only for a let down and a few grouchy faces. Now, to be fair, I would probably be grouchy too if I knew I didn’t have anything I was supposed to have AND had to face that crowd! I also thoroughly enjoyed the time with my family, and still loved just being at the ballpark, as there is something oddly relaxing about it considering I don’t like big crowds. Last night just wasn’t one of their better moments in food and staff.

That being said, please don’t let this keep you from going. TYPICALLY Regions Field is a great place to catch a game. We always have fun and enjoy spending time here, with some seasons it almost becoming a second home.