THE DRIVE NORTH--CAN YOU BELIEVE 5 BASEBALL GAMES IN 6 NIGHTS?

In early May, we left Gainesville under cloudy and mostly wet skies as we traveled to Jacksonville and then north on I-95. Our first destination was Savannah, GA for a thirsty Thursday Sand Gnats, a NY Mets affiliate, minor league baseball game. Mother nature didn't cooperate as the field was covered when we arrived and only briefly uncovered before the rains continued.

Historic Grayson Stadium had a lot of character with all covered bleacher seating, mostly behind a screen, something like you would see in old baseball movies like Bull Durham. You may be able to see the screen in the photo below. Not only was it raining but the temperature was only 64 degrees as verified on the scoreboard.

The mascot, named Gnate, had a good time despite the rain. Notice the towel over his head plus the towel in his right hand as he tried to shield himself from the rain while trying to lure fans to remain in the stadium.

The game was delayed for over 90 minutes, but we weren't there when play finally began. Dinner and ice cold beer were calling at a friendly Hooters restaurant near the campground. Note of interest--The pitching coach for the Sand Gnats is Frank Viola, former MLB pitcher with the Twins and a former high school coach in Florida at Lake Highland Prep in Orlando.  

After continuing our journey north on I-95 to Raleigh, NC, we headed to a Carolina Mud Cats, Indians affiliate, game. Finally, we got to see a baseball game played. This was a much newer stadium with some very unique characteristics.  How many water towers have you seen painted to look like a baseball, complete with the stitches?

 
We didn't know the visiting team was an Orioles farm team until we looked at a ball bag on the field. The Carolina Mud Cats were playing the Frederick Keys.

The two Mud Cat mascots, Muddy and Mini Muddy, made the chilly and windy evening somewhat entertaining. They both arrived on 4 wheel ATV's to greet the crowd while t-shirts were being thrown to the crowd.

Richmond was our next destination, and we found a micro brewery across the street from our campground. Yes, we could not have planned any better, especially considering this happened purely by accident. Center of the Universe was just a short walk from our motor home.

Paul relaxing on one of the sofas in the bar area.

When you first saw "COTU" you may have thought it was an abbreviation for a university rather than the abbreviation for a brewing company. The t-shirt design was very unique. Best of all, the beer was very good too!

The stadium in Richmond, named The Diamond, was bland with no view beyond the fences other than warehouses, train tracks, and parking lots. But, their mascot made the Richmond team unique. How many teams have you heard of called the Flying Squirrels?  Mascots are usually chosen for being ferocious. 

Tonight was beard night with players from a recreational baseball league, where all the players must have beards to play, were recognized. Prizes were given for the best beards - a little weird!  Did you notice the fake beard on the announcer?
 

Their cheer was different as well.  I guess because squirrels like nuts you cheer "go nuts". Any other ideas? Fact of the night--The mascot's name is Nutzy.
The concession food tasted very good and the beer stayed cold on another blustery and cold evening. 

Our next stadium visit was in Harrisburg, PA, located on City Island, in the middle of the Susquehanna River. There are other amusement attractions on the island besides Metro Bank Park including a kiddie train ride, bike trails, batting cages, and more, obviously a family friendly place for summertime fun.

We entered the Park from the left field area but couldn't resist the view of the seats beyond the left field wall. Makes it look cheesy, wouldn't you agree?
 

Our vantage point for the evening was just past first base. The grandstand area looks normal even though it only stretched from dugout to dugout and had no field level seats between the dugouts.

The Senator mascot, Rascal, was a cool dude. Are all politicians this dumb looking?

Paul caught one of the give-a-way t-shirts, sponsored by Slush Puppie.  Wonder how much this t-shirt will shrink when washed for the first time? This was a nice warmer evening with a well played game in about two hours.

OK - one more baseball game to go!  Pittsburgh has PNC Park, home of the Pirates, and Scranton, PA has PNC Field, the new home of the RailRiders, a NY Yankee affiliate. PNC Field just opened in April 2013.

The Field was well laid out, taking advantage of the hillside behind both center and right fields. Beyond the wall is a children's play area. The wall in right field is a giant ribbon board, showing an ad for Budweiser below. The traditional billboard advertising can be found to the left of the scoreboard.

   
The RailRiders have two different mascots. Champ is on the left and Quills is on the right. Unique about PNC Field is the advertising found on the steps in the infield box seat areas, with each section having a different advertiser.

        
We needed the annual picture of Paul with one of the mascots, and Champ was happy to comply with our request for a snapshot.

The weather got better for watching baseball the further north we went with temperatures in the upper 60's in Scranton at the end of the game. It was a great stretch of 5 baseball games in 6 nights, all in different venues. Nothing beats the smell of freshly cut grass, the sound of a baseball being hit by a wooden bat while being able to eat peanuts, throwing the shells on the ground, and sipping a cold beer.

There will be more baseball watching once we get totally settled in Maine. Looking forward to our first Portland Seadogs, Red Sox affiliate, game at Hadlock Field; a short 10 minute ride away.