Granville

On a New Kind of Obstacle

Terminal C, Newark Liberty Bald Eagle 
God Bless America International Airport

Friday, June 22, 2018

Morgantown, WV


Outside the Game:
After all my travel tribulations just several days before, to say that I wasn't looking forward to flying again that week was an understatement. But a trip is a trip. My main concern was not having a repeat of Tuesday and the fact that my new boss at work hadn't let me meet the person covering for me yet. But my problems were from a different source.

I've been incredibly lucky over the years as far as my health and vacation. Outside of one or two scares, my constitution has held up at least until I came back. Now, I'm not saying that this was because of all my travel stress the day before, but I didn't feel well at work on Thursday and left a little early. "Not feeling well" translated into a 101-degree fever when I checked at home, and I had the achy tiredness of the flu.

So, fantastic.

I finished packing and took some Nyquil at 8 PM and fell asleep as I was watching Brockmire, then woke up again at midnight, made my way to my bed from the couch and doused myself with more Nyquil.

My fever was down to 99.5 in the morning, but I didn't want to chance going to work. I was already looking into moving my flight to Saturday morning if things didn't improve. I took some aspirin and worked from home for the day, which worked out, because the person who was covering for me apparently decided to just work from home herself because she wasn't that busy, in a turn of events that really put my mind at ease. I got some work done in the morning, then took a nap. I had a call where I was finally able to talk to my coverage, gave her as thorough a briefing as I could manage, and then lay down some more.

My fever was slight at this point, so I decided to risk it with the flight. I arranged a Lyft to the airport, and we hit no traffic on the way in. I upgraded to First Class for the flight to Pittsburgh mostly to avoid any hassles, and I got through security with no problems. I was thankfully in Terminal C and feeling pretty hungry, so I went to the Italian place and grabbed some carbonara and rice balls. I started feeling achy again, and my fever was back up to 99, so I just went to the gate and rested up until boarding.

There, of course, was a slight delay in boarding, and perhaps for the first time in my life, I sat in seat A1 on the plane. Not wanting to deal with anything, I gate-checked my bag and settled into my solitary seat at the front of the plane.

I was mostly exhausted, but the flight went quickly, and I spent most of it watching the second third of Paddington 2, which was delightful. We ended up arriving a little early, which caused a real delay at the gate, as we were parked, but the team to work our jetway hadn't shown up yet. All of the gate-checked bags were out and waiting by the time the jetway was opened, to the especial chagrin of another First-Class passenger who refused to gate-check his bag and crammed it in an overhead, and now all the time he saved by doing that was made naught.

I walked off and got my bag and was quickly on the train back to the main terminal. I called my friend on my cell and arranged where to meet, and I dropped my bag in the trunk and had an uneventful ride back to his house in West Virginia.

He and his son introduced me to the world of Rocket League, but I started to feel achy and my fever started rising again, so I eventually adjourned to his computer room where a giant pull-out bean-bag bed awaited me.


The Accommodations:
I was staying with my friend and his family in Morgantown. This meant setting up in their computer room. The usual blow-up bed was replaced by a giant bean-bag chair that folded out into a bed. Skeptical at first, I was quite surprised at how nice it was, especially for my old back. In addition, a Death Star nightlight kept things nicely illuminated for the evening.

On a Second Visitation

Monogalia County Ballpark, 2018

Saturday, June 23, 2018

State College Spikes (St. Louis Cardinals) vs.
West Virginia Black Bears (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Monongalia County Ballpark
NY-PENN League (A-)
Granville, WV
7:05 PM


Outside the Game:
I crashed for nine hours of sleep on the bean bag bed, waking up to a temperature of 76.7 and feeling much better. A breakfast of pancakes further fortified me for the game, which was spent in the traditional manner, playing video games all morning.

There was a break where everyone went for lunch at a local salad place, and then back to the video games for the rest of the afternoon. The weather had been a little concerning, with downpours running on and off all afternoon. Nevertheless, we packed up and made the short drive to the park, and the weather held out. As I wanted to do some photography, I was given my ticket, and we split up until I was inside.

After the game, we left before the post-game fireworks started and had a quick drive back to the house. We played more video games until we got tired, and then turned in for the night.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, Monongalia County Ballpark

The flies-off-the-tongue Monongalia County Stadium hadn't changed all that much since my first visit at the opening for the franchise a few years back. The landscaping had been worked out, to be sure, but the usually premiere home plate entrance was still backed against a hill, though it had been now turned into a party area called "The Bear Pit." There were other little touches, like kaleidoscoping art on the outfield railings of the park, and the far-too-steep berms had been turned to good use with a "Berm-O" game put on the left field hill that was used for a between-innings game similar to The Price Is Right's Plinko. Also, privacy screens were put up on the ends of the dugouts to prevent kids from pestering the players during the games.

The big change came in the outfield, as the area behind right field had been opened up into an area called the “Back Yard." The was a grating put in the wall so you could watch the game from back there, picnic tables to sit, as well as pitching and batting cages for use.

Cooper

The team was still pulling healthy, if not sell-out, crowds, although that could be attributed to the iffy weather for this game. Cooper was still there entertaining the troops between innings.


At the Game with Oogie:

Pepperoni Roll

So, this begins with the "Clear Bag Policy." UWV had recently instituted this policy at all of its stadiums to try and curb underaged drinking at the games, and it involved nothing but completely transparent approved bags allowed in the stadium. Since the Black Bears technically lease the stadium from UWV, they had to start following this policy, which is the strictest in all of professional baseball.

My friend hadn't brought up my tiny camera bag, but when I got to the gates, they were not going to let me in, although they eventually tagged it "media" because I don't think they wanted to deal with it. Once inside, I did my normal pictures and look-around to see what had changed.

In a "small world" moment, my friend dragged me out to the new "Back Yard" area in right field where a player I had seen in Australia was signing autographs. He was a member of the Pirates organization, so he played in the ABL during the winter here and played minor league ball here during the winter there. We had a little chat about things, and he seemed a nice enough guy. I hope he makes it further up the chain, but I got the impression he was glad just avoiding winter altogether as long as he could.

I also had a brief chat with a member of the management group for the team. They were schmoosing my friend, who had been a season ticket holder since the inaugural season, so I got to talk to him a little bit, especially about the new area they opened in right field.

My friend's tickets, as before, were right next to the home dugout between home plate and first base. There were other families they were on a "hi" basis with behind and in front of us. Next to us was a couple, the man of which worked for NASA and was trying to recruit my friend into playing in a 1st Edition D&D game he was DMing. My friend was very ineffectively trying to bow out of it.

In keeping with things, I looked away for a minute, and my friend's son got a baseball from one of the players in the dugout. He also got to play the Berm-O game in the mid-innings. Yes, because you're going to be young and cute forever...

I grabbed a pepperoni roll and a drink for dinner. Everything else was the game.


The Game:
This mid-season match-up in the increasingly mis-named NY-PENN League had the visiting State College Spikes facing off against the West Virginia Black Bears in a game that started off a little slow but featured a barrage of runs in what turned out definitively to not be a pitcher's duel.

The Spikes had a leadoff single followed by a walk, but everyone died on the bases in the first, while West Virginia went in order. State College got to an early lead with a leadoff E5 that made it around the bases on stolen bases, passed balls, and another error, staking the visiting team to a 1-0 lead, while the Black Bears gain went in order in the second. The Spikes got a leadoff single to third but stranded him there in their half of the frame. West Virginia had a two-out rally in the top of the third with a single and a double, but the lead runner was cut down from the outfield trying to score to end the threat.

The scoring began in earnest in the top of the fourth, with two doubles, a hit batsman, a walk, and a single to plate four runs for State College, jumping to a 5-0 lead. The Black Bears answered with a leadoff error, two doubles, and a single, leading to three runs to make it 5-3. The Spikes couldn't keep up and went in order. But West Virginia didn't stop in the fifth, where a walk, hit batsman, a single, and two doubles got four runs across, giving them an 7-4 lead. Things slowed in the top of the sixth, where State College scattered a walk and a single to no effect, and the Black Bears got a leadoff single to second on a stolen base and stranded him there.

The Spikes got only had a leadoff single in their half of the seventh, while West Virginia two more in the bottom of the seventh with a walk and a homer to left to extend their lead to 9-5. State College got two runners on with an error and a walk, but stranded both in the eighth, while the Black Bears finally went in order again. The Spikes then went quietly in order in the ninth, securing the home-team victory, 9-5.


The Scorecard:

Spikes vs. Black Bears, 06/23/18. Black Bears win, 9-5.

When I first visited the Black Bears the last time, they didn't have a program or a scorecard. To be fair, it was their franchise's opening day, so they probably had a few other things they were working out. For this visit three years later, they finally had their program together, but it is almost sad they did. This is, hands down, the worst scorecard I ever saw.

The program is a free mini-tabloid on magazine paper. As minor-league programs go, especially for the NY-PENN League, it was nicely produced and laid out, with the specific and tragic exception of the centerfold scorecard.

The scorecard was on semi-gloss paper, so it was easy enough to write on with pencil, it took up the entire spread, and it was on a white background to make it easy to put in notes. This ends the list of good things about the scorecard.

First of all, they called it a "STAT SHEET," not a scorecard for some reason. The home team was on the left side instead of the more traditional right side, but that can be forgiven. What can't be forgiven was the fact that this was a Scoremaster-type scorecard that was clearly scaled down to the current print specs, making it almost unreadable, let alone unusable. Each Scoremaster-type scoring box has a line of progressions at the top of the box, a pre-printed diamond, an out-number box, and ball and strike counters. It takes a steady hand to be able to fill out a scoring box in this thing correctly, and it is barely, barely legible when you do. This is clearly meant to be printed at twice, perhaps three times, its printed size in the program.

There are room for two replacements with each batting line, but for some reason, there are 17 batting lines. It makes me wonder if whoever printed this up didn't know what a scorecard is for. There are regular summary lines at the end of each batting line, but the boxes are so small as to be almost useless. There are three stroked-out lines after the summary stats at the end of each line for some reason, taking up even more precious space. There are extended inning summary data (R/H/E/LOB) at the bottom of each inning column, but again the space is so small, more information makes it worse.

Oh, and there's no pitching lines. Half the card is wasted on player lines that can't possibly be used, and there is no space for pitching lines. I wrote the pitchers in at the bottom of the card.

Without doubt, without question, easily the worst scorecard in professional baseball.

As for the game, there were  a couple of tiny notes on the tiny card. A single in the bottom of the third was annotated to show it was actually an E6. And I made a note on the CS 7-2 in a blank area because the scoring square was so small I couldn't fit in in legibly. There were a number of costly errors for both teams, but thankfully for the space allotted, there was nothing too complex to record.


The Accommodations: 
I was again in the computer room with the surprisingly comfortable bean bag bed.

On Reverting to Type

Sunday, June 24, 2018
Morgantown, WV


Outside the Game:
With the wife and son off at an event all day, there was nothing stopping my friend and I was reverting to patterns long-held since high school and just sit around and play video games all day. We got up, and after breakfast, we started playing until a break for a late lunch at Wendy's, more video games, a break to make hotel arrangements for the next night, more video games, a break for dinner at Arby's, and then more video games, until a break for packing once the family came home. It was a good day.

In the process of packing, my luggage tag, which had lasted me since I had started these foolish trips, broke, but some quick mending got it back and working. Everyone was joining me for the next day in Bluefield, and then we were parting ways. I was going on to North Carolina, while they were going south to join up with other family in South Carolina. Everyone got packed up, and we went to bed.


The Accommodations:
I was in the warm bosom of the bean bag bed in the computer room for my last evening.

Click here to see all the pictures from this trip.

2018 East Coast Leftovers

Brooklyn

On an American July 4th-ish

MCU Park, 2017

Monday, July 3, 2017
Connecticut Tigers (Detroit Tigers) vs.
Brooklyn Cyclones (New York Metropolitans)
MCU Park
NY-Penn League (A-)
Brooklyn, NY
7:00 PM


Outside the Game:
With my previous plans for the holiday weekend not coming to pass due to tornadoes in upstate New York providing very subtle hints, I decided to head out to Coney Island to see a game. I hadn't been out there in so many years longer than I had thought, as it turned out, and I also was unable to make much plans further from home because of the work situation I was in. I hadn’t been out to Coney Island for the same duration, although I tend to make trips to the beach in the winter, but hadn't in the last few years.

I bought a ticket online the night before, but I was able to sleep in and did not get out the door until 11 AM. As the game wasn't until the evening, it wasn't that big of a deal, but I did want to spend some time at Coney as well. I debated grabbing an Uber all the way there, but a look at the traffic discouraged that idea, so I grabbed some jerky I bought at the farmer's market the day before and set out to mass transit. The light rail to PATH to the F outbound went surprisingly quickly. This was offset by a delay at the very end of the line due to some train problems. After waiting 10 minutes to get into the aquarium stop, I decided to get off there instead of taking it to the end, in case of further delays.

Iconic

I wandered out into the blazing Monday afternoon sun. I walked over to the Cyclone to get beat up for entertainment's sake, and then stopped at Nathan's to dump some food in my agitated stomach. It is important to get the order on those two things correct. They were setting up everything for the hot dog contest the next day, so a lot of the tables were blocked off. I walked out to the stadium on the boardwalk, passing the newly re-opened Thunderbolt. So soon after lunch, I decided against trying it out. I picked up my ticket at the will call window and then headed back to the aquarium.

Nathon's famous

I really, really, really don't want to be that guy, but I saw them finishing construction on an Applebee’s and Cinnabon on Surf. They tore down the buildings that were there, and they were opening chain store America into Coney Island, a place that corporate America couldn't find on a map for thirty or so years. The old buildings that were torn down for those stores were the abandoned buildings where the homeless used to go to have sex in peace. And I know it seems odd to say it, given a choice between the area having an Applebee’s or a homeless bang shack, I really wish the bang shack would come back. The gentrification cannot be stopped.

Glub

The Brooklyn Aquarium was still undergoing renovations after Hurricane Sandy. There were a limited amount of exhibits open, but since I'm a member, I didn't have to wait or pay to get in. The aquarium was absolutely packed with people huddled around the exhibits that were open, and I spent my time to see what was there and then beat a hasty retreat out to the street. My next stop was the Freak Show, which had partnered up with the Coney Island Museum. Unfortunately, the museum was closed that Monday, which was disappointing. I, however, accepted that fact, as opposed to a yuppie family that came in after me that badgered the people to let them in because they had come really far to see the museum.

Well, if you had come that far, you probably should have checked if it was open on Mondays. Even the freak show had gone upscale. They had their own trust-fund grungy bar now and a gift shop. I bought a trinket or two and grabbed a soda before heading back out into the world.

Over the top

Even the Wonder Wheel park had gotten its act together, with electronic passes to go on the rides, and the amusement park had expanded out into two areas. The Wonder Wheel itself was still there and delightfully unimproved. I also stalked around to find some of the light rifle games that had been there since before I was born and shot up some dark-ride leftovers with beams of justice. The funky old dark ride was still there as well, so even in this wave of gentrification, it is nice to some old school remains.

There was a big art wall exhibit in one of the parking lots where I walked around for a bit before stopping off at a White Castle cart for a slider or two to tide me over until the game. I walked out to the boardwalk again and out to the end of the fishing pier to take some photos. Eventually, it was time for the gates to open, so I walked back out to the park to get in as they did.

Night wind

After the game, I left as the fireworks were still going off. It was an easy enough ride from the F back to Hoboken on the PATH, where I decided to grab a cab back to the apartment in Jersey City, because I had walked quite enough for this particular day.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, MCU Park

The last time I was at MCU Park, it was “Keyspan Park.” I actually had to look up if one didn't become the other, but apparently Keyspan Energy got bought by the British and no longer exists, so MCU bank stepped in to buy the naming rights.

So, it had been a fair bit of time since I came to the park, which is sad, because it is one of the best minor league parks around.

There were a number of changes to the place since I'd last been there. Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, they changed the field to turf, which was awful. Budweiser grabbed the naming right to a rooftop party deck on the top of the luxury suites by home plate. There were new retired numbers along the luxury boxes, and there was a new area in the outfield called "The Backyard," a catered party area that had a view through the new mesh outfield walls. I also got to go into the admin and access area for the suites for the first time, which hosts a large mural of the team as well as the Alumni Wall and Sandlot Baseball Hall of Fame. Also, as with nearly every minor league club these days, they snuck in a MIA seat behind home plate. Otherwise, the park pretty much structurally remains the same, with a little musical chairs on concessions and some cosmetic changes to the team store.

Sandy

The mascot situation remains the same, with Sandy and PeeWee hanging around the park for most of the festivities. Local kids’ entertainer King Henry is still on hand to MC the events, and the stupid cheerleaders are still around, for some god-awful reason. The between-inning activities remain mostly the same, with contests and races of questionable skill. There was a fireworks display after the game, but as per usual, I didn't stick around for it.

There was, as always, a healthy crowd, even with the holiday weekend. Brooklyn baseball fans flew the flag, even if the game didn't reflect their wishes.


At the Game with Oogie:

Rice balls

There's always room for one. I had managed to score a single seat right next to the Cyclones dugout in the middle of the season ticket-holders' seats, with a look straight down into the dugout. So, I had that going for me.

In walking around to see what had changed, I found there was a new rice ball concession open, where you can mix and mix six-packs of egg-holders of rice balls. It was obviously that I got for dinner, such as it was. I did my walking around and my stop at the shop, and I was AIS at about a half-hour before game time.

As I was in the season-ticket area, most of the people around me were regulars who knew each other. There was a clutch of college-aged kids in the area in front of me. One of them was also keeping score, and we helped each other out every now and again on some of the trickier plays. Right next to me in my row were two badda-bings. We talked a little bit, but they kept on doing their Guido thing next to me for most of the game.


The Game:

First pitch, Tigers vs. Cyclones

This early-season (at least for the short-season NY-PENN League) matchup between the Tigers and the Cyclones was a laugher all the way, with the home team's hopes dying with their only lead in the first.

The Tigers began the top of the first with just a single to show for it, but back-to-back walks to start the bottom half of the inning and a short single loaded the bases. The Cyclones would show their relation to the Metropolitans as they only managed to bring in one run in on a sacrifice fly that included a double-play, nevertheless staking themselves to a 1-0 lead. It lasted a half inning. Connecticut started the second with a single and double to make it second and third with no outs. A run scored on a ground out, and a sacrifice fly brought in another, reversing the lead to 2-1 for the visitors. Brooklyn had back-to-back singles in the bottom the inning stranded on the base paths. The Tigers leapt going in the third with a one-out rally of two walks, three singles, and a sacrifice fly to get three more runs across, expanding the lead to 5-1. Brooklyn answered in the bottom of the third with a two-out rally of their own, stringing together a single and four straight walks to force in a run and cut the deficit to 5-2.

Connecticut kept scoring in the fourth with a leadoff walk, stolen base, and single to re-extend the lead to four runs at 6-2. The Cyclones went in order in the bottom of the frame. The Tigers only had a stranded baserunner from an error in the fifth, while Brooklyn countered with its sole walk. The sixth went similarly quickly, with both teams putting up a lone single.

The seventh was more productive for Connecticut, as back-to-back leadoff singles and a double brought in two more runs to make it 8-2, while the Cyclones only had a hit batsman and walk in their half. The Tigers went in order for the first time of the night in the eighth, while Brooklyn made its last real run with a leadoff home run to right, but they stranded one-out doubles and singles to just close it to 8-3. Connecticut put up some more unneeded insurance in the ninth with a leadoff walk, two singles, and a ground-out bringing in two more runs. The Cyclones had two singles and a walk to load the bases with two outs, but a pop out to third ended the game, with the Tigers winning easily, 10-3.


The Scorecard:

Tigers vs. Cyclones, 07/03/17. Tigers win, 10-3.

The scorecard was part of the free mini-tabloid game program. Although the form factor had changed from a full tabloid since the last time I visited, the same flimsy newspaper was used in the program, remaining very fragile and prone to tears. The scorecard itself was smaller than the space on the two-page spread, which made it very cramped to use and hard to record the game legibly.

There was only one play worthy of scoring note. In the bottom of the first, there was an 8-8-5 double play that was also a sacrifice fly. With the bases loaded, and no outs, the batter flew out to center and successfully brought in the run from third, but he also threw out the runner advancing from second to third, completing the 8-8-5 DP.


The Accommodations:
Jersey City, Sweet, Jersey City

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2017 Stand-Alone Trip

Granville

On Getting Out of Town for Something Unlikely

Rental car

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Morgantown, WV


Outside the Game: 

I was burning one of my Summer Fridays to be able to go out to see the grand opening of a stadium, something I had never done before and one of the items on my baseball Bucket List that I wondered if I would ever be able to complete. But as it happened, a new minor league franchise was opening up in the backyard of my best friend, and he had already scored season tickets. So, this was pretty much a no-brainer.

I had walked the necessary people through my one-day coverage document, and I headed out to Newark Freedom Liberty Bald-Eagle Apple Pie America airport after work. I took the PATH out to Newark and grabbed a NJ Transit train one stop to the airport with plenty of time before my 9:30 flight. I got through security and grabbed dinner at the diner in C terminal and waited to board.

It was with great surprise that my flight boarded on time and with no major incidents, we were in Pittsburgh on time to land at 11 PM. I quickly got my rental car in a dead, night airport and started my hour-and-a-half drive to Morgantown. I may have gotten the drive time down to an hour fifteen, but sometime after midnight, I quietly arrived at my friend's house, and quietly went inside and crashed for the night so as not to wake the wife and child.


The Accommodations: 

I was staying in the computer room at my friend's house now that his step-son had taken over the old guest room for some reason. It was an air mattress, but my back survived the trepidations.

On the First Time for Everything

Monongalia County Ballpark, 2015

Friday, June 19, 2015

Mahoning Valley Scrappers (Cleveland Indians) vs. 

West Virginia Black Bears (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Monongalia County Ballpark
NY-Penn League (A-)
Granville, WV
7:05 PM


Outside the Game: 

After the somewhat late arrival, I was similarly a little late in rising the next day. But breakfast waits for no man, and the day got on its way, as we settled into some important video gaming, breaking only for lunch before getting back into the digital trenches.

Eventually, it was time to head out to the stadium for the grand opening. It had been on and off raining all day, but I knew that unless it was end-of-the-world weather, they were going to get this no-brainer sellout and grand opening in, come hell or presumably high water. Without the planned connecting road to downtown, it was a bit of a drive to the park, but we got there and parked in one of the only opened lots, as construction was still being completed on the other lots in the outlying areas of the park. It was down to a fine drizzle by the time we got inside, so we hoped that was a good sign.

After the game, we got back to the car and fought through some congestion back to the house, where we capped the night with a little more video gaming and then hit the hay.


The Stadium & Fans: 

Home plate to center field, Monongalia County Ballpark

With a name like “Monongalia County Ballpark,” you know they haven’t successfully sold the naming rights yet. On the damp day of its grand opening, the stadium was clearly not quite finished. The signage was all temporary, the gate procedures seemed ad hoc, and the landscaping was very much not finalized, with large swathes of unleveled dirt and unfinished pavement surrounding the park. This is perhaps even more surprising given that the park hosted a spring season of college baseball for UWVa prior to the start of the NY-PENN League season. The park wasn’t the only thing incomplete, as the new road to connect up more directly with downtown Morgantown was not yet finished, the surrounding stores and hotels were not yet open, and there was even just one parking lot available for all the facilities.

The park itself is a fairly standard layout in a very non-standard configuration. Entrances are at right field and center field, with center field only open for the stadium’s premiere. The park is aligned at the bottom of a large hill with the usual marquee home plate entrance jammed up against the base of the hill, with no access. I’m not sure if this was because of them not being able to do the necessary landscaping in time for opening, or if this was some misbegotten decision on the part of the ownership.

The entrance opens out onto a narrow promenade that starts in center field and runs out to right field behind home plate. The walkway winds down a steep slope behind left field until it reaches the grandstand at third base. It levels off as it runs around the top of the seating bowl, and then leads out a wider right field plaza that ends in a stairwell down to the not-yet-open right field entrance. The main grandstand runs from dugout to dugout, extending down from the promenade via staircases. A second row tops the grandstand from a slightly shorter distance, hosting the luxury boxes and the press box. The chairs are all molded plastic bolted onto bleachers and weren’t exactly what you’d call “comfortable.”

What in other parks would be picnic hills in left and right field are too dangerously steep for that purpose here, and just end up as empty space, though apparently there are plans in the works to level them off. The two main concession stands are on the grandstand promenade, although there are additional stalls in the right field plaza area. A small box of a team store is on the promenade by third base, and it is too small by half. People were entering the store and getting on the end of the checkout line as it weaved through the entire store on its way to get to the front. Similarly, the promenade narrows in the grandstand, and it was wall-to-wall people, especially by the backed-up and overwhelmed concession stands.

Some other things of note are the field is nearly completely turf, except for the pitchers’ mound, and especially in these wet conditions, they seemed particularly dangerous to the young prospects playing on them. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a career-ending injury or two. Also, the seats ride up right next to the field, but this necessitates foul ball netting across the entire sitting area, as well as some interesting situations of people having to check behind them when foul balls are hit as they often carom off the upper deck and fly back into the stands. The only place to get an unimpeded view of the field is the right field plaza.

The brand-new digital video board and scoreboard sits in left-center field, above a single tier outfield wall that is not yet overgrown with local ads. A bank of trees forms the batter’s eye, and the rest of the outfield wall vista is the rolling mountains in the distance.

Hanging with Mr. Cooper.

So, the brand-new mascot for the Black Bears is Cooper, the black bear, named for nearby Cooper Mountain, home to actual black bears. The costume was preternaturally clean, as this is the first game he was attending, having only been out for a few PR appearances prior to the first game. He was introduced in the pre-game as “just having come out of hibernation,” so who knows if they will do this every spring or not. He pretty much did standard mascot duties for the game, schmoozing with fans and helping out with the on-field activities and whatnot. Most of those were standard minor-league stuff, apart from the “Smile Cam” and “Bear Hug Cam” (presumably in the place of kiss cams), and the playing of Thank God I’m A Country Boy by John Denver during the seventh inning stretch.

As this was the franchise opener, the park was packed to capacity, even with the rainy weather. All new franchises have enthusiasm at the start of the tenure, but who knows if it will keep up? But for now, the greater Morgantown area seems pretty smitten with its first professional team, and they were all very much into the game and festivities.

At the Game with Oogie: 

Rain scoring

So I was with my friend and his family, who had secured season tickets when the team first offered them last Fall. Because my friend is tenacious, he managed to grab seats right next to the entrance to the dugout and put the seat for his son right next to the dugout. Cute kid + dugout access = more freebies than he'll ever need in a long lifetime. This was evidenced nearly immediately, as the friggin’ President of the NY-PENN League, on hand this evening for the grand opening, gave him a ball even before the game started. That little so-and-so won't know how good he has it.

I split up with my friend and his family to do my walking around and photography. That was hampered a lot by the netting that covered the entire seating area and the weather, but I made do. Getting around was difficult, because the tiny park was filled to capacity, and my foray through the team store was even more memorable, as it was just a matter of joining the back of the register line as soon as you got in, as it was snaked throughout the entire confines of the small building. But I did get some opening day merch, so there's that.

Pepperoni roll and souvenir soda

I settled on a local favorite for food and got a loaded pepperoni roll, whatever that was, for food. I went down to the seats, which were right behind the plate and, as mentioned, right next to the home dugout. The seats were molded plastic things bolted onto bleachers, so they weren't the most comfortable things in the world, and the drainage left something to be desired, as water was pooling in the concrete floor at our feet.

But through it all, it was the first grand opening of a ballpark I had even been to, and it was probably the only opportunity I would have in this situation. It was also good to spend some time with my friend and his family watching a ballgame.


The Game: 

First pitch, Scrappers vs. Black Bears

The good news was that the inaugural game between the Mahoning Valley Scrappers and the brand-new West Virginia Black Bears not only got off despite the weather, but it was also a run-soaked affair. The bad news is that the new home team ended up on the wrong end of it.

The first inning was the first and only to go quietly, with both sides going in order. The Scrappers then went to work in the top of the second, scoring three runs on a single, a triple, a hit by pitch, a walk, an error, and a ground-out, putting them up 3-0 early. West Virginia came back in the bottom of the second with their own run on two singles and an error, to close it to 3-1. Mahoning Valley then tacked on four more in the third, starting the frame with back-to-back homers, and then getting two more runs on a hit batsman, a single, a wild pitch, and another single to extend their lead to 7-1. The Black Bears went in order in the bottom of the third.

The Scrappers didn't manage to score either in their next half-inning, with just a walk to show for the top of the fourth. West Virginia got a runner as far as third after a leadoff single, but he went no further. The hiatus on scoring was over in the top of the fifth, with Mahoning Valley blasting out four more runs on a spate of walks and hit batsman driven in by a sacrifice fly and a bases-clearing double, stretching the lead to 11-1. The Black Bears just had a two-out double in the bottom of the fifth. The Scrappers drove in three more runs in the top of the sixth on the back of a walk, two doubles, and a sacrifice fly, making the lead a ludicrous 13-1, while West Virginia just went in order in the bottom of the inning.

The scoring kept coming for Mahoning Valley in the top of the seventh, with two more runs on three singles and a bunch of errors, making it 15-1. Clearly reaching the limit of their dignity, the Black Bears busted out in the bottom of the seventh, with five runs on four(!) walks, two errors, a strikeout passed ball, and a double, to make it a more respectable 15-6. For the second time in the game, the Scrappers went in order in the top of the eighth, while West Virginia got another one back on four walks, to make it 15-7. Mahoning Valley went in order in the top of the ninth despite a leadoff walk thanks to a double play, and despite the efforts on a walk and hit batsman, the Black Bears were not able to more than double their score, and lost their very first game, 15-7.


The Scorecard: 

Scrappers vs. Black Bears, 06/19/15. Scrappers win, 15-7.

As the Black Bears hadn't gotten their scorecards printed in time for their first game, I was left with using the BBWAA scorebook for this game.

Where to start? There were 17 walks in this game. 17! There were also nine errors. There were also five hit batsmen, the sort of average you'd expect to see in a late 60's game between the Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals.

The hardest part of scoring this game was keeping track of earned versus non-earned runs thanks to all the errors. You're hard-pressed to find many scoring plays where there isn't an E somewhere in there. Or at least a hit batsman. 

In all this slop, there were some plays of special note. In the top of the fifth, with a runner on first and second, there was a pickoff throw from the catcher 2-3 that caromed off the runner's helmet that let the runner on second advance to third. In the bottom of the seventh, a runner reached first on a wild pitch on a swinging third strike. He then made it to third on the next batter's double but was thrown out after going too far towards home 7-5. Also, the Scrapper as a team hit for the cycle, although you almost have to in order to score 15 runs.


The Accommodations: 

I was in the computer room again, with no great problems arising from the air mattress.

On Neither Rain Going Away and Nor Coming Back Another Day

Quitters

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Morgantown, WV


Outside the Game: 

So, we had plans to see game two in the short history of the Black Bears later in the evening, but until then, we had a day to kill. After getting up, having some breakfast, and starting with our day, it was time to retire to the computer room for more computer games for the rest of the morning, interrupted by a brief run out for lunch before more computer games.

As the afternoon wore on, there was more and more rain coming down from the skies, until it eventually cleared up mostly in the late afternoon, with a good prognosis for the weather clearing for the game, much as it had the night before. Despite the adult male optimism, the wife and son portion of the contingent was not so positive-minded, so it was just us to drive down to the park for the game. A drizzle turned into a downpour as we waited in the parking lot, and just before the gates were set to open, the stadium screen flashed up a message that the game was cancelled because of weather, so I got to be there for this milestone in the Black Bears franchise as well. 

We drove back to the house for some impromptu video gaming for the rest of the night before turning in.


The Accommodations: 

I was again in my friend's computer room on the inflatable mattress, and I was only starting to feel some ill effects in my back from it.

On When Delays Work To Your Advantage

Sunny Pittsburgh

Sunday, June 21, 2015
Jersey City, NJ


Outside of the Game: 

The delay on my flight actually worked out to my advantage in the morning, as I didn't have to get up nearly as early as I was expecting, so I was able to get up and say goodbye to my friend before heading out. I was on the road for a nothing interesting ride back to Pittsburgh International Airport.

After dealing with the New York area airports, it is so easy to forget how much other airports are not like that. I dropped off my rental car and was through security in under a half hour, so I had nothing but time to worry if there would be more delays. I tried to get on an earlier flight, but there were no seats left, so I just got some breakfast and waited sullenly by the terminal.

But I was pleasantly surprised when in addition to my plane being at the gate, the crew wandered up rather early in my waiting period. In overhearing their conversation with the gate staff, the pilot came in very late this morning, so they had to move the flight back so that he had his appropriate time off between flights. Thus informed, and sitting as I was close to the gate, I dozed off until the plane started boarding.

We all got on the flying bus with little effort and were off at our new flight time. I got out at Newark, hailed a cab home, and was off doing laundry in no time.


The Accommodations: 

Home, sweet Jersey City

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2015 Stand-Alone Trip

Niles

On Laboring Not to Labor

Comfort Inn

Thursday, August 28, 2014

New Columbia, PA


Outside the Game:
After suffering through a short week at work, and narrowly avoiding having to work over the holiday, I managed to escape intact. Because of concerns about work, I had avoided making baseball plans for this weekend, the effective last weekend that the minor leagues would be in operation before the September MLB call-ups.

The next states on my agenda were Ohio and Virginia, but more of the teams were home in Ohio. A cursory look at flights towards the middle of the week yielded no last-minute fares to either destination, which meant either spending $800 for a plane ticket, or driving it. In a well-planned, last-minute decision I went with a drive out to Ohio, as three teams that were home were on the eastern border of the state, and the directions would be easy enough: get on I-80 and head West.

I got home from work and did some perfunctory laundry and research. I filled up note cards with pertinent information on the teams, picked out my first hotel for the night about half-way to Ohio just off I-80 in PA, and packed up. I headed out to my car a little before 9 PM and was on my way.

Everything seemed to be an apology for the previous weekend in Buffalo. I managed to navigate the by-roads out to 80 easily, and once I got on 80, there was nothing but open road and darkness. I was listening to the Metropolitans blow a lead until the station faded to static, and then it was onto classic rock stations to keep me attentive.

The drive was without issue. I won't say how fast I was going, but 80 wasn't just the name of the road. It was a night drive on open road, and I just ate up that road. This is everything I liked about driving. The hotel was just shy of three hours from home, but I made it in two and a half, pulling in just shy of 11:30 PM after going down the street to grab some food at a Sheetz, the only food for miles.


The Accommodations:
The top considerations for my hotel this night were 1) location (halfway to Ohio) and 2) location (easy on and off I-80). In case anyone is wondering, the hotel that best meets those criteria are the Comfort Inn in New Columbia, PA. The city is a middle-of-nowhere town just west of Williamsport, and two hotels were the only thing located down a long private road just off of 80.

I wanted someplace nice, but not too fancy, as I wouldn't be there all that long (not expecting making such excellent time out there). The nicely appointed bathroom was just to the right of the entrance, with the bedroom in the rear of the room. One one side of the room was my bed, nightstand, a lounge chair and Ottoman, and refrigerator and microwave. On the other was the dresser with flat-screen on top and work desk.

After the nightmare of Buffalo, just a quiet room would have been appreciated. But this was clean, comfortable, well laid-out, and quiet, so it might as well have been heaven.

On Finishing a League, Oh, and Some Car Trouble

Eastwood Field, 2014

Friday, August 29, 2014

Auburn Doubledays (Washington Nationals) vs.
Mahoning Valley Scrappers (Cleveland Indians)
Eastwood Field
NY-PENN League (Short Season A)
Niles, OH
7:05 PM


Outside the Game:
I woke up the next day quite refreshed and ready to go--if not quite ready to get out of bed. I awakened and went down to breakfast, which was in a hotel room next to the attached restaurant. I filled up with breakfast along with a room sparsely populated by what appeared to be exclusively truckers. Suitably fed, I went back to my room, and, having no agenda before 7 PM that night and being three hours away, I took a nap or two.

Eventually running up against my checkout time, I got up, showered, and finished packing up. My last task was arranging my hotel for the night. I had a $100 voucher from Hotels.com thanks to the Buffalo debacle, so when I found a Residence Inn right next to the ballpark (especially considering I'd be spending a lot of time there), I booked that for something like $80 out-of-pocket and did some research on my destination. There didn't seem much to Niles, Ohio, except the presidential library and birthplace of William McKinnley, so I penciled that in and headed out to the car.

Essentially in the Middle of Nowhere, PA, I didn't expect much in the way of traffic, and progress was good. Outside of some Penny left-lane hogs, there wasn't much to complain about. Except that there was always someone going faster. I was in the right lane going at a good clip, but I had a tractor trailer coming up my tailpipe.

That was the last thought I had before the front of my car exploded.

There was a lot going on in the ole' noggin in the next couple of milliseconds. There was smoke pouring from the front left of my car, the tractor trailer was still behind me, and I had no idea what to do. Some part of my lizard brain eventually kicked in, and I pulled off to the right into the breakdown lane and shut off my car. Happy to not be in a truck grill, I took a moment to assess the situation calmly.

When the screaming stopped, I turned on my hazard lights and got out of my car. Thankfully, I had managed to make it all the way into the shoulder before stopping the car, and I was at the start of a curve giving people coming up on me good visibility.

Minor damage

A quick looksy at the car identified the source of my problem. My front left tire had blown out spectacularly. The burning remnants of such created a splatter pattern up the wheel-well of my car that was pretty heavy metal. I had a spare, but I wanted to make sure if anything else in my car was messed up. So I sat on the railing and called AAA. The good news is that I broke down right in front of a mile marker, so I was able to give them a pretty precise location. The operator told me that someone would be out within the hour, and it was about 12:20 PM, so I was feeling okay about that. Also, there were worse days to be broken down. It was in the high seventies with clear skies all around, so I had that.

After twenty minutes or so, I got a call on my cell from AAA, telling me that the tow truck would be there shortly. It was at the end of this call that a state trooper pulled up behind me. I told the AAA person I had to go, and I went to greet the officer. He asked if there was any damage besides the blowout, and I said I didn't know, and that there was tow truck coming from AAA shortly. He pointed out that a lot people have blow outs on this stretch of road. It was then that I noticed the remnants of tires lining the side of the road for at least a quarter mile in both directions.

It was then that the tow truck showed up. The officer thought he'd put me on his truck and replace the tire at his shop, but the mechanic quickly started to jack up my car where it was. The officer went to put out some road flares as I went to get my spare, which hadn't seen the light of day in 20 years.

After removing all my crap from the trunk, it quickly became apparent that some time in the last decades that the spare had rusted into its holder. Asking permission freely given, the mechanic cut out my spare, which turned out to be half inflated at this point. A minute later he had the tire on. He and the officer told me to go two exits and there would be a filling station where I could get some air. I thanked the officer and the mechanic, and I was off again, with a little under an hour and a tip to the mechanic to show for it.

I gingerly drove the two exits, and found the many service stations promised, pulling into the first one and going to the air station. My car was making a weird noise that I was worried about. A quick inspection identified this as the remnants of my wheel-well lining that was scraping against the spare dangerously.

Dressed in tan and white, I got on my knees and wrenched the plastic until it was back to where it sort of should be, or at least wasn't scraping the wheel. It was then I noticed that my front bumper was mildly dislodged as well. Filthy, I went to fill my tire, but then realized I had no idea what I should fill it to. A quick call to my father later, I had filled up the dangerously underfilled spare and was again on my way.

The rest of the drive to Niles was relatively uneventful. I pulled into town an hour or so later than expected and in much more need of a shower and nap than expected. Dreams of William McKinnley quickly dwindled, and I decided to just get to my hotel and shower and nap before the game. However, the hotel address led to a mall, and I had to call to find out where in the mall to go. More succinct directions in hand, I drove to the back of the facility and found my hotel. A quick park and check-in later, I drove around to the entrance by my room. It took me a minute to get in the door as I couldn't figure how to insert my keycard, until it eventually dawned on me that it was an RFID card.

I dragged my stuff to my room, took a shower, and collapsed for a half hour. A little more than a half hour before the game, I got dressed, grabbed the game bag, and was off. I knew I was within two minutes to the stadium, and after one or two false starts, I eventually found the entrance to the park around a corner, parked up, and did my business.

Civilized snacking

After the game, knowing the way, it took under a minute to get back to the hotel. Not having to drive that night and having had a long day, I bought a mini bottle of wine from the hotel store and went back to my room. A quick look around the extensive room found some tea and free microwave popcorn. Still able to see the fireworks display at the park from my room, I watched while having some wine and eating free popcorn. This is the right way for a night to go, even if the day was less than perfect.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, Eastwood Field

There are urban ballfields; there are rural ballfields; there are suburban ballfields. And then there’s Eastwood Field, which is literally built in a giant mall parking lot. As much as I’d like to be kidding, Eastwood Field is smack dab in the center of a sea of asphalt behind a largish mall in suburban Ohio. "Well, at least there’s tons of free parking," you might think. And you’d be right, except for one thing: the entire park is surrounded by a giant chain link fence. While this may score them points for their zombie apocalypse preparations, there is also a more mercenary plan afoot. Whether you drive in the gate, or walk in the gate, you have to pay $3. This is the only such scenario that I’ve ever seen of its kind in minor league ball that might as well be called the “Attendance Suppression Tax.”

Once you pay your tax, you can walk around the outside of the park. The main entrance is by home plate, under a giant portico under the stadium sign, right next to the ticket booths and team store. You walk around the park, but there’s not a lot to see. The only real entrance is the main one at home plate. It has a standard minor-league layout, with an outer promenade running from outfield to outfield behind home plate being mirrored by a walkway at the base of the grandstand seating that covers the same distance. Ramps connect the outer and inner walkways at regular intervals and at the end of the grandstand, including an unusual wide ramp up behind home plate, which steals away some valuable home-plate seating.

The main seats rise up from the grandstand walkway from about first to third base behind home plate, or down from there for field-adjacent box seats. All but the last sections of seats have a level on top of them, which holds the luxury boxes and press boxes, along with the championship banners on the front of the press box. A section of bleachers sits separate down the left-field line, while there is a small picnic hill along the right-field line. A small kids zone is at the end of the left field stands down a small stairwell, while picnics tables are in a small plaza in right field with a party deck and the "Bullpen Bar and Grill." A two-tier outfield wall covered in ads lies beneath a wall of trees that disguises the fact the stadium is in a mall parking lot. A small digital scoreboard rises above right-center field where there is just a single layer of outfield wall.

All the concessions, stores, and stands are in the outer promenade. A small case of trophies and awards sits behind first base on the walkway.  “Fitness Stations” are around the promenade, encouraging people to do exercises while watching a ballgame, which doesn’t quite make sense.  A “Hall of Champions” is along the end of the grandstand, two retired numbers are on the outfield wall, a dedication for the stadium is on the main entrance, and a plaque honors the namesakes of Cafaro Field.

Toodles

Mascot Scrappy the hard-hatted dog is present as soon as the gates open for the game. He runs the minor-league standard activities between the innings, including races, give aways, and contest. The “Lipton Beer Inning” was in the fifth, with half-priced brews for the duration. Despite having to literally pay twice to get in the door, the grandstand was pretty filled for this game, although the fringes down the lines were sparsely populated at best. The fans paid attention to action on the field, but were most enthusiastic about the stuff between the game, especially the Toss-A-Ball that was featured after its end.


At the Game with Oogie:

Night scoring

I had bought my ticket that morning, and seeing this game with the Scrappers would complete the short-season A NY-PENN league teams for me. So there was that. I got my regular seat behind the home dugout, and I hoped for a four and a half legal innings to finish out my first league since the CPBL the year before.

And speaking of the NY-PENN league, the visiting team that day were the Auburn Doubledays, and I ran into the husband-and-wife team again. I first saw them when they were sitting in my area at the Muckdogs home game in June. The husband was easily recognizable because of a port birthmark on the right side of his face. I saw him the next day at the Auburn home game. They were there again this night. It dawned on me that eastern Ohio isn't all that far from western NY, but I wondered if they were following the team all year, or I had just run into them on the few opportunities they went. I saw them in line, and I think they saw me. (How many guys in Cyclones hats do you really see at these endeavors?) We kind of eyeballed each other for a second, but neither of us said anything.

All of the concessions were on the outside loop of the stadium. After careful consideration, I got a pulled pork sandwich from a BBQ place on the third-base side (that was even on sale), and, still hungry, supplemented it with a corn dog and some chicken nuggets.

Corn dog and nuggets, the dinner of champions

There was a family sitting behind me, and the storyline of the night was the fact that the teenage daughter's crush was at the game with her somewhere. To her great chagrin, her father kept looking around for the boy in question, causing the daughter no amount of angst and calling him a "creeper." She gave a play-by-play of the texts they were exchanging, until the father eventually located the other family, and then, as casually as possible, tried to direct his daughter's attention to the correct location. During the seventh-inning stretch, he was finally able to get her to look in the correct area. And she just "just couldn't with him at all."


The Game:

First pitch, Doubledays vs. Scrappers

The playoff-bound Scrappers were facing the Doubledays, who had been eliminated from playoff contention. With not much to fight for, it is perhaps unsurprising that this went according to script.

The Doubledays got a two-out double and nothing else in the first, while the Scrappers got on the board right away. A leadoff double that missed going out by inches was followed by a steal of third, with the runner coming home easily on a two-out double to right. A single brought in the runner on second, but a fly to left ended the inning at 2-0, Scrappers. Auburn went in order in the second, while Mahoning Valley kept going with a two-out rally started with a single up the middle and a stolen base. Another single up the middle brought in the run, and the play at home got the runner to second. A passed ball got him to third, but a strikeout ended the second at 3-0, Scrappers.

The third began with a leadoff single, but the Doubelday was erased on a double-play and a come-backer to the pitcher quickly ended the half. The Scrappers, meanwhile, only had a one-out single that made it to third on a fielder's choice and wild pitch, but was stranded on a fly to left. The Doubledays had some life in the fourth. Although a leadoff single was erased on a double-play, another single followed and made it to second on a wild pitch. A walk put two men on, but a strikeout ended the threat. Mahoning Valley went in order in their half.

Auburn only had a two-out single to show for their half of the fifth, as did the Scrappers. But Auburn got on the board in the sixth, with a leadoff double followed by a short single, leaving it first and third with no outs. The next batter lifted a sacrifice fly to center to bring in the run and move the runner over, but two more outs ended the scoring at 3-1, Scrappers. Mahoning Valley only had a one-out single in their half.

The Doubledays kept it going in the seventh, with a back-to-back single and double that brought in the lead runner. A fielder's choice that couldn't be executed made it first and third before a passed ball made it second and third. A ground out to first froze the runners, a come-backer to the mound got the runner at third in a rundown, and a grounder to short ended the top of the seventh at 3-2, Scrappers.

Mahoning Valley got some of that back in the bottom of the inning. A one-out bunt single was followed by another single, and then a double to clear the bases. A hit batsman chased the Auburn pitcher, and a double-play ended the seventh at 5-2, Scrappers. Both sides went in order in the eighth, and the Mahoning Valley closer did his job in the ninth, getting the Doubledays in order and sealing the 5-3 Scrapper win.


The Scorecard:

Doubledays vs. Scrappers, 08/29/14. Scrappers win, 5-3.

The scorecard was part of the $3 program sold at park kiosks. It was a full-color magazine program with the scorecard taking up the centerfold. Because it was on glossy magazine paper, pencil writing was difficult, and the writing in red colored pencil is almost illegible. That said, it was a comfortable-sized scorecard, with three replacement lines for each player line, detailed scoring instructions on the bottom quarter of the card, holding miscellaneous data lines for League, Attendance, Time, Weather, and umpires. Nearly uniquely, each side of the scorecard had a section dedicated to proving out the card (by adding Runs, Left on Base, and put-outs, and comparing that number to the sum of at bats, walks, sacrifices, and hit batsmen/interference calls).

There were only a couple of odd plays/scorings. The first hit by the Scrappers missed a home run by inches, warranting a note. A fielder's choice in the top of the sixth on a non-force play to third ended as a "6-5t," and a come-backer to the mound in the seventh led to a 1-2-5 putout.


The Accommodations:

Residence Inn

Since I figured I'd be spending a long time at the hotel for this night one way or another, I decided to splurge a little and get a room at the Residence Inn that was right next to the park. As mentioned, I used the voucher from last weekend to drive the normally pricey hotel to under $100. Thanks to the blow-out, I was an hour or later getting in than I expected, but since I abandoned all touristy activities to rest up, and with a relatively short game, I spent my money's worth of time at the hotel.

Firstly, the room was just a smidgen smaller than my actual apartment, and it was at a brand-new hotel that opened up in late spring. To the right of the entrance was a full-fledged kitchen, with appliances, cooking and eating utensils, cabinets, and a dining island. The next room in was the living room, with a spacious desk, TV-stand, and a couch (with dining table) that ran the length of the kitchen island.

It is then when you got to the bedroom (with reading and accent lights), then a bathroom foyer/dressing area (with dressers), and then the spacious bathroom in back, with a fancy sink and toilet on one side and the glass-walled shower to the right.

The only thing to be said against my room was that it was on the first floor, and the unkind garbage truck that came by in the morning made too much noise. But otherwise, it was a quite enjoyable stay.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2014 Labor Day Ohio