Think about it:
It's hot out, your legs and arms are sticking to the metal seats.
You've got an ice cold beer in your hand and your team (whoever they may be) is up to bat.
The bases are loaded and you can tell something magical is going to happen.
You hear that beautiful crack of the wooden bat hitting perfectly against the ball and watch it fly high up over the opposing players.
Your heart soars and you hold your breath as you watch.
Everyone jumps out of their seat and cheers - and suddenly you're all team-mates. The three runners come in to cross home-base and the batter rocked a triple! You're still smiling when you plop back down to watch some more.
The stadium food and beverages might be overpriced, but that's just part of the game.
Silly mascots are running around and smells of fresh cut grass, beefy hot dogs, salted peanuts and cotton candy waft through the air and you can't help but indulge.
When my husband and I found out we were getting the girls for the entire summer, we were trying to think of fun, memorable stuff to do with them. We found out that our local AA baseball team was hosting a family night campout on the field after one of their games! Way cool.
We got our tickets in advance and on Friday late-afternoon we packed up our camping gear: tent, sleeping bags, pillows etc. (and the kids) and off we went to the game! The kids got to play on the carousel and jumpy-castle that's in the kid play zone, so they were happy. My husband got picked/volunteered for one of the games in between innings which he won and our entire section got a prize! It was a wonderful, action packed game and even better when our home-team won 8-5! Afterwards, the stadium did an 11min fireworks show which rivaled the fireworks we'd seen on the 4th of July. Then we went out to the car to gather our camping gear. If you've ever been on a playing field before you know what I'm talking about - as soon as you step beyond the gate of the stands and set foot on the turf you get butterflies. The heroes of the game just played here on the field...and you find you've got that silly grin on your face again. We set up our tent in center-field, got comfy, took out the popcorn we'd brought along and settled in to watch a family-friendly movie on the jumbo screen. It's quite a sight to see tons of tents set up on a baseball field, and it was quite a treat to be one of them. Besides some noisy camping neighbors, the night went pretty smoothly! There were hardly any bugs - so no need for bug-spray, it was cool outside, the moon was glowing and the crickets were singing.
At 6am the stadium blasted an 'alarm' to get us all moving and out by 7. Dew was heavy on the turf and it was chilly. The magic from the game the night before still lingered in the stands as we disassembled our tent and packed up our belongings. I saw the stadium workers getting ready to clean up and start all over again for the next game. What a great cycle. The tradition of baseball, America's pastime will always hold a special place in my heart.
We made our way to the car with heavy eyelids, yawning and shuffling, and I knew that this experience would be a great summer memory.
