First Baseball Game Of The Season

Getting a baseball game in here in the Soo in May is a great achievement. I think last year we were barely able to practice at this time. It was pretty hectic tonight, though, as we've only had one practice as a team. We're just trying to get the kids out of their bad habits and getting them to play the right way. At this level, the coaches pitch to their own team and sometimes the kids use a tee. Trevor is the youngest on the team at six. He hit a couple of foul balls his first at bat, and hit a good one off of the tee. Lily hit live pitching both times, and really had a good rip at her second at bat. The kids just spread out in the infield like last year, but we're getting them to throw to different bases and teach some better knowledge of the game. I'll be heading out of town for two weeks of training, so will miss a bit of the season. One of the other dad's is covering for me, which is nice. He seems very patient with the kids and has a good feel for the game at this level. I'll try to have Lisa e-mail me some pics of the kids baseball and soccer games while I'm gone to keep this updated.

Lily And Trevor Star On Stage

Lily and Trevor performed in the production 'Ferngully' over the weekend. Very busy with dress rehearsals on Friday and shows on both Saturday and Sunday. Lily was a lizard and Trevor played a crocodile who scared the main character Zac. Trevor had fun scaring him all over the place all weekend. Everyone was great with the kids and they had a good time with it. A lot of work and I don't think either want to do it again now, but maybe they'll change their minds when the fall comes. Trevor has been fighting this all year, but we're proud he finished it out and enjoyed himself on stage. Lily was in 'Send in the Clowns' last year.

Trevor The Soccer Hawk

Trevor is playing soccer this year, and he finds himself on the Hawks. Lots of the kids in the area are playing and this is a good chance for him to do a lot of running and get some exercise. Lily didn't want to play at first, but changed her mind so we'll get her signed up next year. Should be a lot of fun and it looks like it won't interfere with baseball either. This will help make for an exciting summer. May is turning out to be one busy month for us. Lily and Trevor have thier big show this weekend and baseball games start on Monday.

The Side (Car) Trip

This year on our baseball trip we decided to see other sites and attractions these minor league cities had to offer. Our first stop was the Studebaker Museum in South Bend. This featured some classic and historical cars and vehicles, including the carriage that Lincoln rode to the theater in the night he was shot. Great cars and a lot of fun.

The next day we went to a very wet Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Pictured here is Trevor with the very first Indy 500 winner (car #32). Rough day, as they park you as far away from anything as possible and make you walk in the rain to the museum and Hall of Fame. Lots of old Indy cars for us to look at, and we took a lap around the track in a bus which was very memorable. We'll be watching the race on Memorial Day weekend and reminiscing.

Our last car stop was in Auburn, Indiana with the Auburn-Cord-Duesenburg Museum. This is actually the original factory and showroom for these cars. Lots of wonderful and exotic cars that were really before their time. This museum we highly recommend. Lots of info and history, too, if you like that sort of thing.

These pics are just a very small sample of the cars we were able to see.

2009 Baseball Trip

Tues. May 5-South Bend, Indiana: Our first trip to Coveleski Stadium in South Bend pitted the home Silver Hawks against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. We fought off the rain all week, and it started here with some drizzle, but the rain actually held off and we got the whole game in. Trevor made the trip with us this year, and he was successful in getting two game balls. The stadium is a little plain, but cut into the ground which I like and had good seating. We had good seats right in the front row. The Silver Hawks fans were good to us, and probably in a good mood because the Hawks won.

Thurs. May 7-Indianapolis, Indiana: We experienced out first rain out Wednesday, but if one of our games was to be missed, that would be it because we planned on returning to Victory Field on this day for a morning game anyway. The Indians played the Scranton/WB Yankees in a double header starting at ten in the morning. Again, rain threatened us, but it turned out to be a beautiful day. The home town Indians got beat both games, but this is a great ball park and we would love to back here again. Pictured is me and Trevor in the upper deck. Trevor got a foul ball here, too.

Louisville, Kentucky: Heading to Louisville Slugger Field for a night cap, gave us a record setting three games in one day. We did it, though, and enjoyed every second. As nice as the park is in Indy, this one is just amazing. The facade is build into an old rain road warehouse and it's just another great place to watch a ball game. The Bats beat up on the visiting Rochester Red Wings, too. We got another foul ball, as I took Trevor to the play area, it just happened to bounce in there to me. We've been having lots of luck with this. This is another AAA ball park I would love to visit again. Pictured here is Trevor from the outfield, but out seats were front row down the third base side. Not a bad seat in this house, though.

Friday, May 8-Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum: This was just awesome seeing how these famous bats are made. We got to hold unfinished bats of some of the best players in the game today, and saw older bats swung by the likes of Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. The factory tour was interesting and we each got a souvenir mini-bat when it was all over. Lots of stuff for kids, so Trevor had a great time, too. I highly recommend this to anyone in the Louisville area. A ballgame and the museum are a great combination. I dropped a little coin at the gift shop here, too.

Fort Wayne, Indiana: We can at least say we were at Parkview Field during it's inaugural season here in 2009. The newly named TinCaps also helped by beating the Peoria Chiefs, too. This is a beautiful park, and maybe the class of the single 'A' circuit. Really nice sight lines around Fort Wayne, too. As you can see by the pic, we were right next to the TinCaps dugout and got a game ball here, too. Still lucky on the weather front, as it rained when we got here, but actually cleared up for the game. Trevor got to run the bases afterward which made it even more special for him.

Sat. May 9-Lansing, Michigan: Ending our trip in our home state. Like most of the days, it rained all the way up to Lansing, so we dreaded that we'd get this far and miss some baseball. The 'baseball gods' must have been looking out for us, as is cleared up as we got to Michigan State. In probably the best ball game we saw, MSU beat Prudue 6-5. Oh, yeah, you guessed it, Trevor got a foul ball at the newly remodeled McLane Stadium also. Our trip finally ended at Oldsmobile Park featuring the Lansing Lugnuts and the Beloit Snappers. The 'Nuts got beat and it was a bit cold, yet we're happy it didn't rain and we got the game in. This is the only game we got shut out on getting a foul ball. We were all pretty tired by this time, but stayed for the post game fireworks, which seemed like and fitting end to our trip.

This is the first year we missed a game in Grand Rapids watching the Whitecaps, but we'll be down there later this summer. Next year we're looking into heading to Iowa or maybe the other teams in Ohio we haven't seen. It's never too early to start planning.