Days 1-2 (5/28-29): On the trail of the Kings
JONESBORO AR -- Problems can arise when you forget things such as aftershave, Walkman earphones, and the power cord for your laptop. Only one of those was the reason I didn't post last night.
But we did travel on Sunday to Bowling Green.
We stopped off in Huntington for lunch so Chad could partake of Peace, Love, & Little Donuts. I could care either way, but I held down the table down the block at Backyard Pizza. (I had the Big Bad Wolf. I was not afraid of it.)
Through Kentucky, the weather alternated between sun and drizzly showers. Despite the SiriusXM Radio in my car, we kept it local driving through Lexington, eavesdropping on Tim Tebow's baseball efforts against the Legends. (He lost the second game of the doubleheader 2-1.)
Speaking of doubleheaders, Bowling Green was participating in one Sunday after storms postponed yesterday's game. There was no way we'd get there for the start of the games (4:35CT), but we did arrive by the fifth inning.
We more than made up for what we missed, as both seven-inning games of the doubleheader against Lake County went nine innings. The teams split, with the homestanding Hot Rods winning the first game on a bases-loaded walk.
This morning required running the aisles of a Bowling Green WalMart -- and later a Nashville Best Buy -- to replace what we (I?) forgot to bring. Before the game in Nashville, Chad had to stop off at the Hard Rock to "officially" mark his visit. (HRC Corporate allows you to track your visits, which they started after he visited Nashville's restaurant.)
We drove over Capitol Hill -- with an actual capitol atop -- to Nashville's new baseball park, First Tennessee Park, which opened two years ago. Getting there an hour early for the 12:05 start left us time to explore. I picked up lunch (a quinoa salad) in the outfield Band Box, while Chad had prime-rib nachos from off the concourse. Despite the Sounds mascot, their bats were silent, losing to Colorado Springs 6-0.
Post-game, we caught up with Eric, a high-school classmate of mine now residing in Nashville with his daughter and veterinarian wife. He selected Bobbie's Dairy Dip, an outdoor stand with great milkshakes (I had the Chuck Berry) and burgers (he had the guacamole) that he apparently uses when other DuPont alumni wander through the Music City.
After we said our goodbyes, Chad and I pointed the car west on I-40, only to get tied up an hour later in a work-zone traffic accident just before the town of -- I kid you not -- Bucksnort. I think I can now admit that, once we got clear of the logjam, I set the cruise at Speed Limit+5 the rest of the way. "The rest of the way" required a gas stop in the Bootheel town of Kennett, Missouri, the hometown of Sheryl Crow.
And as twilight turned to dusk to dark, we alternated between the Reds-Blue Jays (a 17-2 laugher) and the first part of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final before pulling to Jonesboro, the home of Arkansas State University.
But we did travel on Sunday to Bowling Green.
We stopped off in Huntington for lunch so Chad could partake of Peace, Love, & Little Donuts. I could care either way, but I held down the table down the block at Backyard Pizza. (I had the Big Bad Wolf. I was not afraid of it.)
Through Kentucky, the weather alternated between sun and drizzly showers. Despite the SiriusXM Radio in my car, we kept it local driving through Lexington, eavesdropping on Tim Tebow's baseball efforts against the Legends. (He lost the second game of the doubleheader 2-1.)
Speaking of doubleheaders, Bowling Green was participating in one Sunday after storms postponed yesterday's game. There was no way we'd get there for the start of the games (4:35CT), but we did arrive by the fifth inning.
We more than made up for what we missed, as both seven-inning games of the doubleheader against Lake County went nine innings. The teams split, with the homestanding Hot Rods winning the first game on a bases-loaded walk.
This morning required running the aisles of a Bowling Green WalMart -- and later a Nashville Best Buy -- to replace what we (I?) forgot to bring. Before the game in Nashville, Chad had to stop off at the Hard Rock to "officially" mark his visit. (HRC Corporate allows you to track your visits, which they started after he visited Nashville's restaurant.)
We drove over Capitol Hill -- with an actual capitol atop -- to Nashville's new baseball park, First Tennessee Park, which opened two years ago. Getting there an hour early for the 12:05 start left us time to explore. I picked up lunch (a quinoa salad) in the outfield Band Box, while Chad had prime-rib nachos from off the concourse. Despite the Sounds mascot, their bats were silent, losing to Colorado Springs 6-0.
Post-game, we caught up with Eric, a high-school classmate of mine now residing in Nashville with his daughter and veterinarian wife. He selected Bobbie's Dairy Dip, an outdoor stand with great milkshakes (I had the Chuck Berry) and burgers (he had the guacamole) that he apparently uses when other DuPont alumni wander through the Music City.
After we said our goodbyes, Chad and I pointed the car west on I-40, only to get tied up an hour later in a work-zone traffic accident just before the town of -- I kid you not -- Bucksnort. I think I can now admit that, once we got clear of the logjam, I set the cruise at Speed Limit+5 the rest of the way. "The rest of the way" required a gas stop in the Bootheel town of Kennett, Missouri, the hometown of Sheryl Crow.
And as twilight turned to dusk to dark, we alternated between the Reds-Blue Jays (a 17-2 laugher) and the first part of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final before pulling to Jonesboro, the home of Arkansas State University.