37 Nebraska [Updated to Full Credit]
My long ago childhood visit to Nebraska has been replaced with a solid day in that fine state, sandwiched between my two nights in Iowa. My official excuse was attending a game by the Omaha Storm Chasers, who are the AAA affiliate of the Royals. That and my need to cross Nebraska off the list was enough to justify a trip, but then I found out that the night I was going to be there the Storm Chasers were due to play the Sacramento River Cats, who are the AAA affiliate of the mighty Oakland Athletics, and I was all in.
First though, I had to fill some time. I drove into Omaha from Iowa mid-morning, and the game wasn't until 7:05pm. How was I to fill all that time? How about a trip to the Omaha Zoo, or as it is formally known the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium?
I had absolutely gorgeous weather to wander around the zoo, which was balanced out by the ridiculously huge crowds. It was apparently the last Saturday before school started or some such thing, AND their special exhibition with Animatronic dinoaurs was closing soon, and there were two big corporate groups there, and did I mention the gorgeous weather? I ended up deep in their overflow parking, and the line to get into the zoo was quite long. Fortunately, the zoo is well laid out so once I got inside the gates a few quick turns separated me from the majority of the crowds. On the downside, it also got me a little lost; I missed the stand where they handed out maps and apparently once you missed it you were done for.
I coped admirably; the zoo had a lot of really good exhibits, and while I might have missed the otters and the rhinos, I caught pretty much everything else. The desert dome is superb, as are the Mozambique building (they have a relationship with the country) and the nocturnal area. All in all it is was really a fine zoo. The dinosaurs weren't bad either.
From there I went on to the park. For a AAA park, it was pretty small, comparable to the stadium the single A Eastlake Captains play in. The ballpark food was the usual, but tasted good and fulfilled the "eat in a state" requirement. For the grand sum of $10.50 (including fees) I sat two rows behind home plate. For the first time in years (ever?) I wore a ball cap, because courtesy of a wedding gift from MRM I actually own a Sacramento River Cats hat. I'd never worn it before, but I dug it out for this occasion. I also had on my A's warmup, and was of course keeping score. Apparently the combination was arresting; midway through the game the guy in front of me turned around and said "You're a scout for the A's, right? Can you tell me about this guy batting?" So that was weird.
Also weird was the theme. That night was Star Wars night at the ballpark, so the Storm Chasers were renamed as the Omaha Force (complete with Rebel Alliance logo on the uniforms). A legion of cosplayers delivered the ball from the bullpen (Han looked pretty good) and Darth Vader threw out the first pitch. Star Wars video clips were on the scoreboard all night. I'm not complaining, but it was a little strange, that's for sure.
The game itself wasn't that great. The River Cats had both Daric Barton and Jemile Weeks on their roster; both have substantial service time in the show. They were both clearly better than anyone else even if they aren't quite good enough to stay up in the big leagues. Hot prospects Michael Taylor and Michael Choice also looked like beasts. In fact, this game was well in hand until the River Cats bullpen took over. The last three innings took forever, with the bottom of the ninth featuring a run through the Storm Chasers (errr... Force) order. Finally the Cats put it away, and I drove off into Iowa, having removed Nebraska from my list.
Scoreboard
Full Credit - 41: Delaware ( partial credit post), Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland ( partial credit post), New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Iowa ( partial credit post), Wisconsin, California, Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas, West Virginia, Nevada, Nebraska ( partial credit post), Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona ( partial credit post), Alaska, Washington D.C.
Partial Credit - 3: Connecticut, Alabama, Idaho
No Credit - 7: South Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Hawaii
First though, I had to fill some time. I drove into Omaha from Iowa mid-morning, and the game wasn't until 7:05pm. How was I to fill all that time? How about a trip to the Omaha Zoo, or as it is formally known the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium?
I had absolutely gorgeous weather to wander around the zoo, which was balanced out by the ridiculously huge crowds. It was apparently the last Saturday before school started or some such thing, AND their special exhibition with Animatronic dinoaurs was closing soon, and there were two big corporate groups there, and did I mention the gorgeous weather? I ended up deep in their overflow parking, and the line to get into the zoo was quite long. Fortunately, the zoo is well laid out so once I got inside the gates a few quick turns separated me from the majority of the crowds. On the downside, it also got me a little lost; I missed the stand where they handed out maps and apparently once you missed it you were done for.
I coped admirably; the zoo had a lot of really good exhibits, and while I might have missed the otters and the rhinos, I caught pretty much everything else. The desert dome is superb, as are the Mozambique building (they have a relationship with the country) and the nocturnal area. All in all it is was really a fine zoo. The dinosaurs weren't bad either.
From there I went on to the park. For a AAA park, it was pretty small, comparable to the stadium the single A Eastlake Captains play in. The ballpark food was the usual, but tasted good and fulfilled the "eat in a state" requirement. For the grand sum of $10.50 (including fees) I sat two rows behind home plate. For the first time in years (ever?) I wore a ball cap, because courtesy of a wedding gift from MRM I actually own a Sacramento River Cats hat. I'd never worn it before, but I dug it out for this occasion. I also had on my A's warmup, and was of course keeping score. Apparently the combination was arresting; midway through the game the guy in front of me turned around and said "You're a scout for the A's, right? Can you tell me about this guy batting?" So that was weird.
Also weird was the theme. That night was Star Wars night at the ballpark, so the Storm Chasers were renamed as the Omaha Force (complete with Rebel Alliance logo on the uniforms). A legion of cosplayers delivered the ball from the bullpen (Han looked pretty good) and Darth Vader threw out the first pitch. Star Wars video clips were on the scoreboard all night. I'm not complaining, but it was a little strange, that's for sure.
The game itself wasn't that great. The River Cats had both Daric Barton and Jemile Weeks on their roster; both have substantial service time in the show. They were both clearly better than anyone else even if they aren't quite good enough to stay up in the big leagues. Hot prospects Michael Taylor and Michael Choice also looked like beasts. In fact, this game was well in hand until the River Cats bullpen took over. The last three innings took forever, with the bottom of the ninth featuring a run through the Storm Chasers (errr... Force) order. Finally the Cats put it away, and I drove off into Iowa, having removed Nebraska from my list.
Scoreboard
Full Credit - 41: Delaware ( partial credit post), Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland ( partial credit post), New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Iowa ( partial credit post), Wisconsin, California, Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas, West Virginia, Nevada, Nebraska ( partial credit post), Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona ( partial credit post), Alaska, Washington D.C.
Partial Credit - 3: Connecticut, Alabama, Idaho
No Credit - 7: South Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Hawaii