Baseball Trip '07: Squeezed Between Bocce Weekends

From 8/12 - 8/17, Marc, Erik, and I were on the annual baseball road trip. This was Marc's fourth, Erik's first, and my 11th.

I'll be posting the baseball pics on my baseball blog in the coming days. For now, I present to you the stuff we did before and after the games.

Marc and Erik met me at Floyd where my team had just won a bocce playoff game to send us to the final 8. It was already 5 pm. Luckily for us, the Sunday night ESPN game was in Philadelphia so we sped down I-95 to make the first game of the trip.

After the game, it was Bob and Barbara's time. This was my first visit since Nate Wiley's death. It was fun but a bit sad without Nate.

After the bar, Pat's. Erik digs in while Balgavy itemizes.
The next morning - pretzel time! It was good but not as good as last time.
We drove to Pittsburgh for a doubleheader. We stayed with our gracious hosts Mike and Emily and I've got their calendar to prove it. Btw guys, I'm still waiting for my invite to whatever you were inviting people to on the 7th.
After the baseball, it was shuffleboard glory.
Mike, Emily, and baby Henry in front of their amazing house.
On the drive to Charleston, WV, we spotted this poor creature stuck on a truck going 70 MPH. The last few seconds of the clip are what makes it. I wonder if our little friend found his way to safety. But if he did, how would he find his way back home? He might be hundreds of miles away. I should write a children's book or something.

We stopped somewhere in WV to get some pepperoni rolls. This guy was a heavy sweating self-described Pentecostal Holy Roller who insisted that Phil Rizzuto played for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
His mom apparently has an amazing jukebox. She insisted that I take a picture of the little man holding the flag. So I did.
After way too much drinking (48 oz of beer for 2 bucks at the game) we ended up back at our Charleston hotel where we each had a pepperoni roll waiting for us!
And then it was bocce time at 2:30 am by the elementary school. Balgavy was the West Va champ by the way.
Inevitably with Balgavy on a trip, shirts were opened or taken off entirely.
Wednesday morning, we woke up a little bit hungover. Balgavy handled the driving. It was 107 degrees in NC. We relaxed a bit with Jack after the game.
Back to my old haunt - the Green Room. I used to live a few blocks from this place back in '95-'96. It looks exactly the same. One of the twenty-something workers there at that time is now the owner.
Marc had a bit to drink and started talking shit to some Durham folks. I have footage but have decided not to show it. You can thank me later Marc.

Jack pretends to understand what Marc is going on about.
They sure are proud of awful middle relievers in Durham, aren't they?
Balgavy already has five posts up.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh and West Va
West Va
West VA and Durham