The Benefields loaded up in our van, Lucky, and went to see our hometown team, the Braves, play in Baltimore. It was a great trip and the kids were very well behaved (by Benefield standards). Here are some highlights!
First, you should know that my girls had to go to the beauty shop the morning of the game. The beauty shop trip stretched into the afternoon, but we ended up getting there pretty much on time with two beautiful girls!
The drive was nice, but traffic was a little crazy for a weekend. We got to the stadium and parked a mile or so away and began the hike in. Everybody walked while holding hands with an adult and paid close attention to Dad's street crossing instructions - that is huge at our house!
When we purchased our tickets, I had to tell the ticket agent that we needed tickets based on economy and courtesy. We didn't want expensive seats or to sit near and disrupt anybody who might try to follow the game closely. I just pointed at our family and said, "we are a little rowdy." With tickets in hand, we bolted to the third base line to collect autographs and meet some Braves. We got Mike Gonzalez and Jeff Bennett to sign our gloves and I got to see John Schuerholz, though I was out of range for a signature or hand shake. We just missed getting the autograph of my mom's favorite Brave, Tim Hudson. He headed to the dugout right before we got into position for autographs. Mike Gonzalez and Jeff Bennett were kind enough to stay and sign autographs for every fan out there, lucky for us! That got us off to a great start.
The ticket agent hit a home run and put us in a deserted part of the outfield bleachers (there are a lot of those in Baltimore). On the way to our very well selected seats, we had to stop at the concession stand. I prepared my wallet for a traumatic experience and I even closed my eyes as the cashier totaled my bill, but miracle of miracles, it was under $20! They have a $1 kids menu at the Baltimore ballpark that is a budget's best friend. Dogs for everybody! I was feeling generous and offered to buy all the kids and Cammie a second hot dog. It was great. There are not many things in the world that make a dad happier than $1 hot dogs.
Working at this ballpark must be the greatest job in the world because all of the employees were happy and polite and very patient with our family of five as our discovery learning slowed things down. Of course, it wasn't overly crowded, but still. Every single employee was polite and friendly. Conversely, working at Turner Field must the world's worst job! Those of you who have been to Atlanta's ballpark need no further explanation.
We were in the upper deck and had a great view, but there was not much need for the gloves up there. Babe Ruth himself could not have hit a home run to our seats in left field. With no worry of catching home runs, James entertained all the people around us by dancing wildly to every song that came across the PA system: YMCA, Wild Thing, Crazy Train, I've Got the Power, Walk this Way, and many more stadium classics. Just when I thought he might run out of energy, Cammie brought him back from a concession stand run with a bucket - a full bucket of cotton candy. That gave him a full charge for the last few innings. He danced and ran around and cheered (with the Orioles fan) like an old pro. The big kids were extremely well-behaved, and even with James dancing like a Flash Dance cast member, the Benefields made it longer than the Braves did that night.
On the road march back to our parking spot, it appeared that the city of Baltimore was hosting "The World's Dumbest Driver" auditions. As our family of five waited at an intersection to cross the street, a driver with an assortment of save the planet and green power and Darwin legged fish bumper stickers on his Subaru decided to do a U-turn under a green light and head into oncoming traffic. You don't need to read that twice, he went from moving with traffic to making a left handed U-turn across two lanes, exposing the driver's side of his car for a perfect T-bone in the first lane and then playing chicken with the traffic in the second lane. This happened about five feet from my family and we began sprinting to safety to avoid getting showered with Subaru debris or having the whole car land on us (we can move pretty fast, by the way). I was not pleased with this driver. He managed to come to his senses just in time to avoid castastrophe, but I need a chance to discuss his worldview with him. This guy needs Jesus and the message of saving grace in the worst way because if he adheres to Darwinist principles, his entire bloodline is on a rocket booster to extinction. His driving skills do not bode well for his chances of natural selection.
It was a great outing and I recommend Camden Yards to all, but park as close to the stadium as you can, lest a liberal powered Subaru might get you.
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