Take Me Out To The Ball Game

By the time you are reading this I'll be off on my vacation, enjoying the time I get to spend all by myself.  For someone who works in retail, that is a blessing.  Today's guest post is from Carol of Carol's Notebook.  Carol's is one of the first blogs I started to read on a regular basis not only for her book reviews but for her game reviews and the posts she does of her daughter's artwork.  Please go on over and say hi and happy summer and with that I will turn it over to Carol as she explains her love for America's favorite summer pastime.

I love summer. The heat, the sun always make me feel good, and there’s so much to do in the summer that you just can’t do other times of the year: cook-outs and picnics, trips to the amusement park, fishing and fireworks, reading on the hammock, veggies fresh from the garden, softball and ice cream cones. And Pirates games.

I admit it. I’m a Pirates fan. We’ve been going to the games each summer for as long as I remember. I’m not a big sports person, but there’s nothing like watching a baseball game live. I don’t listen to them on the radio (too confusing) or watch them on TV (too boring), but I love going to the games. Not just when we’re winning either. The Pirates haven’t had a winning season in like 18 years, since I was in high school, but this year they’re doing pretty well, hovering around .500. The games aren’t all about who wins and who loses, it's fun no matter what, but it’s always nice when we win. The last game we went to was downright exciting, the best game I’ve seen for a while.

I love the whole experiences. PNC Park is just gorgeous and a truly enjoyable place to be. We always park in a garage and walk across the bridge, picking up water and peanuts from the stand at the corner to take in with us. There’s some great food in the park too. In addition to the standard hot dogs and fries, there’s my favorite, Primanti’s amazing sandwiches: a sirloin beef patty, coleslaw, tomato and French fries, all piled between two slices of Italian bread. There’s the cheering, the wave, the organ playing, and yes I'll be clapping and yelling along with everyone else. The parrot shoots hot dogs into the crowd at one inning break and t-shirts at another. And I can’t forget the Pierogi race; my favorite is Jalapeno Hannah. On special nights, fireworks follow the game. (Pittsburgh loves its fireworks!) Then it’s a walk back across the bridge, where the saxophone man is always playing so we drop some change into his case.

You just can’t beat a summer night at a ballgame.

“Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks, I don’t care if I never get back.”