They did it again! #12

Wow!  What a great team.  It was definitely a day in the park yesterday but when I posted our plans, I had no idea it would be a L. O. N. G. day in the park. Shew!

After stopping by the South Charleston Harley dealer and picking up some sandwiches from Sheetz (to avoid the calories of the baseball park food), we arrived.  Admission paid.

Seats picked and comfy. We wanted to watch the Wahama team play.

The sky looked a little dark and we knew they were calling for some storms to roll through but…we didn’t realize it would be so quick.  Sure enough the tarp came out and the game was delayed.

A special weather statement had been issued and they encouraged everyone to ‘take cover’.  Three-Quarter inch size hail and winds were approaching.

Back to the hotel we go.  We chill out, eat our lunch and watch the game from our computer.  Slowly the clouds moved out and the rain stopped.  Every minute was impacting the game we were to play at 4.  The tarp was removed and field work began.

Once again we packed up and headed to the field.  At this point our game was already moved to 6:30.  We settled in once again with a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone and the game picked up where it left off.  And then…..the clouds rolled back in and the rain started.  And here we go again –

it rained.

and rained.  AND RAINED.

When our game was at 4, we had planned a nice dinner down town, water front or at least outside.  When it moved to 6:30, we planned to try Barrels and Bricks which appeared to be a nice restaurant over the fence of the 3rd base line.  The later it got, we figured we would either grab pizza or hit the hotel restaurant that was open until 11.  My how Mother Nature changes things =)

Tarp goes off – still sprinkling.  Sponges out –

Brooms out –

And tarp gets put away –

Game picks back up.  Yay, they finish.  The award activities are rush a little so our game can start at 9:25 given the forecast for today.

It still rained right up until the first pitch but believe it or not, it turned out to be a pretty nice evening.  The only downside was I had to eat nachos, chicken tenders and fries.  Boo…there goes my good eating right down the tube.

But you know what?  I would probably eat burgers and hot dogs to see this team be recognized as the 2016 AAA State Champions.

It seemed inevitable when this guy showed up with the ‘big gun’ on our side, ready to capture the excitement!

How awesome – for the 12th time.

We finished up at midnight but it didn’t seem that late.  Excitement was in the air.  Hugs, tears, cheers and farewells.  Bittersweet for a variety of reasons.  This was truly the last game that Ronnie would be the President of the Boosters and we would be a ‘part’ of the organization.  Our son should have been there.  All the boys that he grew up with are now done with their high school run.  Yep.  Bitter sweet.

The excitement will continue and we are very proud to be a part of the group.  Today we received a text from one of the Moms that said this “Chase may not have been in Charleston this weekend, but his shirt was. ”  (She attached a picture of the inside of his shirt where I had ironed in his name and JHS baseball.)  She said “it’s now clean and will find its way back to its owner.  Maybe Chase will let us borrow it again next year for luck.”  Given the cost of all the attire, I found it necessary to iron his name in everything.  I guess this is one time that I am glad he actually lost something.  At least it traveled to the 2016 State Championship and was a part of the team.  Sigh.

Life is hard sometimes but there is always a higher plan.  Faith.  Believe.  Hope.