Baseball and a Birthday

Wednesday night we joined our good friends, Diane and Bela at Safeco Field.  The weather was perfect; not a cloud in the sky, our seats were fabulous; nine rows from the field.  and the Sno-Cones and Garlic Fries were delicious. 

We do not go to many Mariner games, I am not sure why because I love the whole experience.  I like the anticipation of going to a game, shuffling through the turnstile with all the of other fans, the energy of the crowd and the first view of that perfectly manicured field as you step on the
concourse.

  

It's a whole other world and tonight it was extra special.  We were celebrating Bela's birthday.

 

His actual birthday is in March and since the Mariners do not play in early-March we chose to celebrate in mid-August. 

After driving into Seattle, parking and entering the stadium we had about 1/2 hour to spare.  We headed over to the Birthday/Anniversary table for his surprise gift.  For a small fee you receive a tote bag, commemorative baseball, Mariners hat, a 10% off Mariners Team Store gift card and $25 gift card to Ivar's. 

We found our seats and then ventured out for hotdogs and ice cold beers.  The sun felt so good and we settled in just in time to catch pre-game yoga and warm up.

 

The Blue Jays took command early in the game but we sat there with hopeful anticipation that we might actually win. 

One can hope, can't I?

It was brutal.  The Mariners just could not get on base and when they did the Jays took them out with two double plays.

 

At the end of the second inning we needed a mental break and Clyde and I had one more great surprise for Bela, right up there on the center field scoreboard. 

It was fabulous and he loved it. 

The game was less than riveting and at times a bit tense.  Outfielder Casper Wells took a 97mph fast ball square on the nose in the sixth inning, luckily he is ok.  The game ended 5-1 and while we did not end up celebrating a Mariners win, it was pretty fabulous for Wednesday night.