Take Me Out To The Ball Game: Thetas at the Mariners

I went to my first Major League baseball game this week! I know, I'm not sure how I missed this all American pastime but I did. My only explanation is that I spent my summers at a cottage on a lake, far out of reach of Tiger stadium. Anyhoo, when my sorority alumnae group planned a night at the ballpark, I couldn't wait to sign up. Twelve or so Thetas met for dinner and then walked  across the street to the game. Play ball! 

The T-Mobile stadium is open air and felt so grand when I walked in, that my oohing and ahhing caught the attention of the attendant and he sent us over to get my "first time at a Seattle Mariners' game" certificate. How could I not?

The stadium has a retractable roof, so the majority of the game was in the fresh air. I took this photo from open area on the 3rd deck. Hello Seattle! When it started to rain around 9 pm, the roof slowly and silently slide closed. That is a modern marvel!

When I was planning on what I would wear to the game (Mariners' colors are blue with a bit of green & the weather would be in the high 50's), I regretted not having any Mariners garb. I was driving when I remembered that I had my Dad's baseball charm. It was in his desk drawer my whole life and as a girl, I was most likely to wear a charm, so my mom said I could have it. It says "Champions 1951" and he would have been 18 years old that year. Was he on his high school baseball team? I need to ask his brother if he can remember a significant baseball event in Mount Clemens, Michigan in 1951.

I strung it on a chain and wore it to my first real baseball game, 68 years after "the championship." Isn't that wonderful? I think my dad would have thought this was great.

#seattlemariners #seattleblogger #baseballfan #sentimental #kappaalphatheta #thetakites 

A Picnic with "Family" at Fort Worden on Olympic Peninsula

We had heard that the Lavender Festival in Sequim, WA was very popular and decided that we would bring a picnic lunch with us, so that we didn't have to rely on a hot dog vendor for lunch. When a town is inundated with tourists, it is hard for the vendors and restaurants to keep up with demand. Our plan was to find a park on the water and eat a nice lunch. 

Our new favorite way to picnic is buy a combo (main dish and 2 sides for $7) at the grocery deli and pack it in my new cold food traveler from Crate and Barrel. We put the grilled chicken breast and cold turkey in a Tupperware container and the rest of the sides (potato salad, pasta salad, brussel sprout salad and beet/orange salad) in the food traveler with ice in the center. Perfect! 

I also brought along tiny oil & balsamic vinegar bottles and a packet of spiced Love olives that I bought at Cost Plus World Market. These items are picnic ready.

We were lucky to find a picnic table in a great spot looking at the water at Fort Worden. A grouping of picnic tables were just outside of a kitchen pavilion. As we were setting up, a women came out to introduce herself and let us know that she had rented the pavilion for a family reunion. We immediately offered to pack up and move when she said, "No, no, I just wanted you to know that more people are coming and that you should play along as a cousin." She was so very nice and ended up giving us maps to the area and encouraged us to return to Fort Worden to explore when we had more time. She works at the park and expounded on all the things there were to explore. There is a marine science center, a gift shop (!) and visitor center. I would love to go back.

As we were finishing lunch, the clouds broke up and we could see the beginnings of some blue sky. A day that was not too hot; just right for an outdoor festival. We packed up and as we left the picnic area, our new relatives waved goodbye and wished us well. We felt like part of the family.

We were expecting to have a long day and looking back now, I can tell you that we left our apartment at 10 am and didn't return until 11 pm - now that's a day trip! A healthy lunch in a peaceful place (and a brand new restroom across the lawn) was just what we needed before we headed into the busy festival traffic. I'll tell you about the lavender festival next.