A's @Rockies

We finally made it to our first Rockies game this season, a few weeks ago. 

We received tickets, from one of our church members, last season. When we went to that game it was fan appreciation day and we received tickets to a game this season. We were finally able to get to a game when I realized that the Oakland Athletics had rolled into town.

We arrived quite early since we didn't actually have seats, but just vouchers. We enjoyed watching the A's warm up and take batting practice.

We walked around the stadium for awhile and arrived at the Camerena Loft. It's a pretty cool area in the ballpark. Your seats are actually at a table or bar. You can watch the entire game here while you eat or drink.

It's the only place you can find this Purple Margarita.

Here's the view from the loft. Pre-game preparations are going on to perfect the field. 

Can you believe that it takes 6 men to water the infield? 

Seth Smith played for the Rockies last year. He was one of my favorite players and it was sad to see him get traded. Imagine my surprise to see him in an A's uniform.

He played incredibly well against the Rockies. It kind of makes me wonder why they traded him.

He hit double to left field his first at bat. 

We countered with a double of our own.

Marcos hit one to the opposite field driving in an run as well.

Cuddyer hit a home run and gave us hope. He's Thomas' favorite player because "he hits grand slams."

Perhaps you've heard about all the crazy wild fires in Colorado. The day we attended this game the air was thick with smoke. You could smell the High Park Fire in Denver. Please keep Colorado in your prayers. So many people have already lost their homes or have been evacuated. I believe there are currently 11 wild fires burning in our state. It's devastating.

 Cargo is another favorite player in our household. He came up to bat and we thought it was a home run.

But, he hit the ball to my man Seth and that ended the inning.

We had hope in the next few innings when we scored a few runs.

As the sun went down we took a little stroll to get a bite to eat and watch the game from a different area. Coors field is a wonderful ballpark. There are great views all over stadium.

Though the Rockies lost 5-8 it was a beautiful evening for a ball game.

Boreas

When we arrived in Breckenridge the weather looked as though it was starting to turn and a storm was its way to town. I really wanted to see the beautiful Aspens in all their glory so we headed out quickly for Boreas Pass.

The weather in Colorado is quite fickle, so I knew we wouldn't have much time to view the gorgeous trees. As quickly as the Aspen leaves turn yellow their leaves are also at risk of getting blown off their branches.

A gush of harsh wind will take the leaves off the trees in just minutes. I think we may have seen the tail end of these beautiful trees.

We drove up close to the tree line. Here in Colorado the tree line is 12,000 ft. You can see that the trees are starting to look sparse.

As we headed back toward town the trees became more dense.

Have you ever seen those Jeep commercials where the Jeep is driving through the creek? Well my Lutheran Stud wanted to try that in our Land Cruiser.

Because this is what a Land Cruiser is meant to do we crossed this little creek.

Boreas Pass used to be a railroad pass between Denver and Leadville. That red water tank used to be a stop for trains fill up with water.

Now hikers and bikers use the pass and you can see why. The view is gorgeous. That's Breckenridge down below.

Now are you ready to move to Colorado?

Colorado Rockies

Last week my Lutheran Stud and I were able to attend one of the last Rockies home games of the season. They've had dismal season with no hope of making it to the playoffs.

Many of the starting players were injured and weren't even playing in the game. There were quite a few players playing that we had never even heard of. I have high hopes that they'll be strong players in the future.

Since we had such wonderful seats it was just a short little walk to Famous Dave's for a little barbeque. Famous Dave's has just one location in the whole stadium. We hadn't had any bbq yet this season, so it was time.

It had also been a whole year since I had any chocolate covered bacon, so I had to some of that too. They've changed it up since I last had it. They added red pepper flakes to the mix giving it a bit of a kick. It was fabulous. I highly recommend this if you like sweet and salty things. If you're ever at a ball game get it quickly because I've been told that it sells out at every game.

The game was a little on the slow side, though there were some good plays.

The Rockies had a few chances to score, 

but they struggled to get the hits that they needed.

They even pulled their most adored player off the bench, still injured, and it didn't help.

Dinger the dinosaur did get the crowd going though.

Then an unfortuante thing happened. A guy from the other team must not have seen the ball coming because all of the sudden it hit him right in the face and he had to be removed from the game.

The one good thing is that the Rockies did end up scoring and we cheered like the crazy fans that we are. It didn't matter that the Rockies lost. It doesn't matter that the Rockies aren't going to the playoffs. The Rockies do, however, have the best fans in baseball. How else can you explain getting 31,000 fans to come out on Tuesday night to watch a team fraught with injuries and no hope of making it to the World Series? That's why the Rockies have the best fans in baseball.

On top of that after the game you get to sit in this lovely traffic. It was a fun night and a little sad to see the baseball season come to an end. I suppose that'll give me more time to begin some sewing projects right? 

Spring is in the Air

It's that time of year again when Jared and I start going to as many Rockies games as we can. Okay, maybe just a few. We just really enjoy going to the games. There's just something about a baseball game.

The atmosphere at the ball park is infectious. The waterfalls are calming yet there is excitement in the air.

Perhaps it's players like Todd Helton. He's been playing for the Rockies since the beginning. Everyone in Denver loves this guy. What's not to like? He just broke Lou Gehrig's record for hitting the most doubles in major league baseball. And his at bat song is Jason Aldean's My Kind of Party.

Or maybe it's because there are players like Seth Smith who appear to be one of the nicest guys ever. I might have a small crush on him. Maybe. It's tiny really. Jared makes fun of me. His at bat song is from The City Harmonic called Manifesto. What's not to like when a song has the Lord's Prayer in it?

This guy here, Dexter Fowler is another one of my favorite players and when I heard his at bat song I started liking him even more. He brought me back to junior high with Bel Biv Devoe and the song Poison. Do you all remember that song?

Keri and I couldn't stop laughing at that song. I think Dexter Fowler had to be 4 years old when that song came out.

Sometimes going to a game with friends doesn't hurt either. It definitely makes the game more fun. You get to cheer for your favorite team with friends!

There's just something about baseball. It's different from football, basketball, and even hockey.Ianetta just hit a home run to put us into the lead.
 The team is so supportive of each other. It's great to see a team that gets a long so well with each other.
 They work hard while making it look easy.
 This is Huston Street. He's my favorite pitcher and Jared's too. . . most of the time. He's our closer and he's amazing. He gets the job done!
This is the last out of the game. The Rockies just won! Yay!

I think I know what it is about a baseball game. It's this team. We watch them play almost everyday. We watch them interact with each other and their fans. It's almost heartwarming. They are genuinely nice guys. They are the type of guys that you would love to have over for dinner with your family. Now we also love the Broncos (football), but there's just something different about football. We've gone to football games and baseball games and I'd have to say that I wouldn't bring my kids to a football game. The atmosphere is completely different and not necessarily family friendly. I think that's why we enjoy these baseball games so much. They're fun and family friendly!