Big City Perks

Our original motivation for taking a volunteer position at Chattahoochee Bend State Park was its proximity to Atlanta, and our new grandbaby.  But with Father's Day approaching it is also offering a lot of options for what a dad may ask for.

And what dad wouldn't want baseball and bar-b-que?  The Braves were playing the Red Sox mid-week.  With a poor showing in recent weeks the Braves were not exactly selling out Turner Field so there was a large selection of seats to choose from.  Cyndee picked a couple of seats behind first base and about two dozen rows up from the dugout.  We went all-out and got advanced parking too.  I paid for one spot but I'm pretty sure that Big Gulp is not going to fit completely inside one of those tiny, tight spots in the on-property parking lot.

Great seats.  Even better when the sun goes down and takes the edge off the heat.

It had been a long time since we had attended a game as a family.  Our now 27 year-old was probably in kindergarten when we attended a game in the now long-gone Fulton County Stadium.  It had to be before 1995 because we were there before they started construction of the new stadium which was first used for the track and field events of the 1996 Olympics and then converted into the new home of the Braves after the Olympics left town. Cyndee and I think just the two of us may have been to a game in the new stadium, we both have a vague memory of roasting in some outfield seats during an afternoon game in the late 90's.  That's when the Braves were winning all the time and seats could be hard to come by, they stayed sold out all season.

No sell-outs this year.  Times are tough for the Braves and the fans have thinned.  While this has given us an opportunity to pick from a large selection of seating choices at the last minute, it did not result in bargain pricing.  They are still charging as if the Braves are winning and the stadium is full.

A beautiful but hot and sticky night at the ballpark.  Wouldn't be baseball in Atlanta any other way.

Our seats were really good.  It was no trouble getting a bunch of great action shots like this one.

Plans were made for a couple days later for the whole family to get together for bar-b-que at Fox Brothers.  This place promotes itself to specialize in Texas BBQ, which pretty much means that they cook their meat without the use of sauce.  Nothing but slow cooking over a wood-smoke fire.  I really enjoy their brisket but they have a whole menu full of tasty choices.

But the best part of Father's Day lunch was having all the kids together.  All the kids and table full of BBQ, it just doesn't get much better than that.

The grandbaby is making some new sounds much to the delight of her Memaw and Uncle.

And by the way, the Braves beat the Sox.  Great Father's Day.