Mist, Cold, Baseball?

July 2.

No, those three words don't go together.  Especially in the summer in Chicagoland.  But there they are.  July 2 usually means hot and humid, iced tea and water, mosquitoes and sweat.  But not today.

Friends of ours invited Fernando and me to a White Sox game with them.  They had enough tickets for themselves, their four youngest children, another family of four (also good friends with us), and two tickets left for Fernando and me.

Above, we waited in the parking lot at U.S. Cellular Field.  We were there early enough that we had to wait until the doors opened for fans to enter, about an hour before game time.  Plus, we wanted to wait as long as possible because, frankly, it was cold outside.

The view from the parking lot was pretty cool, I must say.  I'd never been to the Sox ballpark before, and I loved seeing Willis Tower appearing through the low clouds.

Walking up the ramps to the gates into the seating areas.

Okay, those nose-bleed seats were steep.  I got a little discombobulated climbing the stairs to our row, and I couldn't look down into the field until I was sitting.  The view was phenomenal, though!

So, we watched the men on the field roll up the tarp.  A few minutes later, they rolled it back onto the field.  Then they waited some more.  We wondered if the game would end up being canceled--it was misty-rainy but not real rain, and we were really hoping it wouldn't turn into the real coming-down-from-the-sky stuff because even though we were semi-under the overhang above, it was drifting in in little waves.

Finally, they decided to go ahead with the game, and rolled the tarp up for the last time.

I took this picture below because it's not a typical sight for a summer baseball game in Chicago:  a vendor hawking hot chocolate.  Our friend M. bought one for me later in the game--I was so cold!

So glad we got to see fireworks for the one home run of the game!

Our friends asked me to take a picture of the scoreboard, just so we could show everyone the actual temperature on July 2 in Chicago:  55 degrees!

Even with the mist, and a partially-filled stadium, the view was amazing!

Caught at second base--Yer out!

A view of the misty rain in the stadium lights.

We went into the ninth inning tied, and got up to bat still tied.  This was our last chance!  The Sox got runners on first and third, and the Angels pulled their center fielder into the infield to help with getting an out and going into extra innings.

I caught the below shot just as the batter was about to hit the ball--it was a hit!  The runner at third ran home, crossed the plate, and the Sox won the game!

I didn't feel really cold until we got up to leave--then the shivers started!  I stopped on the ramps down long enough to snap a picture of the South Side of Chicago, looking west.  It sure was pretty, but I was happy to get back into the car.

At home that night, I actually turned on the heating layer of our Sleep Number bed!  Despite the cold and damp, we really did have a fun night together, and this treasured memory is already tucked away for later enjoyment.  :)


Back to life,
Christine

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