Goodbye Columbus

I had an uneventful trip across Indiana got to Dublin outside of Columbus around 4:30 PM. I spent time with my cousin Bill, his wife Valerie, their son Nick and new daughter, Emily. My aunt Pat and Uncle Bill was also visiting. We had a nice visit, good dinner then drove into Columbus to see the Columbus Clippers play the Toledo Mud Hens at the new Huntington Park stadium. It was a nice evening and a wonderful ball park. Attendance was 10,100 and watching baseball played in a more intimate setting is worth a visit. We started watching the game from a rooftop restaurant. While heading to our seats, Uncle Bill took the elevator, while the rest of us took the stairs. At this moment, the Clippers scored on a grand slam home run. Uncle Bill missed the action. We left the game in the seventh inning with Columbus comfortably ahead eighteen to nothing! I must say I had the distinct feeling that all 10,100 fans at this game were just biding their time until Ohio State football started. Most tee shirts and sweatshirts were promoting Ohio State and not the Clippers. We all received free Clippers caps when arriving at the game.

I left Columbus at 6:45 AM heading to Buena Vista, Virginia. Golf plans went awry once again as my chosen course in Beaver, West Virginia was hosting an outing. I found a course in White Sulfur Springs, but it was not up to the Greenbrier standards. Happy Valley was a comfortable nine hole layout. I was able to play the entire round with one ball – very rare for the Pondit. I shot an eighty-three but the greens were flat and missing the fairway was not a big penalty. Driving through the mountains of West Virginia was a real up and down experience.

I had a nice post dinner wine and cigar along the banks of the Maury River a couple of miles from my motel.

Here are some of today's pictures:

Just entering the stadium.

Even minor league parks have large electronic scoreboards.

From the roof top restaurant above left field.

Cousin Nick. What a catch.

Clipper mascots.

The Pondit with his Wyoming baseball cap.

Thank you Toom Purcell for being a Clipper sponsor. Notice the Sodexo signage.

Uncle Bill and Aunt Pat with their new Clipper caps.

The scoreboard when we left. A real eighteen to nothing nail biter.

The bridge over the Ohio River on the West Virginia border.

Golfing venue in White Sulfur Springs.

If you hit your ball here you were really out-of-bounds!

The course was in the mountains.

Club House was very modest with a metal roof. Twenty-six dollars for eighteen holes and a cart.

My after dinner venue on the Maury River.

Should have brought my fishing gear.

Wine, cigar, Milanos and a view.

I thought I had a good plan for the evening.