029: Land of the Visiting Free

From Best Pants Ever

Previously, Team 1 continued to dominate volleyball as they took a 2-0 set lead. Now, they’re in Set 3 where Team 2 holds a 21-20 lead, and can clinch Set 3 with a point! Will Jeff’s serve be their set-winning point?

029: LAND OF THE VISITING FREE

Fail! Jeff’s serve stayed in bounds and Team 1 has tied it again! Carla puts her hand over her face. Now at 21s, Team 2 must finally grab their remaining focus. Team 1’s Dale is up to serve, and pulls a dandy as he aces for Team 1’s point, and they now lead 22-21. Now their game point. Dale prepares what could be his final serve. Dale makes the serve, and Michael of Team 1 sends it back. The ball is in play for nearly a minute before Tony and Gabe at the front prepare to hit the ball from their side. As it lands, both men jump up and nearly hit it at the same time. When the ball lands on the ground, it’s within Team 2’s boundary. Team 1 has clinched the game 3 sets to none, winning Set 3 22-20. Congrats are sent out for Team 1’s victory. Tom and Michael thank those who played.

Finally, the BPE guys rest and cool off a bit. Ken then brings up something that the BPE group would not expect. He proposes they go see a ballgame. The group start to stir at that idea. As it appears, Ken and James secretly both went to Marlins Ballpark and got tickets to that evening’s game. So now, the BPE group are going to see a ballgame! They didn’t quite spend all day at the beach, but they felt they had more than enough time there. Jeff, Carla, and Jacob are bidden goodbye, as they prepare to head home the following day so Jeff can return to work on Monday. Jamie and Jacob are the true winners of the beach as both hug one final time. Jamie looks upset, but with the BPE group around her, she feels fine.

As the BPE group prepare to leave for the ballpark, Lawrence decides it’s best that he meet them there, as he heads back home to tend to Ginger. He’s given a ticket to enter the game. Lawrence feels grateful for it and will make sure to hold onto it tightly, but not too tight that he damages it. On this day, the Miami Marlins begin a 3-day series against their rivals the Atlanta Braves. This comes in delight of James who didn’t get to see them in Atlanta. So now, he gets to see the Braves after all!

After getting ready, the group head off to the ballpark. They park in the Center Field Garage as their seats are on that side. When they find a spot, they enter the stadium. James made sure to have his camera, and still has more than enough battery power to go on. The group find their seats and await Lawrence’s appearance. Ashley and James walk around the concourse while they wait another 30 minutes before game time.

The game is started 7 minutes after 7 as the Braves take their go at batting. Their leadoff hits a solo homerun on the first pitch to begin the game, giving the Braves an early 1-0 lead.

Lawrence arrives at 7:32. The game is now in the 3rd inning with Atlanta still holding their 1-0 lead. The Marlins would cash in a couple runs by the time the bottom 3rd hit to take a 2-1 lead. James only wishes that Chipper Jones had played one more year to see him play, but enjoys seeing the Upton brothers play together.

At the 7th inning stretch, The Marlins are leading by a score of 6-3. Everything has gone Miami’s way up to then. The home crowd is enjoying it, coming off a really good Atlanta group. The BPE group are enjoying it as well. Ken, Jess, and Jamie have gone to get food while it’s still available. The prices are naturally high, but you don’t keep a kid waiting too long! Jamie is bought a hotdog. Ken gets a foot long and Jess gets nachos. Jamie eats most of her hot dog and a few nachos. She’s content.

The game reaches the top of the 9th with the Marlins still leading 6-3, but wouldn’t you know it? The Braves have them loaded with 2 out. What would you think would happen next? You’ve got it. The next Brave at bat hits a game-leading Grand Slam, and the Braves have a 7-6 lead, which they’d hold for good. The home fans as usual are quiet on their way out. Team 2 lost, Marlins lost, Jamie still wins. Either way, it was still a great day.

Next Adventure: Ken has been full of surprises on this trip. Partly responsible for winning an RV, getting ballpark tickets without the group’s knowledge and has also given the group a remaining stay at Holiday Inn. The next story will unveil his greatest surprise by far!

• Note: Incase it didn’t get noticed, #029’s title comes from an obvious parody of The Star-Spangled Banner, where it says “land of the free and the home of the brave”. The Atlanta Braves are “VISITING” the “LAND” (park) where the Marlins play. Hence the title.

Completed: January 24th, 2013
Submitted: March 12th, 2013