Bye, Bye Birdies

People have asked me what I will miss most about STL when we have moved away? The short list would have to include (1) seeing the Arch, which is just a remarkable sight from almost any angle; and (2) going to see the Cardinals play. Now, I'm still a Braves fan, but I've enjoyed the excitement of a game day with even the staunchest Red Birds fan.

As this is our last weekend together in STL, Mr. T and I decided to take time out from the packing and moving activities for one last trip to Busch Stadium III on Saturday. It was a beautiful afternoon...clear and sunny, albeit windy and a bit chilly for a baseball game...57 degrees for the first pitch at 3:10 p.m. I guess you have to expect changeable weather in April...and at least it wasn't snowing like it was for Opening Day on Tuesday! It's called being thankful for small mercies, I think.

We had great seats in the Upper Infield Terrace, right over Home Plate...way up there, over Home Plate...right over the big B in Budweiser, if you've ever noticed it at Busch...:) We like to sit up high so we get a good view.

I took my knitting with me, for my own personal Stitch 'n Pitch Day (as I won't be here for the "real" event), but it was just too cold for me. I wore my gloves almost the whole nine innings!

With the Cardinals ahead of the Astros 1-0 in the 5th, the crowd was feeling good enough to start The Wave...probably an attempt to stay warm, but still fun.


Then, with the bases loaded, Pujols stepped up to the plate. I had just enough time to get my camera out of my purse before he swung and connected for a Grand Slam! And, to make it even sweeter, the ball bounced off the McDonald's "Big Mac Land" section (see the photo, left, for the replay on the Jumbo-tron), earning every one of us 43,000-plus spectators a Big Mac on Sunday.

You would think he'd done a day's work, but you'd be wrong. In the 7th, Pujols knocked another homer to the left-field corner bringing in the two men on base. Wow! What a remarkable player. Even Tony LaRussa seemed in awe...struggling for the right words in the press conference.

My dear, darling Daddy, whose birthday was April 11 and who left us 19 years ago today, would have loved a game like that.

OK, so we're powering down and packing up, meaning I'll be off-line for a few days. Our closing is still scheduled for May 7th, and we are feeling pretty good that it will happen as planned. Our buyer even stopped by to meet us this evening...more on that with my next post.

Stay tuned for updates...