This past weekend has been so great! I hit the road for
Zebulon, NC on Thursday afternoon and was able to make it to the field about an
hour before the game started.
When
I was driving in, I went a little too far and passed the field but was able to
see the downtown of Zebulon.
Let
me tell you, there isn’t much to it! Besides about 4 stoplights and a cute
little road of street parking and old town stores, there isn’t much more in
Zebulon.
I figured out my way back
to the field and I knew I was in the right place when I saw this.
I was early enough that the parking attendants were not
there yet so parking was free (yay) and after a little walking around the
stadium, I found my way to the clubhouse where D.J. was. He came out and it was so nice to
see him! We chatted for a few minutes about my drive down and how close it is
to Norfolk and then he had to go back to the clubhouse to get ready for the
game! I headed to will call to get my ticket and found my seat. The stadium is cool. They have a restaurant that you can
dine in and watch the game, lots of upper seating, and the sun goes down behind
the stadium so the fans aren’t baking in the sun! Our seats were right behind
the bullpen which was cool but kind of weird because D.J. sits right there and
I don’t like to be so close to him during the game! I feel like he can hear me
talking and gets annoyed! Haha! Before the game started I met Mrs. Lucas,
Jeremy Lucas’ (one of the catchers) mom.
She was in town visiting for the weekend from Indiana and drove his car
down for him. It was so nice to talk to her during the game and have a friend
there!
D.J.’s family made it to the game around the 4th
inning with Amy and Myla! I haven’t seen her in a few months and she has gotten
so big!! She was definitely a little squirmer during the game, but what did we
expect right?! After the game we took some pictures and The Brown’s went to
check into their hotel in Raleigh and I drove the boys back to the apartment. Since the town of Zebulon is so tiny,
the boys stay in Knightdale, NC, which is about 15 minutes away from the
field. It’s an easy drive but just
gets annoying going back and forth.
The apartments are very nice.
I thought it would be cramped with 5 guys in a three bedroom, but it doesn’t
feel crowded at all. They have a
ton of restaurants, grocery stores, and pretty much everything they need right
around the corner. D.J. will have
his car and another roommate does too so that will be helpful. It was late when we got back so we unloaded
the car and headed straight to bed.
Friday morning we woke up and went to breakfast with the
family at IHOP. We ran a few
errands at Dicks, TJ Maxx, and Wal-Mart before heading back to the apartments
to get the boys and drive the to field.
We leave the apartments at whatever time the van leaves to take the guys
without a car to the field, which was 12:30. After I dropped them off, I drove to Raleigh to meet the
family. We went to Tobacco Road Sports Cafe. for
lunch and it was delicious.
Everything was made from scratch and they didn't even have freezers
because they bought everything day of and local.
After we ate and drove around Downtown Raleigh, we went back
to the field and then I drove to the field to get there a little early. Friday’s starter was D.J.’s roommate
Michael Peoples. This was the
first time I actually hung out with Peoples and he had me dying laughing the
whole weekend. Benny pitched on Saturday
in relief and Saturday’s starter was Ryan Merritt, the 4th roommate
of the bunch! The 5th roommate is Dylan Baker and he is meeting up
with the team today to hit the road for this first trip to Frederick, MD.
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| Michael Peoples |
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| Michael Peoples |
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| Michael Peoples |
Saturday we went to breakfast at the hotel the Brown’s were
staying at and hung out at the pool for a little bit with them.
The boys had to be there early since
the game was at 6.
I took D.J. to
the field and then went back and took a nap! I hit up Planet Fitness and then
got ready for the game.
We went to
Lonestar after the game for a little post game meal and said goodbye to the
in-laws since they were getting on the road Sunday morning.
Sunday morning we woke up early since the game was at 2 and
the guys had to be there at 9 a.m.
I came back and watched some TV, packed up our stuff and then went back
to the field for Baseball Chapel.
It was so nice of Betsy to introduce herself to me at the home opener on
Thursday.
I felt so special that
she invited me to the chapel on Sunday.
She and her husband, Eddie, have been doing Baseball Chapel for about 10
years with the Mudcats.
Eddie does
it for the guys (he even does visiting team and umpires) and Betsy does it for
the ladies.
We met in one of the
boxes in the stadium and this time it was just myself.
It was nice to have someone that understands
the hardships of this lifestyle we live to talk with.
She has strong faith in Jesus Christ and God and it was
refreshing to hear her talk about how we need to let God handle all of our
fears, worries, and doubts.
We
talked about just letting our fears go and replace those things with Faith,
Worship, and Devotion.
After we
talked, they treated me to lunch and I watched the game from the box! It was
perfect for the cold Sunday afternoon! I am so thankful I met Betsy and Eddie
and cannot wait to see them next time I am in town.
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| After many years serving our country, this man has not missed a Mudcats game all last season. He gives all the balls to little kids and even takes broken bats home to fix them and give them away at the next game. He is truly an American Hero. |
After the game, D.J. and I headed back to Norfolk for the
night! I am so lucky that he is close enough to come home on an off day. He has loved on Stryker since we got
home and I cannot express how grateful we are to be so close. I am planning on making the trip up to
Woodbridge, VA next weekend as they take on the Potomac Nationals. So now as I get ready for work on this rainy Monday morning, D.J. and Stryker are all snuggled up in the bed. Its the little things in life people.
Here’s to the first full weekend of
baseball! Cheers!
At the end of the game, he signed some autographs, took a billion more pictures, and then we headed back to Red Lobster! I got on the road to head home around 7 and made it back at 10:15 because of tunnel work and a lane closed...it's never ending with traffic in this area. Before I left, we sat and just relaxed for a few minutes and had some time to ourselves. Since we know when D.J. is playing next, I will be heading down to Carolina on Thursday after my workout class with Stryker boy for the Easter weekend. Happy baseball everyone!
