Spring is in the air

I was afraid that after the lush greenery of Florida, the desert would look brown and bleak. But springtime in the desert is one of the best times of the year. And nothing feels more like spring than daffodils from Trader Joe's. Happy spring to everyone!

Big day for the Rockies

Sunday was photo day, which means that some of the National League Champion Colorado Rockies got to have their pictures taken with me. The game was rained out, but it was still a big day for the Rocks.


Garrett Atkins


















Ian Stewart. No hard feelings for his foul ball that hit me.


















Jason Hirsch, 6'8" pitcher



















Matt Kata. I miss the Baby Backs.



















Yorvit Torrealba. We have several of his t-shirts!

All-star Brian Fuentes

Family + friends + food = Fun!

I couldn't resist that corny, alliterative title. A few days ago, my brother and sister-in-law invited us over for dinner, and for a visit with my brother's friend Rick, from junior high (that's right, no middle school back then) days. We also got to meet Rick's son Ryan. We had a great time. The Cobb salad was DELICIOUS (thanks, Debbie!), and we laughed a lot. Oh yes, and Colin was as cute as ever. Cody & Kelly, we missed you!



Best salad ever


Plenty o' salad


10 1/2 months old














Aunt Tori is silly


















Colin says hey















Tres amigos

Thoughts on baseball

I really like baseball. But sometimes I wonder if it likes me. Some people seem to easily get foul balls or home run balls and have nice baseball souvenirs. My only encounters with foul balls are when they hit me. Years ago we were at a Tucson Toros game, and a foul ball came right toward me. Mr. Beisbolfan said he had it, held out his hand to catch it, then pulled his hand away at the last minute, so the ball smacked me on the thigh, and I had a huge bruise for weeks. To add insult to injury, a bratty little kid got the ball, then proceeded to play with it for the rest of the game. Then yesterday, we went to see the Colorado Rockies & Texas Rangers play at Hi Corbett. The heat got to me, so we left our seats to sit at a table by left field, in the shade of an umbrella. Wouldn't you know it, a foul ball hit the post of the umbrella on our table, then smacked into my arm. Notice the imprint of the stitching on my arm. Ouch. At least this time I got the baseball, as well as a round of applause for "catching" it.

Florida #3

Beach birds


Quail Valley Country Club, where we lunched


Dock at Cousin Jean's


Jean & Alex's house


Lizard & frog


Orchid at sunset

More Vero Beach

Sunset over the Indian River


Seabirds on the Atlantic


Nice beach


Atlantic Ocean


Tourist on the beach


Vero Beach native

Florida

We finally made it to Florida, but we missed our first spring training game. Our suitcases finally got there about 30 hours after we did. Important travel tip -- always take extra underwear, clothes, and sleepwear in your carry-on bag. My mom's relatives were glad to see us, and so were the Boston Red Sox & L.A. Dodgers.


Beautiful beaches


2 hall of famers at Dodgertown


ManRam taking batting practice


Cousins


More cousins on the pier

Airports

My mom & I planned a fun trip to Vero Beach, Florida, to visit relatives and to see spring training at Dodgertown. Unfortunately we started by getting snowed into Dallas. Neither of us had ever spent the night in an airport before, so this was a new experience. It still seems hard to believe that one inch of snow would close one of the busiest airports in the U.S., but it did. My advice to anyone who finds themselves stuck at DFW -- stay in concourse D. It has lots of stores, like Brookstone, where you can get a nice pillow & blanket, and the restrooms are nice, new, and clean.