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On Saturday I took part in Urban Bocce 2007: Balls in Flight. For the event I became Doctor Chartreuse. My superhero partner for this full day of bocce was Captain Visor. The matches were contested on all sorts of unusual terrain. Part one took place over and across a giant berm on the edge of Floyd Bennett Field in South Brooklyn.
Photos from part one can be found on my flickr account and start here.
During lunch (post-Brooklyn Book Festival), the book THE YEAR OF YES* came up. The non-fiction book by Maria Dahvana Headley tells of her year saying "yes" to every man who has asked her on a date. A friend of a friend mentioned she'd actually done this, but expanded the scope to saying "yes" to every event people asked her to take part in.
And now I'm convinced. I want it. Call me "stunt Marc." It's time to shake things up. For the next month, I'm saying "yes" to any invitation, providing I'm not expected to spend more than $25. I'm unsure how all this will work. There are no rules right now, other than "no" is not allowed. I think this means I'll have to start going to the gym in the mornings. And I'll have to stop spending money on lunch and dinner. I'll try to remember to update the blog as word gets around that you can now get me to do any ridiculous old thing.
*yes, I did read the book a few months ago.
Does anyone feel like going out dancing or clubbing or whatever it is that people do these days? I'm sort of in the mood to go somewhere that makes me really uncomfortable because I don't know if they'd let me in or not. And I promise I won't wear sneakers. But I also want to do this on the cheap. Is that possible? Who's with me?
Friday began with a quick drive from Richmond to Fredericksburg (my hometown). We joined my parents for lunch downtown then headed to Carl's for a frozen afternoon treat.
Listmaker has heard me rave about this place since I've known him. I've got to say, I'm glad he finally got a chance to sample the frozen custard.
Everyone approves and it's time to turn our thoughts to the next stage of our trip.
Concerned about traffic, I had our group leave toward DC with plenty of time to spare. As we crossed the Potomac we came to the conclusion that we'd spend our free time playing bocce on the Mall. A few photos follow:
I love that clock in center field!
While waiting to pose for a picture with Miss Virginia USA, I snapped this shot down the first base side. I didn't take as many photos during this trip as I would've liked (despite all the bocce photos seen above).
Continuing a tradition started by Handwashings during the trip of 2005, I made sure to pose with a beauty queen. He posed with Miss Lakewood at a Long Beach Armada game. In 2006 I had my picture taken with Miss Summerfest 2006. Shockingly, there's no evidence of this online. Turns out I only posted photos from the first day and a half of the 2006 trip.
As Erik pointed out, these presidents really need giant glove hands.
The trip ended with the New York Mets defeating the Washington Nationals. We got in the car and drove home.
To recap the trip: I think I was the nighttime WV bocce champ. Erik was the NC park scene champ. Listmaker was the DC Mall champ.
I should also mention that I ate Italian sausages with peppers and onions at all the ballparks except Durham Athletic Park and Ernie Shore Field. Philadelphia had the best bun. West Virginia had the best sausage. Pittsburgh had the best peppers and onions. RFK was pretty all-around great, though.
Click here for Listmaker's take on the second half of our trip.
(Update, apparently, there is evidence of me posing with Miss Summerfest 2006). Thanks for the correction, Listmaker.
It took some time for us to get moving Thursday. Around noon we visited Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen in Chapel Hill. All three of us ordered fried chicken biscuits then found a parking lot downtown (Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen is drive-thru only) in which to enjoy our first meal of the day.
This biscuit might be reason enough to detour through Chapel Hill the next time I visit North Carolina or points south.
In addition to this chicken biscuit, I wish I'd ordered a pork tenderloin biscuit.
With our eventual goal of reaching Winston-Salem by gametime, we took a leisurely trip west in search of barbecue. Our first stop brought us to A & M Grill in Mebane.
My sandwich was good. I should admit now that I'm not really a fan of North Carolina style barbecue. Vinegar doesn't do a lot for me. And putting slaw on any sandwich seems wrong (I'm just now learning to eat anything other than meat and bread on a sandwich).
Have I mentioned the NC heat wave we experienced? It was hot. So post-'cue bocce turned into shirtless post-'cue bocce at the Haw River Park.
Our off-highway adventures took us past the North Carolina Softball Hall of Fame. They weren't open as they were sorting the trophies for the tournament. None of us had any idea what they were talking about. Also, there is not much information about the NC Softball Hall of Fame on the internet. Also, the pool at the same park had already closed for the summer. Undaunted, we continued west in search of more barbecue.
In Greensboro we had to stop by the Greensboro visitor's center for directions to Stamey's. The women there were very friendly. Instead of having my third sandwich of the day (I'm counting that chicken biscuit as a sandwich), Listmaker was kind enough to split a small plate with me.
On the advice of the women at the visitor's center, Erik and Listmaker ordered the cobbler. They were not disappointed.
Our meal was enjoyed at 4PM. It was our third meal within four hours! I should note we did a good job of keeping our sides to a minimum.
Oh, and it was hot.
We didn't let the heat get in our way and managed to find a park in Winston-Salem where we could exit the car and sweat out some barbecue sauce.
Bocce on the grass was fun.
The park playground called out to us. The surface is wood chips, but those wood chips seem to cover a giant rubber mat. The balls bounced like crazy and we had no control over our shots.
And when you put a swing set in front of folks who just want to be kids, you can't help but jump.
Happily, we had time before the game for a fourth meal. We left the park and found ourselves at Little Richard's BBQ. Listmaker, like Erik and me, was a little full. And here is where I forgot to order my sandwich without 'slaw. I pushed it to the side and enjoyed my meal. Again, a good meal.
The afternoon of feasting on NC barbecue has me thinking about next year's baseball road trip, which may take us through Texas. Two months ago Jamie directed me to this article, about the Chicken Fried Steak belt! YUM.
With stuffed bellies, we headed to Ernie Shore field, home of the Winston-Salem Warthogs.
The Warhogs are a single-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.
One of my very good friends from high school lives in W-S and joined us for the game. It was good to catch up with him and I think there's now a slight possibility he'll return for a game there. In a few days Listmaker should post the story of a baseball and a kid just down the row from us. It was an unbelievable thing to see.
We left Winston-Salem, bound for Virginia. We detoured through Greensboro, thinking there might be an extra-innings Grasshoppers game going on. The stadium lights were on but they were just illuminated for a concert from some band who had their own tour bus. Of course, I didn't write down the name of the band and I have a terrible memory. Can someone make a call and get the soundscan numbers on them, though?
