Cute Kid Pix January 2023

More photos that didn't make it into their own post...

My church had another volunteer opportunity at the Baltimore Ravens stadium. For the January 1 game, we handed out programs, along with flags and special wristbands that lit up in sync with music at the stadium. The flags and programs ran out quickly but they must have bought lots of extra wristbands. It was a fun night but the game was sold out so no free tickets. Also, the Ravens lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-16.

The stadium before the game started

Italian Sausage dinner with the program

My church has an early Saturday morning men's group that I go to most of the time. I got their a little early on the first Saturday and took a picture of the big manger scene outside.

St. Mary of the Mills Manger scene (outdoor edition)

We went to the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore because my eldest won tickets in our local library's summer reading program. It's a bit after summer, so we weren't the fastest getting there. We've been to the museum several times, so not much new to report, other than our children being brave enough to lay down on a bed of nails!

The first child to try it was our last child!

She's pretty light, it won't hurt, right?

Users had to push the button themselves!

One of the side rooms has experiments for small groups. We tried testing acidity of various liquids. It was fun and easy since we followed a step-by-step process.

Doing science!

Another experiment had us seeing how temperature alters chemical reactions. The alteration we were looking at was speed--how fast a liquid changes color when certain mixtures are added. Hot liquid changed a lot faster--17 seconds vs. 69 seconds!

A new donut shop opened nearby, Shipley Do-Nuts. I went one day at 11 a.m. and they had closed half an hour earlier due to running out of donuts! The guys said they are tweaking their workflow. I went the next day at 9 a.m. and stood in line for half an hour to get a dozen donuts. They were yummy but not outstanding.

Outside the shop

Typical counter

The yumminess that came home!

I went to the Dutch Country Market in hopes of finding Turkish Delight. My youngest just finished reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and was curious about it. The lady at the market's candy counter did not know what I was talking about. Strolling through the candy aisle, I was shocked to see this product for sale...

What the Amish?

Ravens vs. Packers December 2021

As a part of things getting back to normal, I've started volunteering again with my church group that hands out programs at Baltimore Ravens home games. I went this last Sunday when they played against the Green Bay Packers, whose record was 10-3, putting them at the top of the AFC North Division. 

As "stadium staff" I parked at a free lot that's a five-minute bus ride to all the action. Our volunteer group did the usual check in and was assigned to hand out programs at various gates. I was assigned to Gate A, which is the main entrance. Before we started, I had a chance to look in at the field and see players and others warming up.

The stadium before the fans got there

The best volunteer opportunity is working the hospitality tents, which are just outside the stadium. People can pay to have a catered pre-game party. Volunteers check the IDs of people coming in to make sure no one is mooching off someone else's party. The day was pretty cold (low 40s), so maybe that would be a tougher gig. 

Hospitality tents

Gate A

I was happy with my location. Some of the other gates get a lot fewer fans coming in, which can result in a lot of down time. Standing around and waiting for people to come in can get boring. Gate A had a steady flow into the first quarter of the game. The gates are usually shut down by the end of the first quarter. Once the shift was up, the volunteer coordinator gave us complimentary tickets to watch the rest of the game.

My product and my ticket

Before going to my seat, I saw the line at Shake Shack was short. I bought some dinner there--a burger, fries, and a shake (the water was also compliments of the stadium).

Shake Shack meal

The only problem was the shake still being frozen. Nothing came up the straw! I used the straw as a spoon and was able to enjoy it that way. I would have been better off getting a hot chocolate from another vender.

I started my way up to the 500 section and saw a ridiculous line for the men's bathroom!

A line up the stairs!

As I went up, I took a picture of the Baltimore skyline.

Baltimore (and the parking lot)

It took me a while to get to my seat. I realized that I could have done better choosing my ticket from the pile of complimentary ones. My seat was one row below the very top row of the stadium. My view took in the whole field and the rest of the stadium.

View from Section 504, Row 31, Seat 11

The game was almost at half time, with the two teams tied at 14.

The halftime show had two main performances. First was the Drill Team from the United States Air Force. They marched around the field doing formations and tossing their rifles around in amazing synchronization. I didn't bother trying to take a video from my bird's-eye view.

US Air Force Drill Team

The other entertainment was an acapella group called The Trills. The six-person group sang a variety of Christmas tunes to the delight of the audience.  

The Trills

The rest of the game went poorly for the Ravens. Green Bay was able to advance their lead by fourteen points. When the Ravens failed to convert on a fourth down with less than ten minutes to go, I decided (along with a lot of other patrons) to make my way out of the stadium. As I walked to the employee bus, I saw the fireworks go off from the roof. The Ravens had scored! As we rode the bus, we heard the end of the game. The Ravens got the ball back and with less than a minute to go, they scored a touchdown. The coach decided to go for the win with a two-point conversion. They were unable to get the ball in the end zone again, so they lost the game 30-31. People on the bus were upset because the Ravens, though very aggressive, have not done well in the past with the two-point conversion.

It was a fun time anyway.

Professional Ball Games August 2018

August has been a busy time for us--we've gone to see a lot of professional sports.

The Washington Post offered ten dollar tickets to a Nationals game. The seats were in the outfield but close to the field, near the visitor's bullpen (they were playing the Cincinnati Reds that day).

View from the discounted seats

We arrived early and saw the field crew watering down the diamond. It was a hot day (mid-90s Fahrenheit) so we went for some snacks in the shade. After wandering around among various concession options, we discovered a popcorn stand selling seven dollar bags of popcorn and ten dollar "bottomless" buckets of popcorn. That's right--free refills! The popcorn was dry and salty, probably a tactic to produce more drink sales. We packed bottles of water for each of us, so we wound up refilling them several times, thanks to the dry (but tasty) popcorn and the previously mentioned 90 degree heat.

Bottomless popcorn and my other drink

I did get a beer, but only one because of the extra-exorbitant DC stadium pricing (sixteen dollars for a draft import!!). We refilled the bucket three times, which meant we ate the equivalent of one bucket each.

The game was enjoyable. The Nationals got an early lead and held on to it. Inbetween one set of innings, the presidential mascots (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt) raced inside the park. The finish line was far from us, so we had to zoom the camera lens to see the final result.

A close presidential race

The Nats won the game which made us happy.

The final inning

Our church's youth group started up their annual fundraising activity--volunteering to hand out programs at Baltimore Ravens' games. We were assigned the first pre-season game, a Thursday night confrontation with the Los Angeles Rams. As usual, I came early because out group checks in two and a half hours before the game starts. The gates open two hours before the game, giving us a half hour for the orientation and getting to our gates. Since I was ten minutes early for the two-and-a-half-hours-early reporting time, I checked out Ravens Walk, a wide sidewalk that runs between The Ravens' stadium and Camden Yards (where the Orioles play). Vendors line the sidewalk giving away freebies and/or selling stuff. Since it was so early, hardly anyone was there and some vendors were still setting up.

Ravens Walk

The Smoking Swine!

Spooky photo op?

I was assigned tp the group at Gate D, right near one of the beer gardens outside the stadium. Happily, none of the customers were trouble when the came in.

Gate D getting ready

After the shift was done (they close the entrance gates at the end of the first quarter), we returned our IDs and got free tickets for the rest of the game. I thought I'd watch to half time. Walking to my seat, I looked for a snack along the way. Plenty of vendors have stations inside the stadium. I have been curious to try Shake Shack ever since I found out Jim Gaffigan didn't make it up on his TV show. The line was way too long, especially after I had been standing to give out programs for the past couple of hours.

Too long a line

I wound up getting a Guinness from a bar that claimed to have Bavarian pretzels. Sadly, the pretzels were sold out. They pointed across the way to a generic snack bar that still had pretzels in stock, along with hot dogs, pop corn, burgers, chicken nuggets, onion rings, etc. The pretzel was more beautiful than tasty.

Beer, program, and free (sort of) ticket

Pretzel

When I got to my seat, I was surprised to see that Row 4 actually meant four rows from the end zone! The view was amazing.

Unzoomed picture from my seat

At half time, a bunch of youth football teams took to the field and had some scrimmages. They were more entertaining than I thought they would be.

Local teams at half time

The seats were so good I decided to stay longer. The game was okay. The Ravens were up by twenty points, so it wasn't too dramatic. I was surprised to see someone bring out an actual raven in the third quarter.

A Raven on the field!

I left halfway through the fourth quarter. As I was walking to the shuttle for employee/volunteer parking, the fireworks went off again, signaling another score by the home team. The game ended in a Ravens victory, 33-7.

Another item I received for volunteering was a Ravens hat. I have one from a previous year, along with a winter knit cap. I plan to volunteer at more games this year, so hopefully I will have hats for everyone in the immediate family!

2018 Ravens cap

I took my son to another Nats game using the tickets I received when I donated blood. By dumb luck or Divine Providence, that night was Hawaiian shirt night, where they were giving out shirts to the first 25,000 attendees. Sadly, we didn't arrive in time to get a shirt but we saw plenty of people wearing theirs.

Hawaiian shirt day at Nats Park

 Our seats were very high up, as in one row from the very top. Even so, our view of the field was good.

View from our seats, unzoomed

View from our seats, the other direction

More view from the back of our seats

Seeing the National Cathedral and the Postal Pavillion in the distance

The game was fun. The Nationals were victorious against the Miami Marlins, 8 to 2. 

Game in progress

I'm giving blood again in September. The website says they are giving away tickets again, but they must be for games next season. I'll find out on the Fifteenth!

Volunteering at the Ravens/Colts Game 2017

I volunteered with our church's youth group to hand out programs at a Ravens game (just like I did last year). The weather was warm for late December (high 50s/low 60s). It was also rainy, though mostly on and off drizzles in the afternoon. I had no trouble getting to the stadium. Walking in I saw plenty of die-hard tailgaters doing their thing during the drizzle.

Tailgating tents across the street

Under an overpass

I arrived at the stadium just in time for the volunteer check-in, so I didn't get to stroll down Ravenswalk and pick up some swag. I did get a good look at the two statues out front of the stadium. 

Ravenswalk entrance

Ray Lewis was a linebacker for the Ravens, starting in their inaugural year (1996) and playing all seventeen years of his career for the Baltimore team. He is considered one of the best linebackers of all time.

Ray Lewis statue

Johnny Unitas also spent most of his career playing for the Baltimore team, but he played quarterback from 1956 to 1972 back when the Baltimore team was the Colts. He was a great player and a social celebrity too, turning him into a bit of a pop star back in the day.

Johnny Unitas--The Golden Arm

But back to volunteering. Our group was mostly stationed at Gate A, though the organizers needed three volunteers to go to Gate B with another group. I and a couple volunteered for the B duty, which was a quieter gate for most of the time (we covered the two hours prior to the game (it was a 4:30 game) to the end of the first quarter). Most of the time one of the ladies at the metal detector tried to flag down people to come to our gate. She tried waving and dancing.

Gate B

We were near the walkway from the light rail, so sporadic crowds came through. We also had a marching band march by, which certainly made the gate less quiet and more fun.

Marching band

More of the band

We were surprised to see some of the band made it inside the stadium.

More band members

Since the game was a few days before Christmas, plenty of people had Santa hats on, some colored Ravens purple! A few guys came in suits that definitely looked like they were made from wrapping paper.

Whoa!

We did not get complimentary seats this year (I think they might have been sold out or not enough for all the volunteers) so I watched a few plays from the end of the seating entrance. The rain had picked up and I had already been standing around for almost three hours, so I decided to head home at the end of the half.

View without a seat

Front of the stadium lit up for the holidays

I did get some free swag--a program (naturally) and a stocking cap for the coming winter months. I think it will probably clash with my New York Giants pullover, but I may wear them together anyway. Also, they were handing out car magnets as fans left the stadium. As is our family tradition, the car magnet is now a refrigerator magnet.

Program and hat

Multi-use magnet

Even without the free seats, I still had a good time and was glad to help out the youth group, which my children will one day benefit from.