St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame

Mama has been a St. Louis Cardinals fan since the time she was a little girl.  She remembers her Dad telling her that they acquired Ozzie Smith and he was supposed to be good.  BOL!  Yes, it turned out he was really good.  She also remembers him telling her that they sent Kenny Reitz to "running school".  She doesn't know if that was true, but she thought it was funny.  Mama's favorite time being a Cardinal fan was in the 80's.  She remembers driving down 44 hearing Jack Buck on KMOX saying "GO CRAZY FOLKS, GO CRAZY!"   So, why am I telling you all of this?  Well, the Cardinals Hall of Fame opened this year, so Mama wanted to see it while we were home.

Approaching Ball Park Village which is where the Hall of Fame is located.

Busch Stadium - Mama still prefers the look of the old Busch.

Busch Stadium as seen from Cardinal Nation - a restaurant.

The folks arrived just as a bus full of senior citizens arrived.  It took quite a while to enter the museum because of that.  Mama said they were all trying to take photos with their cell phones and didn't know how and it was just a mess.  She said no flash photography was allowed, but one lady said "Well, I don't know how to turn it off, so too bad."   They then blocked displays not because they were looking, but because they were just talking to each other and not about the Cardinals.

This photo is one of the first things you see.  See the dogs at the bottom?

They looked like greyhounds to the folks.  It is easier to tell in person according to Mama.

The jersey belonged to David Freese. Half of it was torn off during the celebration.

Home base that Mark McGwire crossed when he hit his 70th home run in 1998.

Those were the days!

Model of the old Busch Stadium

View of part of the museum.

Jerseys of former managers: Herzog and Torre.

This was a very sad time in Cardinal history. Jack Buck died and 4 days later, Darryl Kile, pitcher, died in Chicago of a heart attack.

 The following are some of the 2014 inductees into the Hall of Fame.

After touring the museum, the folks ate lunch at the Budweiser Brew House.  Mama said it was definitely more for the younger crowd.  It is loud and many of the seats are bench seats.  She needs a back to her seats because of her back. They were given a booth, so it was fine for her.

Dad's burger had brisket on it.

Mama's burger.

The folks said the burgers were good, but the fries were terrible. They were hard.  Not a crunchy hard, but just hard.

Inside Fox Sports Midwest Live

 

The folks enjoyed themselves at the museum. It is nicely done.  They went during the day when there was not a Cardinal game being held so it was not very crowded except for that busload of people.  BOL!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is A Cardinals' Fan Too!

54th Escapade

Our vacation is now over and Dad is back to work, so we have more time to update our blog.

As we mentioned before, we really enjoyed attending the Escapade which was held in Goshen, IN this year.  What is Escapade?  It is a rally put on by Escapees, which a RV club that we joined a few years ago.  This year, there were something like 1,052 people and over 500 rigs.  It was very well organized.

The rally started on a Monday.  The vendors' market opened at 9 a.m.  The folks shopped for a while and then came home for lunch.  At 2 p.m., they attended a 1st timers seminars that told them how to get around the rally. Everyone was given a pocket guide to events and then a bigger guide that explained each seminar.  At 3 p.m., opening ceremonies were held.Two $500 cash prizes were handed out. Then they had an ice cream social. At 7 p.m. more attendance prizes. They gave away some really nice prizes.  Johnny Counterfit performed after that.  He does impersonations of singers and Mama said he was really good.

Johnny Counterfit

The seminars (classes) began on Tuesday.  Here are classes they attended on Tuesday:  RV Interior Refurbishing, Technology For Travelers, Highway History and Back Road Mystery (very interesting) and Smartphones/Tablets for Travelers.  At 4 p.m., they came home and walked us and then they had to rush back to the First-timers Social. There were several socials held each night, but Mama's compliant was that they were held at 4:30 p.m. and it was hard to come home after class, walk us and then head back by 4:30.  It would have been easier if she had skipped classes, but she wanted to attend as many classes as possible.  Attendance prizes were handed out at 7 and then the entertainment began.  The folks said it was really bad on this night.  A lot of people walked out including the folks.  They felt bad doing it, but the sound system was really bad and they couldn't understand what the performers were saying.

Wednesday, they attended the following classes: Insider Cleaning Tips (Excellent) Picasa & Picasa Web Albums, Ins & Outs of Towing Safety, Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda (Mama said she shouldn't have.  BOL!), Making Your Nest Egg Last, and Geocashing/Hunting Treasure.  There was no entertainment, so they went out for dinner after class.

Mark, instructor from boot camp on the big screen.  It turned cold during our stay, plus he is getting ready to head to Alaska soon.

The rain caused this person to get stuck in the mud.

Thursday, they attended the following classes: Your Bucket List, Wrinkle-Free Laundry (Excellent), Basic Genealogy, Realities of Full-Time Lifestyle, Escapees RV Club-What's New (Very Good).  Door prizes were held at 7 p.m. and then Ham-O-Rama was held.  Ham-O-Rama was performances by fellow club members.  It was really good.

Ham-O-Rama

Friday, they only attended one class:  Make your Rig More Live-Able (Very Good).  The Pet Parade was held at 11:15 a.m. The chili cook-off was held at 11:45 p.m.  Closing Ceremony was held at 3 p.m.  A farewell party was held at 7 p.m.

Posing for pictures after the pet parade.

Relaxing after the pet parade.

Saturday, there was a breakfast, but the folks did not attend.

There were several classes that Mama wanted to attend but couldn't because they were held at the same time.  There were craft classes held, but Mama didn't make it to any of those.  Yoga and Zumba classes were also offered. There was also a craft show, but Mama missed that, too. There was definitely more to do than there was time.

It was like a happy hour for dogs whenever classes ended.  All the dogs were out meeting and greeting each other with their people.  It was fun!

Mama really enjoyed sharing other stories of the road with fellow full-timers.  One person asked the negatives of living on the road full-time. The only answer that anyone would come up was the weather.  Yes, there are breakdowns, but houses need repairs too.  Sometimes, it is harder for Mama because she doesn't have a car and can't always ride Buddy.  Something as simple as buying a birthday card can turn into a big deal because she doesn't have a car and then if she makes it to the store, she has to find a place to mail it.  It is not as simple as walking to your mailbox to mail a card.  However, her situation is unique because most people have a car and they can do what they want, when they want.  Mama feels like she has lost a lot of independence not having a car on a daily basis, but I'm happy that she is home with us more.

The folks really hope to attend the next Escapade which will be held in March in Tuscon, AZ.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Enjoyed Escapade Too!

3 Week Vacation Coming To An End

It is amazing how fast time flies when you are on vacation.  Our vacation time is coming to an end though.  The first week, we traveled to Iowa and then we broke down.  We then drove to Indiana for the 54th Escapade (RV rally), which we loved.  We planned on doing a post talking about all the seminars, but we are not sure anyone is really interested hearing about it.(If you are interested, leave a comment telling us so.)  We broke down there last Saturday.  We have a temporary fix that we may get fixed in Kansas City. 
 

These horses are being exercised by being tied to a truck and running behind it.

Scout was concerned about how the horses are being walked and hopes that Mama never does that to her.

It really bothered her.

Scout really liked watching the horses. This was at the fairgrounds where the RV rally was held.

 We were weighed on our way out of the rally.  We were within our limits, but not by much.  The problem really lies with how our rig was made.  The manufacturers put a lot of heavy items on one side.  There is really nothing we can do about it because we can't move the ac units, water heater, washer/dryer, etc. 

The Escapees truck at the exit of the event.

 We then drove "home" for doctor visits, vet visits and visiting family.  Mama said this part was not really vacation because it was stuff we needed to get done.  The campground we are staying at does not have cable or free Wi-Fi.  We had satellite for a few days, but now we are blocked by RVs.  We upgraded our TV antenna and we are able to get a few channels.  The campground is now completely full and it is crazy with kids running around.  I guess the quiet hours have been thrown out the window since it is the holiday weekend.  We heard people outside our RV at 11:30 p.m.  Do you remember Cousin Eddie from the Vacation movies?  There is a guy who looks and acts like him here.  Yep, it is interesting and somewhat entertaining here.

Today is the folks 28th wedding anniversary. They are old!  They ate at Rich and Charlie's the other night to celebrate.  It is an Italian place that Mama loves. 

Personally, I will be glad when we are back to our normal routine.  The folks haven't been around much and I miss my "Mama time" and she misses us, too.  I just wish Dad didn't have a J.O.B. (They spell it out at the Escapade event because it is a bad word.) so that he was around more.  We don't want him to loose his J.O.B., but if he was retired like us, that would be good.

 Joey,
The Greyhound Whose Vacation Is Ending Soon

One Of Us Is Perfect

Scout and I visited the vet yesterday for our annual check-up and to get our rabies vaccine.  Mama has been concerned because she thought Scout was dropping weight.  Scout stepped on the scale and she was about the same as last year.  Mama didn't believe it and she made Scout step on the scale three times.  BOL!  Scout was so embarrassed. 

We got bored waiting for the vet, so we stretched out on the floor and blocked both doors so that the vet couldn't come in.  BOL!   The vet technician thought we were adorable, of course. 

The vet checked Scout over first and do you know what he said?  He said she was PERFECT!  I live with the girl and she is not perfect.  The vet said that her eyes, her teeth and her weight were PERFECT.  She has never had a dental. Her teeth are not pearly white, of course, but they are in fine shape. The vet said he has never seen a greyhound with teeth like hers.  I guess Scout will stop saying she is "big-boned" now since he said her weight is fine.  He said she has muscles in her butt (not as good as mine) and that she is not fat.  I swear, that is what he said.

"Miss Perfect"?  I think not.  BOL!

I had my exam next.  Mama and I were both nervous because I have been called "Beefy" and a few other things.  It is amazing how people just say things like that without being asked for their opinion.  The vet said that my weight was fine, but I shouldn't gain anymore.  I actually weigh less than Miss Perfect, but she is longer and taller than me.  The next thing we were worried about were my teeth.  I used to have good teeth and the next thing we knew, they weren't.  We have been working on them, but Mama was concerned.  Well, our vet loves to mess with teeth.  He got out this tool and boy did it make a terrible sound.  It sounded like it was cracking my teeth in half.  Mama held my head while he did it.  It was scary.  I only cried twice when he got too close to my gums.  Do you know what though?  He got almost all of that stuff off of my teeth.  Mama was so happy.  She said she will work really hard to keep my teeth in good shape.  It means I have to brush my teeth every day.  I have been using Petzlife which is a gel.  We think that may have helped the vet do the job he did.

I may not be "Perfect", but I am cute.  BOL!

We were both glad when our vet visit was over.  Mama said we were both really good, especially me because my visit was more traumatic than the perfect one.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Now Thinks She Is All That And More

Boot Camp Graduates!

This past week has been very busy as we expected. We have not had time to update our blog.  We are pretty tired tonight, so this will be a short update just to let you know we are alive.  We will go into more detail about our time here later.

See, they received a pin that said they graduated.

There were approximately 1,062 people here and over 500 rigs.  There were several ladies who were solo.

Dad stood on the roof of the RV and took a photo, but this is only our section.

We had heavy rains and that caused problems.  One person that we know of had to be towed out and everyone else in that section was told to stay put until Saturday or Sunday.

This photo shows the ruts.  It was on the big screen in the hospitality room.  Mama had it edited in Picasa, but she can't get it to show up here and she said she was tired of messing with it.

Scout and I participated in the pet parade on Friday.  The paparazzi was all around me snapping photos. BOL!  Mama's photos are not that good, but part of me ended up on the "big screen".

This is our friend, Willie Nelson.  He is a Great Dane, if you can't tell.  He is HUGE!

He wore a sign that said "Eat More Chicken".

Here I am on the Big Screen.

Henry, a sheep dog, also became our friend, but we didn't get any photos of him.  He was as big as us!

There were two other greyhounds here that we saw once.  Mama said I made a fool of myself when I saw them.  She said I was also a nut at the parade because I was so excited.  Mama told everyone that I am not a "normal" greyhound. 


Tomorrow, we get weighed!  Yep, our rig and car get weighed and we have to stay inside to see if we are overweight.  They will weigh each tire to see if we have too much weight on any of them.  We may have to shift things around.  It is dangerous to not have the weight properly distributed.

Mama wants to tell you about her classes and the fun things she did, but she said she needs to wait until after she has had some rest.

We had a wonderful time here and hope to do another event soon!!!!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Getting Weighed Tomorrow