THE BASEBALL TRIP 2016
Day 4 - Thursday, July 14.
I forgot to give you the apocalypse tally yesterday.
Dollar stores - 9
RBOM - 0
But wait! Not one, but two roving bands of motorcyclists today! And these were real biker outlaws on Harleys with their old ladies on back - not some punk kid and his buddies riding their Japanese crotch rockets. No way.
So right away I give you:
Dollar stores - 9 Yes, nine more.
RBOM - 2
Ok. Enough housecleaning.
We had breakfast at Funck's Restaurant in Palmyra, PA; it was a google suggestion. Randy noted that there was a U.S. Army base nearby, so it must be good. I'm not sure how that all equates, but there were a few GIs in the joint.
And it was good. They even cooked us breakfast a few minutes after 11:00, the cutoff time.
Funck's, courtesy Google images and Google suggestions.
When we left, there must have been a dozen army helicopters in the air: flying, hovering, some landing. It's an unnerving sight.
And then it was up the Poconos on Stagecoach Road, cool mountain driving with a hint of rain in the air. We took Old Mine Road through Worthington State Forest. The Old Mine is a copper mine, a once bustling hillside industry. The road starts as a one lane highway where you have to wait for a signal to proceed. It follows the Delaware river east through the forest. The rain fell on and off, lightly at times, at times heavier. We finally found a place to turn off to take a few pictures when all hell broke loose. I didn't manage to get a good shot before the deluge hit, but Randy did:
Delaware River, through the forest.
The posted speed limit for most of the route was 15 mph. Randy rightly surmised that this was part of the Appalachian Trail.
Our next nature hike was through Harriman State park in New York. Similar twisty roads, cool temps. Randy also took pictures from the car (why don't they have pull-over lanes?) of one of what they call The Seven Lakes.
One of the Seven Lakes.
I haven't mentioned New Jersey yet, and I don't want to snub them, so here:
We stopped for a bite at the Hampton Diner in Newton, and their tuna salad sandwich was outstanding.
Also:
A motorcyclist (not in a roving band) told us yesterday that the driver side brake light on the car was out. Randy navigated us to a Subaru dealer in Newton and they made time for a quick replacement bulb. Here's the deal: they only charged me for the part, $6.50. "Don't worry about it," the service manager said, "have a nice vacation." We were in and out of there in under 10 minutes. Subaru will hear from me.
Random observation from Randy: I didn't even have time to finish the weather report on the TV in the waiting room.
Our destination for tonight is Palisades Credit Union Park in Rockland, NY. The Rockland County Boulders are about to take on the New Jersey Jackals in an Independent League ball game. The Independent League is just that...they don't have MLB affiliations. Most of these guys are older hangers-on, not giving up the dream (or just plain fun) of playing baseball.
This was one of the all-time great games - it was bat-pee crazy. Rockland was leading 3-0 through the first few innings, but the Jackals had men on base constantly. It was only a matter of time before they started putting runs on the board. This was after the Boulder's pitcher was taken out of the game after the trainer had to check him twice in the first inning.
Break through, they did. The Jackals scored eight runs and took a pretty solid lead into the ninth, 8-3.
This is where the fun begins. The Jackals pitcher walked the bases loaded with only one out. He then hit the next batter. Do you think he did it intentionally, with the bases loaded? Not really. But the batter took exception, and muttered a few choice words to the Jackal's pitcher. The pitcher then walked over to the first base line as the batter was taking his base. Now all hell broke loose as the benches emptied.
Typical baseball brawl...no punches, much milling around.
So, after order is restored, play resumes. Bottom of ninth, now 8-4. The next batter singles to left, and now it's 8-6 with runners on first and third. But there are now two outs. Last chance for Rockland County. The batter crushes a ball to the wall in right-center, and the right fielder misplays it. He hits the wall awkwardly and falls to the ground as the ball caroms away. Both base runners score, the game is tied, and he winds up with a triple. But wait, there's more. The throw to the infield gets by the cutoff man and rolls to the dugout. The batter tries to make it home on the bad throw, and his teammates assumed it was a given. They were jumping and clapping at home plate as he was tagged out by the catcher. Turns out the pitcher was smart enough to back up the play.
Extra innings, top of the tenth. Before one pitch is thrown, someone comes running out of the dugout. I thought it was a pitcher running down to the bullpen to warm up. But no. It was the pitcher who got into it earlier with the Boulders, and he dove right into their dugout.I'm not sure who he was after, but pandemonium ruled. This guy had to be restrained by four teammates. The umps even called for security.
Bottom of the tenth, the Boulders have a man on second with two outs. Ground ball to shortstop, easy out. Except he throws it twenty feet wide of first and the runner comes around to score, Boulders win, 9-8. The game took 4 hours, 26 minutes.
Here are some shots of Palisades Credit Union Park:
Front gate.
Left field video board.
Right field party area.
Home plate.
Down the third base line.
The Bridge Bar in right field. The Bridge is modeled after the many bridges of the Palisades Parkway.
Favorite town name: Lickdale, PA.
Favorite sign: We recycle vinyl records in the rear.
Random observation from Randy: There are so many places to go with that one.
Things we just can't hang around for: Military appreciation night with camo baseball cap giveaway.
One last picture:
We drove through this curvy country two lane blacktop road as we approached the ballpark, and strewn among several acres of farm and youth league athletic fields were these weird buildings with spiral wiring and chain fencing. Couldn't for the life of us figure out what the hell they were. Turns out it's Albion Correctional Facility, a medium security women's prison.
Tomorrow: Belmont Racetrack on Long Island.
