This past weekend, we went to our first Texas Rangers baseball game.  Someone had given us tickets, so it was an opportunity to experience yet another "Dallas" attraction.  I had always thought Arlington wasn't a great part of town, but I was pleasantly surprised at how clean and pretty the area was.  Cowboy Stadium is next door, and the Six Flags park and Hurricane Harbor are a few blocks away.  It's a pretty nice old-fashioned ballpark.  It looks nice by itself, but looks a little strange right next to the glass and steel Cowboys Stadium.  

The day didn't start off well... it was Josh Hamilton jersey day, so the first 10K kids 12 and under got a replica jersey.  Hey!  We have TWO of those!  ka-ching!  Unfortunately a very active morning in the pool caused the whole family to wake up late from our naps.  Mrs. Fly didn't care about getting the free jersey (since we would have to show up at the ballpark 2 hours early), so we didn't set any alarms.  But that just meant we didn't have to sit in the 100 degree sun for two hours.  It only took like 15 minutes and the whole family was sweating.  The box office lady said these were "nice seats" (for busto seats - but hey!  they were free!), but the seats were exposed to the sun for about the first hour of the game.  After the sun went down, it was actually very cool with the breeze (even tho it was still in the mid-90s).

The ballpark has a very nice family feel to it.  The only stadiums I had ever been to were Shea Stadium (a hovel), old Yankee Stadium (less of a hovel) and new Yankee Stadium (pretty sweet).  As you may imagine, Yankee Stadium has more of a commercial feel.  I was surprised that you were actually allowed to bring soft-sided coolers into Rangers Stadium.  Before the Rangers took the field, they had a bunch of local little league kids stand on the field and get an autographed ball from the players at each position.  It seems that if you are not the New York Yankees, you actually have to do more community outreach to get people in the stands.  And most nights, they seem to have some sort of giveaway or promotion or entertainment (like fireworks).  Even with the giveaway, the stadium was not full.  At Yankee Stadium, the ticket just says, "get in and sit your ass down."

My original plan was to stay for 5 innings.  The game started at 7:05PM, which was a little late for D to stay thru the whole game.  I knew I was in for a long day when after the second batter D said he wanted to go home.  And two innings later, G said he wanted to go home.  And of course, because of the heat, D drank all of his large beverage.  Not sure if you remember about his small bladder.  So about 30 minutes into the game, he says he has to go to the potty and of course I'm cringing because if I had to rank the top GROSSEST public bathrooms, "ballpark" would have to be right up there.

The first two stalls were a complete disaster, so I walk to the handicapped stall (so that the two of us can fit comfortably), and there was a guy waiting in front.  Just as I get there his young DAUGHTER walks out from just having used the toilet.  A GIRL!  YES!!!  She HAD TO have sat down, so I'm in the clear!  It feels like I just won the Bad Beat Jackpot.  I gleefully walk D into the stall, look at the toilet, and all I can think is, "dude, how the f*ck could you let your baby girl sit on that!?!"  I'm pretty sure that girl is going to end up on the pole.  So I had to revert to my unofficial part-time job and start cleaning.  This is what it must feel like to be the lowest of Indian castes, except without the benefit of being able to sell your kids.

The game was a brisk pitchers' duel thru 5 innings and then the Blue Jays scored a run.  Mrs. Fly got so excited that someone finally scored (did something - anything!) that she started cheering.  Loudly.  That's when I knew we had to leave.  Fast.  I didn't want to find out first-hand if it's true that people in Texas all carry.

But overall, the family had a good time, and at the end of the day, that's all that matters.