Thursday, July 20, 2006
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Thursday, July 20, 2006 |
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Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Photo Gallery |
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Fielder’s
Choice Whirlwind journey Traveling more than 1,000 miles over a four-day span can be tough. And it can be even tougher when gasoline prices are hovering near the $3 per gallon mark. News reports say the prices could go higher – much higher. Our trip last week could be our last, for awhile. I saw lots of motorcycles, driven by people of all ages, on the interstates and tried to convince Pam that’s what we need. Everyone needs relief from the gasoline nightmare, and the sooner the better. I filled up, and already had a quarter of a tank, and it cost me $51. Needless to say, we spent a lot of money on gas on this trip that went from Nashville, to Birmingham, to Tuscaloosa, to Hattiesburg and back to Holly Springs. We packed the bags for Nashville so we could spend the time with Pam’s mom and other members of her family. It seemed it had been a long time since we’d made the journey, and it had – too long. Pam got a good deal on some rooms at a hotel basically on the Vanderbilt University campus. The football stadium was right behind the hotel. I’ve been to Nashville many, many times. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen the Vandy campus. I was impressed. Our brief vacation (with no children) started Thursday night at Herschel Greer Stadium, home of Nashville’s minor league baseball team, the Sounds. Their opponent was our own favorite, the Memphis Redbirds. Nashville leads the American North division, while Memphis is third. First off, Greer Stadium is no comparison to AutoZone Park in downtown Memphis. AutoZone Park is well known as one of the best ball parks in the minors. Greer Stadium is much older, outdated and somewhat dilapidated. The seats were cracking. Thank goodness for the fans in Nashville; I read where a new, 11,000 seat downtown stadium is the works. Secondly, Nashville has a much better team than Memphis. The Sounds won the game 8-0. It was somewhat boring, to say the least. The Redbirds committed five errors. The most exciting thing about the game was the ejection of two Memphis players and two coaches for arguing with the umpire, apparently about balls and strikes. The Sounds went on to sweep the four-game series. Friday was spent with Pam’s family, much of the time at Opry Mills. I still miss Opryland but had to settle for the mega shopping development. Dinner at Johnny Rockets was great. I tried as best I could to entertain by spilling the container of straws all over the table and in my lap. I was tempted to get up and dance with waitresses to some disco music but Pam forbid that. We all just clapped instead. Saturday morning we departed for Tuscaloosa where we were scheduled to have dinner with some good friends. We made a surprise stop at Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park, where my family was for the weekend. That family included son Andy and daughter Erin. They were shocked. It was very hot. We visited some of the vendors for trade days and then resumed our whirlwind journey. It was good to see Mike Mays, who I grew up with, and his wife Rhonda. We had not seen them in, I guess, two or three years. Then Sunday morning it was on to Hattiesburg to see oldest daughter Emma after one week of summer study at the University of Southern Mississippi. Our minds were eased. She’s having a fantastic time and learning a lot. We took her to buy a few things she needed, visited more than two hours and then hit the interstate one more time, after spending another $50 on gas. Report News:
(662) 252-4261 or south@dixie-net.com
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