Kauffman Stadium was like being in a huge stockpot sitting on a stove with the heat turned way up. Hot, humid, no breeze. The only saving graces were that it was overcast and a couple hours from sunset.
The Houston Astros were in town to play the Kansas City Royals in what turned out to be a very exciting, though low-scoring game.
The stadium sits away from the downtown area and, looking out past the center field wall gives you the sense that you are indeed in the flatlands of middle America. Prior to my trip several people had told me what a beautiful stadium this was. I found it middling at best. Due to a mechanical failure however, seeing the game here became one of my favorite baseball experiences on the trip:
There was no public address system for 4 innings. That meant no loud announcements, no blaring music, and no fake bugles urging us to "CHARGE!!" Just the natural sound of the crowd. Cheering, clapping, gasping at a great play... We even managed to sing the National Anthem together without guidance from a performer on the field. It was wonderful.
The Royals and Astros were tied 1-1 after 9 innings. In order to make a quick escape I positioned myself near the exit to watch the 10th inning. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th, man on 2nd, the Royals hit a bloop that fell in front of the drawn-in right fielder to win the game! I love seeing the home team win. 40,000 happy fans!
I watched the winning run score and a few seconds of the ensuing on-field celebration. But then fled out the exit to get in my car and beat the traffic. I probably had a date with Alaina that night.
Alaina and I had been chatting for several days already, since before Cincinnati. I remember this because while I was waiting for the Cincinnati game to start she asked me to send her a picture immediately. She thought I might be catfishing her. My selfie from the ballpark seemed to assure her somewhat. Alaina was still nervous about meeting me though.
We had been trying to schedule some playtime but there were several conflicts including the fact that she already had a date for tonight. At one point she suggested we meet at 5:30am on Sunday morning before I left KC. I do not feel like having sexy times at 5:30am. Ever. (Ok, maybe not "ever" but I certainly wouldn't want to schedule it for then!)
I could tell that she was intrigued by what I was proposing however and she said she was going to come over after her date, probably close to 11pm. Because she had seemed so unsure about having the encounter, I wasn't entirely convinced that she was going to show up. And when she did I wasn't entirely sure she would stay very long.