7/17 Day Full of Treats

*note: this blog is an entry from 7-17*

Today was the day I had been waiting for the whole program on the activities list; it was the day of the Phillies v. Mets game. I love watching baseball and being at the stadiums witnessing it first-hand. It makes the game more intense and better to focus on. I haven’t been to a baseball game since 2014 at the AT&T Park where the Giants were playing the Arizona Diamondbacks. The best feeling there is getting excited with other fans cheering on your favorite team to success. I wanted to get a feel for the stadium and the crowd the Phillies draws in. I dressed in my Giants gear having the need to represent my favorite team and Bay Area with my Adidas dri-fit shorts and Under Armour slides and headed down to the Quad grabbing my black, leather purse along the way out.

There were more people out there than I had expected. The Summer Discovery program did another Phillies game Friday night where I assumed most people would be attending. I stood in line to check in with Louise ensuring my spot on the trip. I found Therese there doing the same. All of us were separated into different buses by last name. Therese was designated to bus two while I was to bus three. As I waited for my group to move onto the buses, I made a new friend, Anjali, who was placed on the same bus as me. She’s from the Bay Area and likes the Giants, too. She goes to a private school in San Jose and does speech and debate tournaments as do I. When I told her that she said that I looked familiar but couldn’t place where, which was probably at the first tournament we had at James Logan HS in Union City. The world is so massive yet small at the same time.

Phillies Stadium

The yellow school buses they had rented for us were small and had no air conditioning. We all had pulled the windows down to the fullest as we rode twenty minutes out to the Phillies stadium. The longest part was waiting in the thick line trying to pull over to be released off the bus and into the stadium. In front of the stadium was a tall, digital board showing upcoming games the Phillies were playing. From August second through fourth, the Phillies would be playing the San Francisco Giants at home. I wished that game was now instead of the Mets; it would have made my day.

Once the bus had finally pulled over to the side, I rushed off the bus as fast as I could. My excitement for the game and need to get off that suffocating vehicle became my priority. I waited for Anjali down on the sidewalk before heading through bag check and security to enter the grand stadium. As soon as we made it to the inside, it reminded me of a bit smaller version of AT&T Park but nicer than the Oakland Coliseum; it was gorgeous. Our seats were placed at the very top, which wasn’t a surprise to me. The view was great and the bright and sunny weather. We were in the shade the whole time making the seats even more enjoyable. Just as we sat down Therese had quickly found us making our duo into a trio once more.

After the first three innings, the hunger in my stomach began to grow intensely. I walked down a level lower with Anjali and Therese to embark on an adventure to find filling food. I went down the food stands in a line until I decided on trying Crab Fries. Once I had grabbed and paid for the container, I was slightly disappointed that my fries didn’t actually have crab meat in it and they were only seasoned a certain way. I took a bite and discovered how delicious it actually was but still salty; from that moment I still wonder why they call it Crab Fries.

The heat was building up as we stood in front of a table behind seats watching the game as I ate my confused fries. Therese had the smart idea of purchasing ice cream from the food venue behind us. The ice cream was placed in a little souvenir Phillies cap cup covered all over with rainbow sprinkles. A chain reaction was sparked leading Anjali to buy one and then me. The three of us now were indulging the delicious cold creamy treat as we watched until the fifth inning.

Ice Cream Helmet

After all of us killed our ice cream, we went to the bathroom and washed out our caps to keep and treasure forever. The three of us headed back to the top where our seats were to finish watching the rest of the game. There were more Mets fans than there were Phillies, or for what it seemed like. The Phillies fans were not as spirited as I hoped they would be. Maybe it was because they were losing against the Mets or they just didn’t know how to become cheerleaders. I wasn’t used to seeing this out of a crowd. Even the A’s fans were still cheerful when they lost. It was depressing watching the Phillies get crushed with a five to nothing lead.

The game flew by faster than I thought it would. I was so use to baseball games running long but this one closed quickly. We were all back on the bus before I knew it. As we pulled away from the arena, I had noticed how all of the Philadelphia sports teams were all next to one another. From the Eagles to the 76ers, they were built standing tall and united. This must make traffic really bad when games are going on, especially on the same days.

Back at the Quad, we returned around 4:30 PM. This gave me about fifteen minutes to prepare to meet for dinner with Chris and John at five. I quickly changed into my red wife beater and into my black Tommy Hilfiger flip flops before receiving a text from Chris that he was downstairs waiting for me. I grabbed my purse and repeated my routine out the door.

It took us about ten minutes to make it to the Hummus Grill where we were meeting at. I had asked if we could take the food to go because I had plenty of research I needed to complete for the Capstone Project we were required to have completed by the end of the week. John beat us there, early, and patiently waiting at a table for our arrival. I hadn’t had dinner with John since the take out from Bobby’s Burger Palace the previous weekend. I missed having our usual dinners together as a cohort but struggled finding the time for it all. We greeted John in all smiles and looked at the restaurant’s menu to place our order. I decided to try something new and got the chicken kabab sandwich.

As we all patiently waited for our food to come, we caught up with one another. It was scary yet amusing listening to John’s cockroach story. He had found a massive cockroach in his hotel room and called in room service to come kill it. The more horrifying part is the fact that if it was pregnant that its children would be all over the floor still growing. I had true sympathy for him because I would be handling that situation in a more unprofessional way than he did. Before we knew it, our food was ready and we were all heading back to our living spaces. After waving a sad goodbye to John I was eager to scarf down this beautifully made sandwich and get my research done. I finished out my night tired and full, ready to knockout at any minute. I needed all the rest I could get before class again on Monday.

Anjali, Therese, and I Posing in front of the Skyline