After a while, August and Déla were complaining of being hungry. This was understandable, as it was at this point a fair bit past when we would normally have dinner. Instead of getting them food, however, I distracted them with a trip to the kid’s playground. I figured this would not only occupy a decent chunk of time, but also perhaps, well, I wasn’t sure. My plan was to go to the playground and afterwards get food on our way to our seats.
As a distraction, it worked very well. We made it to our seats and I went to get some food while Kyle sat with August and Déla in the stands. Do I need to go into how expensive this stuff is? Ouch.
Our seats were decent, but not great. Déla couldn’t quite grasp the concept of how an inning was split up, but she was enjoying herself. Almost every batter, both Mariner and Red Sox, she would ask who it was. She could see the big scoreboard, which would show a picture of the batter. Every time one of the Mariners were up to bat she would get excited. “Oh, he’s one of us!”
Bedtime is a thing we usually don’t mess with, but this was a major exception. The game started just after 7pm, which is encroaching on bedtime. By the 3rd inning, she was visibly beginning to wind down. There was still quite a bit of life left in her, however, but I needed to gauge whether or not we would have to leave early.
During the first couple of innings we had our “dinner” and watched the game. August was sitting next to me initially, but I had him switch with Déla so I could explain things during the game to her. I had decided to splurge, since I was spending an inordinate amount of money anyway, and spend the extra $2 for the souvenir cups rather than the regular large sodas. I wasn’t going to be purchasing a souvenir for Déla this time, and figured between the shirt and the cup, this would suffice.
One of the things about going to the baseball game that August particularly enjoys are the treats. He loves cotton candy, which he got on his both previous trips to Safeco Field. This time we didn’t get cotton candy, and the last time he got Dippin Dots, which is a type of ice cream. This time around, however, since it was more about getting dinner and less about snacks, we weren’t going to get as many treats as usual (well, usual being the last and only two times at Safeco Field).
One of the things August really wanted to get last time was garlic fries, but we just didn’t get around to them. This time, however, he made sure to ask, several times. So much so that by the bottom of the 2nd inning I departed again and set off to find some garlic fries. Since I didn’t want to get up again, I took August and Déla with me to use the restroom while up. While we were out of our seats looking for the restroom, first baseman Justin Smoak got hit in the face by a ball, fracturing his nose. Not that I really want to see players injured, but I was a little disappointed to miss the action.
We got our garlic fries, sat back down, and enjoyed the game for a few more innings. Since by this time it was well past Déla’s usual bedtime, she was getting tired, but wasn’t about to let that slow her down. She was determined to stick with the whole game. What was funny about this was her comment “This is boring. It’s taking a long time.” This was immediately followed by “I’m having a great time at my first Mariners game!”
Sufficiently fed, I expected the kids would be fine for several innings. I was wrong. By the 5th inning Déla asked to go back to the playground. It got to the point with her being tired and somewhat complainy (yeah, I know it’s not a “real” word, but it is to any parent) that I figured a trip to the playground for an inning would be a good call. I took Déla and August (despite his protests) back to the playground. August really enjoyed himself there, as I knew he would, and I had more trouble getting him out of there than Déla who was ready to go back and watch the rest of the game.
On our way back to our seats the 7th inning stretch happened. Singing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” is not nearly as fun if you’re not in your seats, but Déla got initiated in that ritual nonetheless. One final snack was called for before finally landing our bottoms in our seats, licorice rope. Finally we sat down again only to find Seattle losing, as expected, despite a fine early lead.
By the bottom of 8th inning, it was pretty clear the Mariners were not going to win unless the pulled out a miracle during the 9th inning. Our seats were at the 300 level along the first base line rather deep into field, almost at one corner of the stadium. Where we were parked was a few blocks away on the other side, through the exact opposite corner. I knew fighting the crowd going down to the street level as well as maneuvering around the stadium would be difficult, so during the 9th inning I gathered everybody up and we moved down to the main level. We watched the remainder of the game from the main level in an area behind the Red Sox dugout, and when the game was over, it was just a very short trek to get out of the stadium without having to fight my way through the mass of bodies. If it was just me, it would have been fine, but with two small kids in tow, I didn’t want to mess around.
We made it to our car, and got home. Déla was still riding high from her first Mariners game the next day. A pleasant experience, and one she’ll hopefully have the rest of her life.