Day 6 (8/17/22)
Atlanta, GA --> Charlotte, NC (242 miles)
Game: Syracuse Mets (NYM AAA) vs. Charlotte Knights (CWS AAA)
Note: an Atlanta blog is in the drafts but those were two long days and
did not get a chance to finish. Posted soon!
I graduated from Fordham University in 2002.
When August came around for most of the following decade,
whenever I would notice college students moving back for the
school year I would get envious.
I loved college.
Like really loved it. In a way that someone who took more
advantage of the social opportunities than the academic ones
would have loved college.
We left Atlanta today at 9:00 AM. Our wonderful host Eileen
(and Penny) bid us adieu and we headed north on our old
friend I-85.
About halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte (our final destination)
is Clemson, South Carolina. My niece Caitlin has been enrolled
at its namesake university since 2020. She has excelled as both
a student and a leader and I have enjoyed our text
conversations on football game days.
Meanwhile her younger sister, my god daughter Cara, has been
back at home doing wonderful things. Earning the Gold Award
from Girl Scouts, working with the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation
(from which she earned a college scholarship) all while excelling
academically has been part of her life since her big sister went
down south.After going through her college process, Cara was admitted
to the Honors College at Clemson and decided to bring her talents to
South Carolina and become a Tiger.
Today was move in day and Cara started her new adventure as a
college student. Sometimes life has a way of working out. Clemson
happens to be the exact midpoint between Atlanta and Charlotte so halfway
through today's trip we made our way to Clemson. After a stop
at the team store to pick up our Tiger gear we met Cara, Caitlin
my sister and brother-in-law for lunch. We enjoyed a meal together,
far from home, and soon left Cara on her way. I am incredibly proud
of Cara and can't wait to see where she goes as she embarks on
her college journey.
On to baseball...
Game five, our fifth in six nights as we make our way home. Luck was
on our side and the Syracuse Mets were in town to face the Charlotte
Knights. While we missed Brett Baty (who made our reverse trip
today and proceeded to have dream debut with the big club) we still
got to see Francisco Alvarez and some former Flushing folk (see
Dom Smith and Travis Jankowski).
The Good
-Truist Field (not to be confused with Atlanta's Truist Park) is perfectly
situated in downtown Charlotte. A classic, modern AAA park with
excellent seating options and a 360 degree walkway.
From right field
-Great game. The Mets fell behind 7-2 and rallied to tie it. Although the
Knights hit a go ahead turned game winning home run in the eighth it
was still a great game to watch. Shout out to Khalil Lee who hit a home
run well out of the stadium. Plus we got to see the #1 prospect in baseball.
Next time we see Alvarez will be in Queens.
-Homer the Dragon. We've talked about the role that mascots play in our
games and Homer did a great job. Resplendent in our Mets gear, Homer tried
his best to block the boys Mets jerseys. Eoin responded by putting a wrist
lock on him. Great job by all.
Note the technique from Eoin
The Bad
Where is everyone? We stayed about a 10 minute walk from
the stadium which confirmed what we already knew about cities outside
of New York: these cities sleep. At 6:30, the walk to the ballpark featured
us and 7 other people.
The Ugly
Nothing to see here. This is the Queen City after all.
Tomorrow: Williamsburg, VA.
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