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| Isotopes Park |
I arranged to meet Carole Hewes, who has lived her whole life in Albuquerque. We met her a few times thanks to our friend Steve Fekete aka the Padre Punk. She was with her boyfriend Dale who lived in Alaska for 16 years he said. We met them at a family restaurant called the Village Inn which is a West Coast chain. We met them at the location that was near the airport. It worked out perfectly as we arrived there around 12:30PM local time. We got to enjoy a meal together and we caught up on our past travels and adventures. Despite our so called "out of control" schedule I still found a way to meet up with them like I promised I would. It was an absolute pleasure to meet and greet them. I want thank them for being so accomodating and cooperative.
After we said our goodbyes, the King and I drove a few miles to the same area where I parked when we arrived on Thursday. We were going to see a college baseball game as the University of New Mexico Lobos were playing the Aztecs of San Diego State at 2PM at Isotopes Park which is also the home of the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Los Angeles Dodgers Triple A minor league affiliate. With the third round of the NCAA Tournament starting at 4:10PM with a doubleheader, we knew we had to leave the baseball early so we could round up some tickets to see the basketball games.
As for the baseball game we saw, it started slow so we knew we were going to see less of the game then we wanted to. Thankfully the Lobos put the game away early by building a 9-0 lead after five innings. It was 3:44PM so I decided I saw enough. The game was official so I was free to leave. The King decided to stay another half inning. The Aztecs broke the shutout by scoring two runs to make it 9-2. The Lobos tacked on two more runs as they wound up winning the game, 11-2.
I wound up rounding up a few single tickets outside the Pit for the third session. Tickets weren't as easy to get like they were on Thursday. I was able to get one ticket from a young lady for $32 after some wheeling and dealing. Shortly thereafter, a gentleman handed me a free ticket. I couldn't thank him enough. I shook his hand and the King and I went inside the building. We arrived with a few minutes to spare before the first game started. We wound up sitting in the same area as Thursday. We were once again joined by the Buffalo Boys, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell aka USRT.
We spent the rest of the day and night with our sports travel pals. We got to exchange stories from our Friday adventures. While we were in Arizona watching Spring Training, those guys rented a car for the day and they went sight seeing in Santa Fe then they came back to see a college baseball game at Isotopes Park.
As for the basketball games we saw, the Wisconsin Badgers the four seed took on the fifth seed Vanderbilt Commodores. This was a closely contested affair as the Badgers were able to hold off the Commodores, 60-57 to advance to the Sweet 16.
In the second basketball game of the third round, the Baylor Bears met former Big 12 foe, the Colorado Buffaloes who now play in the Pac 12. This was a close game into the second half but thanks to Brady Heslip, the Bears' guard who knocked down nine three pointers in the game to finish with 27 points as the Bears pulled away and breezed past the Buffaloes, 80-63 to join the Badgers in the Sweet 16.
Late in the game, the Baylor backers, let the Colorado faithful hear it as they started chanting and I quote "Big 12 rejects". It was hilarious to say the least.
For those who lost count that concluded a stretch of nine games in three days for us while were out there. We saw six basketball games and three baseball games.
Before we decided to call it a night, we went out to dinner with the Buffalo Boys in downtown Albuquerque. We drove around the area and we wound up going to a place called the Standard Diner.
Since it was St. Patrick's Day it was only appropriate to have a corned beef and cabbage for dinner. Luckily they still had some left. So Peter and I made sure we both indulged accordingly. It turned out to be a tremendous meal with more great company.
It was a perfect way to close out an epic royal weekend.
We drove Andrew & Peter back to their hotel and we said our goodbyes. As always it was an absolute pleasure to see them again. We proceeded to go to our hotel so we could get some sleep before we caught our flight home Sunday morning.
I returned the car to Alamo after I safely drove 1,001 miles in the three days.
Fortunately we got out of Albuquerque before the bad weather arrived. We took United Airlines back home to LaGuardia with a layover in Washington DC-Dulles airport. We got back ten minutes early as we got in at 3:45PM.
As for the Buffalo Boys, their flight was delayed and eventually cancelled due to a dust storm in the area. They wound up leaving Monday to go home instead. Next time we meet up in May, we'll get all the details of their latest flying nightmare.
As for the King and I, it was another memorable weekend adventure.
Thank you for reading and following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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