WET WEATHER IN THE MIDWEST

We began our journey north to Louisville with overcast skies. By the time we were halfway through Kentucky, there was a mist falling. As we crossed the river into Indiana in heavy traffic, the GPS was telling us to get off at exit 1, so we were in the far right-hand lane under the "Exit Only" sign. As we got closer, we could read "Exit 0".  Thanks, Indiana, for not starting your exit numbers with 1.  It was too late to get back onto the highway, so we were forced to exit.  The GPS "recalculated" and we followed the GPS instructions. We were now on a lightly traveled 2-lane road.  All of a sudden we were less than 100 yards from a railroad overpass with a "LOW CLEARANCE--10 FT" warning sign painted on it. That was an immediate "Oh S#@T moment" to say the least, since the RV needs a clearance of about 12 feet. We cannot go backwards with the car attached.  So we had to stop and quickly uncouple the car with traffic flowing around us from both directions. The 3-point turn of a 34 foot RV with a limited turning radius took 3 back-ups!  After calling the campground for directions, we arrived safely and set-up the RV as the rain got heavier.

That evening we enjoyed a nice dinner and visit with Jim and Linda Watkins, two friends who we have known since the 1980's from Paul's time as an athletic director.

It rained over 1 1/2 inches overnight and into Tuesday morning. We were planning to go to the Louisville Bats (Reds AAA team) game against the Norfolk Tides later that morning. As the rain continued to fall from the sky, we checked the Bat's web site. We found the starting line-ups were posted so we got in the car and drove across the river to Louisville Slugger Field for some morning baseball. 

As we entered the stadium, the ground crew was removing the infield tarp and the game began around 11:15 a.m. with the temperature at 49 degrees. Yes, it is 49 degrees and we are watching baseball - what is wrong with this picture?

Cold!!!  Not a banner day for baseball, but we stay until the sun finally comes out a few hours later, and we finally register a temperature of a balmy 55 degrees!

 

Buddy Bat, the Bat's mascot, does not seem to be bothered by the chilly temperatures, but we were for the first few hours.

Dontrelle Willis, former Florida Marlins World Series star, was the starting pitcher for the Bats. He had 10 strikeouts in 6 innings while giving up 4 runs but got the loss as the Bats struggled at the plate only getting 1 run.

Bat games on Tuesdays are $1 hot dogs and Pepsi drinks. We enjoyed the $1 dogs but substituted an ice cold Rolling Rock draft beer as our beverage of choice.   

Because the game was rained out on Monday night, the teams played a doubleheader. 
Ann promised to stay for part of the second game if her numb fingers thawed by the second inning, which we did.  After the third inning, Paul was selected to participate in one of the between-inning contests and won a jacket from Belterra Casino along with a Louisville Bats cap. Paul is modeling his new wardrobe below.

On Wednesday we drove up I-65 towards central Indiana and camped just north of Indianapolis. Paul had dinner with John Gillis from the National Federation Staff with whom he worked closely as part of the committee to publish the Officials Quarterly Magazine, a national magazine for sports officials.