Far Afield

CAMPING TRIP: We took a 6-plus hour trip down toward the Oregon Coast this weekend for a big family camp out in Siletz.

The scenery was gorgeous, with trees turning toward their autumnal colors, but some flowers still in bloom.

A pretty picturesque setting for a tent, wouldn't you say?

 A blue tent gives the background to this lovely dahlia. 

 Look at these lovely yellow roses, in September!

I actually rather fancied this dahlia in the middle (below). Sure, it's past its prime, but I love the fact that it gave it its all.  

We pitched a tent of a size that would make the Ringling Bros. jealous. However, the first night it was sited on a slight slope, and some ambient noise helped me not sleep, so volunteers helped pick it up intact and move it to a flat, quiet spot. Perfect! 

PARK HOLIDAY: We spent a good chunk of Monday at Safeco Field, enjoying a Monday afternoon matinee that turned into a slugfest with a football-esque final score, 14-6. Fortunately, the Ms were on the upper end of that scoreboard.

We bought cheap tickets for the game off of Stubhub. For about $11.50 after fees apiece, we each got in the door. We hung out in the bullpen for awhile, waiting for Mariners' ace Felix Hernandez and then watching him warm up.

After the bullpen action, we started walking the main concourse, heading toward the loooong escalator that would take us up to our third-tier seats.

However, there were so many empty seats on the lower level. It seemed a shame to let them all go to waste. And so, we sat. Just inside the right field foul pole, specifically.

About the seventh inning, we walked over toward the kids' favorite fro-yo stand and spent the rest of the game near the left field foul pole.

Fortunately, the Ms were victorious and Felix got the win. He seemed pretty excited about that.