Milwaukee Brewers

Miller Park Panorama

Saturday evening we (Joe, my SIL, and E) went to Milwaukee to watch the Brewers beat the New York Mets. I enjoyed our first visit to Miller Park in May, but this recent one was even more fun. We were seated in pretty packed section compared to last time, almost directly across the stadium from before, but the people in our section were a lot less obnoxious. The tickets weren’t quite as cheap as last time, costing us $60 through StubHub for four seats, but still not bad. I’m guessing it’s because we bought them the night before the game instead of a few weeks ahead of time, but who knows.

The thing I love about Miller Park is that it’s not as big as Cellular One field, there are escalators to take you to the upper sections, the food tastes better, and there’s a good view from any seat; although that last point can also be said for Cellular One. However, what Cellular One doesn’t allow is one to roam the park freely if they have upper-seating whereas Miller Park does. I like this since some of the better food is found at the lower levels, including the pomme frites stand where I was looking forward to snagging some mayonnaise fries, but sadly they went out of business. (Side note to Miller Park’s webmaster – take them off the concession stand list!)

Despite the french fry disappointment I still had some great food. Joe got some chicken nachos that had a great flavor (unlike Cellular One’s Stadium Club’s nachos) and I munched a bit on those as well as some peanuts my SIL got, and the awesome waffle fries that came with Joe’s bratwurst. I also enjoyed a small bag of cinnamon roasted nuts which were almonds, pecans, and cashews with cinnamon sugar and vanilla coating. Next time I’m going for the large bag because they didn’t go the cheap route and fill the bag with primarily cashews. In fact there were more almonds than anything.

Between all the snacking I wasn’t expecting to end my night devouring a butter-dipped pretzel twist (picture a cinnamon twisted donut for the shape), but I spied a woman in the row in front of us chowing down on one and couldn’t resist. It came with a side of cheese dip that was actually good too. Normally I don’t eat that much food at a game so I blame it on the Excedrin I secured from the park’s first aid before the game started when a migraine began developing and I found myself without any medication. The caffeine in the pill boosted my appetite or something I think, which I realize is odd since for most people caffeine is supposed to subdue one’s appetite (hence why it’s used in diet pills).

Miller Park at Night

Between all the eating and people-watching I didn’t really pay much attention to the game itself but I’m not a sports buff so I’m sure that comes as no surprise. I do know they won, however! I was just enjoying the atmosphere in our section. A guy sitting behind and off to our left had won $500 of concessions that night so after my SIL teased him about not sharing he bought her a beer which I thought was nice. There were so many wasted people at the game, including a guy sitting in front of us, but luckily they were all happy drunks (including my SIL) so everyone had a great time. I can see us attending at least a few games there next year as it’s the most fun I’ve had at a baseball game (it didn’t hurt that the weather was quite nice that evening too).

Help Thy Neighbor

The weekend before last we spotted a loose pitbull mix running around the neighborhood. Joe tried to temp her with some dog treats so he could get a look at her collar but she wouldn’t come close enough. About ten minutes later a guy drove past looking for the dog and we learned her name was Peyton. We pointed the guy in the direction we had last seen her and he took off while we started on our evening walk.

We hadn’t gotten far when we spotted her out back near our own patio. That’s when it occurred to us that we could use my sister in law’s dog, Bella, as bait. It worked pretty good except Peyton was so full of energy and bouncing around that Joe still couldn’t get a grip on her collar. Then my SIL had an idea and brought out a bowl of water. The dog couldn’t resist and while she was furiously lapping up every drop my SIL casually grabbed her collar and then we clipped Bella’s leash on it.

Surprisingly, once Peyton had been “captured” she calmed down considerably and we were able to start walking her to her owner’s house (luckily I had the foresight to ask him where he lived). We hadn’t gotten far, however, when he slowly came driving by still looking for his dog. When he spotted us with her he was so happy and thankful. It felt good to help him out. Shortly thereafter the guy’s wife pulled up while we were further along on our walk and thanked us for finding her dog.

This past Thursday I was walking Bella after work when a lady in multiple braces (on her legs and forearms) was slowly making her way down her driveway. When she spotted me she asked if I could go down to the mailbox and retrieve her mail for her since she had just gotten home from the hospital after having surgery and was having difficulty walking. I was happy to help her out and she was incredibly grateful.

I guess it was just one of those good deed weeks. I hope Karma is keeping track because I really would like to win the lottery so I can quit working and start volunteering instead. Yes, I realize I can do both but I don’t have the energy thanks to how stressful my day job has become. Plus I’d rather not have to worry about money and just do what I want every day. Doesn’t everyone?