Back in Princeton, we went out for a drink with the Kramers
and Suzanne made her version of zappikankis the next.
and back on work, I had a meeting with Jimmy Sarakatsannis
and Piotr Kaminski '95 from McKinsey on my first day back
and breakfast with Dimitrios Serpanos *90
But all of this was just a prelude to a trip to Baltimore where we knew we had arrived when we hit Cal Ripken Way
and so we parked the car
and noticed this ugly green car behind us
from which emerged Gregory and Connor
and then Larry
and so we made our way along the path past the Ravens helmeted garbage cans
and then after Larry bought some water
we saw these memories of Memorial stadium which was built before many wars
but still has dirt from their grave yards.
Up ahead we made our way under the gate
and to the entrance
so that we could go to the place where the garbage cans were official
and Connor and Larry
could marvel at what appeared to be two entrances to the Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame
and after my visit, I observed Ben and Gregory wondering where I had been.
Before studying our food options
we we went to the kiddie area where there were bobbleheads that Connor posed with
and a bouncing area
after which Connor had to put his shoes on
and a history of Orioles uniforms
as the slide
and climbing areas attracted Connor
until he rode the swing.
We signed Connor up for Home Run Derby
as Gregory recorded the event
and all watched the next participant
and then it was air tee ball
after which we made our way into the ballpark quite early so the seats were empty (but, of course, this was true for the game too.)
and the scoreboard welcomed us and saluted Cal Ripken
as did the press box.
There were the usual pictures of the Dobkin trio at various ranges for what will be a massive collection one day
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It being a hot day, it was challenging for this guy selling drinks who wondered if he should have stayed in college
and then the Orioles took the field and the National anthems of Canada and the US were sung
so that the umpires could appear.
It didn't start well for the Orioles
and so the manager came to the mound
but in the transition
another run scored
and the game went on
with an occasional person blocking my view
but the batter hit
and a helicopter flew overhead
before the Orioles scored their first run (indeed only 1 person did anything particularly offensive and this was his first of 2 home runs)
but this was not enough to save the starting pitcher who departed
as the brain trust
tried to figure out what to tell the reliever
who they welcomed to the mound
and though his warm up pitches looked good,
he couldn't rescue the team. He could only bring out the mascot for the 7th inning stretch singing.
By and by, the game went on
the second Oriole home run (with no one on base) was hit
and the game ended with the orioles 5 runs behind
and the Jays celebrating.
After the game, we went to the hotel where they were staying
and then drove on to the Brewer's Art for a unique dinner.
After dinner, Connor and Gregory
and Ben and Larry posed
and we bade them farewell as they got into their green car
and we drove back through Delaware on our way home.