8/14 8 am - We were up and making plans for the day, and what a day it would turn out to be!  We left the hotel around Noon, in search of Breaking Bad filming locations.  We’ve been Br Ba loyalists to the end and have always said how cool it would be to see where the show was filmed.  We managed to visit a few of the key sites including Los Hermanos, Jesse’s house, Walter and Skyler’s house, and the “have an A1 day” Car Wash. We also visited the “Candy Lady” store in ABQ Tourist Ground Zero - They actually provided the blue “meth” prop used in the show.  In reality, it is blue-tinted, cotton candy-flavored rock candy that they happily sell in nice little single-serve packets for $1.00 apiece.

8/14 5 pm - baseball gloves in hand, the boys and I set out on the 1.5 mile walk to Isotopes Park.  We arrived right before opening time and were through the gates at 5:35.  A few minutes after we checked out our seats behind the Redbirds dugout, the boys were approached by an Isotopes promotions employee who asked if they would like to participate in an on-field entertainment bit in the 3rd inning.  ”Yes,” was the reply.  I signed a waiver of liability and we were instructed to report to a certain door at the top of 3rd.  When it was time to go, the boys were escorted through a guarded door marked “Field Access - Employees Only,” down some stairs and into the ramp leading to the playing surface by the home team dugout.  The boys’ assignment was to race against a pair of college students while bouncing on inflated rubber “horses”.  After the last out of the inning, the boys were walked onto the field and introduced by the guy orchestrating the race.  At that point, every person in the stadium was focused on the between-inning distraction / entertainment “event”.  Charlie bounced the first leg, and despite crashing twice, managed to tie his competitor.  Peter took the “reins” on the anchor leg, and bounced his butt off, edging the college guy.  The boys won by “a nose.”  Schmaltzy entertainment bit box checked. 

Once we returned to our seats, we settled in for the rest of the game. Although the Isotopes got killed 17 to 7, Joc Pederson hit his 30th homer of the year, a feat not too common in the minors. Despite the lopsided score, we did not care a bit; the evening was magical.  During the last couple of innings, we struck up a conversation with a woman who recognized horse-race boys.  It turns out she’s a long-time season-ticket holder with first row seats and a devotion to baseball.  She was so taken by our baseball-related pilgrimage, she took the boys over to the Isotopes dugout so they could meet Franklin Stubbs, the hitting coach and member of the 1988 World Series-winning L.A. Dodgers.  Franklin took pictures with the boys and gave them a both a baseball.  To cap off the evening, the boys got to go on the field again to run the bases.  As we exited, there was a spectacular thunderstorm raging in the distance that made for some interesting pictures.

8/14 10 pm - back at the room we are ready for bed and our journey to El Paso tomorrow.