So, the 6th installment of Baseball Trip is underway.  We said our goodbyes to Kate/mom and Eleanor, took the traditional “out the door” picture by the wine guys print, and boarded our LTI Car for Logan.  As expected, we were the only vehicle on the Pike, and our driver Paul had us curbside at Terminal B by 4:14.  The airport was quite busy despite the hour, and the queue for security was snaking past the entry point of the line.  TSA PreCheck on my boarding pass meant we went past everyone into the special “shoes on, computer stays in your bag” section of the checkpoint.  Alas, Peter is too old to go through the special line without his own TSA PreCheck status, so the officer opened the ropes and sent us to the regular line, albeit the very front.  It only took a couple of minutes to get through to the other side, as the boys are completely facile with the security drill.

We headed to Gate 6 and were boarding by 4:30.  We rolled down runway 22R and took off right on time - the streak of on-time flights and trains continues!  Once exited the jet bridge in Charlotte, we trekked from the very end of Terminal C to the midpoint of Terminal E.  Starbucks in-hand, we boarded the next leg for Nashville. Exiting BNA, we picked a Hertz car and jumped on I-40 to the West End Avenue exit and drove directly to the Vanderbilt Marriott. We arrived the check in desk at 9:15 am, an impressive feat considering we were in Boston five hours earlier.

9:45 am - We walked around the sports facilities at VU (Stadium, Gym and Baseball field).  Realizing we had not eaten anything, I checked out the distance to Loveless Cafe, slightly out of town, but well-worth the drive for their famous biscuits and chicken.  

10:00am - Queued up for the first available table, we waited the obligatory one hour, typical for a Saturday morning. The meal was great as we feasted on southern treats of turnip greens, grits, chicken, and biscuits.  Post-meal, we checked into our stadium-view hotel room on the 7th floor.  After a short nap, we geared up for the Sounds Game. 

5:00 pm - We drove east on Edgehill Avenue to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds and Greer Stadium.  After paying a baseball-trip-record-low of $5 for parking, we walked across the street and were through the gates at 5:30 pm.  We headed to the right field foul pole in wait for a batting practice ball.  Within 3 minutes, both boys had a ball tossed to them; Charlie even scored an autograph from Aaron Poreda a Round Rock pitcher who has two wins for the Rangers this year.  We took our seats in the first row behind the Sounds dugout and waited for the game to begin.  At 6pm, although there was only scattered off-and-on light rain, they announced an official delay and pulled the tarp over the diamond.  At 6:15, everyone’s cellphones buzzed with a reverse-911 alert of a flash flood warning.  By 6:20, the threat of thunderstorms became a reality, and the skies opened up to unleash a torrent of rain that eventually washed out the game.  We were completely soaked to the bone walking to the car.  My clothes were wet enough that the valet parking guy had to put a towel on the drenched driver’s seat.  We retired to the room, ordered dinner and crashed.

8/10 8:30am - The boys slept and I went downstairs to the restaurant for coffee.  They soon joined me and we worked out the plan for the day while we at breakfast.  First, we walked next door into the football stadium and took some cool snaps on the field, then walked next door to the baseball stadium, where there is visible evidence of the team’s recent success as the Men’s NCAA Baseball Champion. After running the bases at Hawkins Field, we walked across West End Avenue to see the full-scale replica of the Parthenon.  Afterward, we took a cool-off dip in the pool and returned to the room to pack and check out of the hotel by 2pm.

8/10 2:00 pm - Final hotel bill in hand, and rental car at the front door, we loaded up and headed east on West End to complete our tour of the Vanderbilt campus.  First we passed Kirkland Hall and my Sophomore and Senior dorms in “The Barn” (Barnard Hall).  Feeling the heat of this somewhat-uncomfortably humid August day in Nashville, I wonder how i survived the almost barbaric sweat-hell that was un-airconditioned Barnard.  I remember sauna-like temperatures in the early days of the school year. 

From there, I showed the boys Calhoun Hall where I slogged out my degree in Economics, the main library, medical center, “Student Death” (health), Sarratt/Rand and Alumni Lawn.  The highlight for me was seeing the Beta house, many features unchanged from the 80’s.  I can’t believe I once lived in a frat house! 

From Vanderbilt, we took a turn south and east to see condos I lived in while working for Frito-Lay (first real job).  We even checked out a Krispy-Kreme on Thompson Lane.  Next we drove to the downtown area past LP Field where the Titans play and then across the Cumberland River over the Korean Veterans Bridge to the foot of the AT&T Tower, aka., “the Batman” building which stirs some innate architectural appreciation in Peter... “it’s such a cool building, Dad.”  As I was turning the corner to drive past the State Capitol my phone rang with a robo-call from American Airlines.  Apparently our evening fights to Dallas and then OKC are delayed by more than an hour.  The quick-thinking boys are immediately offering a scenario where we could attend the 5:05 reschedule of last night’s game and still make our flight.  Being the incredibly-flexible and unflappable traveler I am, I point the car in the direction of Greer Stadium and we are in the parking lot ten minutes later.  Producing last night’s parking chit, the attendant says, “you’re good.”  We park the car, and proceed to the ticket office.  Once in line, a total stranger comes up to us and asks how many in our party? She’s delighted to learn we are three, which matches the quantity of tickets she wants to give us for free.  Yes, there is a reason Minor League Baseball is such a good value.

5:05 pm.  We take up seats in the 3rd row behind the Sounds dugout and watch the home team school the Express, who have no answer behind the plate nor from the mound.  Before 20 minutes had passed, the score was 9-0 in favor of Nashville.  Charlie struck up a conversation with a family in the row behind us.  Everyone was having such a good time.  A winning score and a warm, dry late afternoon.  Great combination.