Memorial Day Weekend: Pt. 1 - Toronto

So, I picked up a new city, a new state (kind of), a new country, and a new baseball stadium all in one day last week. I had my first trip to Canada as I went to a Hasbro meeting in Toronto. Struggled to get any of the Canadian money....the ATMs just wouldn't work. But other than that, the airport was nice and efficient.

We went to a Toronto Blue Jays (vs. Angels) game at what used to be called the SkyDome. I got us wicked lost driving into Toronto, so we got to the game late (about 7:45 for a 7 p.m. start). And trying to get the parking payment system to work below the stadium was like using the ATMs. But what a stadium! You walk through the main door (like a giant convention hall) and then WOW! there's the field and such. It's a huge place, and yet the stadium itself seemed intimate.

We had seats in the lower section behind home plate. They won't let you walk to your seats when a batter is up....have to wait til a batter finishes (feels so tennis). And they have cops (no Mounties) lining the foul line between innings to I suppose prevent lawless people from running on to the field.

I missed the most golden opportunity to get a foul ball! I was with a client and someone from work, and we weren't really focusing on the game, when a ball flies over the backstop net. It came right at us, which is a lot more scary than I thought. We actually all kind of dove under our seats (chickens!). The ball landed a few rows behind us (we were in an area without other people right around us. I didn't think to try and grab it or see where it went. Well, it bounced and landed literally in the seat next to me. I only know that because some bloke came over at the end of the row and took the ball out of the seat and claimed it. I don't blame them, but I feel like an idiot!

Coolest feature at the game? They sell ICEEs via the in-aisle vendors. But alas, I didn't have any Canadian cash.

It was actually a really good game....Toronto won by one. Too bad we kind of weren't watching it too closely. But it had some home runs, a triple, some bloop singles, a double play, etc.

The dome was closed...when we left, we knew why as it was kind of a chilly night. (Redundant in Canada?)

Watched the news that night...surprised by how much coverage they gave to things in the states, including the weather. Like they were giving forecasts for what was going to be coming across Colorado and Wyoming. I live in New York, and we don't care about the weather out there.

We did see the CN tower lit up...that's pretty cool.