Myrtle Beach

I really don't know if I can put into words the things that I experienced on our "vacation" to Myrtle Beach last weekend.  I think that the first mistake was thinking that it would be a nice relaxing trip with a little baseball sprinkled in here and there.  Not sure what I was thinking.  In fact, all of the crazy stuff that happened will probably take me several posts to cover all the details.  First of all, in order to have enough players, we brought two boys with us since their parents were not able to make the trip.  For those of you who aren't mathematicians, that means we had SIX kids with us all under the age of eight.  Then, since we already had to take two cars down to accommodate all the bodies, baseball equipment, and bags, we flew my sister, Ashley, in to help with the drive......and the kids.  (Little did she know what the fun beach vacation would actually entail)  So we loaded two large gas-guzzling SUVs and headed out early.  The drives there and back were actually quite pleasant and downright silly with  Ashley and I recounting childhood memories and laughing.  Lots of laughing.  It was so fun to have my cool little 20 year old sister around.  It brought back memories of the days when I used to actually wear lotion and perfume, and take more than 3 minutes for my hair care regimen.  Although I have always felt like I missed out on having a sister close to my age, in some ways it is better to have a 11 year gap between us so that we bypassed all of the fighting that sisters do.  Now I can just give her gobs of advice and she can keep me in the loop on what is cool and hip these days.  

Isn't she cute?  I could never pull off a hat like that.

Well, we arrived and it didn't take long to see that Myrtle Beach was not the calm idyllic beach locale that I had envisioned.  We have been to several East Coast beaches and really enjoyed the quaint old buildings, lighthouses, and Nantucket-like feel of natural elements, boardwalks, and preserved tranquil environments.  Well, I'm not quite sure what happened to MB but the atmosphere was more fraternity spring break and cheap tourist trap than anything else.  

We saw a lot of signs like this.  As well as strip malls, seafood buffets, and putt-putts on every corner.  I am not one to complain about outlets and good shopping but the over-commercialization was pretty disgusting.  And the traffic.  It was terrible.  Every time we left the hotel to go anywhere, we could count on spending at least 30 minutes in the car to travel 5-10 miles.  It seemed even longer with a screaming 4 month old in the backseat.

Now for the baseball.  We have a great team and had very high expectations for doing well at this World Series.  We started out with a cool Opening Ceremony with skills competitions and pin-trading for the kids.

The boys each took down 20 team pins to trade with the other teams there.  They had fun meeting other players and searching for the most popular pins.  

And more trading back at the room.

The next day, the baseball games began.  We got to the field only to discover that there was no shelter from the SWELTERING, FIERY, STICKY, MAKE-YOU-WANT-TO-MELT HEAT.  It was so dang hot down there.  We had to watch the game from a park shelter behind the outfield and still felt like we were going to melt away.  

Here are the girls trying to stay cool with their spray-fans that ran out of batteries after the first 20 minutes. The heat index was hovering around 113 degrees while we were there.  It is probably okay to be that hot if you are laying out at the beach in a swimsuit but watching baseball is a whole different story.  I really don't know how the boys made it through, they are much tougher and more determined than I am.  And I don't know how people can stand to live there and deal with it every day.  So anyway, we beat the Carolina Rage in our first game and the team had a pretty good outing.  Jordan helped turn a double play at second base which is pretty impressive for an 8 year old team to do.  I was whooping it up in the outfield all by myself.   He played great defense all weekend and helped the team out a lot but struggled a bit with hitting.  He cracked the bat he had been using all season right before we left and had a hard time adjusting to a different one.  The next morning we played the Knoxville Stars and beat them 9-0 so we were off to a great start.   We had a four hour break until the next game so everyone went to lunch or off to relax until the next game.

  

We celebrated Jordan's 9th birthday with a few rowdy songs from his teammates and the crew at Red Robin.  And then I got scolded for giving the boys too much sugar before their next game.  Sometimes I forget we are training elite athletes here.  

And then, the much anticipated match-up with the Georgia Yard Dogs was upon us.  If you were able to watch the video I posted of their team last week, you might have a slight inkling of what this team is all about.  Now multiply that by about 100 and you get the full experience.  AND, they had to leave their bongo drums and boomboxes home. But their parents and other hangers-on made up for any lack of noise by cheering, jeering, chanting, and putting on one heck of a crazy show.  From the second they swaggered onto the field, our guys were mesmerized and didn't pull it together until the second inning when they had already scored 5 runs against us.  

It wasn't that they were a better team than us, it was the intimidation and loudness put on by the parents and coaches.  I don't know if it is a southern thing or what but I have never experienced anything like it.  They had a cheer for every situation and I am kicking myself for not having my video camera there to record it all.  Here is a prime example:  After their kids would steal a base, they would chant this really loudly(in a very thick pronounced southern drawl)

He stole, he stole, he stole 3rd base!

So in, so in, so in your face!

While you was pickin' your nose

He was on his toes!

While you was combin' your hair,

He was already there!

Then their coach would come out onto the field and chest-bump his players and then come and apologize for his unruly parents over and over through our fence........all part of the act. Because not once did he ever say anything to anyone their crowd who were yelling down our kids.  Although our parents were a bit agitated and disgusted by their unsportsmanlike conduct, I was proud of them for keeping it together.  Way to stay classy, Cincinnati.  So by the time our kids woke up to the fact that they could play with the mighty Yard Dogs, it was too late and we lost 8-5.  

We played again the next morning and won so we were headed to the semi-finals the following day.  I am not even going to try to explain all the seeding and pool play that determines the winners (you can call me if you really want ALL the details)  We went on to lose to a team from Florida who beat out the Yard Dogs (woot-woot) for the Triple Crown World Series title.  We ended up playing again and winning, taking 3rd place which is still kind of a big deal.  But it still wasn't completely satisfying because we are all about winning around here.

Way to go FLAMES!

to be continued............