On Friday of last week, FotC DuNing and I headed down from our nation's capital to Charlottesville, Virginia to watch the Rebel baseball team lose in the first round of the NCAA College Baseball Tournament. Ok, to be fair, we did see them win their first game against St. John's, but still, the games weren't great.
Regardless, good times were had and I, via a brand new camera purchased literally hours before departure, documented the sights of the regional which you can view....... now:
The first picture taken with my new camera: a slightly crooked shot of the Capitol. This is from the shotgun seat in DuNing's whip as we made our way off of the Hill, out of the District, and across the river into the Commonwealth. Our destination towards which the Garmin was directing us?
The Econolodge! Charlottesville's finest lodge! Comfy-ish beds and semi-functioning showers in every room! And a television that may even work! Why, each morning you're provided with an...
...incredible continental breakfast! But be careful not to choke that down thirty minutes before stepping outside towards the...
...magnificent pool! No, that's not pee you're smelling. It's, ummm, the cleaning solution. Yes, that's it.
Or pee. Ok, it's pee.
The Econolodge, while not the most bodacious bed 'n' breakfast in the area, was cheap and not as AIDS-y as the price would suggest. It was also a ten-minute walk from the ballpark which could best be described as a quaint version of Swayze field circa 2001.
Pom standing atop the mound in his last game wearing a Rebel uniform.
Oh, and Virginia, come on. You're a top-5 baseball team with a growing enthusiasm amongst the UVA fanbase, a 2009 trip to the CWS and a likely 2010 repeat--and you can't keep your infield from looking like a teebox? WE LOST TO A PROGRAM WITH SHITTY GRASS. TWO YEARS CONSECUTIVELY. THINK ABOUT THAT.
Nice, open concourse area. Notice the small boxes above the concourse. I'm telling you, this place is Diet Swayze without the terraces beyond the walls. In fact, there's nothing beyond the walls aside from bleachers they wheeled in for the regional tournament (srsly). Late in the game, DuNing and I walked back that way to check out the view and meet up with some friends.
This guy, this #4, was a royal dick. He taunted a 12-year-old wearing an Ole Miss shirt and cap. Why? Because the 12-year-old wanted the warmup ball. Smooth move, asshole. Good Rebel Tanner Mathis (if I recall correctly) did, in fact, toss a warmup ball our way, but he air mailed it over the bleachers. It was embarrassing.
I like the wraparound "VIRGINIA" behind the plate.
I know you're up there, Brandt.... Come down and fight me.
Coach: "So, Eric, you wanna throw some strikes for us? Because, if not, Rory McKean is going to come in and clean up your mess. Think about that one."
The Virginian: a fine establishment with a diverse, wacky clientele.
UVA vs.
Ole Miss.
They fucking love the Founding Fathers here. You can slap an image of any of them on any-damn-thing and it'll sell. Patrick Henry Bloody Mary Mix? It sells. Thomas Paine brand "Common Sense" study guides? Half of UVA's bookstore. George Mason's septic tank service? A local monopoly.
I can't blame them; I as well have got a soft spot for the Enlightenment-inspired Deist Libertarians who founded a nation filled with paranoid, big-government protestants. /socialcommentary'd /politics'd /iwilllockthecommentsthreadifihaveto'd
Thomas Jefferson in front of the Rotunda.
"Alcoholics Anonymous"
"Falling further and further out of love with a college sophomore I knocked up in 1989."
"Really pissed off at my teenage daughter."
"Upper middle management!"
These are all answers DuNing and I supplied to the question on this sign.
Scott Stadium: "The Vaught-Hemingway Stadium of the ACC." And, no, I don't mean that in a nice way.
Calm thyself, Spirit poster! This isn't "Gerald's" alley; it's Edgar Allan's.
Yep, Edgar Allan Poe's bedroom is about as creepy as you'd expect.
"Massie Road? More like 'Pussy Monsta Boulevard.' " -DuNing
They tailgate for their baseball games now at UVA. This is probably due to the lack of terraces beyond outfield walls. Also, looking at this photograph right after reading SSMUND's recent FanPosts (over on the right, click 'em) got the blood boiling a bit.
University Hall: The proud home of UVA basketball. "The Tad Pad of the ACC" and, yes, I also do not mean that in a nice way.
Wait, what's that accross the street?
Oh, that's just John Paul Jones arena, a new 16,000 seat basketball facility. See, the UVA athletics administration has something called "gumption". Ours doesn't. Oh, and a few billion bushels of cash helps too.
These VCU brosephs stood near us for a while.
"Whoa, what was that."
"A balk bro."
"A ball, what the fuck kinda ball is that."
"No brah he said a 'balk' brah."
"The fuck is a balk."
[Ghost's inner monologue]: "Get away from me."
I wanted to punch Evan Button after seeing this.
A member of Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Fishing Team along with fat Jerry Garcia zombie came out to watch a little Cavalier baseball.
A hill beyond the 3rd base dugout upon which people sit; once again, this is mini-Swayze.
This fuckin guy here, what a shit talker. I wonder what his degree from Thomas Jefferson's university was in.
Lulz
Aaaaand then this happened.
Still, t'were great times in Charlottesville, losses aside. Great town, great campus (excuse me, "grounds"), and a great baseball program. The fans were nothing but cordial, rat-orgy haircut guy aside, and very complementary of our program and stadium. Many even suggested that perhaps Davenport could one day be the "Swayze Field of the ACC." I told them that it could, and I very much meant that in a good way.