Opening Night For The Palm Beach Cardinals At Roger Dean Stadium

This past Saturday night my sister Susan and I attended opening night at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida to watch the Palm Beach Cardinals play the St. Lucie Mets. On Saturdays, however, the Cardinals evidently call themselves the Frozen Iguanas, complete with Frozen Iguanas uniforms, which I really don't get at all. The other thing I don't get is that the Cardinals played games at Roger Dean Stadium both Thursday and Friday nights, and so why was Saturday declared opening night instead? Of course, this is Florida, and that explains a lot. In any case, when we arrived at the stadium, we discovered there was a game delay until 6:35, although the sun was shining, and there was a rainbow right over the ballpark, as seen in the photograph on the left. No doubt a sign that good things were about to happen. 

But no - it was, in fact, a pretty boring game. I did not have a pen, and therefore did not keep score, but as I recall, it wasn't until the 6th inning or so that the Frozen Iguanas (i.e. The Palm Beach Cardinals) got a hit, and they only had 2 hits the entire game. The St. Lucie Mets had only 5 hits themselves, but 4 stolen bases, and won the game 1-0. Susan and I decided to leave after a rousing rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" after the first half of the 7th inning, but when we got home, I checked online and saw that the final score was the same as it was when we had left, and so we did not miss much of the action over the final 2 1/2 innings, since there was no action to speak of. A pleasant night, and great seats, but not a game for the record books.

Happy Easter!

My collection of Easter photographs is fairly limited, and so I wind up posting the same ones over and over again, but I haven't used the photograph above in 4 years, and so it is definitely time to use it again. It was taken in the dining room of the house where I grew up in the South Side Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago back in 1957, where my parent's, Nelson and Mary, were hosting Easter dinner for both sides of the family. From left to right are Aunt Kitty, my maternal grandfather's sister, my mother Mary, Grandmother Spillard, my mother's mother, my Grandmother Hoyt, my father's mother, and me, four years old and at my most charming best. Things didn't start to go downhill until I reached five. And in the background is Petie, our pet parakeet. It was a time when the whole family was still around, all living in the same area, and we would get together quite often. Something I miss very much. And so, I wish everyone a happy Easter and hope you are able to get together and cherish holidays like this with family and friends. Enjoy!

The Easter Manatee Is Coming To Town!

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, and here in South Florida, that means that tonight the Easter Manatee will be coming around leaving colored Easter eggs for children who have been good this past year. I know that around the rest of the country, it is the Easter Bunny who does this, but Florida, as we all know, is different (i.e. strange), and prefers to have its own traditions. And the photograph on the left shows the Easter Manatee in all its glory, complete with a basket loaded with colored eggs. The manatee, the average weight of which is 1,200 pounds, is also known as a sea cow, but the Easter Sea Cow just doesn't have quite the same ring to it. Be sure to have your kids leave some seagrass for it tonight!

Today Is The Home Opener For Both The Colorado Rockies And The Chicago White Sox

Today is the home opener for both the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago White Sox, although the White Sox were scheduled to play yesterday, but were rained out. My adopted hometown team, the Colorado Rockies, will have no such issues today - one of the positive aspects of being in a severe drought. In any case, the Rockies have won 2 and lost 4 games so far this season, but now that they are at home, I am sure they will turn things around quickly. I myself have not attended an opening day game since 2017. Once "dynamic pricing" was introduced, the cost to attend opening day skyrocketed. An upper deck infield seat to today's game at Coors Field in Denver costs $111, plus internet fees, as opposed to $30 for most other games. And so, in April of 2017, thinking I could put the money to better use buying a subscription to MLB.com, I took the light rail train to the ballpark just to take photographs of the opening day activities outside the stadium, and then headed back to the light rail station. Then I happened to look down and found a ticket to the game. I went back to the ballpark, got through the gate, and decided to stand behind the seats in the infield and watch the game from there, in case the owner of that ticket showed up and had me arrested. It turns out that was the day Kyle Freeland, the future star pitcher for the Rockies, made his major league debut. He is a Denver native, and I was standing right behind his entire family, who were going crazy as he pitched a convincing win against the Los Angeles Dodgers. A very fun experience. And by the way, I took the photograph on the left at Coors Field on opening day back in 2003, when it was still legal to release balloons in the air on such occasions.

My South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, have not been nearly as successful as the Colorado Rockies so far this season, sporting a 1 and 5 record. For this I gave up an opening day ticket in order to buy a subscription to MLB.com? Granted, it is only game behind the Rockies' record, but it somehow sounds worse. Especially since I was hoping they would finally be turning things around this season and start playing good baseball, especially with potential superstar first baseman Munetaka Murakami now on the roster. But no problem. Now that they are home at Rate Field, I am sure they will come alive and go from worst to first this season. And today, by the way, an upper deck infield seat at Rate Field, back in my old hometown, would set me back $37 plus internet fees. It would cost $94 to get an infield seat on the first level, cheaper than that upper deck seat at Coors Field. What's the deal with that? And just to be clear - the Rockies were far worse than the White Sox last season. Life is so unfair.

Taking A Walk Through CityPlace

I was in West Palm Beach, Florida last week and took a walk through CityPlace, described as "an upscale lifestyle center" near downtown with over 60 stores and restaurants, as well as apartments, condos, and offices. It first opened in October 2000 and is credited for the "urban renaissance" of West Palm Beach. Back in the 1980s and 90s, West Palm Beach was, according to Wikipedia, "plagued by crime, poverty, and vacant and dilapidated homes and businesses." I remember that back then there was an exodus of residents to the north, to places like Jupiter, Hobe Sound, and Stuart. CityPlace helped to turn things around. And the city began to attract many new projects that turned it into a very desirable place to live. I visited CityPlace when it first opened, and there were a Barnes and Noble Bookstore, a Macy's, and two movie theaters, all of which are sadly now gone. In their place, there are restaurants, shops, and apartments for the affluent. Which is probably why I have never dined or purchased anything there. In the photograph on the left is the center's main square, with a fountain for the kids and a stage for free concerts on the weekends.

The latest big name to open at CityPlace is Eataly, which is about all things Italian, and seen in the photograph on the right. It combines retail, dining, and education and occupies what used to be the Harriet Himmel Theater. The building was originally a Methodist Church built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. When the theater closed, the owners of CityPlace said they were going to spend 20 million dollars to restore it to its original condition, only later revealing that after that renovation it would become an Eataly. But no matter. Most people seem happy with the tradeoff.

What really makes CityPlace special is the lush landscaping and Mediterranean and Venetian architecture. It is like walking through a tropical paradise. And happily, the developers left a number of old, historic homes standing, which blend in well with the rest of the development. They even incorporated the Hotel Evernia, built in 1925, into the complex, and it remains a family run hotel. Clematis Street is the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, with many dining and entertainment options, and since CityPlace was built, the western part of that street has undergone a revival, and the two districts are now connected, making for a pleasant walk from Lake Worth all the way to the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, located at the southern edge of Cityplace. And these days there are high rises going up both within CityPlace and along its borders, which will make the area even more vibrant. It is a very fun place to explore. If you ever happen to be in the West Palm Beach area, you should definitely check it out.

Surprise! Vero Beach DOES Have a Downtown!

For the past year and a half or so I have been periodically looking for downtown Vero Beach, Florida. Most of the time when I visit that city, I stick to the areas around the beach, which has a quaint business district parallelling the ocean on North Hutchinson Island. Sometimes I would veer over to the mainland and head down what looks like the main drag, to no avail. It was just a bunch of restaurants, fast food joints, and strip malls, eventually leading out of town. Then a few weeks ago I read an article on the TCPalm website by Laurence Reisman about how downtown Vero Beach has gone downhill over the past few years, which caught my attention. What downtown? In the article, Reisman mentions the Pocahontas Apartments, a mixed-use early 20th Century building located on 14th Avenue, and finally, I now had a clue. That day I made my way along a street in Vero Beach which I had driven down many times before, spotting a blue sign saying "Downtown" right before I reached 14th Avenue. Significantly, that sign did NOT have an arrow pointing right. Making that right turn anyway, I found downtown Vero Beach at last, where I took the photograph on the left of the Pocahontas Apartments building.

In addition to the Pocahontas Apartments, there were other early 20th Century buildings on 14th Avenue, including the Theater Building seen in the photograph on the right. Reisman's point in the article was that not too many years ago, the area had blooming flowers in planters and quaint benches on which people could sit and enjoy the ambiance. The flowers are all gone now, and the benches were removed to discourage the homeless. Plus, back in the 1950s, the long-gone Hotel Del Mar was the hub of downtown activity and attracted many visitors to the area. Also, many homes near downtown were knocked down to make way for churches and public buildings, reducing the number of people living in the area. I myself thought the downtown area was still pretty nice, and bringing back those planters, benches, adding a new hotel, and promoting more downtown housing would only make it that much better. But first, I think they should put up a new "Downtown" sign with an arrow pointing to where that downtown actually is located.

Right across the street from the Pocahontas Apartments Building is Pocahontas Park, another really nice amenity and seen in the photograph on the left. In that park is located the Heritage Center and the Pocahontas Park playground, which is a very impressive playground indeed. All in all, I think Vero Beach's downtown is very nice, and city leaders and Main Street Vero Beach, a non-profit dedicated to making the downtown more vibrant, really have a chance to make it a much more interesting and happening place.  But, as Reiser mentions in the article, it all takes money, and possibly even a public vote to fund it all. And so, who knows what the outcome will be? But first, how expensive could a new "Downtown" sign possibly cost?

Coyote Hills

I just finished reading Coyote Hills, Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman's latest Clay Edison private detective novel. Jonathan Kellerman is best known for his Alex Delaware series, which features a child psychologist who works as a consultant for the Los Angeles Police Department. I read a few of those novels a long time ago, but lost interest in the series. Then, a few years ago, I picked up a copy of The Lost Coast, the fifth book in Clay Edison series, which Kellerman co-writes with his son, and liked it so much I decided to read the first four books in the series. I have been looking forward to this latest release ever since. Clay Edison is a former deputy coroner turned private investigator working in the San Francisco Bay Area. In this latest novel, fellow PI Regina Klein brings in Edison to help her with a case involving a possible homicide. Klein has been hired by a wealthy couple to investigate the death of their son, who was found dead on the shore of San Francisco Bay with drugs in his system and a head injury. The police rule it an accident, but his parents insist it was anything but. Edison and Klein investigate and find that not only was it not an accident, but one of a number of similar deaths. I found this to be an absorbing and fast paced novel, and I really enjoyed it. I strongly recommend you pick up a copy at your local library today.