Water Taxi and Gulls

After Wednesday's humidity, when I thought I would melt and not be able to hang here, a thunderstorm blew through and washed the humidity out. Thursday was absolutely beautiful. We awakened to lovely breezes and gorgeous blue skies.
I sent my men out to run errands while I got caught up on trying to organize the few belongings we have here. I finished unpacking for Alex, because Lord knows he was in no hurry to do it. It gave me a chance to go through his clothes and weed some "undesireables" out. Yes, I'm picky about what my kids wear, it's a reflection on us. Let's just say that he left a family back in ND that was "red-necky" to say the least. I threw away t-shirts with holes and off color content, and jeans with more holes and stains that any kid of a senior Army officer should be wearing. What in the world was the woman doing with all that child support we were sending?
Anyway, off subject, let me re-focus.
The boys brought home a couple of plastic Adirondeck chairs (blue...not my favorite but all they had) and a loaner card table and chairs. At least now we're off the floor!
Yesterday evening we decided to take advantage of military appreciation night at the Newport Gulls baseball game.

They were offering free admission to military families and we figured it would be a great way to spend a Thursday night! We were right! It was such a wonderful home town event that we got into the spirit very quickly. I do love going to the baseball park, eating ballpark dogs, and watching a game. The Navy band was there to entertain us before the opening pitch and to play the National Anthem.

We live on the tip of this small island right across the bay from the main downtown area, which is a HUGE tourist gathering place in the summer. Parking and traffic are a nightmare so we decided to take advantage of the Newport Harbor Shuttle, which leaves just down the road from us. It was a total of $4.50 for the three of us to ride one way with their military discount and we didn't have to worry about traffic or parking! Very nice!!

The Newport Gulls baseball team is a made up of a group of college athletes from around New England (and even a few from the south) who join these collegiate teams during the summer to keep up with their game. It was so much fun!
One of the most touching parts of the night was when they made a tribute to our military heroes, past and present. They had a veteran from the Korean War as well as a War War II vet on the field. The commanding admiral here threw out the first pitch. As they were giving the tribute, they mentioned a young man playing for the Gulls who lost his brother two years ago as he was serving overseas. Every time that boy got up to bat, they played a snippet from Toby Keith's "An American Soldier"  I teared up every single time.
Good times, wholesome activities...I'm loving it!