To say it was an awesome weekend would be an understatement. The weather was absolutely perfect, sunny with an nice breeze that left just a bit of chill in the air. Cool at night and packed with all kinds of excitement. I'm not sure there is much more you could hope for in a weekend.
@mrsbozz and I headed down to the suburbs of Columbus, OH this past weekend to watch our niece play softball in a showcase tournament down in the city. Despite the fact that I am from Michigan and therefore I should hate all things Ohio, Columbus is a pretty cool town.
I've said it before, but there is a real dichotomy (I'm not sure that is the right word) between the city and the country in Columbus. Take the opening photo for example, that was taken in my inlaws back yard. You wouldn't think they lived in the middle of a bustling suburb right in the heart of Columbus with a view like that.
The main reason we were visiting was to watch my niece play some softball with her travel team. I'll be covering the full details of that in a post on my @bozz.sports account if you want to check it out. After a handful of games on Friday night, we headed back to the house and had pizza from a cool place called Adriatico's. People who are familiar with Columbus might recognize the name. It is a staple down on campus.
Believe it or not, I didn't get any photos of the pizza, but if you follow that link above, you will get an idea of just how amazing it is.
I have to wonder if @ericvancewalton has ever had Adriatico's given he grew up in Columbus.
As is typically the case, the games were held at Lou Berliner Sports Park near downtown Columbus. It's actually listed as one of the largest sports parks in the country with something like thirty some fields for softball and baseball.
I am sure I am going to get the number wrong, but for this showcase tournament, there were over 200 teams in attendance.
I got to hang out with my oldest niece as well which is always really awesome. I met @mrsbozz and came into her life when she was about three years old, so she has been a big part of my life. It's crazy that she is a grow adult now!
Since it was a showcase tournament, there were coaches from universities and colleges all over the country there to watch the young ladies play. At one point there were at least 15 different coaches watching one of the games my niece was playing in. Sometimes they come to see specific players, but other times they are just looking for players based on position.
They might come to see if a team has a really good center fielder or something like that.
Sometimes you have to wait several hours between games. It doesn't make sense to fight the Columbus traffic to get back to your hotel or house, so some people use the tools they have available to them. The RV in the photo above is not ours, but it was parked next to where we were hanging out waiting for the next game.
It's super smart if you have one available to you. You can lay down, you have a private restroom, and you can even whip up yourself a snack if you don't want to eat the burgers, hot dogs, or fried food they have available at the concessions stand.
This is one of my two favorite photos from the weekend. This is my niece hitting a ball that dropped for a double and she brought in a run on the hit as well. Much like batters time the pitcher to swing, I've been working on the right moment to hit the shutter button so I can get shots like this.
If you hit it too early they aren't swinging yet, if you wait too long, you just get them running to first. I've learned it's best to hit the button as soon as the ball leaves the pitchers hand.
The area of Columbus where they live was a bit crazy because there was also a big golf tournament happening on the same weekend. We were leaving the store and I caught a shot of this plane flying around carrying a banner behind it. You can just see it above the treetops in the photo above. Can you guess what the banner said?
@mrsbozz thought it was something about Trump at first, but on further inspection, I discovered this:
Still can't make it out? Back at the house the plane continued to fly over and we discovered it was actually a banner for Maker's Mark Bourbon. I thought it was pretty cool since we just visited the distillery down in Kentucky a couple of years ago now.
Apparently they were trying to give folks suggestions of what to drink on the golf course!
After a morning of Softball games on Saturday, we headed back to our in-laws house for a nice steak and chicken dinner. There was a butterfly floating around near these flowers and I tried to catch a shot, but it flew off before I had the chance. I settled for a close up of just the flower instead.
Sunday morning we caught one more game before we got on the road to head home.
As I said, it was a fantastic weekend spent with my wife's family and now my heart is really full after seeing my nieces and spending time with my in-laws.
In just a couple of weeks we will be together with them again, but this time halfway across the country as we go to see my niece play softball in Colorado. I'm beyond excited about that!
Sports Talk Social - @bozz.sports
Sounds like you had a busy weekend, where I live that kind of publicity is not often seen, having plane go around with a Bourbon banner?? makes we wonder if ppl watch the plane with the banner and said...oh look, Bourbon banner....better go and get a drink 😂 jk but sometimes marketing is a mystery for me
I was wondering the same thing. I'm always down for a glass of Maker's, so it's lost on me!
I live in a relatively small town and there is a plane that flies around regularly with a banner for a car dealership. We mostly ignore it anymore!
That's a big tournament. I'm not sure we have anything that big for any junior sport. Softball is not big here anyway. There will be big events for soccer, but it will be clubs looking for players as college sport is a lesser thing. The whole system of sport in the US seems huge. There must be so much money in it.
Believe me, there is!
Sounds like a great relaxing weekend, really can't ask for more
We still had quite a bit of running around to do, but it was definitely a great weekend!
What a great weekend! They have a really nice and green backyard for the suburbs. Sounds like your niece is a pretty good players knocking down a double and an RBI! But now I find myself craving Marker's Mark..... I guess the banner worked!
!LOL
They are both really great players. It's been a lot of fun watching them grow and compete at each level. The older one plays in college now. The other one will be starting her senior year next year. It doesn't seem possible! I've picked up a number of new bottles over the past couple of weeks. No Maker's, but some other really good stuff.
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We had great weather this weekend as well.
That's great to hear! It's supposed to get hot the end of this week. I'm not a fan of sitting around in my own sweat!
It's a happy family weekend to you.😊😊
It definitely was!
The photos were the evidence. 😊 Have a nice day ahead.😊😊
I've never had that particular pizza but it sounds like I need to try it! There are TONS of good pizza places in that city and every family has their favorite.
There sure are! Dewey's is another one that I really enjoy down there. It's the classic thinner columbus style that they bake round, but cut in squares.
I’ve never heard of that one either! Our favorites back in the 70’s/80’s/90’s were Massey’s, Tommy’s, and Rotolos.
I'll have to keep an eye out for those if they are still around. I'm in a couple of Facebook groups for food in Columbus. One is called Pizza Connoisseurs of Columbus and people are always sharing their favorite places.
Always busy ! you should make videos with ray ;)
I don't think anyone wants to see or hear me like that!
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Nice and relaxing weekend you had. Have a great week ahead!
Thank you!
Looks like a blast! I actually stayed in Delaware, OH for a while with my dad. Are you familiar with that area? I also grew up across the river on the Kentucky side :)
You bet! We drive through parts of Delaware on our way down. We go right by the reservoir on 23 as we head into town. My sister used to live outside of Lexington, so I am familiar with Kentucky too.
So if your ever in Delaware again you have to go to this place called Gabbys and get there Stromboli. It is so amazing! I have never ever been able to find anything that comes close to that place.
Will do! I'm never one to turn down a good stromboli!