JULY 21
All the fresh air
and playing in the morning kind of tuckered me out, so I slept all the way to
Detroit! It was a MUCH better ride for me than the first trip!
We were going to go
see the Detroit Tigers! I was so excited! I had never been to a ballgame, but I
had watched them on TV and listened to so many games called by Ernie Harwell on
the radio over the years. Wendy kept talking about how sad she was about Tiger
Stadium being just an open, desolate field right now. When we drove by there, I
saw what she meant. It is sad. Very sad. Only the fence along Michigan Avenue
is still there.
We stopped at
Nemo’s to get some burgers to take to our good friend Sue and her 4 year old
granddaughter Emeline. (Emeline has another sock monkey that Wendy made, but
that sock monkey was not with her at Sue’s.) Sue lives in Corktown, which is a
very cool area of Detroit. Sue was so wonderful – she got us the tickets to the
game – and then was not even able to go herself! So we came over with burgers to eat. Well, THEY ate burgers anyway. I just watched them. I'm not big on burgers.
After chowing down, Emeline introduced me to some of her friends. First she put
me in the same outfit Amanda did – my overalls and glasses! We all posed for a
picture, and then we played. I got a little tired, so Emeline had me take a nap
with Barney. It was supposed to be a nap, but Barney kept singing about how he
loves me and I love him and all that, and it was weird because he didn’t even
know me until that day, and love is a strong word to use with a stranger, and I
was a little creeped out, so I just stared at the ceiling while he sang! 
Then it was off to
Comerica Park! WOW! There are these giant roaring tigers at the entrance that were scary a little, but they were AWESOME! The best part of that entrance, though,
was the giant banner of Ernie Harwell. I was so excited to see him! Wendy and I posed for a picture under it, and I wanted to hold the tickets so everyone could see them!
I had no idea how fun this day would be! I met a lot of friends of the Tigers there. I kept looking for Paws - their mascot - but I couldn't find him. I did find Mickey Mouse and the Statue of Liberty. Both were very quiet, but they seemed very happy to play with me for a few minutes. Then I took a ride on the Tiger-Go-Round! These really nice ladies let me take a ride for free - I liked them a lot. One was named Cupid - I think I have a crush on all three of them. They smiled and laughed a lot. My kind of friends! I also got to pretend I was riding on a see-through tiger! I love adventure, you know!
The absolutely most exciting part of the game was anything to do with Ernie Harwell, for whom I am named! They loved Ernie here in Detroit, and that love really shows all over the park! Here are some pictures I was able to take with Ernie...
We were amazed by our seats! 11th row, down the 1st base line! It was so exciting to be in the ballpark! Sue is the best friend a little sock monkey could have! I sat next to Frannie's-husband-Wendy's-son-in-law John and his cousin Tom. They were very fun and we enjoyed taking in the sights. Sometimes we could each look at different things all at the same time!Being so close to the field was fantastic! I could see the players right up close and personal, and if they were sock monkeys, I could have seen their stitching. The vendors were yelling (but not at me), and they had two kinds of hot dogs, and even some frozen lemonade, and ice cream, and you know how hungry I get... it was so fun to hear about food so often. The only thing that worried me was that Ken told me to watch out for balls that might come into the stands, when right-handed batters were hitting. While that was an exciting thought, I worried that it would be trouble for me. I was sure that Wendy would by accident throw me into the air if a ball came at her, and I think Ken is too old to catch one (you know, he's a tall guy with long arms, but he wears bifocals and all). While my pals were very disappointed that no balls came to us, I personally was relieved!
It was a beautiful day, with pretty little fluffy clouds. One of them looked just like Barney Rubble in profile, or so Wendy told me! I loved the giant screen - they played games on it, besides telling us about the ballgame. Sometimes there are pictures up there. Sometimes movies. Sometimes donuts and cups of coffee racing with bagels. I KNEW the cup of coffee would win! It's a pretty exciting thing to look at! If you put your head in just the right place, you can pretend it's a crown when you have your picture taken! I loved doing the Wave! It was so exciting to see all these people jumping up and shooting their arms up! It was like this morning when I was in the spring, but I asked Wendy to hold me so I wouldn't fall down this time.
I thought I saw Paws' paw and that he must be in the row in front of us. But it turned out to be a kid! There was this really nice family - the name on the back of Dad's shirt was Cabrera, so I guess that's his name - was happy to pose with me for a picture. I liked them a lot. Mr. Cabrera was very nice and friendly to me. The mom was super-friendly, and the daughter was a real cutie. I meet a lot of cute girls in Michigan!
One man there asked if I was a Rally Monkey. I was hurt that he didn't realize I'm a sock monkey! But as it turned out, I WAS a Rally Monkey! It was the top of the 9th inning, the Tigers pitcher had thrown 9 straight balls, and the Tigers were in the lead. The excitement and tension grew because the Tigers were on a losing streak. What would happen? I was pretty tired so Wendy was putting me in my knapsack, when John said, "Why are you putting Ernie away? We need him!" So Wendy took me out and I stood with the thousands of other Tigers fans for those final few pitches...
AND THE TIGERS WON! I AM THE RALLY MONKEY! THE LOSING STREAK WAS BROKEN! THE CROWD WENT WILD! GO TIGERS!
I love baseball. I love the Tigers. I love orange. I love Detroit. What a game, what a team, what a color, what a town!
What a vacation I'm having!
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