Today has been very adventurous! I drove five hours to Charleston, West Virginia, starting about an hour outside of Richmond, Virginia. The game I had on the schedule was the West Virginia Power vs the Lakewood Blueclaws. I needed this day to go right since this is the only day that I am scheduled to be in West Virginia this entire trip. I needed to get a game in so I can hit all 48 continental states. When I arrived in Charleston, it was raining. I was paying attention most of the day and I was worried. I drove up mountains in driving rain and it was nerve wracking, I got to Charleston about 3 p.m.. I looked at the forecast and realized it was getting worse. So, I made the decision to back track 100 miles to Princeton, WV, where the Princeton Rays were playing the Greeneville Astros. There was a 30% chance of rain according to my weather app. I cringed since I have to be in New Jersey tomorrow for a game; and now, that extends my drive time to almost ten hours.
The weather was terrible and driving down the mountains was scary with semi’s were flying by and I could barely see the car in front of me. About 20 miles outside of Princeton the rain let up, I was relieved. When I got to the Princeton baseball field, the storms clouds came in and it started raining! I felt like it was following me. I talked to the GM and he said it was “iffy” that the game was going to be played. It was still early, so as it rained I checked on another minor league team which plays 12 miles down the road from Princeton. I had another option, the Bluefield Blue Jays were playing the Kingsport Mets. I checked Charleston and the game there was postponed. I spoke with a lady that worked for the Princeton team and she said that she talked to the Heads Grounds Keeper and he told her that he was leaning towards postponing since he didn’t have enough interns to take the tarp off the field. I was disappointed, the rain was letting up. I decided to drive the 12 miles to Bluefield. I gave the lady my number and asked her to text me if anything changed. As I drove to Bluefield, up yet another mountain, the rains came down harder. I drove around Bluefield and realized that my streak was going to end because the rain was steady and I didn’t see a break in the clouds. Then, I got a text letting me know the game in Princeton was going to be played. Thankfully, the Astros had too many postponements and couldn’t handle another.
Obviously, I was relieved and I drove back to Princeton. They needed help taking the tarp off the field and asked a college team that was in attendance to help. And, I graciously volunteered! Needless to say I am a bit tired, so this is all I am going to write today!
