Grace Amazin', We're Barn Raisin'

As I mentioned yesterday, my friend Bill and I went on a road trip to Amish Country - aka Lancaster, PA - to see the Camden Riversharks play the Lancaster Barnstormers. The trip consisted of about 25 Sharks fans, who met at 4pm. Bill and I pull up to the meeting point, and . . . nuthin'. No Sharks personnel, no fans, the site is a ghost town. We were early, but it still worried us.

After about thirty minutes of nail biting, the first few fans began to show. Whew! A few minutes later, the bus pulled up (air conditioned with a bathroom - exactly what we needed for a two-hour ride to cow-ville). The group was a cornucopia of infamous regulars; "Stoney Stalker," "Picture Chick," "Tube Sock Guy," and the ever popular "Ray Ray." (Yeah, we have nicknames for everyone - Bill is "The 38-Year Old Virgin. Uh, sorry Bill.) We jump on the bus, and are on our way.

Two brutal hours later - the Schuylkill "Expressway" sucks! - we arrive at Clipper Magazine Stadium (pictured, above), and I am mightily impressed. This ballpark is really nice, but it has a definite rural flair - there's an actual barn on the concourse next to the right field seats which doubles as a concession stand. As in Camden, there is a Kids Zone on the concourse near left field which has a rock wall, a moon bounce, and a full-sized carousel!

Then, there was the concession stands. Mmmm . . . ballpark food!

Ya know, any stadium can present hot dogs and peanuts, but the Barnstormers go above and beyond the call of duty. In one corner, there was a server carving fresh ham and chicken for sandwiches - you should have seen the size of the ham; unbelievable - and in the other, there were workers serving Stromboli and sausage and peppers. And don't even get Bill started on the soft pretzels. They were fresh, warm, and huge with a certain sweetness to them. Cripes, those Amish really know their craft!

Oh, yeah, the game! Our seats were very good - four rows from the field on the third base side - but the game itself? Not so much. The Sharks got blitzed, 10-6 - and it wasn't even that close. Don't get me wrong, we had a terrific time, but a win would have made it all the better.