One day at the Diamond

I found it ironic that on a day that Wal-Mart of all places decided to remove anything picturing the Confederate flag on it from their stores,that I was in the former capital of the Confederate States as Doug Hopkins and I went to Richmond for my first ever trip to the Diamond.

The Diamond is the home of the Richmond Flying Squirrels of the AA Eastern League and was previously the home of the Richmond Braves,which for years was the AAA feeder for the Atlanta Braves.
Built in 1985,The Diamond sits in an industrial area and not in your typical shoved into downtown spot as many new parks do.
The Diamond pops out of nowhere like a large spaceship as you near and it reminded me a little of the Scope arena in Norfolk from exterior looks from a distance.
What it reminded me of the most of after I entered the building was the old home of the Atlanta Braves-Fulton County Stadium-If the Fulton County Stadium had stopped halfway through the process.
What I mean by that is,the covered portion of the Diamond stops a little outside the infield,while the "concrete donuts" of the 60's and 70's circled the entire field with their roof.
I didn't do much graphing,I had just a few players left over from my trip to Harrisburg last week and was able to get all of them knocked out with the exception of Joe Biagini,who was starting again after starting against the Senators.
I was able to get Tyler Beede,the Giants top pick in 2014 on a elite insert card and on a baseball among scattered others,so that was a success.
After a trip to the "Squirrels Nest" to pick up a shirt for the lovely Cherie (Giants fan) and nothing for me,Mike and I trudged to the top of the Diamond for the type of walk that one remembers a child to the nosebleed seats at major league parks.
The seats were much like those at other parks-flat metal benches with a surprisingly less than sturdy back,but not totally uncomfortable,but gave a better than expected view as you can see from the pictures.
The concourse was another nostalgia trip to 70's and 80's style parks with a basic crowded concrete space that brought me back to the basic parks of my childhood.
Nothing spectacular,but fun memories.

We left after five innings with New Britain well ahead,Mike and I decided to leave and we just missed Will Clark,who arrived later in the day.
As a long time Clark fan,that is a painful near-miss,but it was still a fun day that brought back long ago memories.
Memories from a time of my childhood when such parks were the cutting edge designs of the time,but aren't fondly remembered by many.

Our meals for the day were Steak and Shake-a long time favorite in Fredericksburg VA and a chicken sub at Wawa,which some of you may remember from a recent cleaning of the inbox for their battle with Sheetz.
Steak and Shake's food was excellent,although the service was less than stellar complete with waiter that sounded like Mumbles from Dick Tracy.
The milkshakes there are terrific and despite not wanting one on a hot day at 10 AM,I still have regrets!
Wawa isn't as large as Sheetz on the interior and didn't have a place to sit down to eat,but their chicken tenders on wheat (see I'm trying) was quite good...

All around-one great day and visit to Richmond.
The Diamond rep was worse than I thought it was and I'd go back under the right conditions.
Thanks to Doug Hopkins for the great time,the laughs and for driving!
Looking forward to our next trip to Binghamton together and for making June 22nd an annual tradition of ours....