Busch Stadium Homeschooling Tour
Our second field trip of the school year was to Busch Stadiums. I know, it's weird for us non-sports types to go on this particular tour, but it I was intrigued and wanted to take the boys. Ben took the morning off and went with us, which was a bonus!
[caption id="attachment_2243" align="aligncenter" width="200"]
We met at gate three, by the Stan Musial statue.[/caption]
So quick story. We arrived 20 minutes early and thought it would be a good idea to go to the bathroom before the tour commenced. Not being familiar with the stadium (did I mention I've never actually been to this "new" stadium?) we thought it made sense to head over to the gift shop. There should be a bathroom there, right?
We walked in and, directly in front of us, across the room, there were a set of doors, propped open. Just beyond we could see the signs for the women's bathrooms. Score!
Our family of four leisurely walked across the store and out into the corridor. We scanned the area for the men's restrooms. Ben spotted them and he and the boys headed off that way. I went to the bathroom, washed my hands, and moseyed out to catch up with my guys. I didn't see or hear them and it's rare that I beat them out of the bathroom. I walked back to the gift shop and noticed that the doors were now closed. I pulled out my phone and saw that Ben had texted saying they were already back in the store. I pushed on the door handles and neither budged. I glanced around the corridor. It was pretty dead aside from a repairman, and he was on his phone.
When I went to text Ben I saw that he'd sent a couple of texts and the first text said something about a crabby lady. I was confused so I started to call him. He picked up right away and said that some lady had crabbed at them. I told him the doors were locked. Just then, behind me, a woman opened the gift shop doors from the inside and asked me what I was doing. I told her I'd just gone to the restroom and that I was trying to get back to my family. She frowned, glanced around, and then opened the door for me.
She proceeded to tell me that she was surprised that I hadn't been picked up by security and that I shouldn't have been out there. I was shocked and apologized and told her that I'd just gone to the restroom and that the doors had been wide open. I said we were just there for a tour. I turned to go and she launched into a scolding about how I was not supposed to be there in the corridor and how she was shocked that security hadn't picked me up. Blah, blah, blah. She was all but shaking her finger at me like I was a naughty child. She acted like she was absolutely shocked that I would dare go out those doors or that I was maybe trying to pull something. She kept repeating herself so finally I shrugged and turned away. I'm sure my face was flaming!
I hate being scolded. I'm a total rule follower and even though I'd only broken the rules inadvertently, I felt terrible! I was totally flustered.
My best friend and her crew arrived and I told her what had happened and that we were retreating to the group meeting place despite the fact that we still had a good 10 minutes before the tour started. My heart was racing and I half expected to see security hot on our tails any moment the way that gift shop employee had acted!
Needless to say, the tour didn't start off great. I was crabby about being chewed out, which is silly, but it put a bit of a damper on things. Otherwise, though, it was a well-done tour. We moved through each section pretty quickly and yet we learned a lot. I found it really enjoyable despite my lack of enthusiasm for sports as a whole. I love learning about St. Louis and you know how dear the Cardinals are to St. Louisans!
[caption id="attachment_2241" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
The field[/caption]
The weather was perfect! Not a cloud in the sky!
[caption id="attachment_2242" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Take a seat[/caption]
I promise I have pictures of the boys, but their friends are in all their pics and I want to respect their privacy. I promise I took some of them. Really. :D
The day turned out nicely and I would recommend the tour to anyone interested in baseball or St. Louis history.
Just maybe use the bathroom before you leave the house.
[caption id="attachment_2243" align="aligncenter" width="200"]
We met at gate three, by the Stan Musial statue.[/caption]So quick story. We arrived 20 minutes early and thought it would be a good idea to go to the bathroom before the tour commenced. Not being familiar with the stadium (did I mention I've never actually been to this "new" stadium?) we thought it made sense to head over to the gift shop. There should be a bathroom there, right?
We walked in and, directly in front of us, across the room, there were a set of doors, propped open. Just beyond we could see the signs for the women's bathrooms. Score!
Our family of four leisurely walked across the store and out into the corridor. We scanned the area for the men's restrooms. Ben spotted them and he and the boys headed off that way. I went to the bathroom, washed my hands, and moseyed out to catch up with my guys. I didn't see or hear them and it's rare that I beat them out of the bathroom. I walked back to the gift shop and noticed that the doors were now closed. I pulled out my phone and saw that Ben had texted saying they were already back in the store. I pushed on the door handles and neither budged. I glanced around the corridor. It was pretty dead aside from a repairman, and he was on his phone.
When I went to text Ben I saw that he'd sent a couple of texts and the first text said something about a crabby lady. I was confused so I started to call him. He picked up right away and said that some lady had crabbed at them. I told him the doors were locked. Just then, behind me, a woman opened the gift shop doors from the inside and asked me what I was doing. I told her I'd just gone to the restroom and that I was trying to get back to my family. She frowned, glanced around, and then opened the door for me.
She proceeded to tell me that she was surprised that I hadn't been picked up by security and that I shouldn't have been out there. I was shocked and apologized and told her that I'd just gone to the restroom and that the doors had been wide open. I said we were just there for a tour. I turned to go and she launched into a scolding about how I was not supposed to be there in the corridor and how she was shocked that security hadn't picked me up. Blah, blah, blah. She was all but shaking her finger at me like I was a naughty child. She acted like she was absolutely shocked that I would dare go out those doors or that I was maybe trying to pull something. She kept repeating herself so finally I shrugged and turned away. I'm sure my face was flaming!
I hate being scolded. I'm a total rule follower and even though I'd only broken the rules inadvertently, I felt terrible! I was totally flustered.
My best friend and her crew arrived and I told her what had happened and that we were retreating to the group meeting place despite the fact that we still had a good 10 minutes before the tour started. My heart was racing and I half expected to see security hot on our tails any moment the way that gift shop employee had acted!
Needless to say, the tour didn't start off great. I was crabby about being chewed out, which is silly, but it put a bit of a damper on things. Otherwise, though, it was a well-done tour. We moved through each section pretty quickly and yet we learned a lot. I found it really enjoyable despite my lack of enthusiasm for sports as a whole. I love learning about St. Louis and you know how dear the Cardinals are to St. Louisans!
[caption id="attachment_2241" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
The field[/caption]The weather was perfect! Not a cloud in the sky!
[caption id="attachment_2242" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Take a seat[/caption]I promise I have pictures of the boys, but their friends are in all their pics and I want to respect their privacy. I promise I took some of them. Really. :D
The day turned out nicely and I would recommend the tour to anyone interested in baseball or St. Louis history.
Just maybe use the bathroom before you leave the house.
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