The Seattle Mariners Welcome PNWU
The Mariners win! The Mariners win!
Oh how I wish I could say that... At least we had fun!
12:50...
12:55...
1:00... Not to name names, but some of us were getting twitchy - what if we were late to the game? I hate arriving late! Okay, there wasn't much of a chance we were going to be late. It was probably the caffeine making us panic.
1:10... Finally, a big red bus arrived to transport a crowd of PNWU staff, faculty, and family who were all eager to embark on a fantastic excursion. We watched it drive past us and head toward the east side of campus. Don't worry, we didn't miss our bus. After watching the driver expertly back out, we piled in and checked out family members we hadn't met and those that we hadn't see for far too long.
Continuing with PNWU's dedication to wellness, the new bus came with seatbelts! Once out on the open road, our team leader, Vicky Koch, gathered volunteers and got the snacks and water passed out. Some of us (ahem) brought bags of snacks as well. No one was going hungry on that bus!
PNWU snacks included apples, chips, Rice Krispies, fruit snacks, mini candy bars, and granola bars. Other offerings included Maui Sweet Onion crisps, raisins, Caramel M&Ms, Snickers, and more - that was just from our row. Our volunteers handed out water and snacks, collected trash, and handed out materials for some road trip games.
Participants scored big on games of bingo and raffle drawings. Prizes included PNWU license plate holders, insulated mugs, Mercy Movie Money, and PNWU swag bags. To be honest, Antonia and Gianna DiMeo were the best part of the games. No prizes were needed after laughing through the back and forth of the announcers.
After collecting our free T-shirts, my bestie (of more than 40 years) and I decided to hit the Mariners' team store, and then grab some stadium food for dinner. One soda cost more than a whole pizza back in Yakima, but at least it came with free refills!
Famous attendees at this game included the nine members of the Supreme Court, led by Judge Joe; the entire Preclinical staff (all both of us); besties Benajamin and Rachel; and the Dream Team of Vicky Koch, Louisa "Twix" Beckstrand, and Jenn Garehime.
We had great seats (thanks to Paul Bubluski), so we could actually see who was playing! The seats were so good, in fact, we heard that Jonie Kerns pulled a Mike Wazowski and got part of her head featured on live TV. Way to go Jonie!
During the many (needed) rallies for the Mariners, I often wondered: will the kids of whatever follows Generation Z know that the particular foot-stomping, finger-snapping song wasn't always a part of baseball? It actually originated way-back when TV was black and white!
After a disappointing end (for some), we migrated, much like salmon swimming upstream, across the street to the bus. The bus driver thoughtfully supplied movies (did I mention the new bus had built-in screens?) for those who still had the energy to keep their eyes open.
Big kudos to our bus team: Vicky, Louisa, and Jenn! Thank you to our volunteers: Jackson & Travis Scandalis and Gianna & Antonia DiMeo. It was a great idea to not have a herd of adults tramping up and down the aisle of a moving bus!
We just have to remember SODO MOJO is now spelled SODO MOJOE.