Quick trip to Utah, Mom is Recovering Slowly

Mom had hip surgery after falling and breaking her hip, and her recovery is slow.  I guess at 82 things don't heal as fast as when you are younger.  I saw Charlie in Nevada, and Weldon and Connie in Utah.  We saw Dianna at our house for dinner and cake after returning to California.

I was also able to spend time with my sons Mark and Jeremy.

Life in Manteca 20: Park Review, Mistlin Sports Park

Tone, Ona and I visited this park which is in Ripon.  I thought Tony would like the water park, but he stayed away because of the numb er of people, and stuck to the playground, and then he and Ona played rolling down the hill and trying gymnastics.

This park has ball diamonds and soccer fields, in addition to the water park and the playground. 

Ona Farewell

Our exchange student has returned to Spain after being with us a month.  I enjoyed having her, and Tony did as well.  We would explore parks together.  We were treated to a farewell dinner where all the students made different dishes from Spain.  Much of it is similar to Spanish food.  I actually had torta de papa, which actually tasted like that from Argentina.  I have tried to make this dish, and it is never right.  The had breads with oil and tomato juice, Ona and Merce made paella.  It was a vegetarian dish.  Merce pronounced it "vegi tables," which was cute.

Ona actually left at 4 a.m. Monday.  I got up to say goodbye, but everyone else slept through it.  Sheri took her, and actually rode the bus to San Francisco with them.

Ona wanted to talk to the missionaries, and we had a nice conversation on Sunday.  I hope the missionaries in Barcelona find she and her family.  I really liked Ona.  Ona did cart wheels and rolled down the hill with Tony.  She liked to run; up the hill. 

Life in Manteca 19: Murals

Tony wanted to see the dog

On a church across from the library

In the down town area of Manteca there are historical murals depicting Manteca, how it use to look.  There is the city street with people dragging main, farmings throwing pumpkins, and a community dairy.  They are all within a couple blocks of Main and Yosemite.  The detail and artwork is very detailed.  http://www.mantecamurals.org/mmssymposium.html
There is one that also shows Yosemite.  I have also included a display of old furniture found at a barbeque restaurant.  If anyone knows of more murals I may have missed, please let me know.

Life in Manteca 18: Big League Dreams

http://manteca.bigleaguedreams.com/park-information
I knew I was getting home before everyone else, as they had gone to the beech, so I took advantage and visited Big League Dreams.  There is a lot happening there.  There are six fields, and all were busy with softball games.  Some were coed and others were more competitive.  It seemed most of the games had lopsided scores, except for a couple.  In the short time I watched and saw a couple great snags of line drives, one at third base, and the other by the pitcher.  I also noted that the rules for softball had changed, particularly with regards to pitching.  There was a big box he had to be within, but no longer had to be in contact with the rubber, no longer had to make a step forward.  It was interesting. 

There is also indoor soccer.  Young women were playing, and I must admit the games were more intense and exciting.  The game I watched, I caught just before halftime with a goal being scored and putting the yellow team up 3-1.  However the second half, the blue team, with more team skill, mounted a comeback.  I was sitting by the keeper for the yellow team, and it was fascinating to see them work together.  They finally tied the game5-5 on a breakaway, which seemed to come out of no where.  The yellow team mounted an attack, and scored a goal, just one second after the end of game buzzer sounded.  Final score 5-5.  It was entertaining.

I visited all the ball diamonds.  If you are going to play someplace, it might as well be on a replica field as any other.  The replicas are: Fenway, Wrigley, Angel, Polo Grounds, Yankee and Tiger.  One thing I did notice was the fields had artificial surface, the dirt part as well as the grass.  The fences seemed way back, and nobody hit one over the fence home run.  However one person hit the fence, and made an inside-the-park home run.

Admission is $3, and includes a $1 token that can be used at the snack shack (there are two, each surrounded by three diamonds.)  They are a bit pricey.  Not major league prices, but definitely at least minor league prices.  I had to try the fries, in my efforts to find the best fries in town.  They were natural cut fries, and with my token, the price was bearable.  I would rate them about with Wendy's.  They had a ketchup dispenser, and you could get all the ketchup you wanted, not little packets.

I had a fun evening, and since I like ball, I will probably be back.  I was left with the question, is their an old fart league for players not very good, but who want a shot at that in-door soccer field.