8 Feb 2019 - Nasty Weather Continues, Whataburger Field Baseball Stadium, Selena Gravesite

8 Feb 2019
Short night again last night.  The wind won't stop, drizzle and the temperature hanging low.  We continued to work on the next trip this morning and then after noon we decided to go for adrive and see if we could get the truck to act up.  We kind of like the drive along Ocean Drive north from the Naval Air Station along the bay.  We drove all the way to downtown and of course the truck is behaving itself.  I assume to low temps is contributing to that as it seems like we have to drive quite a bit before the noise starts.  With the cold temps the last few days we have not been able to duplicate the problem.  That was the case again today.

We ended up downtown in the early afternoon and after a bit of exploring we found the Whataburger Field, home of the Houston Astro's AA baseball team, the Corpus Christi Hooks.

The Houston Astros beat the New York Yankees, first time in franchise history!

The Corpus Christi Hooks

There were a few cars in the parking lot and the team store looked like the lights were on so we parked and went inside.

Entrance to the ballpark

"For the Love of the Game"

The team store was really nice, full of all sorts of Astros and Hooks clothing, hats, and other souvenirs.  We looked around for a while and Doreen was already part way out the door when I asked one of the folks at the cash register if they ever gave stadium tours.  The supervisor, Steven, said "I will be happy to show you the field"!  Awesome!  So Steven took us all around and explained as we went!

Beautiful view from behind home plate

Field opened in 2005

Seating capacity of 5050

New bar area opened last year

In left field you can see a huge scoreboard plus the remains of two cotton mills

This whole area used to be full of warehouses for cotton

Outfield bullpen area

The area outside right field is on stadium property but is leased by others who have a water park there.  Kids go to the water park, parents go to the ball park!

The entrance to the VIP/season ticket seats, the 'Cotton Club'

Inside the VIP/season ticket holder entrance are some of the remnants of the cotton mill.  This is a bail of cotton (gin bale) and the 'pea and beam scale' used to weight the 480-500 lb bales  

One of the cotton bales here in the stadium

Pictures of  the old cotton warehouse that used to be at the site of the stadium

 So the tour was great and we were so appreciative to Steven for taking the time to show a couple of baseball fans their stadium.  We had mentioned to Steven at least twice we were huge Chicago Cubs fans, but we had also visited Minute Maid Park in Houston as well as many other stadiums all over the US.  As we approached the office door and receptionist we were preparing to leave and Steven said, wait just a minute, I have something for you!  OK we surely did not expect anything, but we stood by and Steven headed down the hallway.  Moments later he returned with these:

A little hard to read, but it says 'Houston Strong' above 2017 in stones, the outline of the World Series trophy, and roman numerals LVI - first time in 56 year franchise history., 

Steven gave us Houston Astro's 2017 World Series champions replica rings, new in the box with display holders!  How awesome was that!!!  These rings are exact replicas of what the players received, but the stone of course are not real diamonds and sapphires.  Needless to say we were nearly speechless, thanks Steven profusely and headed out.  So awesome!  Another one of those memorable 'nuggets' we stumble on to while we travel.  

We departed Whataburger Field with big smiles on our faces, and headed south back towards the NAS.  On the way we stopped at the burial site of Selena.  It is a beautiful grave with an approach for visitors from the road.  

R.I.P. Selena

We have a few more days here.  We may visit the aquarium and the Corpus Christi science and history museum before we depart.