The Sky Carp

 

Yesterday, we took Justin to see a Class A minor league baseball game featuring the Beloit Sky Carp vs. the Cedar Rapids Kernels.  

 

Our original tickets were postponed due to the team having a Covid outbreak.  Our makeup game was then postponed due to the Julia and I having a Covid outbreak.  Last night, we got to see baseball.

 

I think the highlight of the game for Justin was his wild game sausage basket, which supposedly had bison, wild boar and kobe beef.  He thought it was good but tasted a lot like pork, which would have been considerably less expensive but it was a splurge spend night.

 Most people have heard of Corn Kernels, which kinda makes sense with the team from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  But what the heck is a Sky Carp?  Well, it turns out that a sky carp is a goose that doesn't fly south for the winter.  Wut?  Yeah, that's what they say.  The team's mascot runs around doing the stadium  performing pelvic thrust dance moves, like a bad Elvis imitation.  Bad Goose!

A Minor League Kind of Day

Today, the plan was to pick up Justin in Whitewater and take him for an early Father's Day celebration at a minor league baseball game in Beloit, Wisconsin.  It was to be a battle of the Beloit Flying Carp vs. the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. 

Two vehicles were going to be necessary because someone was going to have to pick up Allie from the Chicago airport, due to changes in her European travel itinerary.  Julia met us in Beloit at the City Hall parking lot, which is next door to ABC Building Supply Stadium. We arrived about 45 minutes before game time.  Julia was waiting with Mexican food, and we had a nice meal before we heading to the game.

Just as we started across the parking lot, two guys were walking to their car.  One guy said, "Were you folks planning on going to the game?" "Yup, we are," I responded.  "The game has been cancelled due to an outbreak of Covid" he replied.   "Hmm," I mused.  

We walked over to the stadium to confirm, and sure enough, he was right.  No game, and lots of disappointed fans finding out at the last minute.  The gate attendant didn't know any of the details of the outbreak, but confirmed that there was no game.  Tickets could be exchanged for a future game, and we were invited to come into the stadium for a free 30 minute batting practice.  "Hmm,"  I mused.  But that's what we did.

It was a very nice stadium for a Class A minor league team. It was built for $37 million dollars by ABC Supply, which is locally owned, and opened last year.  Someday, we hope to see a game there. 

Just outside the stadium was a walkway along the Rock River.  After watching batting practice (Justin was the recipient of a ball hit out of the park), we took a short walk  and then headed over to a new-to-us Beloit brewpub to make the best of the situation.

That part of the trip will have to wait until the next post, as Julia has those photos on her phone, and she is picking up Allie at the Chicago airport.