Digging Out... in Time for Spring Training!

The Washington DC area (my local version of "Exile") is digging out, after breaking its record for the snowiest winter in memory - over 55" of snow, thanks to a few major events including yesterday's BLIZZARD! This is a very bizarre experience for a girl who grew up in Houston - where we went nuts if we got a half-inch of snow. We've seen some snow over the years since I moved into Exile, but nothing like this. The schools and federal government have been closed all week, and just getting out of the driveway is a major production. Today it took a couple of hours of hard digging to clear a path to the street.   That's me... digging in a field of snow, and dreaming of a field of green - a ball field, that is.

While I'm clearing my driveway and sidewalks from tons of snow, the Astros equipment folks are packing up the truck for the haul to Kissimmee. Pitchers and catchers report soon, then the rest of the players, and then... well, ME! I've got my game tickets - six games in seven days, right in the middle of the month, when there's a nice fat homestand. I talked my sister Elizabeth into coming with me (that's fodder for a whole blog!), and I'm perusing airline fares and schedules. 

Two special events to look forward to this year, besides the practices and games, of course. First, I'm finally going to meet Austin - the author of The Bottom Line blog. We've exchanged dozens of emails and tweets over the past year, but we've never actually met in person. Also, assuming that it doesn't get cancelled or postponed, my sister and I are planning to go to Cape Canaveral for the shuttle launch on March 18. (That's not a very safe assumption - I've tried to catch a launch during Spring Training before, and it was postponed due to hail damage.) 

So lots to look forward to! Meanwhile, I'll be a bit more attentive to writing in my blog and to posting pictures on my Astros Fan in Exile Daily Booth. Now that we're getting into the homestretch, it's time to figure out who are all those strangers that Ed Wade picked up this winter, and to review which of the farm guys I want to check out. After watching nearly every game of the season, and recognizing every player at a glance, it's weird to go to Spring Training and to see a bunch of strange faces. But after a couple of days (and a few hundred photos), they start to look more familiar.  By the time that the season starts, they'll all just look like ASTROS!

I hear it might snow again on Monday. Go ahead, snow! In a month I'll be sitting in the sun in Florida, and that gives me plenty of warm thoughts. Maybe not quite warm enough to offset a multi-day power outage during a blizzard. But pretty fine, pretty damn fine.