And then began saga number two!  It was 15 mins after the gates had opened.  One of the workers stopped me – “You can’t take that purse in; it’s oversized.”   I had already checked their site for purse requirements, BUT they had changed the size that morning!!!  “You can’t come in with the purse.  You need to take it to your car.”  “We walked here! Are you saying I have to walk back to the hotel?!?!?!?”  “Yes.  The purse is too big.”  (It was 4″x6″ and was previously allowed!)   Only a small clutch 3″ x 5″ – basically a wallet or clear bag now allowed!   I could only think of all my years as a flight attendant and in management accommodating customers under extenuating circumstances – like allowing a small window for a major change until word got out.  Times have changed.  I started a quick walk passing Amy enroute quickly telling her what was happening.  Rick and I weaved through fans coming to the game for the half mile walk back to the hotel.  Rick sat on a bench a block from the hotel while I hiked up a small hill and around the corner.  It was one of those crazy elevators where you had to swipe with your room key to go to your floor.  Third time was a charm.  I crammed my phone, room key, map of city, paper ticket sheet (in case I couldn’t retrieve the tickets off phone the way my luck was running), tiny hand sanitizer bottle, Kleenex in pockets (Thank God I had four pockets! Obviously, the person who made the rule was male and didn’t know the majority of ladies pants come with one pocket if one is lucky!) and stuck my credit card/ID in a tiny holder on a Mudcats lanyard I wear at work and had thankfully thrown in the suitcase!  There was no room left for the Canon SureShot camera which jams half the time anyway.  As I was leaving the hotel, the valet guy who knew we had gone to ballpark asked why I was back.  I quickly told him about the bag deal and suggested that he alert others going.  He said, “WOW!  That’s ridiculous!  What’s a girl supposed to do with a tampon!?”  I started laughing and said — “Have no clue!  It’s been 22 years!!”  And off I went!

Rick and I got back to ballpark with 9 mins to spare.  They were still turning away women!!  Several had Uber’d and they were very unhappy!!   It was a beautiful summer evening for a ballgame.  Our $11 seats were behind the dugout so I could yell at the players in the on-deck circle.  Modeled after Fenway Park, a 30-foot replica of the “”Green Monster” (pronouced “Monstah” by diehards) was past leftfield along with a hand-operated scoreboard.  Sweet Caroline was sung by the fans in the middle of the 8^th inning.  It was just as if we were at Fenway Park in Boston.  Alex smacked a double to the base of the “Green Monster.”  That was the biggest action of the game and sadly the team only had two hits losing 4 – 0 to Bowling Green.  We met up with Alex after the game and Amy took my picture with him.  He grinned and said, “I like your shirt.”  I was wearing my Boston Red Sox Ortiz shirt.