Cherry Festival and Baseball

Jane was working Art in the Garden in Blenheim this past weekend, so I joined her for the day to help out, and explore Cherry Festival in some downtime. The self-proclaimed Cherry Capital of Ontario was also featuring a town-wide yard sale, so it was a busy but beautiful day in the downtown area.

Of course, the extremely scenic drive along Lake Erie from Wheatley to Blenheim (and back) is always so gorgeous and peaceful.....even in a giant blue van full of artwork! We took full advantage and made some stops to collect fresh local fruits....SOME of which actually made it home.

On Sunday, I set off with Other Mike and son Emmett to catch the tunnel bus to Detroit, where the Tigers were hosting the Blue Jays for a matinee at Comerica Park. Having split the first two games, Sunday was the rubber match....and even in the Detroit stands it seemed that nearly half the large crowd wore Blue. The Jays only visit once per season, so all the Toronto fans came out of the Windsor woodwork.

The game started with a bang, tied 3-3 after the first inning, before starting pitchers Marco Estrada and Anibal Sanchez settled things down. In spite of rain and thunderstorm warnings, we never saw a drop all afternoon.....though mercifully some cloud cover kept things bearable for the fair-haired folk.

The Tigers tied the game 5-5 in the bottom of the 8th, setting up extra innings and rapidly depleting each team's bullpen options. Ultimately, Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 11th to send the local fans home happy.

Loss aside, only a short bus ride under the river remained before we were back on Canadian soil after a memorable afternoon at the ballpark!

Blenheim's Main Drag hosting Cherry Festival

The Sign Said Long-Haired Freaky People, Need Apply

The Open Door booth

Bounty of the Lake Erie North Shore!

Comerica Park in downtown Motown

Great seats just inside the left field foul pole

Outfield and downtown beyond

Estrada deals to Nick Castellanos

Ezekiel Carrera limits a Tiger to a double into the corner

The Walk of Shame

The guy beside me caught a foul ball!

Justin Upton rounds up a Jays base hit

Shade break to grab a ballpark frank and a cold beer

Cloud cover - aka Ginger's Paradise!

Warming up in the bullpen

Justin Smoak tries to deliver a win in the 10th inning

Bottom of the 11th - Miguel Cabrera about to walk in the winning run