HANK ARRON STADIUM AND CHILDHOOD HOME & MUSEUM

ALABAMA WEEK 2: HANK ARRON STADIUM AND CHILDHOOD HOME & MUSEUM

First, I want to start off by saying I did not give Azalea Acres a fair review. Just a few lines and not even hitting the surface of everything at the RV park. I'll post a full review in a few days. Second, my Google Picasa web album is full (only 1 GB is free after that I have to pay for more space)so I have to delete old pictures to post new ones. Doing this I hope to free up some room in the photo album so I can still post pictures in my newer post. Nothing will change in the old post except the pictures will no longer be there. 

29 Nov

Hank Aaron Childhood Home and Museum

755 Bolling Brothers BLVD

Mobile, AL 36606

(251)479-2327

*Note - I have added links to the players name so you can view if you don't know them.

Today, we headed west and took the drive over the bridge into Mobile, AL. We arrived a little after 10:00 am at Hank Aaron Stadium and Childhood Home & Museum. Hank Aaron Stadium is the home of Mobile Bay Bears Back 2 Back Southern League Champions (2011 & 2012) and the AA affiliate of Arizona Diamondbacks.  The street address number is a play on his total MLB home runs 755.  We walked into the team shop and the worker was wearing a Kent State sweatshirt and asked if he went there too and he said yes. We started talking about Andrew Chafin (Kent State Baseball player and  2011 MLB First round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks) who started the season off good and made the all star team but finished the season on the downside. I think after spring training he will remain at advance A Visalia Rawhide and might get a call up mid to late season to Bay Bears. We asked if we could see the filed and they let us in to take pictures. From the parking lot I was impressed, when I saw the field I was surprised that the club suites were on the field level with a netted fence from first base dugout to third base dugout, then I noticed that the average fan has no field level seats. There is an upper section where the average fans sit. I don't like it, there is no place for the fans to interact with their favorite players to ask for autographs and at the end of an inning where the player returns to his dugout and throws the ball into the stands it would be kind of hard with the netted fence. When I return to see an actual game, my experience might be different. Never the less, for a AA stadium I would have expected better. We then, ask to enter Hank Aaron Childhood Home and Museum. The gate and doors was still locked and when they let us in the alarms went off, the worker ran out to make a call (I guess it was to call the security company). Aaron's house was moved and now sits right next to the stadium with all seven room having enclosed cased memorabilia of Hank Aaron's baseball career, family belongings, his kitchen as it would have looked and there is also a standing up locker with his brother Tommie Aaron (who also played major league baseball). When you first walk in to the house there is a video by Hank Aaron himself inviting you into his home and a short interview about his childhood and how he became a baseball player. The tour path in the house is a "S" shape that lead to the back room where it showcases his 715 home run surpassing Babe Ruth for (at the time) all time MLB home run king and the video clips of the home run. [Sadaharu Oh (NPB- Nippon Professional Baseball) is the still the world home run king with 868] I still have to go to Turner Field (home of the Atlanta Braves) where there is a maker in the parking lot of where his 715 home run landed.

This is NOT my own picture. I got this picture from  drei.mlbolgs.com

When I visit Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves I will take my own picture. I just want to show you what I was talking about.

30 Nov

Tonight was steak night at American Legion Post #44, about 50 minutes from RV park. The steak meal came with salad, potato and toast with one soda drink for $12.25. When our order was called our jaws dropped because how big the steak was. We have had steak dinners from other American Legions and this is by far the biggest steaks we ate. The club in not private to club members only, it's open to the public. I did not even have to show my membership card, but they were glade to welcome out of state members. Dinner was from 5:00 - 7:00 pm with live music from 7:00 - 11:00 pm. There are dinner all week long, none on the weekend (from what I saw on the event calendar).  Around 6:30 pm the place was packed. I was fighting a headache so we did not stay for the live music. I think we will be attending more Friday night steak night in the coming weeks.

On our way back to the RV park there was Christmas lights up in the town park so we pulled over, walked around and took some pictures. There was no fee to enter like other parks we have seen advertising for $15 a person to enter.