Domecoming 2018

Fun father-son weekend as LittleBear and I visited Grandma in Houston and got to go to an Astros game Sunday, followed by a special visit inside the Astrodome on Monday (more on that below).

First, the game -- a 4-1 Astros win! Thank you, Astros Buddies club, for the tickets!

The view from our seats

LittleBear was excited about buying his own scorecard and keeping score himself, and he did -- the whole game!

After the game, LittleBear got to run the bases -- which he also enjoyed.



Any other weekend, the Astros game would have been a central focus. But this time around, it was actually a bonus -- again, thanks to the Astros Buddies tickets. We initially planned this trip because we wanted to attend "Domecoming 2018" -- one last chance to go inside the Astrodome before work begins that will change it forever (but save it! They're raising the bottom level to create a giant parking garage below, with plans to eventually turn the rest into a convention center space.).

LittleBear and I got tickets when they became available, and were among 25,000 people who went to see our old friend the Dome one more time. It was my first time in the Dome since my last Astros game in 1999, and LittleBear's first time ever.

We arrived at the Dome about 4:30 p.m., got in line by 4:45, actually entered the Dome right at 6:00, and exited about 7:00 p.m. Inside was a winding tour of Dome memorabilia, plus the Astros' World Series trophy.

Highlights:

A historic plaque and Dome renovation models

Houston Oilers display

Astros WS trophy, Dome seats, Bagwell/Biggio lockers, old bullpen(?) bench 

World Series trophy

  

We did it -- we saved the Dome!