On to Pioneer Campground

This morning was kind of a relaxing morning.  Since we had such a short drive today and could not get into Pioneer Campground until around 1 pm, we got caught up on all our laundry, cleaned the camper, and went for a walk with Ken and Bonnie around the Nittany Mountain KOA.  We had only seen what was around our site and found out after our walk that it is a big campground with a lot of nice big, shady sites.

We left Nittany Mountain KOA around 11:45 and began our short hour long journey to Pioneer Campground in Laporte, PA, with us following Ken and Bonnie this time.

We arrived at Pioneer Campground a little before 1 pm.

After checking in at the campground, one of the owners not only showed us our sites but showed us how to place the motorhomes so our doors would be opening out towards each other.

Because it took us a little while to get the campers level and all set up, we didn't eat lunch until around 2 pm but for some reason, 2 pm usually ends up being our "normal" lunch time.  :)  After lunch, we decided to walk the hiking trail around the back of the campground.

There were some pretty little white flowers,

some fuzzy flowers,

and a lot of ferns in spots along the trail.

This part of the trail looked like it may have been an old logging road at one time...

...and then it became more like a small dry creek bed because of all the rocks.

We followed a short trail that took us to a scenic overlook.

Not much to see this time of year but it probably has a beautiful view in the winter when all the leaves are gone.  We noticed a couple of trees where people had carved their initials and Ken took a stab at it too.  :)

We finished walking the rest of the trail...

...and then walked around the campground back to our campsites.  Pioneer is a very nice campground also with a lot of big, shady sites.

We finished our relaxing day with a couple games of Pinochle and a game of SkipBo and a nice grilled dinner together outside filled with a lot of laughter in between.  :)

Final Day of Little League World Series

Since Pennsylvania was in the final game of the Little League World Series, we thought we should get to the park early to get a good spot on the hill to watch the game.  We got there in time to watch the 3rd place game between Mexico and Texas.  

The Goodyear Blimp was already cruising high in the sky above the stadium.

We put our chairs behind the left backfield on the upper bank which was not full yet.

During the Mexico-Texas game, Chuck and I went to the concessions to get some water and saw this 24" hot dog for sale.  That thing was huge!

We stayed and watch all of the first game with Texas beating Mexico in a very close game.  After the game, we left our chairs on the hill and went down to the car to get our picnic lunches out of the coolers we had left in the car.  We were all kind of tired of concession food and enjoyed our typical picnic lunches of sandwiches (yogurt in Bonnie's case) and chips and fruit.  

We walked past where the Pennsylvania team was doing some batting practice.

After lunch we followed the Pennsylvania fans (most of which were young girls) who were following their team back up to the stands.

We stopped at concessions so I could get some more fried oreos and then walked back up to our chairs.  It was a little more crowded now...

...and a little hotter and more humid too.  

The blimp was flying high over Lamade Stadium.

Chuck got a good picture of the statue of Casey at the Bat that we were sitting behind on the hill.

The Pennsylvania players looked like they were ready for the game to begin.

It was a slow first inning but Pennsylvania finished the bottom of the first inning with a score of 10 to 2.  Bonnie and I decided to walk down to the bathrooms and by the time we got back, Japan had made the score 9 to 10!  Japan went on to win the World Series with a score of 18 to 11.  There were a lot of disappointed fans but everyone was proud of the team and of all the teams from all over the world who had made here to the Little League World Series.

After the game, it took us awhile to get out of the parking lot.  We decided to go to the grocery store for a few groceries before heading back to the campground so we didn't get home until around 8 pm.  

The Little League World Series was an amazing event to attend.  Those boys were so good and nearly looked like professional baseball players based on how well they caught and threw the ball.  It made it even more exciting with the US home team being from the state of Pennsylvania which also contributed to the record crowds.  

One thing we all agreed on was we could not have made it through all those games sitting on those steep banks without the chairs with the cut-off legs.  Tomorrow, we leave and head to the Muncy Valley area where Ken and Bonnie will show us some more of their beautiful state.

LLWS - US & International Championships

Since Pennsylvania had made it to the final round of the US Championships of the Little League World Series, we thought we should try to leave by 11 to get a seat on the hill.  We paid $5 to park in a lot on the road so we would not have to walk so far to where we would be seating on the hill and also so we might have an easier time getting out after the game.  However, by the time we reached the Little League museum, the line was already backed up to the road and looping in the parking lot.

 

When we got to security, there was a table full of sunscreen in aerosol cans.  At first, we thought that it was nice of them to have sunscreen to spray on before entering the game.  Then we realized it was from where security would not allow spectators to bring in any aerosol cans, including sunscreen.  Most everyone was taking advantage of the "free" sunscreen and spraying themselves one more time before going through security.

When we got to the top of the banks, the lower bank where we sat Wednesday night was already full and the top bank was almost full.

However, Chuck found us a good spot where we could see all of the infield and most of the outfield.

It was a pretty day but a hot one.  Chuck kept adjusting his hat to keep the most sun off of him.

The international championship game between Mexico and Japan began at 12:30.

The ESPN commentators had to have been hot in that booth above home plate with their long-sleeve shirts and ties on today.

It was a very close game.

Before the end of the international game, we went down to concessions to get us something to eat because we figured the concessions and the restrooms would be really crowded between the international and US games.  When we came back up, the banks were almost completed filled with people.

There was one small spot behind the camera tower left for the kids to slide down the hill on and hundreds of kids slid on that one small spot throughout the whole day.

We got back up in time to watch the end of the international game with Japan winning in extra innings.

In between the games, we enjoyed our fried Oreos.

Actually, they were really fried Lance chocolate creme-filled cookies but only a real Oreo connoisseur can tell the difference.

As the sun continued to move across the sky, Chuck and Ken had to make some modifications to their sun protection.  :)

The US teams came out on the field to warm up before the game with the coaches batting balls out to the players to practice catching.

The Texas coach told his players they could cut off his dreadlocks if they won the Series.

Finally, it was time to start the US Championship between Texas and Pennsylvania.

There was a record-setting 45,716 in attendance at the US Championship of the Little League World Series.

The pitcher for the Red Land, Pennsylvania team, #22 Cole Wagner, hit a home run in the bottom of the 1st inning.

The rest of the game was very close and was tied up 2-2 at the top of the 6th inning when the Red Land pitcher threw his limit (85) of pitches and struck one more Texas player out.

The score was still 2-2 when Pennsylvania came up to bat but they went on to win 3-2 with a hit and RBI by Chayton Krauss.

The crowds went wild!  

And the players and coaches did too!

Wow!  What an exciting game!  Both games were very good.  Pennsylvania will play Japan for the World Series title tomorrow and we'll be back for that game too!