Salmon, garlic fries and chocolate-covered strawberries: baseball in Seattle.

We were very kindly given tickets to last Friday's Mariners baseball game, which marks the first time we've been to one since college, when the Mariners played in the Kingdome, prior to the roof tiles falling into the crowd and the whole stadium eventually being demolished. In other words, it's been awhile. Now the Mariners have a lovely new stadium with a roof that opens and no one has to worry about being crushed by crumbling architecture.

There's not much to say about the game itself; the Mariner's lost 0-5 without putting up much of a fight. We had great seats looking down the third base line and much of the evening's excitement came from trying to anticipate where the foul balls, of which there were many, would land. I entertained myself by taking rapid fire pictures of the pitchers and wondering if I'd see a stray ball before it hit me square in the lens.

One of the great things about the early season is that the stadium was nearly full. If the season goes badly, attendance drops and so does the energy of the crowd. The people behind us were particularly energetic and happily sang along to every song played over the loudspeakers. Fortunately, they were funny rather than irritating, although I could have done without sitting next to the man scarfing garlic fries. Whoever decided that serving those foul things in a confined public place is either an idiot or completely lacks a sense of smell. I love garlic, but the odor bordered on offensive.

Anyway, despite the run-in with nasal death, it was a fun night. 'Nuff said.