**warrior** re: Reds tips

DH and I took Brandon for the first time tonight.  We usually pack a cooler, and we did tonight as well (soft sided- there are size rules too, but I don't remember what they are, sealed plastic bottles of water and a soda for us, sippy cups for .  Anyway, we had that, the diaper bag, and the camera.  It was a lot to carry.  Diaper bag had plenty of snacks and a few toys that I knew we would have a hard time losing.  You can also pack your own lunch if you want. 

We parked in the new Banks lot- depending on when you arrive, you may have to go around the stadium to get into it, but you can.  It's $15, but it was worth it to us.  If you follow the signs when you pull in the lot, you can walk up the steps in between the Reds HOF and the Reds shop, not have to cross the street (HUGE bonus IMO), and get right in the stadium.  You can bring a stroller, but keeping track of that was more than we wanted.

Anyway, we had seats in section 416 and we wound up sitting in 412 so we had a row to ourselves near the top of the section.  Brandon loved the scoreboard and the "big tv".  He also loved the music, clapping, people watching... the fireworks after the home runs startled him, but not too bad.  There are also family bathrooms, which made diaper changes easier.

When you go this weekend, at some point go to the fan accomodations section and they'll print a certificate for O's "first game"- they'll put his name on it, the date, who the Reds play, etc...  Pretty cool! 

We made it 5 innings.  We would have gotten through 6 if the offense hadn't exploded.  Anyway, at that point we made our way to the playground.  The inflatable slide is a rock climb/grab the rope wall, the Rec outlet stuff is for big kids, but B did pretty well with it (with help).  There are also lots of other cool things there... Play Stations set up to play baseball, a run from home to first track, a hitting thing, and some other cool stuff.  Also, over by the Rec Outlet stuff is a $1 food stand- $1 ice cream cups (chocolate, vanilla, or cotton candy), $1 small sodas, $1 hot dog, etc... 

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that Brandon did really well!  And I hope you guys have fun this weekend!!!