I had so many questions so I consulted the website to see what we could and could not bring. Ben talked to Del about parking spots, when we should get there, what we should expect, etc. I wrote down a few things to keep in mind and made sure we followed the rules. I also checked to see if mom's camera was allowed in the VMAC and it was thankfully. We were to go to The Landing in Renton, find free parking lot nearby and walk to get in line where the busses came and got you. We had to check in and ride a bus to the VMAC.
I told everyone to come over around 7 a.m. on Sunday because we had to get up there because I heard the line takes a while to get through and to bring a chair and whatever else you needed for the day. Everyone agreed to come over at that time.
That morning, Ben and I got up around 6:30, I hate getting up that early in the morning on the weekends. Luckily I had most of the stuff ready the night before so getting ready involved bathroom things and putting clothes on. I was driving the Escape so I went out and put all the chairs in the back and made sure all the seats were up and cleared off.
Everyone arrived around 7ish, we loaded everyone up and headed out. I was hoping for a quick drive there without traffic. We got onto I-5 north and got off at the 512 interchange and followed that until the 405 interchange. Traffic kept going the entire time. I truly expected some traffic. Along the way we talked about an array of stuff. When we got to our exit I was looking for Fry's because Del said he always parked there but I saw the signs about not parking there for training camp. We had to figure out something else quickly. I saw the Boeing lot and parked there because it was free and not too far away from The Landing.
We made sure we had everything before we made the few block walk. I had my chair, my see through bag, my phone and my cards and money. The last time I was at The Landing, I was here with Bob and Bev years ago geocaching. We were here for an event and did some caching around the Renton area. When we got to The Landing I saw the line. It was huge! I wonder how long we would have to wait. We stood in line and found out it actually moved faster than I thought it would. Mom forgot her phone so she walked back quickly to go get it. We actually moved pretty far by the time she got back.
When it was our turn to go inside the building and show our tickets and get our wrist bands, it was about 9:20. We had 40 minutes until training camp started. I went to go check my stuff and they said my wallet was too big and I had to go check it in. I was pretty upset because it was millimeters off. I tried to convince the lady but she said no. I went back in the building and checked my wallet and I wasn't happy about it. I came back out and walked through the metal detectors and rejoined mom, Ben and Josh to get on a bus.
I haven't been on a school bus in years. It was a short ride to the VMAC, we arrived, Josh bought a football just in case we were able to get autographs and quickly walked to where the spectators were allowed to go and watch.
Of course we got there later than I anticipated and most of the spots were taken and everyone did a very bad job of making room for everyone. We found a row we could squeeze our chairs and ourselves into and of course when you are in a public place with lots of people someone is going to complain at you. The strip we found was big enough for us and the people in front and behind us. The guy sitting behind us had to open his fat mouth. In a nutshell, he assumed we were going to be in the way of the people he was saving spots for. Ben nicely told him that we wouldn't be in the way and there was plenty of room. He didn't say anything else to us the remainder of the time were there.
Practice promptly started at 10. The first part involved stretching, jogging and calisthenics. The next short chunk of time involved the different groups of players running, catching and juking with the football. Everything was timed and it was perfected down to the T. I was impressed how all the players went from one thing to another, like a well oiled machine. They worked on some offensive drills and some defensive drills, split the teams up and worked on plays with a full defense and a full offense while the kickers were off to the side working on their kicking scenarios. There was a lot to watch.
I went and took a few pictures around the place because I have never been inside...just the outside.
Practice lasted for two hours so the second hour were a lot of offense and defense sets that they worked on. They swapped guys in and out and since this was training camp a lot of the new trades and rookies were thrown into the cycles. It was fun to watch everyone get playing time and to see what the new guys could do. We really liked a couple of the rookies we drafted. We were hoping they would keep at least one of them. I guess we will see once preseason got underway and the results once the actual season started in September.
I noticed some people got Seahawk signs with the schedule on one side and "More Seahawks" on the other side; they were sponsored by Q13 FOX. I really wanted one for our Seahawk wall at home. I had Ben go and see if any of the tents were giving them away. He went and was gone for a few minutes and came back empty handed. He then asked the couple in front of us where they got theirs. They said the first like 1,500 people inside got one as they got off the busses. Sadly we weren't one of those people who arrived first. The guy spoke up and said that I could have his because they had both got one and they really only needed one. We thanked him for being so kind and he said not a problem and to enjoy the sign and we told him we definitely will.
Practice wrapped up pretty quickly. The families of the team, the media and the fans separated by the fence patiently waited to see if anyone from the team would sign autographs. It would have been impossible for us to get down there plus the guys giving out autographs were really the guys no one really wanted autographs from. Players like Sherman, Bennett and Wilson were not going to stick around to sign autographs in fact, they went inside the VMAC as soon as practice ended.
We grabbed our chairs and put them away and started for the gate to go get in line for the bus to take us back to The Landing. We didn't have to wait too long and we were on our way back. We should get there before one. We were dropped off, I went to where I had to check in my wallet and got that back, I asked everyone if they wanted to go into the team store to get our free posters. We had to spend $20 to get the 2 posters but it was worth it. I bought a few stickers, shoe laces and a Sounders bag and got by posters. Meanwhile, Ben and Josh messed around with a guy who was dressed up like a Mexican wrestler a few stores down from where we were.
Mom and I started walking towards Red Robin and told the boys to meet up with us when they were done. We were lucky to get a table as quickly as we did and ordered drinks while we waited for them to join us. I usually get the tavern double because it was cheap and delicious. The ended up joining us about 15 minutes later and we ordered immediately because the place was hoppin' and we didn't want to wait that long for our waitress to come back. Our food finally came and I scarfed mine down. I was pretty hungry and ended up eating my fries and part of the free basket that was given to our table while we waited.
We paid and walked the short distance back to the Escape. I'm glad we grabbed lunch right away so we didn't have to wait in traffic with everyone else. Getting back onto the 405 was pretty painless. We got onto 167 and started to slow down before Emerald Downs. Why are we stopping?!! I realized there was an event at Emerald Downs but it wasn't horse racing season. I piped up, "wouldn't it be funny if all this traffic was for Wiener dog races?" A few minutes later I heard laughing from the back. Ben and Josh looked it up on their phones and said Corgis are racing! The purse was $50,000 to the winner. That is insane!
We got to Lacey around 3ish and both mom and Josh thanked us for the tickets and fun, got into their vehicles and headed home. I needed a nap really bad. I started some laundry and went and laid down for a bit. I got up way too early.
We paid Del for the tickets, which were $10 bucks each. I gave Ben my money for myself and mom. We thanked Del for asking if we wanted to go because none of us had gone to training camp before. Just like the Super Bowl parade from a few years ago; I think I'm good just going to training camp once. I hope the Seahawks have a great season and do well in the playoffs so we can have a chance at another Super Bowl title.
Next Adventure: Calvin's Close Call
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