California Love

Greetings!

I hope all you Oregonians are finally enjoying the tardy sunshine and beautiful weather. It sure has been a wet and miserable spring, but it hasn't dampened the baseball at all as the Eugene Emeralds opened up their 2010 season at PK Park last week. But this post is not about those games, but rather about the exciting trip to which I am embarking on tonight to Southern California and the SoCal baseball roadtrip.

The whole concept of the baseball roadtrip was initiated back in 2007 with a small, seemingly innocent, trip up to Everett and Seattle. Who would have thought that with the small 2-day adventure would blossom into the adventure since? This trip down to SoCal I have wanted to do for the longest time but it just never seemed to come to fruition. Either I ran out of money, didn't have enough free dates during the summer, or just never got around to it. Now, I have the opportunity to fulfill the desires I have fostered.

Here is a planned itinerary for the trip: I will depart tonight at 1715 for a roughly twenty-seven hour train trip to Irvine, CA. While there, I will meet up with an old friend from college who I will be staying with. On Saturday, we will go to Angel Stadium in Anaheim to see the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play host to the Colorado Rockies. After an off-day of rest on Sunday, Monday I will travel to San Bernardino to see the Single-A long-season affiliate of the Dodgers, the Inland Empire 66ers, play host to the Padres affiliate, the Lake Elsinore. Finally, on Tuesday, I will travel down to San Diego and see the Padres play the Rockies at Petco Park. I should be back in Eugene on Wednesday after another marathon train trip.

This trip serves as an important milestone. When I have my ticket scanned at Angel Stadium, it will be my thirtieth different professional park I have been to. I am very proud of this accomplishment, and I am very glad that all of you have played a part in it!

I will definitely update Facebook and Twitter while on the road and at the games. I will update this blog after every game and write out my experiences.

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)