This season of Baseball Road Trips has been like no other I have done. Even the repetition trips, like this one, have given me the opportunity to experience something truly unique. Baseball Road Trips are a great hobby and give us stories that are more than just the 9 innings of the game it is centered on.
I'm making a pledge to do the Puget Sound trip every year. Ideally, I want to do it just like this year, acting like a "kick-off" to the big summer travel season that I am embarking on. It is short, manageable, not too expensive, and offers up a taste of what the quintessential baseball road trip should be. It is easy to bring people along and show them a good time because of the experience I have now gained in both Seattle and Tacoma. The trains are really convenient both ways and give another view of long-distance travel that some may not understand or have experiences with. This is a road trip that gets better and better every year that I do it.
Finding a hotel in Seattle proper was a fantastic move. It saved so much hassle after the game, and you have no idea just how great it was to have the notion that after a long day there was a comfortable bed in a room to go back to. It made things so much better. After two stays in hostels, the relief that washed over me in a warm shower and comfy bed was sublime. The only drawback to this particular hotel was that there wasn't a free breakfast. But, to be honest, it was worth it.
For the first time in a while, I was able to explore Seattle. I've come on here in the past and said how much I enjoy that city, and I have to do it again. The benefit of taking that later train and the attending the night game at Safeco was that we actually had time to be tourists in Seattle by walking around, going up in the Smith Tower, ducking into some local watering holes and taking public transportation. I believe that those four hours of being a visitor in a new city and being curious about the surroundings made the whole trip that much better. This is why I am always continuing to strive for community analysis in all cities I go to baseball games in.
As for Safeco Field, this was my last scheduled visit to her confines in 2013. Of the four significant Road Trips I have done this season, three of them have been to Safeco. The Mariners have slowly become my team and Safeco has slid into being my sort of "home" ballpark where I can base my comparisons and operations from. The organization is starting to fill that void that was created when the Ems left Civic and when the Portland Beavers left town. While it is still a legitimate road trip to get there, I have to commend the organization for creating an experience that has such an impression over the discernible baseball fan, like myself.
I can gush over and over about Seattle, but the real interest story is in Tacoma. It is a dark and dirty city that has a hard scrabble vibe to it. But, for some reason, I find that I am attached to it. It seems like that particular city holds a special place in my heart. Maybe because I have a deep sympathy for down-and-out situations, but I found myself to be enjoying the ambiance of that description. I've been there multiple times, but I am fascinated by the dynamic there and how it exists in the shadow of her larger brother of Seattle.
This leads me to talk about Cheney Stadium. One of my favorite ballparks, to be sure, and it has just the right amount of flair and panache to be unique in the Minor Leagues. I'd hope that in the future, they will do something about the public transportation to the game and make it more accessible to people in the downtown core. This is outside the hands of the Rainiers organization, but now that they have done all the renovations to it, they may want to consider taking this next step forward.
Kickoff adequately describes what the Puget Sound trip was because I am now approaching two weeks of intense road trip action beginning with the California League trip in two weeks. Taking the train all the way down to Southern California and catching games in Rancho Cucamonga, Lake Elsinore and, possibly, a Dodgers game at Chavez Ravine. I also have some unique events planned outside of the games that should be a ton of fun.
I'll probably go dark for the time being on the blog while I'm getting ready for the California League trip, but I might throw out an update of stuff I'm up to or any changes.
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
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