California League

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Yes, this blog still does exist! I may have been quiet on here for the past two weeks, but I am ready to get moving again in preparation for the next Baseball Road Trip. In this installment, I am leaving tonight for the sunny region of Southern California and a nearly week-long trip that will see me go to two, possibly three, new ballparks.

First, I have a nearly thirty-hour train ride from here in Eugene all the way down to Los Angeles. I'm in coach, but I am prepared for the challenges and I have learned from my missteps that I experience earlier this year on the World Baseball Classic. I have a lot of movies to watch, a good book to read, and I might actually throw out a blog post mid-transit. I don't know what I'll write about, but keep an eye out. My parents are coming along for this trip, but they splurged and got a sleeping compartment for the trip. This will be nice to have some company on board, but the real experiences happen in coach.

We are scheduled to get into Los Angeles at around 10pm on Thursday. I had thought about disembarking the train in Sacramento instead, traveling down through the valley to Lancaster, and hitting up the team in Lancaster. After thinking about, I figured it would be best for us to stay together all the way through. We have to take the FlyAway bus out to LAX to rent a car for the week, and me coming from Lancaster just would've been too much of a struggle logistically.

After spending the night, our plan is to wake up on Friday and travel to the Mt. Palomar Winery for the day. This is where my parents had their wedding, and they haven't been back since. I'm looking forward to adding some wine-tasting experiences to the Baseball Road Trip lore.

After the winery, I will drop my parents off at the hotel and drive up to Rancho Cucamonga to see the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes play host to the High Desert Mavericks in some California League action. I've heard some really great things about the Quakes' ballpark, the Epicenter, so I'm really looking forward to seeing it. Considering it is Andre Ethier Bobblehead Night, it'll probably be a zoo. It is a new ballpark, so I'm willing to pass that all off in favor of adding to my list of ballparks I have been to.

Saturday is shaping up to be a long day. We'll wake up early and head out to Newport Beach so my mom can do the Newport Pier-to-Balboa Pier swim. It is a two-mile open-water swim that she has been training for for the last few months. I have agreed to accompany her on a paddleboard that we are renting out. I have never paddleboarded before, and I'm a little nervous thinking about it. I never would've thought to need to pack a lifejacket on a baseball road trip, but I did. Everybody I have talked to who has done it says it is easier than kayaking or canoeing, both of which I'm fairly competent at. We'll see how this goes.

After the swim, I am planning on meeting up with an old friend from college. She and I are hoping to do lunch and maybe spend the afternoon together. Her plans are really fluid, however, so I have two back-up plans in place just in case things fall through. First, the Dodgers are hosting the Rockies up at Chavez Ravine that afternoon. Second, there is a collegiate summer-league team that plays in Whittier. I don't know what I'm going to do, so it really will be a game time decision.

Sunday is really a do nothing day. We don't have any activities planned. However, I am going to drive over the hills to Lake Elsinore and see the Lake Elsinor Storm play the San Jose Giants in the second California League game of the road trip. Like the Epicenter, I've heard some good things about the Diamond, and considering this is my first time being there, I'm excited to go.

We're planning on driving out of Southern California early Monday morning. On our way out of town, my parents have agreed to stop at Mission San Fernando, making the Mission world intersect with Baseball Road Trips once again. We'll drive up to Fresno to see some relatives for a few days before leaving either Tuesday or early, early Wednesday morning to come back to Oregon.

As you can see, this is going to be a wild trip. I'm so glad to have all of you come along for the ride and read about the adventures. As always, I will update this blog daily throughout the trip. For more updates, follow the Twitter feed to the right, check-up on FourSquare and read on Facebook.

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)