Final Thoughts on California League

Its been a few days since I have returned home, and I find myself reminiscing about the trip that was while preparing for the next outing. The California League road trip offered up some unique and exciting experiences that definitely will stand out in my mind for many years to come. This trip had a little bit of everything and I feel like I gave myself enough unique situations to perhaps set the stage for more road trips in the future.

Let's start with the cities. I'm sorry, but I just can't behind Southern California. Sure the weather's nice, but the cities lack any identity. It was just impossible to do an adequate community analysis on any of the cities I went to when you can't even distinguish between them. I think I said it earlier on, but it is impossible to tell the difference between Chino, Riverside, Pomona, Santa Ana or Glendale. Here's an idea that may spark some controversy, but what would happen if all these places would just merge into one big "super-city"? How would that work and what would people think?

Mount Palomar Winery was almost too beautiful. I'm so used to these small and quaint wineries here in Oregon that walking into a place like Mount Palomar was almost overwhelming. My Father kept referring to it as the "Dinseyland of Wineries", and I can believe it. With all the bling around the property, I can definitely imagine just how expensive a wedding or family reunion would be there. Considering it is Southern California, and money being such a ubiquitous indicator of social status, they probably have a bustling business. Anyway, it was nice to have a good glass of wine with my parents in a beautiful location.

There are a lot of benefits to driving around Southern California. First, it is quicker. Second, it is more direct. Third, it's nice to have air conditioning when going to a place like Lake Elsinore. Still, there is something alluring about public transportation, trains and walking. On my final day in Lake Elsinore, I had enough driving and i just had to engage in some vintage road tripping by walking to the ballpark. This wasn't done by necessity but rather through a need to go back to my roots. I just wish that the Metrolink system in Southern California was more numerous in where it traveled and when the trains leaved.

Still, facing down "Carmeggedon" seemed like part of the experience. As both a driver and passenger, you got the sense like traffic really was a fight of epic proportions. In my mind, the traffic was standing in the way of me going to a baseball game or going to a mission. Armed with the GPS in my phone, there was something fleeting about driving like a bona fide Californian such as cutting people off, referring to freeways just by their numbers, and programming in the great radio stations while sitting in traffic.

That swim was real trip. Sure, I was closer to drowning or becoming shark bait than finishing the two mile swim, it was a hoot. To be honest, I'm glad that I didn't finish the whole thing because I had a rather pleasant walk, on a great beach, under the Southern California sun, looking at the million-dollar plus houses, and running into a friend from college. Besides, walking along a Southern California beach carrying a surfboard made me look like such a local.

 Now lets get into some baseball action. I visited three ballparks in all, two of which were professional and counted towards my records. The first one I went to, Rancho Cucamonga, was actually a pretty nice ballpark. In fact, if you noticed, it made the top-ten list for my favorite ballparks. What I really appreciated about it was that the view of the mountains wasn't totally obscured by the smog, as it had been in San Bernardino. I think that this is due to the fact that the park is literally on the slope of the said mountains, thus you look at it head-on. It isn't too shabby of a ballpark either with very decent prices and not a bad seat in the house, literally. I would highly recommend it to anyone on a California trip.

Then there's the story with this collegiate summer league team. I had a ball at it and it was a good diversion activity that was still baseball related. Aside from the awesome seats that literally were in the field of play, you got the sense that this was pure baseball. No promotions, inflated egos or fleecing of the fans. I wonder, was this the way baseball was fifty, sixty, or seventy years ago?

I really liked Lake Elsinore. It had one of the best natural views of any ballpark I have been to. The only reason I didn't put it higher is that Lake Elsinore is just was too far away from anything and way too damn hot. I had heard some mixed reviews about the experience and ballpark, but I leave with a positive vibe. I really liked that their promotions, which most people said were over the top, felt like they were kept in check and not overly crazy. It felt like dozens of other minor league parks I had been to.

For the second time this season, I've visited a California Mission on a Baseball Road Trip. Mission San Fernando was beautiful and serene, and it is one of the nicer missions I have been to. Here's an interesting factoid: I have been to eight of the twenty-one California Missions. Now that is an accomplishment if I ever saw one!

All in all, it was a great trip. I'm glad I got to spend some time with my family, both immediate and relatives. I did some fun things and experienced some unique stuff.

Now, I have a one-day break before the next road trip this weekend. On Saturday, I'm returning to Fort Vancouver to see Old Time Baseball. Sunday, I'll go out to Hillsboro and see the new ballpark and team they have out there. Keep an eye out for the itinerary.

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)