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The journey that started nearly ten months ago will be coming to an end tomorrow. In what is turning out to be one of my most anticipated Baseball Road Trips of all time, I am leaving tomorrow for Mexicali and the Béisbol de Mexico. I am convinced that there is no better way to end this remarkable season of baseball than this trip south-of-the-border. My emotions right now are a combination of excitement, anticipation and even a bit of nervousness. This is going to be a trip for the books and I am excited to have all of you come along with me.
Here's the itinerary for tomorrow:
I'm planning on leaving Highland at around 9am. Depending on traffic, I should get to the border town of Calexico, CA around noon or 1230. Once there, I'll park my car on the US side and proceed to walk across the border into Mexico. The fun really starts then as I have to hail a cab, utilize my ever-increasing Spanish linguistic skills, and navigate to the home of the Aguiles de Mexicali, Estadio Casas Geo. Once there, I'm going to see the home town Mexicali team play host to Mazatlan in a late afternoon tilt. After the game, I have to make my way back to the border, albeit after dark, navigate customs back into the US, and drive home. If all goes according to plan, I'd like to be back in Highland no later than midnight.
There has been quite a lot of preparation for this trip, on my part. I've spent the last couple weeks going onto YouTube and brushing up on my Spanish. I've also sought insight from social media, co-workers and family about the process that I can expect entering Mexico and returning to the United States. Finally, I have kept abreast of the security situation on the US-Mexico border. With all of this at my disposal, I am confident that I will be safe, secure and will have a good time.
Still, there is a degree of nervousness to this. This is my first time to Mexico, and I am expecting a wildly different culture, a new language, and unfamiliar customs. Add to that the headlines that have dominated the news about drug-related violence, I do have some butterflies in my stomach. However, I have been traveling for Baseball Road Trips for seven years now in fifty different cities. I have found myself in rough neighborhoods and shoddy sidewalks. I enter in to a different mindset and my "antennae" go up whenever I'm in potentially dangerous situations, so I will be counting on that vigilance tomorrow.
I keep reminding myself that while the premise of this trip is baseball, it is all about the experience. To quote an old saying, it isn't the destination that matters, but rather the journey. I would never have imagined back in January that I would be doing something like this to cap off an incredibly awesome season.
As always, watch Twitter, Facebook and FourSquare for updates throughout the day about my adventures.
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
There has been quite a lot of preparation for this trip, on my part. I've spent the last couple weeks going onto YouTube and brushing up on my Spanish. I've also sought insight from social media, co-workers and family about the process that I can expect entering Mexico and returning to the United States. Finally, I have kept abreast of the security situation on the US-Mexico border. With all of this at my disposal, I am confident that I will be safe, secure and will have a good time.
Still, there is a degree of nervousness to this. This is my first time to Mexico, and I am expecting a wildly different culture, a new language, and unfamiliar customs. Add to that the headlines that have dominated the news about drug-related violence, I do have some butterflies in my stomach. However, I have been traveling for Baseball Road Trips for seven years now in fifty different cities. I have found myself in rough neighborhoods and shoddy sidewalks. I enter in to a different mindset and my "antennae" go up whenever I'm in potentially dangerous situations, so I will be counting on that vigilance tomorrow.
I keep reminding myself that while the premise of this trip is baseball, it is all about the experience. To quote an old saying, it isn't the destination that matters, but rather the journey. I would never have imagined back in January that I would be doing something like this to cap off an incredibly awesome season.
As always, watch Twitter, Facebook and FourSquare for updates throughout the day about my adventures.
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
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