Life's A Beach...Watch Baseball

I was so excited to have my folks come into town this past weekend. I try and see them every ninety days, or so, but every time I do, I always have a good time. While I love going back to Oregon, having them come visit me and see my world is even more exciting. I think I have carved out quite a unique niche here in Southern California, and while I am certainly seeing a lot of baseball games, I have discovered and embraced new hobbies and sights that only add to my life.

My mom had entered herself into the Catalina Island 10K this past weekend. My mom and dad flew in on Thursday, we some time with relatives on Friday, then on Saturday we woke up super early for Long Beach to catch the ferry out to Avalon. She was going to run the race and then we were going to spend the day just in Avalon hanging out and enjoying ourselves. There was really no itinerary, per se, besides the run, and I was really looking forward to just spending time with them on probably the most beautiful place in all of California. The sun was shining, it was about 80-degrees and the water was a brisk 61.

My mom did fantastic in the race. While she was running, I really got to spend some quality time with my dad walking around the main drag in Avalon, grabbing some coffee, and just chatting. I had seen them last month, but so much has happened in that span of time, not necessarily related to baseball mind you, that it was fun to chat. The race route consisted of two loops, so my mom got to pass us twice in the circuit. She finished the race in just over an hour, and I am very proud of her for doing that. After the race, we got some breakfast at a little cafe across the street from the main harbor. While eating, my folks were already talking about coming back down next year.

Once we were done eating, we decided to take a little walking tour around Avalon. I took them up to the old Wrigley Field site that I had sought out last August. While nothing has changed from the gravel parking lot that was there, I did find the old foundations for the bleachers that once lined the outside of the playing field. It was a stark reminder of the old days of Avalon and the legacy of William Wrigley.

We proceeded to walk back down to the harbor, go to the Catalina Museum, and then relax at the Descanso Beach Club before catching the ferry home.

On Sunday, I dropped my parent's off at the LAX airport and headed straight to Dockweiler State Beach. This was my first time at Dockweiler, and it is a very neat beach. It is right under the takeoff approach to LAX, so every few seconds, a plane flies overhead at a very low altitude. This can create some distractions when you're out on the water watching for that next wave, but it is a setting that is probably unlike any other in California. And, you would think that the beach next to the airport would be a kind of a letdown, but I was really surprised that it was a clean beach, with good waves, and warm water. Unfortunately, a half hour into my stay, my bodyboard snapped in half, leaving me on the shore and grudgingly admiring the waves from afar.


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After overcoming my grief about my board, I made my way to the campus of Loyola Maramount University and Page Stadium to see the LMU Lions play host to the Santa Clara Broncos. This was kind of a spur of the moment game as I saw that I was dropping my folks off at the airport, there was a beach right there, and LMU is really close to where I was. I am glad that I made the trip because Page Stadium is a very intimate ballpark with cheap tickets, seats really close to the field, and a laid-back atmosphere.

While there isn't anything that sticks out as significant about Page Stadium besides its diminutive size, it is certainly a functional ballpark for LMU. Even with a crowd over just over 300, the place felt full, and had good energy. I really enjoyed how the program handed out "Baseball Bingo" cards to all the fans and gave all fans the opportunity to win at bingo. Usually teams reserve that promotion for people that buy cards, which I never do, so it was fun to be a part of that.

The son of longtime MLB player Jose Vizcaino couldn't help his Santa Clara Broncos overcome a four-run fifth inning as LMU takes this one from the Broncos 5-2.

I'll definitely head back to Oregon to see my folks over 4th of July weekend, maybe even before. It was so nice to see them, catch up with them, visit some sites, and have them revel in some pretty great California experiences.

This weekend is going to be awesome. I'm driving back to Phoenix for my yearly trip to Spring Training. I'm going to try some new stuff for my third visit, but I'll go into more details of those in my preview post on Friday.

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)