Lancaster is about an hour-and-forty-five-minutes from me up the 15 freeway and cutting over to the west on the 138. Ordinarily, I stick to the main roads, but I decided to visit my girlfriend in the morning, so I left from Victorville in the High Desert. As a result, my Google Map directions took me on the backroads into Lancaster. This meant that my journey took me through some the loneliest desert landscapes I have ever seen. With all the travels I have done to parks across the country, this was probably the most desolate of journeysh I have ever done.
I had been to Lancaster last year for a game, so I was familiar with the park. However, since the game I went to last year was a night game, I didn't get a chance to really see what Lancaster was about. Courtesy of my backroads travel, I ended up going right through the middle of the city on my way to the ballpark. What I found was a cute little downtown, AND, the Metrolink goes all the way out to Lancaster! Maybe, one of these days, I'll forgo the backroad driving and find a way to take the train out-and-back.
In the middle of downtown Lancaster is Kinetic Brewery. Maybe it's a sign that Baseball Road Trips are more about my life and experiences than baseball, I added another brewery to my craft beer résumé that was hooked on to a Baseball Road Trip. Hey, if this blog ever gets a published, and I sign a big book deal, one of the chapters has to be dedicated to the merging of Brewery Visits and Baseball Road Trips. Sure, the beer is always good, but I love talking with the locals, and learning more about the craft beer process.
I only had one drink because I was driving, so after my IPA, I headed out to Clear Channel Stadium, a.k.a. The Hangar. Games here are always a lot of fun because the wind blows constantly out to right field. Popups are an adventure, and it isn't uncommon to see double-digit run totals for both teams. Unfortunately, with wind comes the incredible dryness of the experience. I'm always constantly drinking water there, and considering it was a day game, the hot wind sucked the moisture right out of me. This was probably why the crowd for this Sunday afternoon tilt was so sparse and I pretty much had the section behind the 66ers dugout to myself.
The Jethawks used a seven-run seventh inning to jump over the 66ers 12-9.
My next 66ers Road Trip is down to Lake Elsinore in two weeks. I'm not entirely sure when I'll go exactly in two weeks as I'm juggling that trip, my yearly summer visit to Palm Springs, and, possibly a trip to an NCAA Super Regional game at some park here in the Southland. More immediately, however, this weekend is a Friday-Saturday 66ers circuit at San Manuel Stadium, and then an Angels game on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers. This time, since the Angels game starts at 5:30 (thanks ESPN broadcast), I'll be hitting up the beach in Newport before the game for some surfing and bike riding, with the possibility of some Newport Beach Brewing Company added in.
Twitter will definitely be the best way to keep up-to-date on my plans, but really all my social media will be hopping. If we don't chat on those mediums, I'll update the blog after the weekend!
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
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