I had circled today on my calendar as my final trip to LA to see the Dodgers play at Chavez Ravine. Well, after seeing how tickets were topping $40, and an actual desire to do nothing on a Sunday for a change, I decided to sit this one out and conclude the season for the Dodgers after only making one trip in this season. I'm perfectly fine with my decision, and I'll go into some more of it later on. So, for the first time in a while, I am being lazy on a Sunday!
When I was on the Angels Road Trip at the beginning of this month, I wrote about how often I merge my hobby of Baseball Road Trips with another hobby of mine, visiting our country's National Parks and Monuments. After visiting the Presidio, Fort Point, and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, I decided to post something how these two hobbies have come together frequently.
Before I started blogging about Baseball Road Trips, I made a trip to New York City for five games in and around the Big Apple. During that trip, I visited Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty with stops at Federal Hall, where George Washington took the oath of office as our country's first President. I was just a young Baseball fan, and I wish I had gotten wise then and began blogging with that trip. But, I think that was the the first time I had brought National Parks and Baseball Road Trips together.
In 2009, I made a big trip to the Midwest and hit up Pittsburgh, Chicago and St. Louis. After my first day in Pittsburgh, I had a day to kill before an overnight train trip to the Windy City. I was staying with some relatives there, and on that day off, they drove me out to a field in rural Western Pennsylvania for probably my most emotional National Park visit. The Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA is where the doomed United Flight 93 crashed on September 11th, 2001. I can't put into words just how moving of a sight that place was and the effect it had on me.
Keeping on the Midwest theme, after hitting up Chicago on that trip, I made my way down to Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the banks of the Mississippi River, or more well-known as the Gateway Arch. While I didn't go up in the arch itself, I did have a fantastic visit to the museum below it that chronicled the westward expansion of Lewis and Clark and the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. I remember my first thought when seeing the arch was "how is it that this thing hasn't toppled over before?"
Before I moved here to California, I crisscrossed the Pacific Northwest on Baseball Road Trips. One of those trips incorporated a unique experience at a National Park in Washington. In 2010, I went to Fort Vancouver and saw the Old Time Baseball exhibition on the grounds of the Fort. Probably one of the most fascinating experiences I've had, seeing 1880's baseball played amidst the setting of the old Fort was very intriguing. While watching that game, you could actually see members of the Lewis and Clark expedition or trappers from the Hudson's Bay Company maneuvering the grounds.
I would love to hit more National Parks while on Baseball Road Trips. The challenge is, however, is that my Road Trips tend to be car-free and very urban. As a result, I don't have the means to venture off the beaten path to visit the National Parks. One thing about the National Parks is that you really need a car to visit them. But, as you have seen, sometimes the experiences just happen to coincide by chance. And, when they do, they make for a real fun addition to Baseball Road Trips.
Well, the Minor League and Major League seasons are done as the playoffs begin in earnest. I have no plans to go to any playoff games because of my work schedule, and also because the only Southern California team to make was the Dodgers, so there's the whole going to Dodger Stadium thing. However, this upcoming weekend will see me make my third trip in three years venture to Phoenix for the Arizona Fall League. I have four games planned in a three day jaunt to the desert. I'll post an itinerary later on this week.
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
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