With Game 163 between the Rays and the Rangers last week, the 2013 regular season came to a close. A more personal journal also came to a close on the last weekend of the regular season: my successful journey to all 30 MLB stadiums! In the last two weekends of the regular season I traveled to Pittsburgh and Seattle to knock off ballparks 29 and 30 off the list.
I have done a poor job updating the blog in the last two months of the regular season but I vow to write about my travels and ballpark experiences through the 2013 postseason. I also hope to have a series of blog post reviewing my entire journey. Above all though, I want to thank my family, friends, and the people I met along the way who made this trip memorable.
Showing posts with label The Road. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Road. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Sunday, July 28, 2013
The Road: Weekend Trips
Three weeks ago I official started my full-time job as an engineer. Although I am excited to be working, it comes at a cost: I am no longer able to continuously travel the country just to visit MLB ballparks. This does not mean I am giving up my goal of attending all 30 MLB ballparks this season; I just need to be a little more strategic in planning my trips. In order to avoid using my valuable PTO (personal time off), I have chosen to take hit the last 7 MLB ballparks on weekends.
Although planning the large trips at the beginning of the summer was difficult, planning the weekend trips has not been an easy task either. After matching ballparks to possible weekends based on the MLB schedule, I devised the following schedule:
July 26-28: Colorado Rockies
This trip is was relatively easy to plan because my grandmother lives in the Denver area. Additionally, my brother who is working in New Mexico this summer was able to get this weekend off. The two things that worry me about this trip are rain (since Coors Field is open air) and possible airplane delays.
August 2-4: Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins
This was by far the most difficult trip to plan of the whole tour. Tampa and Miami are relatively close to one another but not really close to any other teams. Consequently, I had to identify a weekend when both teams were at home. Furthermore, planning how I would get from one Tampa to Miami (or vice versa) was a major challenge. I ultimately decided to rent a car that I am able to pick up in Tampa and return in Miami. Luckily, a rainout will not be an issue on this trip because both Tropicana Field and Marlins Park have roofs.
August 23-25: Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland and Cincinnati are about 3 and 5 hour drives respectively from the Detroit area. This makes it is easy to drive through Ohio and see both teams play on one weekend.
September 20-22: Pittsburgh Pirates
As of now I am planning on driving to PNC Park for this late September weekend but that may change. The threat of a rainout is very frightening because there won't be enough time to schedule a makeup trip. I guess the probability of all 3 weekend games being rained out are slim to none. With how great the Pirates are playing this year, this ticket could get a little expensive.
September 27-29: Seattle Mariners
On the last weekend of the season, I will be flying across the country to see the Seattle Mariners. Safeco Field has a retractable roof so a rainout is not possible. A couple of friends from college now live in Seattle so I will be able to stay with them, saving me from having to rent a car. Additionally, a friend from high school is also considering flying out to Seattle with me.
Although planning the large trips at the beginning of the summer was difficult, planning the weekend trips has not been an easy task either. After matching ballparks to possible weekends based on the MLB schedule, I devised the following schedule:
July 26-28: Colorado Rockies
This trip is was relatively easy to plan because my grandmother lives in the Denver area. Additionally, my brother who is working in New Mexico this summer was able to get this weekend off. The two things that worry me about this trip are rain (since Coors Field is open air) and possible airplane delays.
August 2-4: Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins
This was by far the most difficult trip to plan of the whole tour. Tampa and Miami are relatively close to one another but not really close to any other teams. Consequently, I had to identify a weekend when both teams were at home. Furthermore, planning how I would get from one Tampa to Miami (or vice versa) was a major challenge. I ultimately decided to rent a car that I am able to pick up in Tampa and return in Miami. Luckily, a rainout will not be an issue on this trip because both Tropicana Field and Marlins Park have roofs.
August 23-25: Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland and Cincinnati are about 3 and 5 hour drives respectively from the Detroit area. This makes it is easy to drive through Ohio and see both teams play on one weekend.
September 20-22: Pittsburgh Pirates
As of now I am planning on driving to PNC Park for this late September weekend but that may change. The threat of a rainout is very frightening because there won't be enough time to schedule a makeup trip. I guess the probability of all 3 weekend games being rained out are slim to none. With how great the Pirates are playing this year, this ticket could get a little expensive.
September 27-29: Seattle Mariners
On the last weekend of the season, I will be flying across the country to see the Seattle Mariners. Safeco Field has a retractable roof so a rainout is not possible. A couple of friends from college now live in Seattle so I will be able to stay with them, saving me from having to rent a car. Additionally, a friend from high school is also considering flying out to Seattle with me.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
The Road: Heart of America
After a detour from my ballpark trip, I am on the road again to cross off 4 more stadiums from my list. I am headed down the middle of country and making my way back up stopping in Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, and St. Louis. This trip will take about a week and is my last vacation before I start work next Monday.
Today I am going to begin making my way down to Texas. I am splitting the 20 hour drive into two days. The second day will conclude by attending a Astros game at Minute Maid park. The next day, I will make the drive north to Dallas and meet up with a friend from college. We are then planning on going to the Rangers game on Tuesday, July 2nd.
My next stop will be in southeast Oklahoma to spend a couple days with my cousin who is a professor at a university down there. I don't know exactly what we will do but we have talked about going fishing one of the days. After Independence Day, I will continue with the final two ballparks on my trip. I will head to Kansas City for a night game on July 5th and then cross Missouri for a Saturday day game in St. Louis. I will meet up with a friend from high school and his fiance at one of these last two stops but we are not sure which one yet.
Today I am going to begin making my way down to Texas. I am splitting the 20 hour drive into two days. The second day will conclude by attending a Astros game at Minute Maid park. The next day, I will make the drive north to Dallas and meet up with a friend from college. We are then planning on going to the Rangers game on Tuesday, July 2nd.
My next stop will be in southeast Oklahoma to spend a couple days with my cousin who is a professor at a university down there. I don't know exactly what we will do but we have talked about going fishing one of the days. After Independence Day, I will continue with the final two ballparks on my trip. I will head to Kansas City for a night game on July 5th and then cross Missouri for a Saturday day game in St. Louis. I will meet up with a friend from high school and his fiance at one of these last two stops but we are not sure which one yet.
Friday, June 7, 2013
The Road: Lake Michigan
Tomorrow I will take off on my most densely packed trip of the summer: 4 games in 4 days. I am headed to the opposite side of Lake Michigan to see the Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, and Twins all play in game at their home ballparks. This trip will be shorter both in time and mileage than my previous two trips but should still be exciting.
Tomorrow I will drive from my parents' house in DeWitt to Wrigleyville in Chicago to pick up my friend Chris from U-M. Although the Cubs play an afternoon game tomorrow, we will drive north to MIlwaukee to watch the Brewers play the Phillies. Interesting enough, this is the same matchup I saw in Philadelphia less than a week ago. We will then drive back to Chicago after the game and I will be able to crash at Chris's apartment right next to Wrigley Field.
The next day, I will make the short walk across the street to watch the Cubs play. I am going to the cubs game with a couple of friends from high school who I haven't seen for a while but now live on the north-side of Chicago. On Monday, I am planning on walking around Chicago during the day while my friends have to work. I have been spoiled in that I have been to Chicago about a half dozen times in my life but there is always different to do right off of Michigan Ave. In the evening I will make the trip on the 'L' to the south-side of Chicago to meet up with another friend from U-M and watch the White Sox play. I might have to break my rule to root for the home team as the White Sox are one of the Tigers' main rivals.
On Tuesday, I leave Chicago for Minneapolis. I am planning on parking near the Mall of America and taking the light rail to the Twins new downtown, open-air stadium, Target Field. That will complete my 4 games in 4 day journey but am extending my trip to do something non-baseball related. I will be spending an extra day at my Grandparents' cabin in the Upper Peninsula. This is a special place for our family and we tried to visit the cabin every year while growing up to fish, hike, have campfires, and just get away for a couple of days. I return to civilization on Friday and only have a couple of days before I take off again: this time of England for my academic conference
Tomorrow I will drive from my parents' house in DeWitt to Wrigleyville in Chicago to pick up my friend Chris from U-M. Although the Cubs play an afternoon game tomorrow, we will drive north to MIlwaukee to watch the Brewers play the Phillies. Interesting enough, this is the same matchup I saw in Philadelphia less than a week ago. We will then drive back to Chicago after the game and I will be able to crash at Chris's apartment right next to Wrigley Field.
The next day, I will make the short walk across the street to watch the Cubs play. I am going to the cubs game with a couple of friends from high school who I haven't seen for a while but now live on the north-side of Chicago. On Monday, I am planning on walking around Chicago during the day while my friends have to work. I have been spoiled in that I have been to Chicago about a half dozen times in my life but there is always different to do right off of Michigan Ave. In the evening I will make the trip on the 'L' to the south-side of Chicago to meet up with another friend from U-M and watch the White Sox play. I might have to break my rule to root for the home team as the White Sox are one of the Tigers' main rivals.
On Tuesday, I leave Chicago for Minneapolis. I am planning on parking near the Mall of America and taking the light rail to the Twins new downtown, open-air stadium, Target Field. That will complete my 4 games in 4 day journey but am extending my trip to do something non-baseball related. I will be spending an extra day at my Grandparents' cabin in the Upper Peninsula. This is a special place for our family and we tried to visit the cabin every year while growing up to fish, hike, have campfires, and just get away for a couple of days. I return to civilization on Friday and only have a couple of days before I take off again: this time of England for my academic conference
Thursday, May 23, 2013
The Road: East Coast Trip
It was less than a week ago that I got back to Michigan from seeing 6 ballparks on the west coast. My time back in Ann Arbor has been very busy as I am putting the finishing touches on my report and presentation for the IFASD in Bristol, UK. Now I am headed out again to see 7 ballparks in a 12 day trip - this time on the east coast. I planning to see Rogers Centre in Toronto, Fenway Park in Boston, the two New York ballparks (Yankee Stadium and Citi Field), Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia, Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, and Nationals Park in D.C. The MLB schedule lined up near perfectly for me in that I will be able to go from north to south without backtracking. I will also have budgeted enough time in case if the weather does not cooperate.
The biggest difference on this trip compared to the West coast trip is that I will be driving from city to city in my truck. I will start off driving from Ann Arbor to Toronto to see the Blue Jays play a day game. My stay in Canada will be brief as I hope to make it to the Red Sox game in Boston the next afternoon. I am crossing my fingers but there is rain in the forecast for Boston on Sunday. I am hopeful that they will try to get that game in because it is the last time the Red Sox and Indians are scheduled to play this year. If this game gets rained out, I will try to attend the game the following night.
If the Red Sox game doesn't get rained out, I will drive down to Greenwich, CT to meet up with one of my former college roommates at his mother's house on Monday. This former roommate lives in New York City so we will take the train from Connecticut to Manhattan and I will be able to leave my car at his mother's house. The plan is for me to stay at my roommate's apartment for 4 nights and go to Mets game and Yankees games. Unfortunately the Yankees do not play Tigers because I need to have my revenge after this roommate (a big Yankees fan) celebrated like no other during a Tigers-Yankees playoff game last year. I will then take the train back to Connecticut and pick up my car.
This is where my east coast trip is still being finalized. I will then try to meet up with a friend from back home in Philadelphia. This friend just got relocated from Philadelphia to New York but he has his apartment for a few more days. Even though he may not have furniture, I am completed satisfied with sleeping on the floor if it saves my some money as opposed to getting a hotel. We have two options for attending Phillies games: a Friday night game and a Saturday afternoon game. I guess part of this depends on the weather in Philadelphia and Baltimore (my next stop). I am hoping the weather forecast looks promising for the Oriole game on Sunday as it is the last game of a 5-game home stand. I might try to head to Baltimore then return to Philadelphia if the weather looks dicey since it is less than a 2 hour drive between the two cities. Luckily I have access to my own personal meteorologist (my dad).
The last ballpark on the east coast trip is Nationals Park in Washington D.C. The Nationals do not play at home until June 4. This means I will have an entire day off to tour the monuments on the national mall. I still need to look in to possible lodging in Washington D.C. I imagine hotels and parking downtown are very expensive so it may be economical to get a hotel near the subway and take it in to the city. My last day on the trip will be making the 8 hour drive back to Ann Arbor.
The biggest difference on this trip compared to the West coast trip is that I will be driving from city to city in my truck. I will start off driving from Ann Arbor to Toronto to see the Blue Jays play a day game. My stay in Canada will be brief as I hope to make it to the Red Sox game in Boston the next afternoon. I am crossing my fingers but there is rain in the forecast for Boston on Sunday. I am hopeful that they will try to get that game in because it is the last time the Red Sox and Indians are scheduled to play this year. If this game gets rained out, I will try to attend the game the following night.
If the Red Sox game doesn't get rained out, I will drive down to Greenwich, CT to meet up with one of my former college roommates at his mother's house on Monday. This former roommate lives in New York City so we will take the train from Connecticut to Manhattan and I will be able to leave my car at his mother's house. The plan is for me to stay at my roommate's apartment for 4 nights and go to Mets game and Yankees games. Unfortunately the Yankees do not play Tigers because I need to have my revenge after this roommate (a big Yankees fan) celebrated like no other during a Tigers-Yankees playoff game last year. I will then take the train back to Connecticut and pick up my car.
This is where my east coast trip is still being finalized. I will then try to meet up with a friend from back home in Philadelphia. This friend just got relocated from Philadelphia to New York but he has his apartment for a few more days. Even though he may not have furniture, I am completed satisfied with sleeping on the floor if it saves my some money as opposed to getting a hotel. We have two options for attending Phillies games: a Friday night game and a Saturday afternoon game. I guess part of this depends on the weather in Philadelphia and Baltimore (my next stop). I am hoping the weather forecast looks promising for the Oriole game on Sunday as it is the last game of a 5-game home stand. I might try to head to Baltimore then return to Philadelphia if the weather looks dicey since it is less than a 2 hour drive between the two cities. Luckily I have access to my own personal meteorologist (my dad).
The last ballpark on the east coast trip is Nationals Park in Washington D.C. The Nationals do not play at home until June 4. This means I will have an entire day off to tour the monuments on the national mall. I still need to look in to possible lodging in Washington D.C. I imagine hotels and parking downtown are very expensive so it may be economical to get a hotel near the subway and take it in to the city. My last day on the trip will be making the 8 hour drive back to Ann Arbor.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The Road: Lessons Learned
I have completed my first road trip of the summer - the West coast. My trip consisted of 6 major league ballparks (Chase Field, Dodger Stadium, AT&T Park, the Oakland Coliseum, Angels Stadium, and Petco Park) 4 flights (Grand Rapids to Phoenix, Los Angeles to San Jose and back, and Los Angeles to Detroit, and one super long Greyhound bus ride (Phoenix to Los Angeles). It was also a blast to see relatives and friends, experience the different MLB ballparks, and tour some of America's finest cities. Overall it was a great trip with no real problems. Still there were some lessons learned that could only be obtained through experienced.
Lesson #1 - Talk to the Local Fans
Initiating conversations with total strangers is not something that comes completely natural to me. That being said, I found myself in conversation with fellow fans at about half of the ballparks I attended. Only in one of those ballparks did I ask about the specialty food item at the stadium (AT&T Park), and that was after I had already bought a regular hotdog. The local fans I talked to were nice to me and would have been glad to share some insight on their hometown park. I don't think anyone would take offense to "Hey, I am from out of town. What is the best thing to eat at this ballpark?"
Lesson #2 - Absorb the City Culture
I think I did a pretty good job at making an event out of each ball game. Most of the times I have done something before or after games which is unique to the area. It would have been pretty easy to go into a city for a game and head back on the road as soon as the game is finished. Unfortunately, I may have to this for some of my upcoming East coast read trip. Somethings I have learned from my West coast trip are: the better (and cheaper) food may be outside the stadium, the nicer stadiums incorporate aspects of the region into the themes of the park, and the city can offer some excitement if the game is boring (I can't believe I just wrote that).
Lesson #3 - Learn How to Upgrade Seats
Very few times did I sit the entire game in sections where my seat was assigned. I have learned there are two main ways of moving to better seats. The first is to show up for batting practice and stay in your seat until the game is well underway (i.e. 5th inning or so). Ushers will let you sit close to the field to catch home run balls and expect people to move to their actual seats when batting practice has completed. This method will not work however if the game is crowded. If a person has a ticket for the seat you are in, you have to move to either another seat in the same section or your actual paid seat. The second method is to get food after the game is well underway and move down. In my experience, ushers do not check tickets after the 3rd inning.
Lesson #4 - Know What To Collect
I decided to start collecting souvenir cups once I visited Dodger Stadium. This means that I am missing cups from Chase Field and Turner Field. At both of these ballparks I got a free weekly pamphlet that had roster information for both teams and a couple of fan interest stories. I thought this would be a great item to collect at each ballpark because it is free and tells me what series I attended. Unfortunately, not all stadiums give you these pamphlets. Being somewhat OCD on things, it would have been nice to collect the same items from every park. Possible items to collect at each ballpark could be baseball hats (although you could get them at a local mall), souvenir cups (serves a dual purpose), or picture at each stadium (free but not really a collectible).
Lesson #5 - Take Time to Plan Each Trip
I really wanted to take a ferry to Alcatraz while in San Francisco. Despite online websites warning me that the tours fill up well in advance, I thought I would just wing it. True to form every ticket for Alcatraz the only day I could go was completely sold out. I learned that if you want to do something, don't be afraid to plan it in advanced. There is nothing worse than sitting around in an interesting city with nothing to do because you failed to make a plan in advance.
Lesson #6 - Take Care of Yourself Physically
I found it was very easy to let myself fall into unhealthy habits on the road. Attending baseball games every night meant that I was eating a lot of processed food and not a lot of fruits and vegetables. Traveling also meant that I didn't have the time or facilities to work out. I tried to stay active by walking from place to place when I could and going on a few hikes. Lastly I learned that sunscreen is your ally. I didn't put sunscreen on early in my trip and ended up with a nice farmer's tan. I then went to the beach, attempting to even out my tan, and ended up getting sun burnt.
Lesson #1 - Talk to the Local Fans
Initiating conversations with total strangers is not something that comes completely natural to me. That being said, I found myself in conversation with fellow fans at about half of the ballparks I attended. Only in one of those ballparks did I ask about the specialty food item at the stadium (AT&T Park), and that was after I had already bought a regular hotdog. The local fans I talked to were nice to me and would have been glad to share some insight on their hometown park. I don't think anyone would take offense to "Hey, I am from out of town. What is the best thing to eat at this ballpark?"
Lesson #2 - Absorb the City Culture
I think I did a pretty good job at making an event out of each ball game. Most of the times I have done something before or after games which is unique to the area. It would have been pretty easy to go into a city for a game and head back on the road as soon as the game is finished. Unfortunately, I may have to this for some of my upcoming East coast read trip. Somethings I have learned from my West coast trip are: the better (and cheaper) food may be outside the stadium, the nicer stadiums incorporate aspects of the region into the themes of the park, and the city can offer some excitement if the game is boring (I can't believe I just wrote that).
Lesson #3 - Learn How to Upgrade Seats
Very few times did I sit the entire game in sections where my seat was assigned. I have learned there are two main ways of moving to better seats. The first is to show up for batting practice and stay in your seat until the game is well underway (i.e. 5th inning or so). Ushers will let you sit close to the field to catch home run balls and expect people to move to their actual seats when batting practice has completed. This method will not work however if the game is crowded. If a person has a ticket for the seat you are in, you have to move to either another seat in the same section or your actual paid seat. The second method is to get food after the game is well underway and move down. In my experience, ushers do not check tickets after the 3rd inning.
Lesson #4 - Know What To Collect
I decided to start collecting souvenir cups once I visited Dodger Stadium. This means that I am missing cups from Chase Field and Turner Field. At both of these ballparks I got a free weekly pamphlet that had roster information for both teams and a couple of fan interest stories. I thought this would be a great item to collect at each ballpark because it is free and tells me what series I attended. Unfortunately, not all stadiums give you these pamphlets. Being somewhat OCD on things, it would have been nice to collect the same items from every park. Possible items to collect at each ballpark could be baseball hats (although you could get them at a local mall), souvenir cups (serves a dual purpose), or picture at each stadium (free but not really a collectible).
Lesson #5 - Take Time to Plan Each Trip
I really wanted to take a ferry to Alcatraz while in San Francisco. Despite online websites warning me that the tours fill up well in advance, I thought I would just wing it. True to form every ticket for Alcatraz the only day I could go was completely sold out. I learned that if you want to do something, don't be afraid to plan it in advanced. There is nothing worse than sitting around in an interesting city with nothing to do because you failed to make a plan in advance.
Lesson #6 - Take Care of Yourself Physically
I found it was very easy to let myself fall into unhealthy habits on the road. Attending baseball games every night meant that I was eating a lot of processed food and not a lot of fruits and vegetables. Traveling also meant that I didn't have the time or facilities to work out. I tried to stay active by walking from place to place when I could and going on a few hikes. Lastly I learned that sunscreen is your ally. I didn't put sunscreen on early in my trip and ended up with a nice farmer's tan. I then went to the beach, attempting to even out my tan, and ended up getting sun burnt.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
The Road: West Coast Trip
Tomorrow I take my first big trip of the summer. I am headed to the west coast to see the Diamondbacks, Giants, A's, Dodgers, Angels, and Padres.
The first stop on the trip is Phoenix, Arizona. I am flying out of Grand Rapids and arriving in Phoenix around noon and going to the Diamondbacks vs. Phillies game at 6:40 PM local time. I am then taking an overnight Greyhound bus from Phoenix to Los Angeles, where I am staying with my aunt and uncle. The Dodgers play on Friday night but I don't know if I will go to that game or wait until later in my trip to go to Dodgers Stadium.
On Saturday evening, I am headed to my 3rd metropolitan area in as many nights: the Bay Area. I am meeting up with one of my college roommates and staying with another friend who now lives in the San Jose area. I will be going to the Giants game on Sunday afternoon and going to the A's game on Monday night. I am also excited to explore San Francisco during the day on Monday.
I fly back to Los Angeles on Tuesday morning. The Angels and Dodgers both have games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Depending on what I do on my first stint in Los Angeles, I will go to either just an Angels game on Tuesday/Wednesday or Angels and Dodgers games on consecutive night. My last city on the trip will be San Diego on Thursday. San Diego is only two hours south of my aunt and uncle's house and I should be able to road trip it. I return to Michigan on the red-eye flight on Friday night / Saturday morning giving me all Friday to go to beach one last time.
My biggest fear on this trip is rain. If the Giants or A's get rained out, the chances of seeing a game at all 30 ballparks takes an earlier hit. As of now, there are no big threats of rain in the forecast for San Francisco, San Diego, or Los Angeles. I am certainly crossing my fingers though!
The first stop on the trip is Phoenix, Arizona. I am flying out of Grand Rapids and arriving in Phoenix around noon and going to the Diamondbacks vs. Phillies game at 6:40 PM local time. I am then taking an overnight Greyhound bus from Phoenix to Los Angeles, where I am staying with my aunt and uncle. The Dodgers play on Friday night but I don't know if I will go to that game or wait until later in my trip to go to Dodgers Stadium.
On Saturday evening, I am headed to my 3rd metropolitan area in as many nights: the Bay Area. I am meeting up with one of my college roommates and staying with another friend who now lives in the San Jose area. I will be going to the Giants game on Sunday afternoon and going to the A's game on Monday night. I am also excited to explore San Francisco during the day on Monday.
I fly back to Los Angeles on Tuesday morning. The Angels and Dodgers both have games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Depending on what I do on my first stint in Los Angeles, I will go to either just an Angels game on Tuesday/Wednesday or Angels and Dodgers games on consecutive night. My last city on the trip will be San Diego on Thursday. San Diego is only two hours south of my aunt and uncle's house and I should be able to road trip it. I return to Michigan on the red-eye flight on Friday night / Saturday morning giving me all Friday to go to beach one last time.
My biggest fear on this trip is rain. If the Giants or A's get rained out, the chances of seeing a game at all 30 ballparks takes an earlier hit. As of now, there are no big threats of rain in the forecast for San Francisco, San Diego, or Los Angeles. I am certainly crossing my fingers though!
The Road: Plan of Attack and Trips to Date
I wish I could find a video of the old Mastercard "priceless" commercial series where the two guys go from stadium to stadium buying tickets, souvenirs, and food with their credit cards but there experience is priceless. I believe the Mastercard ultimately pulled the ads due to a dispute with a couple of baseball fans. Nonetheless, one continuous two-month road trip to visit each MLB ballpark would be iconic but just isn't feasible for me. First of all, finding a route across the country that aligns with the MLB schedule would be difficult. Not to mention I would be at the mercy of the weather - a rainout in Kansas City would throw a wrench in the entire trip. Furthermore, I just don't have the time to go to all the stadiums in one trip with my research and upcoming job. For these reasons, I am dividing the journey into several miniature trips throughout the summer.
I have already attended one ballpark this year: Turner Field. I went down to Atlanta in early April to watch the Michigan basketball team in the Final Four. Originally I wasn't planning on going to the Final Four at all but the student tickets were surprising cheap, my professors allowed me to skip my classes, and I found a couple of friends who had room in their car. We had a free day on the Sunday between the national semi-final and the national championship game so we decided to go to the Braves vs. Cubs game at Turner Field. Technically I can take Turner Field off my list but I feel it comes with an asterisk. I have a bad habit of not taken any pictures and didn't think of writing a blog to document my thoughts on the stadium. I hope to write about my experience in Atlanta and at Turner Field in a future post but it will be limited. I will remain open to the possibility of returning to Turner Field later in the summer but it is clearly secondary behind visiting the other ballparks for the first time.
My next trip is to the west coast to see the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, A's, Angels, and Padres. This trip is fast approaching as I leave for Arizona on this Thursday, May 9th and return from the west coast next Saturday, May 18th. I plan on blogging my thoughts and experiences throughout the trip.
I have preliminary dates for an east coast trip and a Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minnesota trip but I am going to wait to finalize those date before I write them. I am considering taking a road trip down south to Texas and back to up to see the Astros, Rangers, Royals, and Cardinals after I get back from my conference. Some of the closer cities like Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh will be done over weekends after I start working. I still have quite a bit of planning to do in order to hit some of farther away cities such as Miami and Tampa.
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