Baseball Heaven in 2011

Greetings again in 2011!

I hope all of you are shaking off those winter blues and gearing up for an exciting season of Baseball Road Trips. It has been a long time since I last posted and a lot has happened in the past few months, but I'm excited to be writing about baseball and Baseball Road Trips in 2011. I thank all of you so much for reading and experiencing with me all of the wonderful things that come with Baseball Road Trips. I have an exciting season in store with experiences that are sure to add to the on-going chronicles of the Baseball Road Trips.

Before we get rolling, let me give all of you brief update on what has happened since the end of the 2010 baseball season. In November, I was elected to the Creswell City Council by a wide and sweeping margin. I took office officially in January and I am currently in my third month of office. Being a City Councilman has given me more than my fair share of challenges, but it is a great learning experience and it has only solidified my career path and desires.

My position at the YMCA is going very well and I am doing a lot of good for the community at the same time. I'm saving up a ton of money for the season, and I have also built up a nice little nest-egg which has allowed me to purchase a car and move into a place of my own. It is really nice to have these benefits and be able to have the opportunity to have such a wonderful status of employment. I can see myself working for the YMCA for a long time which makes me very content and happy.

As you can all see, I have really kept busy these last few months doing non-baseball related stuff, but now that the season is quickly approaching, I'm digging out the backpack and log book for another season. As of right now, I have four extended road trips planned. In addition, I'm going to be attending as many Ducks and Emeralds games in the interim. It should make for an unforgettable season.

The first baseball game of the year will be this Friday at PK Park as the Ducks take on St. Mary's. The Ducks are picked to finish fairly high in the Pac-10 and should make another run for the College World Series. I will, as always, update the blog after that game.

The first extended road trip will come March 23-28. I will be spending six days in Arizona for Spring Training. The Cactus League itinerary is planned to see seven games in four days spread out over seven different ballparks. Through careful planning, I will also be seeing thirteen separate teams ranging from the Padres and Indians to the Mariners and Cubs. I will also be using the opportunity to see as many Major Leaguers up close by going to the practices at the facilities themselves. This is a trip that I have been planning for a long time and it will, undoubtedly, be one of the highlights of the season. I will write more about it in the coming weeks as the date of my departure comes closer.

After a few months off at the end of June, I will be flying down to Southern California and seeing the Dodgers and Padres play at Dodger Stadium and Petco Park. There are a few other stops I'm planning on making while down there, but those are still being worked out. This road trip has been dubbed the "Surfliner" because of our anticipated heavy use of that train.

During the All-Star Break in July, I'm planning on doing an "I-80" road trip to Reno, Sacramento and the Bay Area. The exact dates, modes of transportation and activities are still on the drawing board.

The final extended trip will happen in the middle of August as I fly to Utah and see some of the teams that are there. The cheap tickets on Southwest are certainly welcome, but the main reason I want to go is to see the Triple-A Bees stadium in Salt Lake City. I'm shooting for August 12-15, but that might change depending on flights, money and time available.

After the trip to Utah, it is still up in the air on where I want to go. A lot of it depends on money and my availability considering all my other commitments, but I will be sure to let all of you know what pans out. There are a lot of other opportunities in the late summer and early fall to see games that might become present later on in the season.

Thanks so much, again, for reading my blog and keeping up-to-date with all my travels. I'm excited to share them all with you!

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)