The annual baseball excursion-The Rocky Mts. and the Desert

July 20, 2009

On Sunday the Pirates couldn’t nail down the sweep as they fell to the Giants 4-3. Brandon Moss homered for the Bucs and Garrett Jones seems to have fallen back down to earth. He went 0-4 in the game.

The game was lost due to masterful pitching from this guy.

 If you can’t tell by the oversized head and miniature body— that is pitcher Matt Cain and that is his bobblehead. Cain was outstanding against Pittsburgh only allowing one run on five hits. He also struck out eight batters.

The Cain bobblehead rests on my night stand next to my bed. Now I’m not the biggest Matt Cain fan, in fact I’m not the biggest Giants fan, but I am a huge fan of the Bay Area of Northern Califonria.

You see each summer my family goes on a vacation. Just like a lot American families we save money, pack our luggage and venture out to a hot tourist spot. We’ve been to the beach and Disney World when we were younger but over the years we’ve tried something new. We now pack our bags and head to a big city, a major league city at that. Our goal is to hit all 30 ballparks as a family sometime in the near future. Prior to this week we have gone to 23 of the 30. After this week we will be at 25. On Tuesday I’m off to Colorado and Arizona. Home of the Rockies and Diamondbacks respectively.

Last summer Northern California was hit with the stops being in San Francisco and Oakland. It was a great trip and one I will remember forever. It was my first time to that part of the state of Cali and I absolutely fell in love with it. The attractions, natural beauty, scenery, climate, ocean life, everything thrown together to make a perfect city.

 Below is Zach and I at my second favorite ballpark, ATandT Park in San Fran. It is absolutely breath taking. From the views of the cove, the the splash landing zone, the boats and kayaks from the marina all converge onto the site. It is a dramatic scene for baseball and one of my favorites. That is whats nice about the area. The stadium is in exact coheasion with the city. The society of San Francisco is famous for its arts and laid back style. The ballpark provides that same essence. It was a great place to watch a game. This is where I got the Matt Cain bobblehead. We went to the Giants-Diamondbacks game here on a Sunday in July and lucky enough it was a free giveaway day. I’m a sucker for the free promotional giveaways. I have a room full of Pirates swag that has accumulated over the years. I have bobbleheads from players such as Brian Giles, Jason Kendall, Pokey Reese, Willie Stargell, Roberto Clemente, Rennie Stennett, Jason Bay and Matt Capps. Along with statues of Honus Wagner, plates of Bill Mazeroski, a Pirate Parrot piggy bank and a Roberto Clemente locker, and plenty more. The Matt Cain bobblehead earned a spot on the coveted night stand of myself.

From San Fran we traveled across the Bay to Oakland. Quite the dropff if I do say so myself.

 Network Associates Coliseum is a dump. You’ve seen the wide open spaces and large seating bowl is just an eye sore. It lacks the intimate setting that baseball was meant to be played in. Plus it doubling as a football stadium doesn’t help the matter. Oakland too is a big dropoff from the lovely city of San Francisco. It was quite scarry and ominous right outside the stadium. We took the subway back to our lovely, plush hotel in SF, keeping to ourselves on a train full of hooligans, hooligans to say the least.

Whats great about our vacations is that their not just about baseball. As much as we love the sport and enjoy going to the games it is nice to take in what that city has to offer. We make a week out of the trips and have fun at stops along the way.

Another tactic is trying to get more than one stadium out each trip. We did a Texas trip one year, from there we hit the two Missouri stadiums and up to Minnesota and Milwaukee. We are flying into Denver tomorrow, spending a few day in the Colorado area. On Tuesday we will be at the Rockies-Diamondbacks game. A trend is occuring with them D-Backs doesn’t it seem. Then we will be renting a car and driving to the state of Arizona. We are stopping at the 4 Corners out there and taking in the Grand Canyon. Over the weekend we will be at the Diamondbacks games against the……PITTSBURGH PIRATES. I am very pumped for this. As I’ve said before I love being an opposing fan in a ballpark, especially with the Pirates. I am looking forward to being one of the only Bucco Boys in attendance. I’m hoping to head down to the dugouts to talk with some players and get balls and autographs. It will be great to have an alterior motive at this game. Everything changes when the Buccos are playing.

It will be my first time in the state of Colorado but I have been to Arizona before.

 That is me in second grade. I was eight years old then in 1997. My mom and dad took me out there for a convention my father attended. It was great because I got to miss a week of school. Nothing better than that, every little kid knows that. We spent a week in Tuscon and at the grand Canyon. I am exciting to be back at the marvelous attraction once again. Because I do not remember a thing about it except for the helicopter ride we took over the canyon, in which I got sick, right there on teh ride. Can’t ya see why I really didn’t wish to remember it. If you notice atop my head is the original Diamondbacks logo. I got this hat on that trip and loved it so much. You see, there were only 28 teams back then and the Diamondbacks were just gearing up for their innagural season. It would have been cool to see them in their first season in existence, but 12 years later, I know I will appreciate the ballgame so much more.

 

 

I’m all packed and ready to go and this may be my last entry for this week. If there is a business center at any of our hotels I will try to get on with some updates from my trip. I would take my laptop but it is a hassle and all, especially going through secuirty. Plus what I love about a vacation is that seperation from the real world. I want nothing to worry about. I don’t want distractions from work, friends, facebook and those problems. I left them in the terminal at the Pittsburgh International Airport. On vacation I’m free, in a new place, making memories and sharing experiences.  

Written by Matthew Peaslee Posted in Dailies Tagged with Brandon Moss, Garret Jones, Matt Cain