Final Thoughts?!?!?!?!?! Wait a minute, what happened to the whole Tacoma experience? Where was the tangent? It's sort of a long story, which I will get into, but the Puget Sound trip had to be called early and has now been, ostensibly, renamed just Seattle.
Sunday morning I woke up and had a pretty good breakfast at the hotel. I chatted with a few of the patrons, cleaned up my materials, and checked out of my room. While I was walking, I got a phone call from my parents back in Creswell about an article that came out in the paper about the Creswell City Council. I had planned to work on some Council stuff during the train ride, but considering how tired I was going up on Saturday, I didn't get a chance to. I found myself working the phones on Council stuff during a Baseball Road Trip, which is a big no-no in my book.
Coupled with my dwindling finances, I made the executive decision to cut short the trip down to Tacoma and catch the train home. It was a decision that I was disappointed about, but I knew that it had to be done. So, as a result, here is the Final Thoughts.
Every year I try to make a trip up to Seattle to see a Mariners game. It is an easy trip, Safeco Field is nice, I usually meet up with some friends or family, and it's good baseball. This trip, however, I came away with mixed feelings. I got what I wanted out of it, but I have a sour feeling in my mouth. I think if I had gone down to Tacoma my mood would have improved, but I just am a little down on this trip. Even still, I learned a lot and will refine my future trips accordingly.
Once again, I have to applaud the train. I much more prefer to take the train on road trips than flying. It is so much more relaxing, in some ways more convenient, relatively inexpensive, and just has an allure that isn't accompanied when I fly or drive to different cities. Wouldn't it be an awesome trip to take the train across the country and see baseball games? If I win the lottery, I know exactly what I am going to do.
The Underground Tour was very interesting. It revealed a history of Seattle that I, honestly, had no clue about. Yet, after going through the Shanghai Tunnels in Portland, the Seattle Underground just didn't match up. The element of darkness, evil, and vice just weren't prevalent in the Underground as in the Shanghai Tunnels. While it was very interesting, the feeling of danger and fear wasn't as permeating. Despite this, I will definitely recommend the Underground tour to anyone going to Seattle.
I love Safeco. It's a beautiful downtown park that is one of the better parks in the Majors. Yet, once again, my experience was soured by drunken fans. Just like at Camden Yards in Baltimore, I happened to be sitting in front of dozens of drunk and boisterous fans. They spilled beer all over my shirt and backpack, used too much profanity, and annoyed me like no other. I have never had this problem at Minor League games, but it seems like whenever I go to a Major League game on the weekend, I have this problem. Let me be clear: I have no problem with fans drinking at the game, but there is something called moderation. These idiots ruined a good experience.
When I went to Denver, I saw the Rockies play on a Monday and Tuesday night with zero problems. When I went to Camden Yards on a Monday night, I had zero problems. When I went to Petco Park on a Tuesday, I had zero problems. I have now learned my lesson: do not go to Major League games on a weekend.
This was my first experience in a hostel, and I have mixed feelings about it. I am a very social person, and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. Yet, as I have said on here before, some of my best road trips have come when I was with friends and family. Rocky Mountain, Surfliner, and SoCal all featured me meeting up with friends and family and not only going to the games, but doing stuff around town and hanging out. Meeting new people in a hostel is fun, but we don't have the familiarity. I would stay in a hostel again, but I prefer to stay with friends and family.
The social aspect was very interesting. I was rooming with people from Taiwan, England, and New Orleans. To think that this city attracted young people from such varying places is quite stunning. However, if I were to stay in a hostel again, I need to pack ear plugs and an eye-shield. I was beat after Saturday's activities, but some of my roommates went out on the town and kept waking me up when they would get back to the room, making noise and turning on the lights. I would also bring a padlock to lock up my belongings as I don't know the individuals, per se, who are sharing a room with me. Like I said earlier, lesson learned.
In hindsight, I should have taken care of my life stuff before going on this trip. I had some outstanding things going on that I neglected to do before I left. I had this grand plan of working while on the road, but that fell through. Lesson learned.
Logistically this trip rocks. I feel like I have unfinished business with it, and I will make a concerted effort to go back and do this trip the right way sometime later on this season.
After the learning curve, the clock now resets to begin the countdown to my next trip. I leave for Boise at the end of June, so let the days fly by!
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
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