The first day of the Puget Sound road trip has come to an end. Like with all other baseball road trips, I'm plum worn out and dog tired. It's not even 10pm, and I'm curling up wanting to go to bed. Despite my fatigue, today was an adventure and I am excited for what is in store tomorrow.
I woke up bright and early to catch the 0530 train out of Eugene. I didn't really get a lot of sleep the night before, but I figured I'd get a little shut-eye on the six-hour ride up here. I tried, but with my excitement, I was only able to get a few minutes here and there.
We got into Seattle about ten minutes early. I decided to walk over to the hostel and drop off my overnight bag. This is when things got interesting. The hostel had overbooked rooms, and since I had made my reservations so far in advance, I got bumped. The hostel made me a reservation at another place. They wouldn't take my card, so I had to burn all my cash in paying for a new room. Long story short, I'm settled in and resting comfortably.
After that debacle, I made my way down to Pioneer Square for the Underground tour.
Bill Speidel's Underground Tour is a popular attraction here in Seattle. Seattle, back in the late 19th Century, burned to the ground in a fire. Seeing an opportunity to rebuild in a more efficient fashion, the Seattle city founders built atop the old ruins. This made it easier for the removal of sewage, transport of commerce, and future development. As a result, many of the buildings in Pioneer Square have two or three stories below the street grade.
It was a very interesting tour. Going underneath the sidewalks and buildings, knowing that there is another world above you, is really a rush. I have been to Seattle so many times and walked these streets, but I never knew what type of setting existed underneath my feet. Seeing all the old storefronts and signage, smelling the musky and drafty air takes you to another time and place.
Once the tour finished, I made my way down to Safeco Field. Walking through all the activity of a Saturday afternoon made me very excited to get to the park and settle in. Safeco has always been one of my favorite parks, and this is a main reason why.
After getting in, I took some time to walk through the Baseball in the Pacific Northwest Museum. It is located parallel to the main concourse and features dozens of interesting exhibits not just about the game, but the history of baseball in this region. Stories of baseball in Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Eugene, etc. lined the walls of the exhibits. It is one of the better setups I have seen at a park.
It was a very good game. After being in a scoreless deadlock for the early innings, Albert Pujols smashed a 420-foot shot to dead center off of Seattle pitcher Felix Hernandez to break open the scoring for the visiting Los Angeles of Anaheim. Alberto Callaspo added a grand slam while the Angels beat the Mariners 5-3.
After the game, I had nothing planned, so I just walked around the city. I made my way up from the park towards downtown, down to the waterfront, back up past Pikes Place before jumping on the bus line back here to the Hostel.
Despite my frustrations early on, I've been very impressed with the concept of hostelling. I'm in a shared room with five other men who are here from all over the world. New Orleans, Japan, Argentina, you name it. Before turning onto this blog, I had very interesting conversations with them about baseball road trips, Seattle, and their plans. All of them are doing outdoor activities, specifically backpacking.
Now on to tomorrow's itinerary. I'll wake up here and eat breakfast here at the hostel. After getting cleaned up, I have to walk about six blocks to the bus stop where I'll catch a city bus south to Tacoma. After transferring on to another bus, I'll get to Cheney Stadium in time for the Tucson-Tacoma game in the afternoon. After the game, I'll jump back on the bus, catch the train, and be back in town around midnight. It's another long day, so I'm going to rest up.
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
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