Sac-Town

Day 2 of the I-80 has drawn to a close as I an now on the train back home. Today was another whirlwind day for this road trip and I will certainly add today's experiences to the baseball road trip Hall of Fame.

Waking up in Reno gave me the opportunity to seek out something that I came to love when I was in Las Vegas two seasons ago. I woke up and walked down to the El Dorado and had their breakfast buffet. For $13, I ate so much food that I just about popped. French toast, bacon, fruit, pancakes, you name it, they had it. It was the best deal I found while in Reno.

When I first left all of you, I was on the California Zephyr over Donner Pass. When I wasn't busy updating the blog, I was gazing out the window at the fabled mountain summit. Arguably the most challenging bit of the Transcontinental Railroad, Donner Pass has stories of receiving thirty feet of snow during the winter. Yesterday, however, not a flake was present as the Zephyr went up and over the pass getting in to Sacramento 20 minutes early.

After getting off the train, and made my way into Old Town for my first scheduled activity. For the second time this season, I toured a city's underground. Also featured in Ghost Adventures, the Sacramento Underground was created by yearly massive floods by the Sacramento River. By raising up the buildings, it prevented them from being inundated.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't really impressed with the tour. The Portland Underground really took advantage of it's dark past and vice activities. The Seattle Underground really used humor and engagement. The Sacramento Underground had nothing. In fact, the tour guide was very adamant about how the Underground was NOT haunted and how the TV shows made such a big deal of "a basement of a bank."

After the tour, I ducked in to another Ghost Adventures haunt in Old Town, the Eagle Theatre. I was enticed in by the lure of a period-piece show. It was free, so I decided, why not?

The show was great. It featured a show that was modeled off a late 19th century act with live music, the can-can, and a Mark Twain impersonator. Once again, going to the theatre proved to be a fun and enjoyable activity on a baseball road trip.

After the theatre and a bite to eat at Subway, I kept up the theme of railroading and boarded the Sacramento Southern excursion train. This six-mile long excursion goes from Old Town, paralleling the Sacramento River, and terminating along the I-5 freeway at a place called Baths.

The second excursion train in as many days was fun, but it just could not compare to the V&T. The smell of the soot, the Old West ambiance, and the whole experience of the town of Virginia City made the V&T so special. The Sacramento Southern, while a nice railroad, just couldn't compare.

Once I finished riding the train, I made my way across the Tower Bridge to Raley Field. The home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, Raley Field is one of the better draws in baseball. Sacramento usually leads all of Minor League Baseball in attendance, regularly drawing 9 or 10,000 a night. this night was no exception as Raley Field was a sell out.

Despite being built in 2000, Raley Field has held up well. It sits on the banks of the Sacramento River with a great view of the skyline and bridge behind the right field wall. Compared to Reno, Raley Field is engineered perfectly for Minor League Baseball.

I had been to Raley Field five seasons ago. I was still in college and I was pretty new to the baseball road trip concept. Being able to see it now with all the experience I have gave me a greater appreciation of the park and how it stacks up amongst other parks in professional baseball.

The Salt Lake Bees crawled back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the River Cats 4-3. Sacramento had a chance to tie it in the bottom of the 7th, but a collision between the Sacramento base runner and the Salt Lake catcher at the plate didn't produce a run as the catcher held on.

After the game, I had about two hours to burn before my train left. As I was walking to the park, I saw a Comedy Club that looked like fun. I googled it and saw that there was an act that night. It was a little spendy, but I had a few drinks and listened to some incredibly funny comics. It was the perfect way to end the day.

The train got into Sacramento twenty minutes late. I got my seat and passed out. From everything that happened, I was just exhausted.

I'm due back into Eugene around noonish. I'll write-up a Final Thoughts sometime tomorrow.

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)