Day two of the Rocky Mountain road trip has come and gone in the whirl of a day. Activity piled upon activity resulting in pure exhaustion reigned supreme.
After sleeping on an unforgiving floor, I was already off to a groggy start. After only getting about two hours of sleep the night before, I was running on fumes. My cousin, who lives here in Denver, picked me up a 9am and we met up with the rest of her family shortly before noon. It was nice to spend some time with her and catch up on things considering we hadn't seen each other in seven years.
My uncle is a bus driver for the local transit organization here in Denver. Public transportation is definitely my thing, so I realy enjoyed talking with him about the sights of Denver and how best to experience it. While on our way to lunch, they took me down the infamous West Colfax Avenue in Denver. My uncle explained to me the seediness of this area and the rampant drug use and prostitution that goes on. As a tourist, you don't normally see this type of stuff, but I got a turn-by-turn narrative of it. Fascinating would be the term I would describe this.
After eating a hearty lunch, we made our way into Downtown Denver. I had an inkling to go to the state capitol building and take a tour. I knew that I made a pledge with myself to not bring politics with me on this trip, but I was very intrigued at the similarities and differences between the Colorado state government and the Oregon state government. We all latched on to a tour in progress and saw the chambers of the Senate and Assembly as well as the museum and rotunda. Being that it was free, I was very impressed with the content of the tour and knowledge given. It was definitely worth the trip.
After our foray to the capitol, we took a bus down to the lower downtown district by Coors Field. We still had some time before the game, so we ducked into a rooftop tavern for a few hours, had a few drinks, and shot the breeze. Again, it was so nice to sit down and chat with family I haven't seen in so many years and get to know relatives that I hardly knew. We sat and chatted almost right up to game time.
After walking across the street to Coors Field, I was agin amazed at the courtesy afforded to me by the Rockies staff. Helpful and intuitive, respectful and curious would best describe the staff there. Being dollar hot dog night, one would expect a certain level of stress, but I was very impressed by their professionalism and demeanor.
Unlike last night, I went a cheaper option and got seats up in the third deck. To be honest, the cheaper seats were better than the field level. From where we were sitting, I had a left-to-right field panorama of the Rocky Mountains, and behind me was a panorama of the Denver skyline. It was a view that rivaled Pittsburgh or San Francisco for best in the majors. Especially when the sun set, it was absolutely fabulous.
If there is one complaint I have about Coors Field it would have to be the luxury boxes. I just don't get why you build luxury boxes, that pushes the upper deck farther from the field, and have them only be 25-30% full. The luxury boxes at Coors were between the second and third decks, and were only sparsely populated. It is my one petpeeve about this wonderful ballpark.
For once on the baseball road trips, I saw history made. Jamie Moyer, the starting pitcher for the Rockies, became the oldest man in Major League History to win a game. At 49-years and 150 days, he went seven strong innings giving the Rockies a 5-2 win. What amazed me most about his performance was his strategy in getting hitters out. His fastball only topped out at about 79-mph, but he used four double plays, lots of groundouts and clutch pitches to win. It was truly a sight to see.
After the game, we decided to walk back to our car through the 16th Street Pedestrian Mall. I've said it once, and I will say it again, but downtown ballparks are such a great idea and encourage these types of alternative transportation. Walking after the game, I saw bars and restaurants packed with people from the game. Hundreds of people were out walking with us back to their cars and what not. You gain a sense of intimacy with the city when you experience it on the ground and on foot. That just isn't there when you drive through it in a car.
Now, on to the plans for today. Simply put, this will be an adventure like no other. I am right now on a commuter bus south to Colorado Springs. Once I get into downtown Colorado Springs, I have to catch a city bus for an almost 45 minute ride out to this mall in the suburbs. From there, I have a 2.5 mile walk to Security Service Field. I have a friend from the Peace Corps who is going to be meeting me at the game and giving me a ride back out to the commuter line stop by the I-25 freeway. I'm going to be taking it back into Denver, connect up with a city bus, and make my way out to Denver Airport where my Southwest flight is supposed to leave at 8:15pm.
Oh yeah, in the middle of all that, I will be seeing a baseball game between the Tucson Padres and Colorado Springs Sky Sox.
If I can make it through today without a.) getting lost and b.) making all my transportation connections, I will shout glee from this blog. But, whatever happens, I know that I will make the best of it and add to the annals of Baseball Road Trip glory.
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
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