Baseball Road Trip Shuffle

The last Baseball Road Trip kind of threw me a curveball. I felt like I was unprepared and unaware of some of the difficulties on the road. I found myself procrastinating on a lot of the aspects, and I paid for it. I have pledged not to make those same mistakes again, and, as a result, I'm making some adjustments to future road trips. Cutting a Baseball Road Trip short was embarrassing and humiliating, and I never want to have it happen again.

I will not be going to Boise at the end of this month, as originally planned. With everything going on with the Council, work, softball, and the 4th of July, I couldn't afford to take a trip to Boise as originally planned. I would have to take off two days from work and miss a softball game. The trip sounded fun, but the repercussions would have dampened it.

I decided to tweak the original trip and add-on a few things. In the middle of July, I will fly to Boise, but instead of spending two days there, I will only spend one then fly north to Spokane to catch the Ems-Indians series at Avista Stadium. I will then jump on the train after the game and ride all night and most of the morning back here to Eugene. I have, as a result, renamed the trip the NWL East.

This trip will require me to be more cognizant of planning and timing of public transportation, flights, and hotels. No detail can be overlooked on this trip, and pushing it back will allow me to ensure the logistical challenges are addressed. I will only have to take off one day from work, and I will be back into Eugene in plenty of time for my softball game. My tickets from Southwest easily transferred over and the fare difference only cost me an extra $7. Subtracting one night of lodging in Boise and adding the train fare back to Eugene will pretty much break even, so the spending on the trip will be nominal.

This will be unique in the fact that I will be taking multiple flights from multiple cities. Usually I travel to different cities within road trips via trains or buses, but never through flying. Once I get to Boise and Spokane, I will have to use public transportation and walking to get around, so I will also have to plan that out accordingly. This will be a road trip for the books.

For more immediate needs, PK Park and the Ducks are hosting a Super Regional match-up against Kent State this weekend. I might fork over the ridiculousness of a ticket price and see this event. The winner of the three-game series will move on to Omaha and the College World Series. I have nothing planned for the weekend, so, I figured, why not?

I have procured a book of about eight Emeralds tickets for the month of June. Their opening day is on the 15th, so I might try and catch a few games between now and the end of the month. They're free tickets, so I really have nothing to lose.

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)