Tag: ballparks

Photos: Bay Area Trip, Day 3: Alcatraz, Oakland

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The third day of the trip saw Huzzard and I opt to stay on the San Francisco side of the bay during the day.  From what I was told, and from what I could guess just from passing through, Oakland is about as desirable of a place to visit and hang out in as apparently, crossing any metaphorical train tracks in any instance.  So, we did the Alcatraz tour, and went to the hipster part of San Franscico, before taking the train into Oakland, and visiting the home of the Oakland Athletics.

Despite the fact that Oakland seems every bit the lower-class, sketchy segment of the Bay Area, I have to say that I really liked the Oakland Coliseum, even if it’s called the “O.co Coliseum,” yes, named after the company that was once known as Overstock.com.  Based on all of the things I heard, I was prepared to not like the Coliseum, and initial visuals of chain link fences, razor wire and late gate openings didn’t exactly help.

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Photos: Bay Area Trip, day 2: San Francisco

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My primary reason for going to the Bay Area in the first place was because it was home to two more Major League ballparks that needed to be visited on my long-standing quest to visit all the MLB cities.  After a day of too much driving after too much flying, it was adventures in San Francisco via foot and rail.

As a whole, I don’t know how to really feel about San Francisco.  I think at its core, it’s one of those places I chalk up as “nice place to visit, but wouldn’t really want to live there.”  It’s funny, considering just how far north the Bay Area is, from like the borders into Latin America, but when the day is over, I’m convinced there’s significantly larger Hispanic numbers in San Francisco than I witnessed in Los Angeles and San Diego.

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Photos: Bay Area Trip, day 1: Trip to Modesto, California

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My trip out to the Bay Area region of Northern California started out with of all things, leaving it immediately, heading east into the more rural part of California, namely Modesto.  What for?  What else?  Baseball.  Minor League baseball.

Modesto, California, home of the Modesto Nuts.  Yes, I drove two hours outside of San Francisco to see a team called the Nuts, because it is an alternative term for male genitalia.  That, and minor league baseball is fucking awesome, and the trip was pretty well worth it, as it was a cool ballpark, and I saw a good game.

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I won’t put flowers in my hair

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But I am off to San Francisco for the next few days. I am very excited to visit an area I have never been to before, and I look forward to eating a lot of good food, wandering around aimlessly, doing touristy shit like seeing the Full House house, and traversing the Golden Gate Bridge, and of course, most importantly, visiting three new ballparks, two of which are MLB parks. #22 and #23, respectively.

To be honest, despite the fact that this trip had been planned all the way back in like February, it kind of feels like this weekend got here a little insanely quickly. A part of me wouldn’t mind at all if I had another week before the trip, but it’s all good. That part of me is wanting to be home for the first weekend of having a new dog, and helping ensure the dog acclimates to his new surroundings, instead of me jetting off just days after bringing him home. But it wasn’t meant to be in the cards, and both Jen and I will have to deal with what we were given; it’s not like we could have waited on rescuing Chase, because it was made evident that if we didn’t claim him when we did, there were at least two parties that would have.

Not to say I don’t expect to enjoy my time out in San Francisco due to these circumstances, I’m just saying that I’m going to miss my new dog. But Jen’s a successful competent dog owner, so I know the boy’s in good hands in my absence.

There’s a good chance that I’ll make some random mobile photo posts throughout the weekend, not to mention the slew of posts, picture posts, and baseball park posts that will come in ensuing days and weeks afterward.

Real Men Don’t Wear Small update: Riverwalk Stadium, Montgomery, Alabama

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My latest baseball travels took me out to Montgomery, Alabama for some minor league baseball action.  There, I visited Riverwalk Stadium, home of the Montgomery Biscuits, the AA affiliates of the Tampa Bay Rays.  Out of all of the minor league ballparks that I’ve been to, I would rank Riverwalk Stadium very high up on it, and it’s easily the best park I’ve been to out of the paltry four AA parks I’ve visited.  The best part about it is that it’s close enough to where I’d actually consider going again in the future.

Photos: A day in Montgomery, Alabama

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The pursuit of travel and baseball took me down to Montgomery, Alabama for a day, to take in some local sights, and eventually watch some baseball.  Compared to Birmingham from just a week ago, I have to say that I liked Montgomery more.  Ironically, a lot of it has to do with the historic feel of the area, and walking around what I suppose was a major home of the Confederacy.

The first White House of the Confederacy is what’s pictured above, and it’s kind of interesting to think that I never heard of such a structure even existing in contemporary school, despite the fact that Virginia too was a “southern state.”

As much as I thought I would be looked at with a strange eye for being a Chinaman in Montgomery, Alabama, I was pleasantly surprised to have not really run into such incident.  Well, not openly.  Then again, being a Sunday afternoon, pretty much the entire city was deserted, except for the sparse church-goers and baseball enthusiasts at the park.  I’ll save the park opinions for when I eventually update the baseball site, but as for the rest of the pictures, beyond the jump.

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Real Men Don’t Wear Small update: Regions Park, Hoover, Alabama

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The first update of the 2012 baseball season takes me to Birmingham/Hoover, Alabama for some minor league action.  Regions Park, home of the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League, the class-AA affiliates of the Chicago White Sox.  Ironically, the minor league parks for both the AA and AAA affiliates of the White Sox are way better than the White Sox’s major league park.