Game 4

I called the Santa Fe RV Park for a Sunday night reservation and was told there was a park map outside the office with available spaces defined, for their after hours visitors. When I got there, sure enough there were packets for the empty spaces. I grabbed the one for Space A-29 Black, COOL! I easily found the space but didn't quite understand the color designation. I hooked up and had a great night's sleep aided by the sound of rain on Shirley's roof. Monday morning I went to the office to check-in officially and when I told Kate I was in Space A-29, she says "Welcome, Mr. Black."
Ooops!
I tell her that I am really Bill and came in after hours. She got all flustered and started doing the "Oh my, oh my" thing. She said this was really bad because I was using Mr. Black's WiFi and access card.
"Oh my, oh my." Kate was very concerned about the mysterious Mr. Black. She finally called him to try to find out when he would show up. Come to find out, his reservation was for NEXT week! Kate finally came back to earth, rented me Space A-29, got the books squared away and calmed down.
As the Bard would say "All is well that ends well." (except Mr. Black should change his name to Kowalski or Bettencourt to avoid confusion with systems based on color designation)

I took a taxi to Petco Park. The driver was a very nice Somali gentleman who had been in the US for three years. Today was his first day as a taxi driver. Lucky me! I finally got him to understand where I wanted to go, the problem was that he was asking me directions. When we got close to the park he let me out after a $35 ride. I discovered the trolley and the #30 bus took me to within a half mile of the RV Park for $4.The half mile walk was worth the $31 savings.

Monday was the Home Opener for the Padres. They went all out on the hoopla. They gave out souvenir programs and Padres T-shirts to me and 42,842 of my closest friends.

The field was full of Navy dudes and dudettes, the singer of the National Anthem did a fine job and big ol’ fireworks accented the “bombs bursting in air.” Four F-14s did a fly over, timed perfectly with the end of the song. We were even treated to two renditions of “God Bless America,” one by a chief of the Sycuan Tribe before the game and one by a second class petty officer during the 7th inning stretch, this one with an Irish ballad flavor to it. Call me a stinkin’ pinko commie but I don’t remove my hat for “GBA.” It is not the National Anthem.

Oh yeah. The Padres won 17-2.

Weekend Update

As you can tell I have connectivity back. An Arizona cosmic ray scrambled the software on my stick-in Virgin thingy but Matt at the Oceanside Best Buy solved the problem by deleting the program and reinstalling it. Worked fine in the store, right now I am on the RV park's WiFi but will give the connect card another try from the ballpark tomorrow.

Rewind a couple of days to Saturday and Phoenix, AZ. Chase Field was a very nice place to catch a game but the hissing/rattling diamondback sound effect has replaced "Day-Ooo" as the most annoying sound in the history of baseball. The novelty had worn off long before the game ended.


My good friend, Don Lawler, who has been a CAL FIRE friend since 1971, has since retired and moved to Goodyear, AZ. He and Sharon were kind enough to put me up and treat me to a ballgame. Great hospitality. Don also told me to get on I-10 and stay there until I came to the 57 which would take me all the way to Angel Stadium. Great advice. I drove right to the park and had lots of time to look around.

Even though the park is old, it is still well maintained, clean, and with great staff. A woman two seats and an aisle away from me got smacked with a foul ball hit by Brandon Wood and the ushers were all over her making sure she was OK. They brought her an icepack and invited her down to the corporate offices for tea and crumpets or something. The A's played well and in the 7th and 8th innings blew the game wide open. A’s reliever, Tyson Ross throws some serious heat!



After the game I headed to San Diego, 94 miles away and found a real nice RV park. I will stay here tonight and tomorrow night then head towards the Dodgers Tuesday morning.

I think that pretty much brings us up-to-date. The weather is still attempting to be a factor in the scheduled events but reports look favorable for this afternoon. The home teams have lost two in a row and the record stands at 1-2 as I begin a four game tour of National League parks. This afternoon I’ll watch the 2-4 Padres take on the 3-3 Braves, who just lost 2 of 3 to my beloved Giants. It’s going to be a great season!

Connection Problems

I’m happy to report the trip from Oakland to Phoenix was uneventful, and once I got off California’s poorly maintained interstate highways, enjoyable too. Shirley seems to have absorbed the 525 miles better than I did, and I’m in no hurry to make the return trip later tonight or early next morning.

Unfortunately the game was fairly uneventful as well, with the home team losing 6-3.

I’m experiencing intermittent internet connection problems and may have to replace my Virgin connect card if things don’t improve.

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It’s now Sunday and I am back in California (340 miles) and it is not sunny where I am. I’m hoping the weather holds, as there is no contingency plan for games that are rained out.

My internet problems are no longer intermittent, the device has stopped working completely. I’ll have to find a Radio Shack in the San Diego area this evening or tomorrow to see what their replacement policy is without a receipt, since mine is safely stored in my files back home.

Until I’ve got a reliable connection again, my posts may be brief, but I’ll keep you updated with my progress and game scores until then (and yesterday's score can be found below).

First pitch of game 3 is quickly approaching so I better go find my seat.

The Journey Begins

So it’s 9:30 a.m. and I am driving south on I-5 approaching Thornton, between Sacramento and Stockton. Shirley is purring along in the number two lane beside an 18-wheeler when she goes “Thump-thump-thump-KAPOW!!!” and lurches to the right! I immediately think I have either hit the truck or blown a tire. It becomes obvious the latter is true. I look to my mirror so I can move to the right shoulder but my mirror is flat against the side window. As I am trying to move slowly and blindly to the right I see the truck heading for the shoulder. “Oh fudge, I did hit the truck!” I finally get Shirley to the shoulder and stopped. The truck driver is out of the cab and coming back to me. I manage to get out of the driver’s seat and get ready to open the door fully expecting to see Shirley’s whole right side smashed in. The truck driver informs me my tire blew out. Very observant. He also says only my mirror hit him and there is no damage to his truck. He gets back in his truck and leaves. I inspect Shirley and determine the only damage is a totally destroyed Michelin and the mirror has been shoved in but is not damaged. Luck is with us.

Long story short: the spare is useless, a big chunk is out of it. Tow truck time. Shirley gets towed to Brannon Tire in Stockton after an hour wait for the tow truck and a thirty minute tow. By time the folks at Brannon get the work order completed and the tow driver finishes his bill it is 12:35, game time. (Saint) Michael Borelli was going to the game with me and we were to meet in Pleasanton at 10:00. St. Mike drives to Stockton, picks me up and we head to Oakland and arrive at the game in the fourth inning.

Saint Michael entering Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

The A’s played a good game and had a shutout until the 9th when Seattle scored twice with one out. The A’s came through with a 6-4-3 double play that ended the game. First game, a win for the home team and I got to see two future Hall of Famers; Ichiro and Ken Griffey, Jr (he was on deck when the final out was made.)



Mike hauled me back to Stockton where Shirley had two matching new shoes on the front and the original left front was now the spare. It was 6:00 p.m. when I left Stockton and I arrived at I-5 and Hwy 46 at 9:30 without further incident.

Day 1 Summary: Shirley likes me. One game down, 29 to go, 284 miles logged. Time to get some sleep at the Lost Hills RV Park and head for Phoenix in the morning.

Play Ball

It’s just a matter of hours until the first pitch.

The fine folks at Tunez 4 U got Shirley totally operational. Mike really did a nice job. She’s all washed and waxed, the tires are blacked, and all the glass is gleaming (thanks to Phyllis).

I’ve spent the last few hours putting in the front TV, cleaning the carpets, loading clothing, food, CDs, mechanics stuff, and cleaning supplies. Shirley’s put on a few pounds but doesn't seem to mind. As far as I can tell all systems are "Go", now I just have to be able to sleep. It’s kind of like Christmas Eve for an eight-year old.

Time to fold up the old computer and get some rest.

Bon Voyage

1 Week and Counting

Actually less than a week now. Shirley is still up at Tunez 4 U trying to get wired properly. They say she will be done by Tuesday. I hope they’re right because I need to load two months worth of stuff into her before oh-dark thirty on Thursday.

I’ve been making last minute preparations all week. I’m stocking up on dry goods such as reduced sodium sunflower seeds, canned artichoke hearts, Craisins and other delicacies. Why? I’ve been doing the Valerie Bertinelli thing with Jenny (Craig) and have lost over 30 lbs since the first of February. I am 9 pounds away from my goal of 200 and I don't want to backslide by eating a bunch of ballpark junk. Somehow I will suffer through 30 baseball games eating low-cal, low sodium sunflower seeds, rather than peanuts ("Buy me some sunflower seeds and Cracker Jacks" just doesn't have the same ring to it). I am eating a lot of salad, so the artichoke hearts and Craisins add a nice touch to spinach salads. I will get a major Jenny delivery Wednesday and will fill Shirley's freezer with breakfast stuff. Lunches and dinners will be mainly ballpark pickings in moderation, or shelf stable Jenny delights.

I have also been plotting out my overnight stays using the 2010 Trailer Life RV Parks and Campgrounds Directory which was given to me by my CAL FIRE partner Shana Jones. The directory is very handy because it has thousands of parks with descriptions, rates, and phone numbers. A standard 3" X 3" Postit note covers about 450 miles on my Rand McNally Road Atlas. I use the Postit to get a rough idea of a day's drive then adjust based on factors like how tired I think I may be, and how far to the next game. So far I have reservations in Las Vegas and Oklahoma City (both named Roadrunner RV Park), and in Grand Junction, CO; Oakley, KS; and Terrell, TX. I have scheduled stops in Mississippi, Florida and Georgia also, but have not made reservations yet.

I had these cards made up for folks I meet along the way so they can follow the odyssey if they are interested. I decided not to advertise my trip on the motor home because some less than honorable folks may want to see what I am hauling around in Shirley when she is unattended. Too bad our world has gotten this way.

I have a little whiteboard that I have filled up with reminders of what I need to take with me. I need the board because CRS is quite common and finding out I need something in Virginia, and that something is in California will not be good.

Another reminder of my poor planning; my driver's license expires while I am on the road, naturally. I got it renewed but the new one will not arrive before I leave. I will be meeting a friend in Texas, so Phyllis will mail the license to him, and he can bring it to the game. We met this friend on a cruise and he is a huge Texas Longhorn fan, so we have annual bets on the outcome of Texas-USC games. I haven't done very well over the past few years.

My grandson is graduating from Argonaut High School in Jackson this June so I may have to hurry to get back to California so I don't miss it.

That’s about all that’s going on for now. Phyllis did not get Leo housebroken so I guess he has to stay here. I am including a picture of Leo and I am sure you will agree he would make a darling motor home companion. Happy Easter to all and I will begin blogging on a daily basis when I hit the road.