I didn’t write a post yesterday since I had a nine hour drive from Bend, Oregon to Palo Alto, California. When you look on a map it doesn’t seem so far. I will have a few eight hour plus drives coming up in the next week, as I start heading back east. The beginning of August is upon us, the problem this poses for me is that all the American Legion and College Summer leagues are finishing up their seasons. August will be filled with a lot of minor league and major league games plus the American Legion and Little League World Series. September will be more difficult since all the minor league seasons end so I will be going to a lot of MLB games. I have scheduled a lot of games in August already as I am scrambling to get a game in all 48 states. That is my goal in August to accomplish and September will be to finish getting to all the MLB stadiums.
As a birthday present to myself I checked into a hotel for two nights! I went to a game at 5 p.m. yesterday, in Palo Alto, between Neptune Beach and Pacific Union of the California Collegiate League (I also got a ball), which by the way was their last regular season game before the playoffs. It finished about 8 p.m. so I headed back to the hotel where I laid in bed and watched TV for a few hours. I woke up this morning at 11:00 and watched a movie until 1:00 this afternoon. It felt great, but also very odd. I have a minor league game tonight in San Jose at 7 p.m.. I will be taking a nap before and then enjoy an extra long shower!
I have been thinking a lot lately of what I will be doing once this is all over. For some reason I am getting nervous about it, why I don’t know! I still have a few months on the road and believe it is human nature to have those worries. Most people I know want to be safe and secure. When life is in limbo, it can be unsettling. The possibilities are endless of what I can chose to do, or live, for that matter. I probably will be back in Milwaukee for awhile. I want to see my daughter in Madison every couple of weeks for dinner and occasionally for breakfast on Sunday mornings. There is comfort in that for me. I hope to find a nice little one bedroom apartment. I want small since I don’t need much. Besides, the more room I have the more stuff I acquire and I don’t want to be a slave to my ‘stuff’. Hopefully I can start taking dating seriously. That is the one thing, I think, I am missing out on during this trip – companionship. There have been many times I wish someone was with me when I was enjoying a beautiful sunset; or, in awe of how gorgeous the stars are on a moonless night. I have definitely learned, life is to be shared. I guess this is why I write on this blog everyday.
One thing I do, when I have extra time on the road, is to browse antique malls for baseball related items. I don’t collect cards or bobble heads unless they were from the 1960’s or prior. I have amassed a nice collection of things and I am excited to display them when I am finished with the trip. I have been very lucky to see what is available throughout the U.S.; and, what is hard to find. For some reason, old baseball gloves are priced very high, but there are thousands available. It doesn’t seem like anyone is buying them with merchants pricing the gloves anywhere from $20 to $50. Occasionally, I see them for $4 or $5. It is what it is. Baseball bats are another item that are overpriced. Even though, I have found some under $10. For me, the ‘looking’ and finding these treasurers has been fun. And, with prices that most baseball items are, it tells me how popular the game is. Football and basketball items are considerably less.
Football season is upon us with the start of training camp. The focus will be turning to yet another field of play on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. That means less crowds at the baseball games I will be attending on the weekends. I am sure the media attention I have been getting will probably dry up until I get towards the end of the trip, which is fine. I have finally gotten pretty comfortable with interviewing. When the air turns cooler, I will head south to continue the longest summer of my life. When I think about this, I don’t get sad. I keep thinking there will be less competition for foul balls. I just want to say thank you for all the birthday wishes, Facebook is to credit for all of it. Normally I get seven calls, one from each of my family members. This year, I got over 150 messages! Feeling very lucky I have such wonderful people in my life! With that, I’m drawing this to a close – I am going to take a nap!
If you enjoy this story and you would like to help me complete the “Baseball in America Tour 2014″, which is roughly 265 days, please click on the following link to see how you can help at www.baseballbuddha.com. Follow me on Twitter and like my Facebook page! Please share this on your Facebook page and Twitter. I appreciate all the help I can get!
I hope you had a wonderful birthday John , and are staying happy, safe and enjoying baseball. I am starting to blog myself, I will visit my mom and family for two weeks starting next Friday and Ive signed up for a small fantasy football league at my store Ive never played lol. Take care and talk soon John. Paul.