2014 SPRING TRAINING PREVIEW (PART I)

2014 SPRING TRAINING PREVIEW (PART I)

http://www.cactusleague.com/

With 36 days until pitcher and catcher report to spring training, I'm making my way around Arizona to all ten spring training facilities. There are 15 teams that call Arizona home for spring training with five teams sharing a complex. All ten complexes are within 15-60 minute drive from our RV park. There is no doubt in my mind that I will attend spring training practices to seek autographs of the stars of tomorrow and fight the crowds for alums and stars of today. 

Below is my preview of each complex visited and what I found out to make my (and your) trip to 2014 Spring Training more enjoyable.

Indians & Reds

Goodyear Ballpark

http://goodyearbp.com/

As always I have to talk about my home town Tribe first. 2014 battle of Ohio starts at Goodyear Ballpark with 5 games against each other with the Reds as the home teams for 3 games. The Ballpark is celebrating it's 5 year Anniversary. Located at 1933 S Ballpark Way, Goodyear, AZ 85338. There are two giveaway of team fleece blanket Reds on Mach 1st (vs Rockies) and Indians on March 2nd (vs Mariners) to the first 1,500 fans. There are some good discounts for tickets too, first senior 55 and over weekday games $18 (regular price $25) for infield box seats with hot dog and soda.Second, new this year military active, reserve or retired FREE (regular price $8-$20) outfield box, outfield reserved or berm ticket and up to 4 additional tickets at group rate price. That means I could see all 30 games played at Goodyear for free. Free baseball all spring what more could I ask for. Parking fee is $5. We already got our spring training opening day tickets.

I asked at the ticket window if there was stadium tours, he opened the gate and let us in. It was just us and the ground crew. I walked to were our seats are and the view of the field was pretty good. The clubhouse access is from the outfield so players have to walk pass these seats to get on and off the field. Perfect seats for autograph hunting.

Practice complex is divided into two parts. Indians are open at 9:00 am on field 1. At time of this post no time posted for the Reds. The fields closes to the airport are the Indians and the fields closes to the main road is the Reds. Parking is along the road right in front of the fields, but are very limited. You can arrive early or park by the stadium and walk across the street to get to the practice complex.


Rangers & Royals
Surprise Stadium
http://www.surpriseaz.gov/files/springtraining/stadium-information.html

Surprise Stadium is located at 15930 N Bullard Ave, Surprise, AZ 85374. (one website shows 15930 while another shows 15850. Use either one and the GPS should get you close.) Rangers and Royals play each other 4 times with the Royals the home team 3 times. The box office opens on 4 Jan 2014, but the office is open only on the weekdays. So, we made a trip to surprise to get the schedules and information straight from the source. There are no giveaways scheduled, but that could change as the season starts. Parking is free and only military discounts are on Sundays two for one in plaza seats only. Ticket prices range from $8 lawn seats to $30 home run party deck.

Surprise Stadium is the same place I saw Arizona Fall League games (2013), so I already seen inside the park and had some pictures to show. Just like Goodyear, players have to walk to the outfield walls to enter the clubhouse again making players having to pass fans to leave the field and perfect for autographs.

The practice fields open at 10:00 am 17 Feb - 26 Mar and are located in the back of the parking lot and are close to the main field. There are two hotels (Holiday and Marriott) within walking distance to the stadium. Don't know if they are going to be used for the minor leaguers or open to fans too.

There are Japanese and Kent State alums on both teams so this is definitely a stop I will have to make this spring.


Mariners & Padres
Peoria Sports Complex
http://peoriasportscomplex.com/

Peoria Sports Complex is located at 16101 N 83rd Ave, Peoria, AZ 85382. Mariners and Padres play each other 4 times with Padres as the home team 3 times. There is lots of construction being done around both teams complex main building, should be completed in time for first day of spring training. As you enter the complex there is a large parking lot, the practice fields are located just in front of Peoria Sports Complex. I could not find any information on teams practice times. Parking fee is $5 and ticket prices range from $7 - $26. Military discount are $2 off ticket price up to 4 tickets. There is not giveaway games on the schedule.

This is the first stadium to have it's team shop open. There was shits, hats same as always, but the biggest bargains was 2013 spring training merchandise where everything was $1.00. As a mini bat collector I was happy to pick up one of each team along with a ball and towel. Most mini bats are $10-$12, balls about $10 and towel about $10. Usually a $40 buy for only $4 what a deal. They had 3 different 2013 spring training logo balls, one with just the logo and the other two with team logo and spring training logo, I just got the spring training logo ball. At these prices all the items should be gone pretty fast. I guess they are trying to make room for the 2014 spring training merchandise that is coming in.

The Stadium gates were open and anyone could walk in... just stay off the field. The players have to walk to the right field wall to enter and exit the stadium, there is an area where fan can stand and get autographs as they leave the stadium to get to the team complex. This stadium is larger then the rest I have seen so far and looks like it could be a Low A field.

I have some Padres autographs from when I was stationed in San Diego, but I personal think this will have the biggest crowds for graphers this year because of Robinson Cano first year in Arizona after spending his career with the Yankees in Florida.


Diamondbacks
Chase Filed
http://www.azchasefield.com/

Chase Field home to MLB Arizona Diamondbacks, located at 401 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, AZ 85004. I was reading some blogs about 2013 spring training in Arizona and one person stopped at TGIF inside Chase Field and said it was a must. After a long day of driving across town and walking the ball parks we decided to check it out for ourselves. Before we went inside TGIF we walked around Chase Field taking pictures and I saw the ticket window was open. I walked up and asked for a pocket schedules. I was told they did not have any yet, but only had large magnet schedules and if that was good enough. I said yes and walked away with one in hand. That's a picture of Paul Goldschmidt on the right in the on deck circle. I noticed that the D-Backs and Dodgers open the season in Australia. If I (you) want autographs of the D-Backs or Dodgers I have to get to their practices early (first two or three weeks) in the spring before they fly out.

Back to TGIF. They are open year round and located on the upper level of the left field bleachers. We sat and ate in the open window table. The dome roof was open with the sun and weather at 74 degrees in January along with a great view of the field made the food even taste better. The wife had salmon and lobster, while I had sizzling chicken and cheese.

  

Stay tune in the following weeks as I still have seven more stadiums to preview. Keep in mind most stadiums box office don't open until mid January to early February and some still have TBA dates. I hope to get them all done before 11 February when pitchers and catcher report to camp.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014

With a tick of the clock another year has passed. It has been quite a remarkable year. Our first full calendar year on the road completed. Learning on the fly, adjusting to the full-timer lifestyle and hoping our rig stayed in one piece. Visiting friend we have not seen in years, going to place we would have never gone otherwise and meeting new people who have become part of our "RV" family. 

 We now turn the page and start the year fresh. There is still a lot on our list to complete and with both fingers crossed we will roll into the new year with the same excitement of not knowing where the road will lead us, but will enjoy every minute we are together on this adventure.

To my family, friends, followers and blog readers, THANK YOU! If it was not for you I would have stopped writing this blog a long time ago. With more and more people viewing this blog every month I must be doing something right. Everyone, fasten your seat belt and hold on as this year will surely be a wild ride.

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK

74485 National Park Dr, 
Twentynine Palms, CA 92277
(760) 367-5500
http://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm

The drive from Arizona to California was a straight shoot on I-10 for almost 3 hours. However, there is nothing to see along the way but open desert. I set the cruse control and passed the time with good old fashion rock n' roll music playing in the car stereo. As you exit I-10 turn right and drive 7 miles to the Cottonwood Visitor Center. There are two more entrances to the park one in Joshua Tree and the other in Twentynie Palms both off of 62. Exhibit hall, shop and theater are located at Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms. While Cottonwood has a small display, and shop. Entrance fees is $15 a car or with a National Park Pass is free. I can't stop talking how good of a deal this National Park Pass has been for us. We would have paid more than the $80 annual fee on all the parks we have been to this year and we still have five months left on the pass. For anyone interested in the National Park pass www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/entrance-fees.htm.

I have to tell you up front that you can not see Joshua Tree National Park in one day. We only stayed one day but there is numerous camp grounds for 25' or less RV and tent camping at  first come, first serve. There is no services in the National Park so make sure your gas tank is at least half full and bring your own food and water.  Joshua Tree National Park is a beautiful area that has thousands of acres of barren desert with many different plant life and rock formations dotting its bleak landscape. For the rock climber, hiker or adventurer it holds miles of hiking trails and vertical rock walls to scale with days of adventure to fill up your time. Lot of the hiking trails are not that rough to walk but are sand and rock trails. We wore shoes, but brought our hiking boot just in case. For the trails we took we did not need hiking boots. However, when we returned to the car we had sand in our shoes. For those who can't hike, there are exhibit areas along the main road where you can stop and read the signs and take in the views. We only made four stops to hike trails at Cholla Cactus Garden, White Tank, Key View and Barker Dam. We caped the night off with one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.

Our first stop not that far from the Cottonwood entrance was Cholla Cactus Garden. We opened our cooler to make our lunch and ate in the car looking into the Cholla Cactus Garden. What an amazing view with cactus so close together and as far as the eye can see. The Cholla Cactus are a yellow-green color with pricks all over, look but don't touch. If the cactus is a brown color it's dead, but new cactus grow on top of the dead.

Second we made our way to White Tank to see the Arch Rock. We were surprised to see two coyotes cross the road in front of us. By the time we got the camera out they were gone. The Arch Rock is in White Tank Campground with no parking. We just parked in an empty campsite and made the half mile hick to the Arch. When you turn the corner and see the Arch Rock with its 30 foot across arch resting on top of a pile of rocks it is pretty amazing.We made our way around the path and the wife noticed a formation that looked like something out of a Star Trek movie.

On our way to see the Joshua Trees we came to Skull Rock and made a quick stop. You can see it from the main road. You can walk to it or view it from your car. There is a parking spaces on both side of the street so there is no danger of being in the way of on coming traffic.

After you pass Skull Rock you start to see Joshua Trees everywhere. You can stop along the roadside or see them at any hiking trail parking lot.

Next, we made our way to Key View. The elevation wass over 4,000 feet  and the weather started to get cool and windy. When we arrived the view was breath taking looking down into the valley, but the windy weather made this stop very short. When we opened our car door they just swung open with force we thought the doors would fall off.

Last on our trip (because of the time and sunset at 4:30 pm) we stopped at Barker Dam. Just over 2 miles hike round trip and the trail got confusing as we lost the trail markers over a rock mountain trail. We saw people and made our way to them and followed them the rest of the way around the trail and back to the parking lot. Most of the water to the dam was gone, but you could see the dam and some wildlife in the remain water.

As the sun started to set we pulled over and was just shocked how beautiful the view was. What a way to put the closing touches on a great day.

TODD McFARLANE AUTOGRAPH SIGNING

TODD McFARLANE AUTOGRAPH SIGNING

For those who may not know who Todd McFarlane is, he is a Canadian cartoonist, artist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur. Best know for his work in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man who drew the first appearance of supervillain Venom and the creator of Spawn.

He was holding a free autograph signing at his store in Westgate City Center in Glendale, AZ from noon til 3:00 pm. We arrived around 11:00 am and Tod McFarlane showed up around noon and started signing autographs. It took us about an hour and half to get in, but after meeting him it was worth it. I took two 5x7 to get signed and got a picture with him. He is one of the most friendly famous people I have met. He greeted and shook everyone's hand, he answered all questions that was asked.  We even received the new NFL small pros just for coming to the signing. 

After an hour and half, there was still a line people waiting to get in

When I was there I picked up some MLB figures that I have been looking for. Since they are being sold in his store the prices are the best you'll fine, so it was a no-brainer to pick them up. I also received a 10% military discount.

Check out the full life size statues of Halo and Assassin Creed that is standing in front of the store windows.

CASE GRANDE RUINS NATIONAL MONUMENT

CASE GRANDE RUINS NATIONAL MONUMENT

1100 Ruins Dr

Coolidge, AZ

(520)723-3172

http://www.nps.gov/cagr/index.htm

Today's road trip we decided to go to Case Grande Ruins National Monument. We packed our lunch in our cooler and hit the road. About a hour and a half later we arrived at the NM. the parking lot is small, but there was plenty of spaces open, there are also RV spaces so any rig will fit. Fee is $5 a person, but our National Park Pass came in handy one more time and we got in for free. There is a small museum and theater that plays a movie every half hour. 

After the movie we started to get hungry, so we took our cooler and went to the picnic tables near the parking lot. If you don't pack your lunch, there is a KFC, Sonic and Walmart in front of the park entrance.

After our lunch we went back inside and exited the back door to make our way to Case Grande Ruins. You can see it from the door and are only a few feet away. As you walk through of what is left of the outer wall you enter the ruins. There are several square blocks that would have been homes and in the middle is the remains of the "Great House". One time it stood four stories high with several rooms, seven feet high. Ancient Sonoran Desert people who built the Casa Grande also developed wide-scale irrigation farming in one of the world harshest climates that lasted over a thousand years until about 1450 when the Casa Grande was abandoned.

The ruins was never seen again until 1694 when  Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino visited and called it the "Great House". With travelers and treasure seekers the Case Grande was being destroyed and defaced with graffiti. In 1892 President Benjamin Harrison set aside one square mile of Arizona Territory surrounding the Case Grande Ruins as the first prehistoric and culture reserve established in the United States. In 1903 the first shelter roof was placed over Case Grande and in 1932 a new steel shelter roof was installed that still stands today.