Baseball Been Very, Very Good To Me!

(Church)

I have very few memories from before I was six years old. I remember my first plane ride, I remember my grandfather when he was still able to walk around, and I remember my first baseball game. It was Tiger Stadium, against the Kansas City Royals, and Bo Jackson was playing Center Field. It started a lifelong obsession and love, which has only gotten stronger as I have gotten older. 

I don't know if its the draw of being outside on a summer day, the statistics, the fact each stadium has its own dimensions, personality and character, or the specialization of players, but I was hooked from day one. A common misconception about sports in Michigan is U of M Football, the Detroit Lions, or the Detroit Red Wings are king (I might concede to one of those). However, the fact of the matter is when its summer, the Tigers reign supreme, plain and simple. 

In the summer a popular weekend and holiday destination is "Up North" (the boundary is different for each person, but I consider it anywhere north of Clare). At every cottage, party store (convenience store for non-Michiganders), and on every boat with a radio, the Tigers game is on. The Upper Peninsula might be Green Bay Packer territory when it comes to football, but you would be hard-pressed to find anything but Tigers fans living up there. Whether they were setting the record for most losses in a season or a heavy favorite for a World Series, the Tigers are always on. It started with Ernie Harwell, and has continued today with Dan Dickerson who has taken over the monumental task  with great success.

(Ernie statue w/ my buddy Jeff)

Although, the Tigers will forever be my favorite team, its the sport as a whole that's gotten me. I have been to a lot Timbers games since moving to Portland, and had a great time at each. However, when I learned they booted a AAA baseball team out of that stadium I was very disappointed. If I lived within walking distance of a AAA baseball team season tickets would have been a no-brainer. I can go to just about any baseball game, at any level. 

I think my love has been fueled by my ability to make it to different parks, and not just when the Tigers are in town. I have been to six major league parks, and will be hitting my seventh in about a week when I am in Cincinnati. I am also considering a weekend trip to Denver to see the Rockies at some point, and planning a Bay Area trip next year so I can see the A's and Giants back-to-back. When you get the opportunity to sit down and watch a game without any rooting interest, you really enjoy the athleticism, strategy and ability of all involved. 

I have even begun to buy apparel of other teams. For instance, I buy a hat of every team whose park I have visited, unless they are playing the Tigers of course. I also like finding rarities and jerseys that are not as prevalent anymore. I found an Atlanta Braves jersey at a thrift store in Minneapolis with a "30 Years in Atlanta" patch (picture below) for $10 and almost lost my mind, and have a Montreal Expos Gary Carter jersey next on my list of acquisitions. I also hope to catch games in Japan and South Korea one day.

(Thrift Store Steal)

I may never be able to pin point my love of baseball. I think its an amalgamation of everything I have discussed, and that first game I was able to attend with my father and brother. In fact one of my favorite games was the second Tigers game with my dad in 2005 on Father's Day, a walk-off win against the San Francisco Giants, hit by then newly acquired 2B Placido Polanco. Now I have been at a few walk-off wins since then, but I know I couldn't tell you as much detail about those. 

(Father's Day 2005)

When I was living in Australia in 2010 a few friends and I joked about getting tattoos spontaneously. The more we joked, the more we began to seriously consider it. Soon after the joking started we were looking for tattoo parlors which took walk-ins. Each person was quietly and openly brainstorming ideas. I did not have much money at the time, so I knew it had to be a simple, one-color design. One image popped into my head: the Olde English D. Up to that point I had sat through an improbable World Series run, a 119 loss season, and a decade of futility where I watched every game I could on UPN 50 when they never even sniffed a .500 record. I heard how Jeff Weaver was the next Denny MacLean, Gabe Kapler was the next Al Kaline and watched every bad move Randy Smith made (Google that one Dombrowski slappy's because I know you have no idea who that is). It remains today the only tattoo I have, not so much because I haven't wanted another one, but I haven't been able to decide on anything else I knew I would never regret.

Trippin All Over North America

(northern Nevada, I-80 East)

In November 2012 I drove from St Paul, Minnesota to Los Angeles and back...in 10 days. This was an ambitious road trip to begin with, but I never realized how ambitious until it was 7:30 p.m. on a Sunday night and I was two hours south of the Twin Cities, barely able to stay awake. I have gotten tired driving before, but nothing like this. My morning began in a Walmart parking lot, at 4 a.m. in Rock Springs, Wyoming, and 980 miles later I was almost home. Well 120 miles away from home. I will say, nothing is quite like having all four windows down, in Minnesota in early December, radio on full volume and slapping oneself.

I wouldn't have done anything differently though. I loved every second of those 10 days, whether I loved some more than others is irrelevant. I left 20 degree (F) weather and 5 days later I was putting my feet in the Pacific Ocean. I once tried to track my road trips on Google Maps, but it cut me off at 10, apparently they're not equipped to keep up with the Alexanders, because road trips are definitely a hereditary trait in my family.

My father has never been a fan of flying. Every trip we took as kids was in a van (Party Van 1, Party Van 2 as they were christened), and a lot of times did not include hotels on the way to our destinations. I know, the first question you probably have is: "Are your parents insane????" Well it was no honeymoon for my brother and I either. It was constant back and forth, but for the most part nuclear war was averted, barring one incident in Wyoming I believe it was.

I may have not enjoyed every bit of those road trips at the time, but looking back I am so happy we did it that way. I got to experience Banff and Lake Louise, Alberta, six National Parks, Daytona Beach, Disney World, Charleston, SC, and countless other places. However, some of the best memories are of the places in between home and the destinations. Places like Cadillac Ranch in Texas, I saw The Osborne Brothers play Rocky Top at the Ryman Auditorium (you know how many people are jealous of me for that? I know a lot of hillbilly's), and Custer's Last Stand to name a few. 

I would say the biggest result from these road trips (other than family bonding), was learning how not everywhere in North America was like Michigan. Now you're probably thinking "Yeah, no kidding," but a 7-13 year old doesn't understand that concept, because they've never experienced. But there me and my brother were, seeing people in Arizona who thought a Canadian quarter was counterfeit, meeting people who had never seen snow in person before, or learning what poutine is (its freaking awesome is what it is). 

I also think its a great way to get to know the History of this country and continent. Now this is not a flag-waving, glossed over version of it. When you go to Custer's Last Stand you learn the whole story, from both sides. When you visit the Grand Canyon you learn how it formed. When you visit Calgary you see the 1988 Olympic Park and learn about the athletes. This is glossing over all the local and state parks and recreation areas. 

I look back on those road trips as some of the best times of my life, and that is why I continue them today. My road trip in 2012 was amazing, I hit Denver, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles and was able to stay with friends in all three locations. Since then I have done three more, all of which I have really enjoyed, and can't wait for my next one.

Waking Up Before the Sun

After high school you couldn't pay me to get out of bed early. I became a full-fledged night owl, staying up until 3 am and sleeping in until whenever I felt like it. It was glorious. Very rarely outside of college and work did I ever need an alarm to wake up. Then the worst thing in the world happened: adulthood and responsibility.

All of a sudden I had to be up at a certain time, and it was an ungodly hour. It was also for something awful, work. Not the typical summer/part-time job I had during college, but real work, 9 to 5, 401k, and knowing what your medical benefits were. WTF?!

This lasted for what felt like an eternity. Get up early, go to work, come home, and stay up as long as possible to make up for it, then struggle to get up again. Oh and whether I partied or not, the weekend was for catching up on sleep. So even when I did fall out of bed, the day was half over. I turned to the internet in hopes of an answer, and after falling down a couple dozen YouTube rabbit-holes, I found some.

Like most people I had a LinkedIn account, and like most people for the longest time I never used it. No profile picture, barely any info and definitely did not check it regularly. However, I got a tip from a coworker that LinkedIn was good for prospecting and finding sales leads, so I jumped on the bandwagon. While it did help with prospecting and finding leads, it had a lot of useful articles and blogs people shared.

I found a lot of the list-based posts had some good advice in there. While every list wasn't life-altering, and some were even complete busts, there was a high success rate that at least one to two points were something I hadn't considered or was completely new. This led me to a life-changing decision.

I can't recall the first time I saw it, but when you look at enough of one subject, you begin to see patterns and commonalities. This was one of them. Whether it appeared under "10 Tips For Improving Productivity," or "The Top 7 Things Successful People Do," one commonalty was always: "Wake up early."

At first this did not appeal to me...at all. But the more I saw it come up, the more I began to think about trying it. What really drew me toward trying it started when I began to work longer hours, and it felt like that was all I did. So, what could the harm be in trying it?

At first, I just began to get up early to watch some TV, mess around online, read or make a real breakfast. It sucked at first. I was a zombie, trudging through my apartment, running into the little furniture I did have. Like anything the more I did it, the easier it got, and the more I actually enjoyed it. My morning morphed from making breakfast, to doing laundry, running errands, and eventually working out.

This plague of productivity spread from the weekday to the weekends, especially once I got to Portland. With so many opportunities for weekend activities, it was a no-brainer. If I wanted to hit the coast for the day, I was up and on the road by 5 am. If I was going to Seattle, I was through Vancouver, WA by 5:30 am. If I wanted to hike around Mt. Hood, I was bringing breakfast with me, because no place was open yet. It was a a good plan, because I get shots like this regularly:

I would get to the trail-head hours before most people were even thinking of waking up. No looking for parking, or contending with someone's unleashed dog for space on the trail. I had done six miles and was packing up my car when everyone else in their matching hiking attire was showing up. This was better than not setting an alarm. I get to Manzanita just as the sun is peaking over the mountains, and am back in Portland before dinner. 

There's been some adjustment, and it most definitely is not something that happens everyday on the weekend. With all the great bars, people and Timbers games, I definitely take mornings off. Many Saturdays I find that I can get laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, and a trip to the gym done before 9 am when I don't have a trip planned. And there is always the promise of a glorious midday nap.

A big piece of the puzzle which none of the articles mentioned, was the resource of time. They mentioned it in the course of mapping out your startup, or working on projects with colleagues overseas, but not in terms of it as a general commodity. Time is our most precious resource, its nonrenewable and every second that passes we have no possibility of getting it back. So why would I want to waste hours of my life, while I am healthy and able to do so much, by laying in a bed?

I have never once regretted waking up early. Even if my scheduled plans don't pan out the way I wanted, which has occurred a lot, I am still able to accomplish so much more. Conversely, I can't even remember how many times my days were wasted/ruined by sleeping in. I didn't start the next Amazon or Microsoft like some of those articles suggested, but I definitely have not regretted it one bit.

Lines, Everywhere I Look

I recognize I live in one of, if not the fastest growing city in the US. Portland is about ready to burst. Since I moved here (yes, I realize I am a hypocrite) 18 months ago, eight new apartment buildings have gone up or are being built within a 12 block radius of my apartment. This of course brings some issues when trying to get around the city, especially this one. Portland is not a huge place, and the way the highways are built, there is no room for adding lanes, so traffic is a constant. But that also means there are lines, almost everywhere thats worth going.

I don't mind waiting in lines, when its unavoidable. Airports suck and a big part of that is waiting in lines. Its bad enough waiting in the security line, but if you have to check a bag, it just compounds what a mess the airport already is. However, I don't want to drive to Michigan to see my niece and nephew, so its necessary. But waiting in line 30 minutes to east some tacos? Thats just stupid.

Every time I have read or heard about a new restaurant, food cart or any place that is the new hot spot for food in this city, there is always a line. Its a fact of life in this city. However, I still refuse to wait in line for food, its absurd to me. Its also a colossal waste of time, and to me a symptom of what society has become: instant gratification above all else.

A perfect example is Pine State Biscuits. I heard for months I had to eat there. Everything is made from scratch and the sandwiches are awesome. They have three locations around town, so I figured maybe a quick wait if anything. My first attempt was about 8:30 am on a Saturday, so you have to assume you are going to have the weekend crowd, even though Portland likes to sleep in. I get to one location and the line is halfway down the block. Are you kidding me? Who has that time to lose?

Now this is definitely not an attack on Pine State. I love the way they handle customers: you cannot claim a spot at the counter or a table until you have ordered. Genius move right there, and obviously their food is awesome, or they wouldn't have a line. But I am not spending 45 minutes to get food on a weekend, one of my two free days of the week its insane. I am an hour and a half from the Pacific Ocean and just over an hour from Mt Hood. Maybe if I was still living in Ohio I would because there is nothing else to do there, but I am in Oregon for Lemmy's sake!

The real crime here is when you wait and the food is less than great. I won't name any places like that in Portland, because as I rail on the people who have time to wait in line, they are also the ones that have time to scour the internet looking to delve out what they think is justice. A friend of mine named one place and they went off on him, even telling him they wished the cancer he was fighting would win...OVER A FREAKING RESTAURANT REVIEW. But, I digress. When that situation occurs it amplifies the food, but it also makes average food worse.

People wait in line for 45 minutes, and if the food is not amazing, people get pissed off. The funny part is, its not the restaurant's fault, its yours. I am sure they are flattered that people are willing to wait for their food, its a sign they are doing something right. But if you're pissed at them, my guess is you've never taken responsibility for something in your life. No one coerced you to wait in line. There was no monetary bonus, or even a life or death situation, you choose it. So if you get to the front and the food wasn't to your expectations, why is it anyone else's fault? Barring poor quality ingredients or an errant bandaid its on you.

Don't get me wrong, I have experienced the same thing, and it left me frustrated, but frustrated at myself. Its kind of absurd to wait in line for a great food spot in Portland when there are literally hundreds of choices. There are a few places I have waited and was not disappointed even in the slightest when I got my food, but I also wasted a good amount of time doing it. This is just one of the things that makes me feel like Old Man Marshall yelling at kids to get off his lawn, but I hope I am not alone on this one.

Also, I changed my morning routine on Saturday and hit Pine State Biscuits right as it opened, and its ree-got-damn-diculous. One of my favorite spots in this city and now once a month I make my way to either the Alberta or Schuyler location, and there still is a line, albeit much shorter.

A Very Michigan Camping Trip

First off, every entry will not be centered around my trips to National Parks. However, these are the easiest for right now as I have a lot of pictures and they are fresh in my mind. My goal with this blog is to cover a wide variety of topics from food to sports to travel to whatever I feel like.

For Memorial Day Weekend 2015, I was able to do a camping trip with some friends from Michigan. There were five of us in total, but only one still lives in Michigan, with two coming from Portland and two from Sioux Falls, SD. Such is the modern day working professional I guess, go where you can find the best jobs!

I had heard good things from coworkers about Olympic. One coworker even lived in the region for a long time and would visit the park on a weekly basis, so we had some great local knowledge to help us out. While we had limited time, the overall experience was great. We started at Hurricane Ridge, which provided some amazing views in the heart of the park. We even got to experience a storm rolling across the horizon on our hike, and honestly, if we went to Olympic and didn't get rained on it would have been a disappointment.

(Hurricane Ridge)

We moved campsites every night, which was not ideal, but the campsites could not be secured in advance, so everyday we had our target campsite and then a few fall-back options. In the future, I am definitely finding a good spot and staying put, but I will admit we got a great feel for the entire park.

The second day we hit a trail near the Sol Duc Hotsprings, when we hiked up to Deer Lake. The hike wasn't long, but the vertical climb was a butt-kicker. It made its all the more satisfying when we made it to the top. We also hit some smaller trails in the area, one followed a river bed and was near an old dam, which had been removed.

(Elwha River)

After that trail we headed toward the coast to hike at Ruby Beach and camped at South Beach Campground. Our goal was Kalaloch Campground, which sits higher up from the water and provides some amazing views, but was full. South Beach was a lot better in my opinion. Its a smaller campground but that meant less people to deal with, so it felt more like camping. It was also easier to get to the beach, and no matter where your site was, you could see the Pacific.

(Ruby Beach)

On the last day we hit the Hoh Rainforest on the southwest side of the park. The hike we did was mainly wooded and flat, but it fed into a lot of other trails. Apparently it was a good place to spot elk, however, we were unlucky the day we were there. 

(Hoh Rainforest)

All in all I enjoyed Olympic a lot. The rangers and staff were very helpful and the facilities were well maintained. There were small towns just outside the park, which made it nice for getting supplies and even hitting a restaurant every now and then. It was not very crowded either, which always makes for a nice time since you're not fighting with too many people for space on the trail or in the campgrounds. However, when I return it will either be to do a hiking/camping trip through the park, or, as previously stated, set up camp in one spot and go on day hikes. I highly recommend the park, and while its not in the most accessible place, Its close to Seattle and you can rent gear from REI if you aren't fortunate enough to drive.

To Yosemite and Back!

*HAVING ISSUES POSTING PICS*

I will get into road trips and my long history of both hating and loving them in a future post, but just to set the table: I have been on a lot of them, and will always support them as a way to make a trip more enjoyable.

My latest road trip was from Portland, Oregon to Yosemite National Park in California in roughly 4.5 days. Normally I would avoid a trip like this because with a round trip of 1,448 miles, 4.5 days is not enough to drive and enjoy the park. However, the goal of this trip was not to camp and hike Yosemite, but my friend Burton's wedding. I was a little skeptical at first but the wedding was great and I was very honored to be a part of the celebration.

I left Portland after work on a Wednesday night with the plan of reaching Redding, California, 422 miles away. While Redding is a decent size town, with plenty of overnight options, my motivation to make this destination my first stop was the fact they had the closest In-And-Out Burger to Oregon. While I got into town later than I normally eat dinner (around 10:45 pm), its In-And-Out, so I pigged out like any rational person would. My typical order of a Double-Double, Animal-style fries, and Neopolitan shake, sat like a cinder block in my stomach, but was so very worth it.

(Lens Flare JJ Abrams style!)

After gorging myself, I quickly set out to find a place to spend the night. Now, as you will find out in future posts, I am ridiculously cheap. Almost to my detriment, but I try to keep my cheapness to a rational level. However, as time for this trip was limited, and I still had 300 miles until Yosemite, this stop was not going to be a long one by any means. With a few solo and two-person road trips under my belt, I was aware that Wal-Mart allows people to camp/sleep in their parking lots, so after finding one I settled into a space that was better fitted for someone half my size. After what can be best described as a long nap I was back on the road, and was able to get into Yosemite around 10 am.

I had only driven through California once before, back in 2012, and had a great experience. This particular time wasn't bad, however, you can see the drought is taking its toll on the land. Everything in the park looked burned or was dying from a lack of water, and it was extremely dusty. A few lakes I passed seemed to be about a year away from being 100% dry.

With the limited time I was only able to get in 1-2 hikes, as Saturday was dedicated to the wedding, and Sunday to driving back. I was able to fight the crowds on Friday morning and hit the Mist Trail that leads up to Half Dome. The incline was incredible, and even though I had done Dog Mountain (Washington) the week before, it was still an arse-kicker. Although the weather was insane (100 back-to-back days), it made for some amazing views.

Sunday's drive back was surprisingly easy. I left later than expected, but was home and had the car unpacked by 7 pm. I only made two stops, Redding to gorge myself again and refuel, and another refuel around Eugene, OR, and the most traffic I hit was around 75 miles south of Portland. Although it was a quick trip, it was a lot of fun and I was honored to be a part of my friend's special day. As for Yosemite itself, it was a great setting for a wedding, but I'm wasn't that impressed with it.

I, jokingly, refer to myself as spoiled when it comes to National Parks as I have been to a decent amount thus far. As great as the views and trails were, I much more enjoyed the new friends I met and the old friends I reconnected with. The park itself was very crowded and their ability to gouge visitors on price was second to none (ex. gas $4.69/gallon). For example, I spent five days in Olympic National Park (future post) on Memorial Day and much preferred the trails, views and overall outdoor experience.


*This is my first post, so please be kind if you choose to comment. Hoping to clear more time in the future so I can enter posts in one sitting rather than writing one over the course of two days. Thanks for reading.