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Sunday, October 11, 2009

POSTSEASON- Back to Normalcy?

Today we took Sofia to her first children's birthday party. After three months on the road, I feel as though our lives are starting to come back to normal. The piles of mail have been taken care of, laundry is not quite there yet, there are boxes to be put away and an auction event to plan. Still unemployed, our sense of normalcy is questionable. We are making the best of it. The experience of spending this summer together, gave us a new perspective on our lives and who we are. Untapped skills were discovered, new people were met and the possibilities of the next step are endless. With my skills in PR and journalism and Roberto's skills in operations, PR and administration I believe we will be OK. For those out there who are on the same boat, be strong and continue to shape your skills and network, network, network. Make use of the obligatory "time off" to better yourself and open the door to places you never thought of looking. You never know where your next job lies. This is the summer that changed us as a family and when visions of cracker jacks and seventh inning stretches start dancing in my head, I say "there's always postseason." that's my new normal.

Learn more about our journey: www.30ballparksandababy.com

Saturday, October 10, 2009

You love your team, but did we love your ballpark?


Our tour consisted of experiencing each ballpark that we visited. All thirty of them. During our travels we wrote notes of each ballpark, including the price of parking, architecture, food, the mascot even the kiddie section. Now that the playoffs are in full swing we recount what we liked about the parks of the condenters in the National and American division today.

LAD @ STL play tonight at 6:07 pm in St. Louis, but how do their ballparks rank to us?
Ballpark #15- July 26, 2009-(Los Angeles, CA)- Dodger Stadium is a historic landmark in Southern California located in the Chavez Ravine.This ballpark offers the best views in baseball. To the south you can see downtown L.A. and to the north and east fans have a beautiful vista of hilly terrain and lush vegetation. A sign up on the hill says “THINK BLUE” after all, this is L.A. and they like to put signs on hills.

Ballpark #5- June 1, 2009 (St. Louis, MO)- Busch Stadium is alot of fun. No doubt Cardinals fans love their team! This evening game was packed. The panoramic view of the St. Louis skyline from the stadium is impressive, especially at night. This one is a very modern stadium, but they still have the old scoreboard on display, which is cool. This is home of the All-Star Game this year and you can feel the energy building up-- everything has the All-Star Game insignia on it--Albert Pujols played that evening and gave the fans quite a scare when he slid into second base and hurt himself. Luckily, it wasn't too bad and he continued to play. The Cardinals lost 3-5 to the Reds. What made this game memorable: We had great seats, right behind the visitors dugout on the third-base line.



PHI @ COL play tonight at 9:37 pm in Denver, but how do their ballparks rank to us?
Ballpark #29- September 29, 2009- (Philadelphia, PA)- Citizens Bank Park is beautifully crafted. An open outfield provides a fantastic view of the Philly skyline and the open-air walk-around concourses give you uninterrupted view of the park for when you decide to get up to grab a Philly cheesesteak sub! The "Phanatic Phunzone" located by the first base gate is perfect for little kids 8 and under, like Sofia, and the "Phanatic Attic" houses an 8-foot fiberglass Phanatic. Guest services does give out a beautiful "First visit to the Park" certificate. Back on the field. Citizens Park features a bowl-style seating which means you are basically 23 feet below street level.

Ballpark #20- August 13, 2009- (Denver, CO)- Stormy weather rocked Coors Field today, but not enough to deter the Rockies from delivering a win against the Pirates 10-1. Maybe it had something to do with the altitude or the effect thin air has on pitching (More). Opened in 1995, this ballpark is one of the nicer ones. Located in lower downtown Denver, an area with a mix of apartment residences, restaurants and small businesses. We parked in a stadium lot for $10. The stadium is made of red brick and dark green wrought iron and has a great view of the Rocky Mountains in the first base and right field areas. the center field bleacher section is informally called "the Rockpile". The purple seats in the stadium put you at a mile high in the air.




Home SAFE!

Our tour of 30 ballparks with our baby Sofia ended on October 2, 2009. Our return home was bitter-sweet. Sure its great to sleep in your own bed, but the memories of the tour of a lifetime will forever remain as an important part of the history of our family. This creates a bit of nostalgia. Our 90 day-plus road-trip saw us through the most beautiful scenery our country has to offer. How else can you watch a meteor shower in the Utah Arches, literally walk on glass over the Grand Canyon cliffs, go fishing for Salmon in Seattle all while taking in the American past time at each home team turf? OK. It wasn't all fun and games. This trip was work. From the planning to the posting of journals to the driving, diaper changes, feedings, while conducting interviews with the media and potential employers, our tour was a journey of self-discovery. Here you had three people, mom, dad and a 4-month old taking on a trip of a lifetime. For us it was about discovering each other and spending every waking moment with our new baby. Could we survive as a couple spending 24/7 together? We did it!

Judy, Roberto and Baby Sofia

See how we did it: www.30ballparksandababy.com