Spring Training

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Jim Melvin

Back to the Tempe Elks

Before I left Yuma I called Liam, the camp host of the Tempe Elks Lodge. He assured me that there was a spot available. This is the 2nd year I will be staying there. It is convenient for a few games and is in a location I am familiar with. Plus the fact that there is full hookups will really make it comfortable in the heat. So off we went.

It only took a few hours to get there and when I did I looked up Liam. I mentioned that I had parked last year in the space right behind his rig. However this year he said my rig would be hanging out too far and wouldn’t let me stay there. There didn’t seem to be any other space available so i started looking on my GPS for other campgrounds nearby. Then Liam came running over and said he had a space for me. The guy on the end space was moving so I was able to take his spot.

After parking I went into the lodge, enjoyed a beer and paid for 9 days at $20 per day. My son Curt will be flying in on Thursday so I will have a few days to myself to do laundry, shopping, etc.

Happy Saint Paddys Day

The Elks Lodge was having a Saint Patricks Day dinner so I planned to go to that. Of course I had to have a couple of Guiness to start off the celebration then I had a delicious corned beef and cabbage dinner. It was one of the best I have ever had or was it the Guiness talking to me. HA!

I was checking out my email on my iPhone when I realized that Barb and Chuck (my friends from my Amazon days) were in the area. I called them and low and behold they were in Mesa just a hop, skip and jump from me. So off I headed to Mesa to meet them at an Irish Pub. It was great seeing them again and we had a lot of catching up to do. Then we were going to another place they had mentioned and in the process of driving over there my car started to die on me. Fortunately we were stopped at a light and I was able to get there attention. Chuck and I pushed the car through the light and into a parking lot where I called Coach Net to get a tow back to the Elks Lodge.

Within an hour the tow truck was there and I was on my way back to the Elks with my broken down car. I knew what the problem was since I had the same problem in Fernley when I was there. ALTERNATOR!!! I had my alternator changed twice while in Fernley. The first time the alternator was defective and they replaced it again. It has only been in the car for a few months and now is bad for the third time.

I wasn’t sure what to do with the car in the morning. I looked on Yelp and low and behold there was an 5 star auto repair joint just 2 blocks away. I walked down there to see when they could get to it. They were very busy but would try to fit me in on Thursday.

So now I am without a car and my son was flying in on Thursday. I decided to call Enterprise to see about renting a car for a couple of days. I also contacted my son and told him to take a shuttle to the Elks Lodge as I wouldn’t get the car for a couple of hours. Then Gene’s Auto Worx called me and said it was the alternator and they would tune it up as well. They said it would be done in the afternoon. First I have 0 cars in the morning and now I have 2 cars in the afternoon. DUH! I called Gene’s back and asked them if they could hold the car until tomorrow after I return the rental car. What a day!

Our Annual Spring Training Get-to-gether

This is the 2nd annual spring training we have planned. We will be going to 2 baseball games and a hockey game. The first baseball game was in Glendale which is way on the other side of Phoenix about 25 miles from the Elks. We saw the Angels play the Indians at Goodyear Ball Park.

The two best players on the Angels. Mike Trout at bat and Albert Pujols in the on deck circle.

Two of the best fans during Spring Training.

The hockey game was also 25+ miles from home so we did a lot of driving on those days. We also wanted to see the new Cubs ballpark in Mesa which wasn’t as far.

Here are these same two goofy fans. HA!

CHA CHING!!!

Before we went to the first game we stopped by Arizona Casino to try our luck. I was lucky right from the start. I put $40 in a slot machine and won $90, then ran it up to $140. Then I tried my luck at a progressive machine and low and behold I hit a jackpot of $522. I couldn’t believe it. I have never been lucky before except in small amounts. I immediately cashed out and called it quits.

The ballgame was fun especially since the Angles trounced the Indians. Lots of action and in one inning the Angels had 4 triples. WOW! The hockey game was very exciting and lot of noise. It was a great time. Our last game was a Padres/Cubs game at the new ballpark in Mesa they built for the Cubs. A great park and another fun game.

We went to a Gordon Biersch Brewery where we had ate last year as well and sat on the balcony overlooking downtown Tempe. It was a great dinner and capped of our 2nd annual spring training. We are already making plans for the 3rd annual and discussed some options like different ball parks.

Back to Yuma

I was going to leave on the 24th and head to Yuma to exchange my hearing aids for a set that comes with rechargeable batteries. I don’t want the hassle of buying batteries all the time.

When I got to Yuma I had a big surprise. I pulled in the Casino parking lot right across from Chris. He had just returned from a few weeks in Mexico and we had a lot to talk about.

Later in the afternoon Debby and Kim picked us up and we went to the Elks for a great dinner and lots of catching up with what everyone was doing. It was a great time, but unfortunately didn’t get any pics.

Back to California

After picking up my hearing aid charger I made a beeline to the Oceanside Elks in Oceanside, CA I will be here for several weeks to take care of business and just plain relax by the ocean.

More to come later.

Sleepless in Seattle – Part 2

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Jim Melvin

Continuing my Seattle Weekend

This is a continuation of my weekend with Marti and Charlie in Seattle. I would have posted it much sooner, but I have been experiencing Internet access problems. I finally got them straightened out and will mention that later.

What a statue!

This guy painted himself grey and was posing in front of a shop just outside Pike Place Market. You could not tell if he was a statue or a real person until he moved. It was really amazing.

Ferry to Bainbridge Island

After we ate lunch we walked down to the pier where we hoped the ferry over to Bainbridge Island. It was just a short ride over but you really had some nice views of the city.

Marti took a pic of me with Seattle in the background.

Here is a pic of the island.

Once we got to the island we turned around and took the ferry back.

Great view of Seattle

Then we took a bus back to the car and drove over to Kerry Park in the North Queen Ann section. There I could also get some great pics of the city.

Charlie and Marti overlooking the city.

Theo’s Chocolate in Fremont

After that we drove to the Fremont section of the city and checked out Theo’s Chocolates. They were the first free trade organic chocolatier in the US. I had to get some while I was there and am still enjoying it.

Ballard Locks

The locks were very interesting. They connected Lake Washington to the ocean. There was a large tour boat going through as we were there.

They also have a fish ladder for the salmon going upstream to spawn. You could go under the lock and see the fish migrating, but there were no fish moving through at that time.

Seattle Mariners baseball

The next day we drove down to the Hospice where Charlie volunteers to meet some other people. Charlie had organized an outing to see the Seattle Mariners play the San Diego Padres. We all walked over to the Safeco Field just a few blocks away.

Charlie and I were very lucky as the only people who joined us were girls.

It was a great time.

A really great weekend

It was a very busy weekend and Marti and Charlie took me everywhere. It was really terrific that they showed me so much of the great city of Seattle. Thank you both again for being such great tour guides.

More Northwest adventures to come.

Spring Training Weekend – Part 2

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Jim Melvin

Off to a Hockey Game

After seeing the Angels practice we stopped and got all the fixin’s so that we could have a barbeque. We happened to be talking about hockey and Curt did some investigating on his IPad. He found that the Phoenix Coyotes were playing the Calgary Flames in Phoenix that night.

He purchased the tickets and after a great steak dinner we were off to the game. I haven’t been to a hockey game in years so it was a real treat for me. The traffic wasn’t bad until we got near the off ramp where it seems that in another stadium they were holding a concert. What a traffic jam. However we were just a bit late for the game and just as we were climbing the stairs the noise level increased and we realized the Coyotes had just scored a goal. What luck. Fortunately the game didn’t end at 1-0.

It was a good game and the Phoenix Coyotes won 3-2. Here we are at the game.

We were busy all day with both baseball and hockey. How good is that!!!

Busy Bees

Sunday we had tickets for the Angels vs the Mariners game. We had a light breakfast and headed over to the ball park so we could get to see batting practice. As we walked up to the front of Diablo Stadium the crowd was waiting at the top of the steps for the gates to open. All of a sudden the police were forcing the crowd down to the lower steps. What the heck is going on?

It seems they located a bee hive that was in the stands. The fire department had to come out and spray it down to get rid of the bees. Then they let the crowd back up the steps but they didn’t open the turnstiles yet. So there we were packed in like sardines with the hot sun drenching down on us and no where to go.

We finally got into the park and all was well on the western front. We had great seats just behind and to the left of home plate.

It was a good ball game although the Angels lost to the Mariners 5-3. Over the entire weekend the baseball teams we were rooting for both lost and the hockey team won. I guess one out of three isn’t too bad, but it is Spring Training.

Then we went back to the rig where we had another barbeque and watched a movie. Then at 11:30pm it was off to the Sky Harbor Airport. Fortunately it was only a few miles away and there was no traffic at that time of the night.

Great weekend

It was really great getting together with my son Curt for the weekend. We both love sports and seeing games and it was really a fantastic weekend. I would like to make this a tradition and get together for Spring Training next year if possible.

Spring Training Weekend – Part 1

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Jim Melvin

Lucky to land a space at the Elks Lodge

I left Hot Springs LTVA Wednesday and traveled to Tempe, AZ. I used the Allstays App on my IPhone and found an Elks Lodge in close proximity to Sky Harbor Airport where I will be picking up my son Curt. He is flying in late Thursday (actually Friday) and leaving late Sunday (actually Monday). He will be staying with me as we attend a couple of Spring Training Baseball games.

The Elks Lodge is also close to the Tempe Diablo Stadium where we will see the Angles on Sunday. I was sure lucky to get a space as I got the last space available when I checked in. I plan to stay here for 7 days before heading back to Yuma to have Chica’s teeth cleaned.

I am in the last row. It is a fairly large park with 26 full hook-up sites.

The only bummer is the Animal Hospital and Kennel that is located on the other side of the block fence surrounding the park. The dogs start barking at 6:00 in the morning and hardly ever let up all day and late into the night. However we have gotten used to it and it hardly phases Chica anymore.

Here is Chica basking in the sun on our new flooring as a hundred dogs are barking only 50 feet away.

Goodyear Ball Park

We hung out on Friday and did some shopping and a lot of catching up since we last saw each other. It was sure great to see my son again and spend some time with him. Friday evening we saw the Texas Rangers vs. Cincinnati Reds ball game. It took place in Goodyear, AZ which is on the other side of Phoenix. We left early as it was Friday during rush hour traffic.

Here is a selfie I took of us at the ball game.

We were lucky that they had $1 beer night except it was a bit chilly so we only had one each.

Angels Batting Practice

While out shopping on Friday I decided to head over to the Tempe Diablo stadium where the Angels would be playing on Sunday. We were able to get into the stadium since there was no game and the guy in the Team Shop told us to return tomorrow about 10:30am and we could see the Angels practice out in the field.

We got up early (sure can’t sleep with all the noise from the dog kennel next door) and headed to the park. It was very cool. You can get very close up to all the players and some of them would even sign autographs.

Albert Pujols catching a ground ball.

Everyone was yelling for Mike Trouts autograph.

But Josh Hamilton did stop to sign autographs.

Curt (on the right holding up the ball) tried to get his autograph but just missed since there were so many people.

It was a very fun day seeing all the players practicing. I will have more to post tomorrow about our exciting weekend

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