Friday, June 30, 2017
New Baltimore, NY
Outside the Game:
So, almost by accident, I found out about a new pro baseball league that had sprouted up in the northeast the year before: The Empire Pro League. It was a small four-team circuit that basically serves two functions: a place for unsigned players to get a second look, and to act as a minor-league circuit for the independent leagues in the US. Because it is turtles all the way down.
There was a team in upstate relatively close, a team far upstate, a team in Vermont, and a team in Maine. The league runs from June until August, and for whatever it is worth, they seem to be fairly regular call-ups of players to the indie leagues and even some to the low minors, so it is doing its job.
Knowing that the east coast for me was no longer close to complete, I had to start seeing them all. I was going to try to see the team in Plattsburgh, NY. I was going to drive up part of the way during the night, and get the rest of the way in the morning.
I got home from work at 9 PM--sadly, about usual for that stretch--and was packed and on the road with my new EZ Pass by 10 PM. There wasn't much traffic at this time of night, although there was a little rain. Ironically, a friend of mine had just moved to the tri-city area in NY (supposedly temporarily), and it looked like I was going to end up stopping for the night about a half hour or so north of there.
I finally burnt off the first tank of gas in my new lease car, and it was about time to head in for the night. There was a camping stop that I passed up, but by the next exit, it was time to get off. I pulled up to a Holiday Inn just off the exit, but it turned out they weren't taking any guests because their well had run dry, and it wouldn't be fixed until the next day. (Weird Water Event of the Day 1.)
I drove a little further up the road and found a Best Western that had working water. They gave me a deal on the Honeymoon Suite (who goes on their honeymoon in a Best Western north of Albany?), and that had a Jacuzzi tub. (Weird Water Event of the Day 2.) I checked in, made use of the Jacuzzi tub, worried about the party that was going on upstairs, and then just gave up and fell asleep.
The Accommodations:
So, the "Honeymoon" Suite had two double beds, which makes me wonder what kind of weddings they have up Albany way. Across was a regular dresser and small desk. There was a vanity outside the bathroom, and a small bathroom that did, in fact, have a Jacuzzi tub in there. It was fine for me, but not something that you'd find really "honeymoony" at all.
On Tornadoes
Saturday, July 1, 2017
Jersey City, NJ
Outside the Game:
I had managed to sleep through some rather significant thunderstorms during the night. I groggily went down to grab breakfast, and the news was blaring stories about massive flooding in upstate New York, and several small hurricanes that were touching down in the area.
Eventually, my garbled brain processed "hurricanes," and the likelihood of seeing a ball game became less and less likely. A quick look out the window confirmed it was still coming down in buckets.
I went back to the room, got cleaned up, packed, and checked out. I figured it was worth at least calling the team to see how the field was since I was already halfway there, so I looked up the phone number online. Upon calling it, I was surprised to find not the ticket office picking up, but the actual owner of the team. Well, the owner of a couple of the teams in the Empire League. He confirmed that the field was under a foot of water and there would be no game, and as he also owned the team in Maine (which was a backup plan and the only other team home that weekend) that they were rained out as well.
With that definite news, I headed to the car, gassed up, and went home. It rained all the way until I was nearly home. I took the opportunity to visit my parents for a bit since I had nothing else to do, and then headed home, parked up, and walked back to my apartment.
The Accommodations:
Sweet home, Jersey City
2017 Stand-Alone Trip
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