A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

travel

Welcome to Delhi … Iowa

It was probably 25 years ago when two of us set out on a trip to Iowa. On the list was to see some things such as the Field of Dreams movie site, but also to see Delhi, Iowa.

At the time, I was working at the weekly out of my hometown — Delhi, New York. Somehow, I came across Delhi, Iowa. It seemed the small town in Iowa was a sister to the one in New York, so I thought it would make a good story.

I did end up writing a story about this faraway town, after doing research with phone calls and other ways possible with how life was back before the internet.

Note the key part of that last sentence — life before the internet.

That means no maps via a smartphone and there weren’t the easy-to-use GPS systems we all know and love now. It’s was old fashioned — maps from AAA and anything else we could use.

Reality is, we were too young to be setting out on a trip like this. Our planning sucked, and financially we might not have made it. We didn’t have reservations or anything.

This wasn’t just a quick jaunt over the hill or something.

As we got to Western New York, my vehicle (a 1985 Ford Ranger 2WD) wasn’t sounding good. We pulled into a service station to figure things out and the mechanic there took a look as a kind gesture.

It seemed, in his eyes, this truck was running on three of four cylinders. A trip to Iowa, he thought, wouldn’t be too smart.

We weighed our options. In the end, we turned around and headed home.

Honestly, it was probably for the best. Especially what I learned this past summer.

Fast forward to 2018. A baseball trip is planned and we are going to Iowa. Field of Dreams, again, is on the list. And just 20 minutes away is the town of Delhi.

And so, the visit finally arrived. It’s a small, quaint town. There’s not much to it, and as I was told by the local librarian, there are probably only about 500 people who live in the town. A school is there — what seems like a regional one. There were a couple of parks, including one near a nice lake. As for businesses, there weren’t many.

Still, it was pretty neat.

We only spent about an hour there or so, but I had the chance to drive around a little bit and check it out.

Looking back, the trip many years ago probably would not have panned out too well. Who knows where we would have stayed and the amount of time it would have taken us to get there and back might not have worked, either.

And as I noted … the finances. But hey, things happen for a reason.

That being said, it may have come some 25 years since I first set out to see that town, but there’s no doubt I probably appreciated it much more at an older age. I’m truly happy I had the chance to finally visit this small Midwest town.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

The epic adventure is set to begin …

For those who geocache, you know there are a lot of milestones one can hit.

It starts with the first 100 finds.

And then 250. 500. 1,000.

The first “special” milestone I planned was my 1,000th. I attempt to make each thousand finds something special. My 1,000th was GC39, “The Spot.” It’s the oldest active geocache east of the Mississippi.

Then came 2,000, which was Europe’s first on my trip to Ireland.

On No. 3,000, it was the finale of the New York Delorme challenge. That was followed by 4,000, which came at the midnight madness event at GeoWoodstock in Pennsylvania. Several friends went and got a cake and “decorated it” for the find.

Good times.

But since then, it’s taken me a lot of time to get to 5,000. I wanted to make it special as this is a pretty big milestone, I think. So, I started looking at caches to plan out. Where to go? What to find?

All signs pointed to Mingo.

For those who don’t geocache — or those of you who do and don’t know what Mingo is — it’s the oldest active geocache in the world.

It’s a cache I have wanted for several years. And what better goal than to make it my 5,000th find.

Originally, this trip was going to be a weekend one. Fly into Denver, drive to Mingo. Do some other caches, and then fly out.

Simple.

Or not.

Instead, this has turned into an epic geocaching journey that will no doubt create a ton of memories and fun stories. I looked into a couple of states and such, but once I did the math, it was decided we’d go for the gusto.

It’s going to be a seven-day trip to the west. We’ll land in Denver, stay a night there and then hit a Rockies (vs. the Phillies!) game the next day. From there, we’ll hit eight states and a bunch of wild and cool things. This trip will take us from Colorado to Wyoming, and then from there we’ll hit Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.

All in all, we’ll cover a bit more than 2,000 miles.

We’ll see some amazingly cool spots and hopefully meet a few people. I’ve had a few events published along the way to try and meet people.

This is going to be one heck of a cool trip. Hopefully it will not only be a great trip to get me recharged in my life, but also something to give me inspiration to blog more often again.

I’ll have plenty of stories and photos … and I look forward to sharing them here once I get back in and in the coming weeks!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Passport a way to go ballpark chasing, save memories

A couple of years ago, I discovered the Baseball Passport program.

At first, I didn’t jump right into it. I couldn’t find a list of stadiums where the stamp was and I didn’t want to get something I wouldn’t be able to use right away. After discovering the list, I grabbed one, thinking it would be fun to have something to jot down a few things at games.

I reviewed the passport at that time and said it was a nice thing to carry along to a game with me.

Now, it’s become a permanent part of my baseball travels.

Since I last reviewed the passport, I’ve had the chance to get into other aspects — the MLB one, the Atlantic League one and so much more. I’ve been to the Stampede event. I’ve met the creator. I’ve utilized the passport to be something very special to me.

But before I get into some other thoughts, last summer I had the chance to sit down with the creator and learn more about the program and why it’s so important to him.

The idea

Tim Parks isn’t hard to find if you are looking for him. He’s tall enough to be able to pick him out of the crowd and his easy-going nature makes him highly approachable. You can sense baseball parks are his relaxing domain.

It’s of no shock, then, that he looks to this program as something a little more than a small book to collect stamps.

Tim Parks, the founder of the Baseball Passport.

“The passport brings the intimacy back,” Parks said during the Stampede event as he overlooked Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. “It makes you feel like you are part of the game.”

In the beginning of each passport, there’s the story behind it. Originally, he had a quest to visit all 50 states with his daughters before they graduated high school. He then made a new quest — to visit all 30 Major League Baseball parks. During these travels, he would pick up some sort of memento to show he was there.

The idea for the passport popped into his head as he traveled to Alaska, using his United States passport to travel through Canada.

The program itself started in August 2010 with research and development of the prototype. With connections to the Reds front office, he pitched the idea to the COO of the team, and showed how it would work.

From there, Parks took the show to the Winter Meetings and showed it off to MLB. Major League Baseball loved the idea and offered the license to do it. The first year was small — a passport just for Reds games.

The MLB Passport was born in July 2012.

In 2013, the Minor League Baseball Passport was born.

In 2015, Parks added the independent Atlantic League.

There’s even a spring training passport. Stamps can be obtained at all minor and major league parks (pending teams don’t lose the stamps). Those stamps aren’t a cost to the team, either, as Parks absorbs all costs of creating the stamp as well as sending them to the team.

The Passport

Depending on which passport you have — they have a bit of a different look.

The main MLB Passport is leather-bound and larger. Each stadium has several pages for the stamp and information from the game. There are also stadium stickers. In the back are extra pages for other stamps, such as All-Star games, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and more.

This is good for your travels if you are trying to hit each stadium. It’s very nice to have and is collectible.

The gameday passport. The right side can be used for many things, and I sometimes will nab autographs.

Then there are the Gameday books for MLB, MiLB, the Atlantic League, and Spring Training. These books are more compact and have a space for your stamp, game-day info, and a page for notes and thoughts.

What’s nice about the notes page is everybody does it different. Some fill the page with thoughts and notes. Others (such as myself) do less.

Personally, what I put there depends on the game and the teams. I’ve gotten autographs on the pages. I’ve filled them with thoughts. I’ve left them blank and filled them in later. It’s all highly personal and can be done many different ways.

Creating memories

With the personal side of everything, obviously there will be a lot of memories, based on what the person owning the passport decided to do with it.

Parks said the idea was for these memories to be passed on.

“My thinking isn’t 5-10 years, it’s 35-40 years,” he said. “Handing it down so you can think back and you are there.

“If I go back to my grandfather, I’d give anything to have a game in his writing,” he continued. What he did. What we did. That’s what I want to see. Generation after generation of leaving memories. Once you read (what was written), you remember, It takes you back to the time you were there. It’s also old-school in that you have to physically do it. It’s not on a phone.”

The passport community is diverse, too.

From families to singles to couples to friends — there is a wide range of people taking part in this hobby.

The Stampede event in Cincinnati last July (blog post link) drew a lot of people and there was a large range of ages represented.

“This is for baseball fans,” Parks said. “These are very knowledgeable fans. Everybody has embraced it.”

Following online

Besides the passports in the park, there’s also a highly active Facebook group where people show off their stamps, talk some baseball, and show their travels.

“They are the heart of baseball,” Parks said. “It’s about families creating memories and sharing experiences. It’s your validation. Others people appreciate it and see it. It’s not for everybody. But these people understand the game. It’s enjoying the ballpark — the tastes, the smells, the friendships.”

The fans in the group show their love and dedication to the game and program by having mini-meetups at parks all over the country and throughout the summer. It’s highly interactive in the group and very welcoming.

The future

As of last summer, the passport wasn’t sold in every major league park (about 20) and not every Minor League park.

Parks said his goal is to see it sold in every park so fans have easier access to the passport and can start creating memories when they first see it.

As more and more books are out there, more people get interested. Just by word of mouth and seeing people stamp books, others ask questions.

“People ask ‘what’s that?” Parks said. “It’s surreal having this many people enjoy the book and the game. It makes me feel great to see them enjoy this.”

The verdict

If you are a baseball fan and enjoy going to games and documenting things, this is definitely for you.

The Passport is part of my every-game setup, along with my scorebook.

The passport keeps improving and more and more gets added. Additional stamps (for the big MLB book) have been added for places such as the Negro League Hall of Fame, and Louisville Slugger Museum. The books are aplenty and Parks said last year he was hoping to keep expanding. With other opportunities out there, it will be fun to see where else he might go with expanding the program (and selfishly, because I am debating an Arizona Fall League trip in November, I’d love to see one for that league).

Even more, it’s affordable. With room for 25-30 games in the Gameday passports, it’s a steal at just under $20 (or, if you happen to see them on sale at the end of a Minor League season, you can buy a bunch at a discounted rate!). The larger MLB book is about $70, but it’s worth it because of it’s beauty. Then the Gameday ones are smaller and easily carried to get every game you attend.

Further, there are stamps at all MiLB and MLB stadiums, so you can get stamped on all your baseball travels (as long as the teams don’t lose or misplace the stamp… which has and likely will happen again).

Links are below to give you an idea with the program. I definitely encourage it.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Passport Stampede event a way to connect baseball fans

It seems every hobby has its own way of getting people together.

If you play a game or something along those lines, or collect something — there are groups and, often time, meetups.

A few years back, I stumbled across a National Parks Passport program. Basically, you go to a national park and get your passport stamped. It was a really cool idea and one I knew I wanted to be part of, despite not visiting as many national parks as I would like. I did get one though, and over the course of the past few years, I’ve been able to get stamps as I go along.

There’s also a growing group online for it and they have an annual event. I haven’t made it to that event (and who knows if I ever will, but it’s there and it’s a pretty cool deal), but it gives people with this common interest the ability to meet and hang out.

All the mascots from hanging around during the game, which was the ultimate end to a great Stampede event.

Passport programs as a whole are really cool. It challenges you to get out and fill that passport, which, in turn, makes you go do something.

Enter the Ballpark Passport.

Creator Tim Parks came up with the idea and started the program in 2010. I’ll have a more in-depth post about the program and the history of it upcoming within the next week, but for now this is about his event he held in Cincinnati this past July.

The quick rundown though — the Passport Program is in Major League Baseball and in the minors, as well as in the independent Atlantic League. Expansion has taken time, but the program has continued to grow and grow.

The official Facebook group is an extremely active one with hundreds of people in it. They post photos and chat with one another. They set up meetups, affectionately called “Stampedes.”

The ultimate Stampede event was held in July.

This wasn’t just any event, though.

Tim actually gave every person a free ticket to the event — the game and everything surrounding it. We had the chance to tour the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, as well as get into the park early to watch batting practice. The event also included an incredible question-and-answer session with broadcasters Marty Brennaman and Jeff Brantley.

Seeing the Reds’ Hall of Fame was really cool.

The only kicker to all of this is you had to be a Passport user. Outside of that, it was a day of baseball and activities.

There were a lot of people at this event. And, honestly, this is something I should have posted about months and months ago. Alas, I didn’t.

For the most part, I kind of just wandered. I spoke with a few people here and there and I kind of people watched. Batting practice was a lot of fun. It’s not often you get so close to this before gates opened, so it was enjoyable.

Once the game started, the group was in a section together. Alas, I continued to wander. I watched the game from above the section on a little leaning rail. For the final few innings, I headed up to a high level of the stadium to take it in and put my feet up.

The event was a blast and it’s one I see myself attending in future years. I already have plans to do so this year and it’s going to be at the end of a big Midwest baseball trip this upcoming summer.

For those who attended the inaugural event, you already know how great it is. For those who haven’t been — if you are a baseball passport user, it’s well worth planning the trip!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

2017: Looking ahead

New Year’s resolutions are something many people do. They say it on New Year’s and a week or two later, they are done

I don’t believe in resolutions. I believe in setting goals and doing your best to achieve them. Though I will set/fix/change goals throughout the year as needed, setting them at the beginning of the year is more symbolic as it’s easier to keep track of.

I know there are things I need to do personally and professionally to keep moving forward, but these goals are all personal. Some are a little more serious than others, but they will be good for me to kind of see what I can do in 2017.

I went a little different with some of these this year. Some are kind of open-ended because I feel it’s easier and better to do that, rather than put a set result. You’ll see when you get to those.

Anyway, here’s looking at 2017.

Health

This is an important one for me

About a year ago, I had really taken hold of diabetes. I had gotten my blood sugars down, I was eating better, my weight was down … and then I fell off the wagon.

My A1C has gone up too much, I’ve gained weight and I started eating too many things I shouldn’t.

Being healthy isn’t a fad diet or doing anything with some of the things people see on TV (pills etc.) It’s eating better and exercising. Simple as that. Though clipping carbs out might help you drop weight, it’ll come back.

Being healthy is a life commitment, not a few weeks or months.

But with this, I’m not putting any numbers. I’m not saying where I want my A1C to be, or my normal blood checks, or my weight.

I know I need to be healthier as a whole. Take a few more walks. Get out more. Ride my bike (when it’s warmer). Maybe invest in an elliptical machine (I always liked them when I went to the gym… and I hate the gym, so that’s out).

But I also need to eat healthier. And make sure I drink enough water. And though I don’t drink a ton of it — keep pushing soda out of the diet. And try new things. In recent years, I’ve started to like several things I never used to like … so hopefully that can continue.

So this goal is simple … be much more healthy at the end of the year than I am now.

Photography

I took a lot of photos in 2016, but I want to keep that up. This might not be a trackable goal, per say, but basically, I want to continue taking photos and thinking outside the box.

That means continuing the Photo Blogging Challenge for throughout 2017, as well as just going out and taking photos. I’d love to try and aim for doing a few of the videos (like my year-end one) of photos maybe every few months, but we’ll see about that. Basically, I want to challenge myself to get better and more creative with my photography. I’d also like to learn Photoshop more in-depth than I know it now.

Blogging

Blogging in 2016 was rather interesting, obviously.

I set out on a bit of a mission and ended up going a little stir crazy by posting every single day. I’m not going to say I won’t do the same, but the odds are I don’t. Once I get past January, it’ll slow up a little as I won’t want to go every single day.

That being said, I do want to have more posts this year that are solid posts and not filler. I like challenges. I enjoy the photo aspect. I want to make sure I am putting quality (at least in my mind), and not just a post to post something.

I also truly want to visit more blogs this year. I got away from that this year because I was posting all the time and I miss it.

I am going to aim for 200 posts this year and visiting as many blogs as I can. I’d also still like to revamp my about page as much as possible!

I also might have a couple of other writing challenges in mind that I am trying to shape up and plan out.

Baseball

Ahh, the Summer of Baseball. I can’t wait to be back in the parks watching games. I will not be doing 75 games again — at least I don’t think. But I think a goal of 50 games is good and would be fun. I want to continue visiting new parks and just watching games.

 

It’s very relaxing and a lot of fun.

That being said, I also want to have a few weekends this summer that aren’t baseball dominated. As much fun as I had last year — and I did — there are times I just wanted to relax on a weekend and kick back and I was at a game. Now, I love the games. But sometimes .. it’s nice to be away, too.

So, my goal is 50 games. I’d like to see a few new stadiums. I’d like to do one — maybe two — big baseball trips during the summer where I spend a week or so pretty much all baseball. I’ll keep scorebook at every game, stamp my passport in every place where I can and I’ll enjoy it as much as I always do.

It’s a great game and I look forward to the 2017 Summer of Baseball!

Board games

I didn’t play as many games as I would have liked last year. With all the baseball traveling I did in 2016, weekends from spring until fall were pretty crowded. That meant not going to the game group too often, thus meaning I was playing far fewer games.

And that stinks as I really enjoy playing games.

One of my goals is to start playing many more solo variants or solo games. This allows me time on my own to play some fun and competitive games. I own a lot of games that have solo variants and I also have games that are solo only — so there’s no reason I can’t do this. It allows me time to relax and refresh and challenge myself. It also helps me just be able to play a hobby I truly enjoy, even when there isn’t a group of people around to play.

I’ll put down a few goals to reach, though.

  • Learn and play each game in my collection that has a solo variant
  • Unwrap/punch every game I have that I haven’t done this to yet
  • Go through collection and if there are games I will never play … sell or trade.

Geocaching

Every year, geocaching is in my goals. Last year was a very lax year for geocaching. I didn’t find many, I didn’t place many, and I kind of got away from the game.

There are a few reasons for that, such as because the game has blown up so much it’s hard to find good caches without driving for a bit. See, most of my area is cleared out and those that aren’t I like to keep around for a time that me and a couple of others might want to go find a few.

But these days, with the advent of the smartphone apps and such, hides are becoming a little tougher to deal with. I can only find so many lamp post and guardrail hides.

I do miss caching with others, going on fun hikes, and making memories with caching, though So this year I am aiming to find 200 caches. That should be highly doable. Heck, if done right, I could get half that done in a weekend.

Geowoodstock is in May this year, in North Carolina. I’m not ruling it out by any means, but it’s a longshot. I’d like to hit several other events this year, though, so we’ll see what happens.

I’m going to stick to just the 200 finds as a goal this year. I’m not going to tier it as I want to make it a little easier in hopes that I can get back into the game.

Organization

I think I am pretty organized at work. I utilize my work calendar quite well and usually have everything line up.

Personally, not as much.

I want to get more organized in 2017. That includes utilizing my personal Google calendar, as well as a life organizer I purchased. There might be a little more to this thing than I need, but I am going to give it a whirl. It will probably take me a few weeks to “set it up,” but that gives me time to think things over more — both about this year and long-term things. So, that will be cool. In the end, I want to be able to look back at 2017 and realize I followed something a bit better and didn’t feel like I was always disorganized.

Personal

Again, this isn’t measurable. But, I want 2017 to be a year of “happy.” I want to feel happy. I want to be happy. I want to improve as many things in my world that I can. It can be anything from being more active within the family to making sure my finances keep improving, both short-term and long-term.

This isn’t really something I can do anything other than at the end of the year, look back, and say “Yes, I am in a better place personally than I was at the beginning of the year.”

Hopefully I will keep improving and pushing forward. That’s all I can try and do.

I hope you all have a wonderful 2017!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!