Day 32: Seattle

Today we made our way to the West Coast, as we watched the Seattle Mariners host the Detroit Tigers at Safeco Field. The Tigers, having the best record in baseball, would have seemed like an easy selection for me. However, I decided to get sneaky and take the Mariners (plus 1.5). This plan backfired when Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman went 8.2 innings, allowing only 1 run, and the Tigers won 6-1. Ben’s improbable comeback continues, and he now trails 12-11 in picking games on the trip.

Safeco Field was a great ballpark. It has a retractable roof, which rolls across on wheels when it is needed, however it was open all night for our game. Our seats were in the center field bleachers, but we found ourselves watching the game from the standing area above the bull pens in left field. There was a very nice overhang that provided a nice view, and it was not very crowded.



For the third time on our trip, it was “Ladies’ Night” at the ballpark. As a result, Ben and I were ineligible for the baby blue visors that were being handed out to female fans as they entered the stadium. We have been more fortunate at some other parks though: in New York we received Budweiser bottle openers from the Yankees, in Baltimore we received beach towels from the Orioles, in Texas we received fleece blankets from the Rangers, and in Houston we received commerative pins from the Astros.

We left Boise, ID at about 10:08 MST, and arrived in Seattle, WA shortly before 5:30 PST. The drive through Oregon and Washington was beautiful, and we got a very good view of Mt. Rainer, which stands at over 14,000 feet. The top of many of the mountains we saw were still capped with snow, so that was pretty neat to see in the middle of July. Continuing with the geography theme, while we were driving out of the stadium, we noticed that the sun was still setting at 10:30pm. I guess it because Seattle is basically Southern Alaska, as even their radio broadcast advertisements in the stadium listed their Anchorage and Juneau affiliates.

After the game, we drove down to Salem where we are staying at Best Value Inn. Special thanks again to Ethan Asher and his family for hosting us last night. The steak dinner was delicious, even though we didn’t eat until nearly 11:00pm. At least we got the true, “Asther” experience.

Here are the statistical updates:
1-end of day odometer: 30,382
2-miles traveled today: 730
3-miles traveled total: 13,739
4-states traveled in today: Idaho, Oregon, Washington
bonus stat: teams are 8-0 when their no. 1, 2, and 3 hitters all score a run