All photos of our trip down the PCH are available on Flickr.
When we planned the trip in March we used MapQuest to get directions from stadium to stadium. Unfortunately, these directions only give you the most direct route. Knowing we would see some incredible scenery if we took California Highway 1 rather than I-5 from San Francisco to LA, we tossed the directions out the window and headed down the Pacific Coast Highway. What was supposed to be a six hour freeway drive turned into a 10 hour odyssey along America's western shore. It was completely worth it, tough, as we saw amazing vistas of mountains and surf.
Shortly after leaving San Francisco, we stopped for lunch in the tiny oceanside city of Davenport. As we sat waiting for our waiter, we studied the map of California to see where the PCH would take us next. When our waiter walked over he inquired where we were headed. Peter and I really enjoy telling people we meet about the tour and there response is always, "That's awesome, I want to do that some day." This guy turned out to be a huge ball fan too and we talked to him about Bonds and the record chase for awhile. We enjoyed some delicious wood-fired pie and cheesecake before getting back on the road.The afternoon brought us even more amazing sights including what Peter thought was a whale but was actually just a pile of rocks, and an odd red foam that covered most of the shoreline along the whole route.
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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