It’s now up to us to encourage all of our friends and family to vote tomorrow regardless of their schedule, of the weather, of long lines, or of any other factor that could potentially dissuade them from voting.  Our economy, our jobs, our future, and potentially 2-4 supreme court justice appointments (out of only 9 in total) are all on the line.  This election could not be more crucial.  It’s OUR time so let’s do our part to fix this country!  

Today Hillary Clinton gave a speech near Cleveland so I ditched work this morning to check it out!! I could not pass up the opportunity to see America’s greatest senator and my favorite politician. She was introduced by the governor of Ohio and started her speech with a joke. She said she wanted to dress up as something scary for Halloween…so she considered dressing up as George W. Bush…but (here comes the punchline)…McCain already took that costume(!) oooooh snap haha. Funny but SO TRUE.

Hillary went on to speak about the obvious contrasts between the Clinton years and the Bush years in the White House. And she made reference to America’s past success at recovering from a failed Bush [Sr.] presidency. She also asked the crowd to remind our friends and family how important this election is and to ask yourself which candidate and which party would fight for YOU. Since you probably don’t earn greater than $250K per year or work for a giant oil company or are closed-minded about social progress (etc), you can imagine who I would encourage you to vote for. Spread the word before Tuesday!!

http://www.waterstreetapts.com/

Continuing what I started back on June 29th, this past weekend I drove to Philadelphia and Baltimore, thus completing my drive from the Pacific to the Atlantic in one summer (FYI it takes about 47-50 hours of actual driving time).  Since I became committed to reaching every MLB Ballpark in America, I am liable to be anywhere in the U.S. at anytime during baseball season.  And there is almost nowhere in the U.S. that I don’t consider to be in driving distance.  I’m not entirely sure how this attitude developed (in college I found the drive from Cleveland to Columbus to be quite burdensome!), but I will say that being on the cusp of achieving a long-time personal goal certainly increases motivation and desire.  I would plan another trip for this weekend, but sadly the baseball regular season has come to a close. 

But what a season it was!  This year alone I visited 16 ballparks in 16 different cities and attended many of Cliff Lee’s league-leading 22 wins, including his first win in Oakland and 20th win in Cleveland.  I ended the season on a high note too.  Saturday in Philadelphia I witnessed the Phillies clinch the NL East at Citizens Bank Park (first picture)–which set off a wild party for Phillies fans.  And Sunday in Baltimore at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (second picture) I went to Fan Appreciation Day for the first time.  

I already can’t wait for the 2009 season to start!!!   

Pictures from the ballparks:

http://picasaweb.google.com/scott.miller.0217

Pittsburgh and San Francisco: Gorgeous cities with beautiful ballparks.  Any day I spend in either city is a good day, so yesterday was…well, a good day.  :)  Last night I visited PNC Park in Pittsburgh with my brother Josh, and I have moved Pittsburgh’s ballpark back into a tie with San Francisco’s for best ballpark in the country.  Pittsburgh is just a quick 2 hour trip from Cleveland along the Ohio Turnpike, so I think I’ll be heading to Pirates games more often now.  The city–surrounded by the Allegheny, Monogahela, and Ohio Rivers–sits on an island connected to the ballpark by walkable bridges.  See the link below for pictures of this phenomenal setting.  I’m a fanatic for skyscrapers, bodies of water, and bridges, so you’ll see why I speak so highly of Pittsburgh and PNC Park when you open the link.  It’s really something that the midwest/east can be proud of.  Absolutely beautiful.

http://picasaweb.google.com/scott.miller.0217/PNCParkPittsburghPirates#

With the release of the 2009 baseball schedule on Wed, I am now able to plan out the remaining baseball stadium trips, as well as the rest of my vacation plans for the next 9 months or so.  =)  So here they are:

2008

Sept. 20^th: Day trip to Pittsburgh to see PNC Park

Sept. 27^th-28^th: Weekend trip to Philadelphia and Baltimore to see Citizens Bank Ballpark and Camden Yards

Dec. 7^th-11^th: Annual trip back to NC, including day trip to Atlanta on Dec. 9^th to see Turner Field

Dec. 11^th-16^th: First annual trip back to San Jose

2009

Apr. 18^th-19^th: Weekend trip to Toronto to see Rogers Centre

May 8^th-12^th: Annual visit to Chicago, including visit to US Cellular Field on May 9^th and day trip to Minneapolis to see the Metrodome on May 10^th

June 5^th-June 13^th: Final ballpark trip through Boston (Fenway Park June 6^th), New York (New Yankee Stadium June 8^th and Citi Field June 9^th), Miami (Dolphin Stadium June 11^th), and Tampa (Tropicana Field June 12^th)

Can’t wait to see my friends and the remaining ballparks!  The next year figures to be very exciting and June 12, 2009 will be a very rewarding day! J

Currently I am in Chicago woot woot!  I’m visiting my aunt and uncle for the 14th(!!) consecutive summer.  =)  This annual trip has become a time-honored tradition.  No matter where I’m living or what is going on in my life, I always find a way to make a summer visit here.  Historically this trip has also been a baseball excursion, as my aunt and uncle are also big baseball fans.  Actually, I do believe it’s genetic that all of us love the sport.  This year’s trip has been no different, as today I visited Wrigley Field–Home of the Chicago Cubs.  In years past we have also visited the ballparks for the Chicago White Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers.  But Wrigley is definitely our favorite.  This is the year for the Cubs!!!