We divided up into two teams — blue and gold, and a pair of Dust Devils players was assigned to coach each team. We started out doing some stretching on the outfield grass with the Dust Devils leading the routine. Then it was infield practice and shagging fly balls. When that ended, we moved to the batting cage and took some practice swings. Then it was time for baseball! They did the whole routine with us — a ceremonial first pitch, player introductions, national anthem, and everything. Too fun! The whole thing lasted a little less than three hours, and even though I haven’t been that sore in years, it was super fun. I’d do it again tomorrow in a heartbeat!

I played pretty well, too: 1-1 at the plate with a walk and a run scored. No errors in the field at 3B, with a couple successful grounders and fly balls fielded, and one hot line drive that would’ve killed me if I didn’t catch it. Whew! Our team lost, 6-5, but we all had a good time.

Huge thanks to Gesa and the Dust Devils for putting on such a fun event. If they do it again next year, I’m so there. Here are some of my pictures. Yes, I was taking photos and tweeting right on the field during the game!

Fun Day at Gesa Stadium! is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

The Port of Pasco is basicallt relocating the drainage basin which nows sits right in the middle of the parking area. It’ll be filled in and leveled and turned into new parking spots. Of course, to do that, some of the parking spaces immediately surrounding it have to be blocked off while the work is ongoing. Here’s a map showing the affected area, including some of the spaces in both the short-term and long-term lots that will be blocked.

The shaded area above will be closed to parking during the project, which should run from today (August 23) until November 1st. You can download the full news release in PDF format.

Related to this project is a plan to build a new snack bar/concession area inside the secure area of the airport terminal. The new food area will be built at the far end of the terminal and should measure about 500 square feet. Cindy Goulet, who runs the existing snack bar, gift shop, and Florentyna’s Restaurant inside the airport, will also run the new food area as part of her agreement with the Port.

That project is also expected to be done by November 1st.

Pasco Airport Construction Underway is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

After the first survey earlier this year, the initial set of 10 options was narrowed down to these four options:

1. A new span from the North Richland area to Franklin County using Sagemoor Road.
2. A new span between Richland/Kennewick and Pasco using Columbia Center Boulevard and Road 100.
3. A new span between Kennewick and Pasco using Edison Street and Road 68.
4. Widening the existing US 395 “Blue Bridge” between Kennewick and Pasco.

You can see them in red on this map:

(click for larger version)

There’s no guarantee a new bridge will ever be built; it’ll take a lot of government funding to make that happen. But the organizers are in the process of gathering the info they need to show why the area needs additional traffic options over the Columbia River. You can help out by taking the survey. It’s only 3 questions.

New Columbia River Bridge Survey Ready is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

Tickets are $17 for adults, or $15 for students and seniors. They’re available at the door, or at Shelby’s Floral (Kennewick), Adventures Underground (Richland), and the CBC Performing Arts Office.

See “Rent” at CBC is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

So, if you’re like me, you’re always interested in finding cheap airfare from Pasco to … anywhere. I think I have a suggestion that will help:

Airfare Watchdog

Airfare Watchdog is a cool site that tracks price changes on airlines and airports all across the country. They have a page of Pasco-specific airfare discounts that gets updated every day. Some of the specials are advertised and some aren’t.

But the coolest thing of all is that you don’t even need to visit the web site. Right at the top (and in several other places on the page) there’s a link that invites you to subscribe to PSC airfare deals by email. I highly recommend those emails! Here’s the one that came in today:

Some days the email has fewer discounts than that, but that’s the nature of things. It’s a once-a-day email and it always has at least a couple cheap airfares from Pasco airport.

There’s a lot of other good stuff on the Airfare watchdog site, too, so be sure to poke around.

How to Find Discount Airfare from Pasco (PSC) Airport is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

June 22-23-24, 2010: Curious George (G), Aliens in the Attic (PG)
June 29-30, July 1 2010: Planet 51 (PG), Astro Boy (PG)
July 6-7-8, 2010: Alvin & The Chipmunks – Squeakquel (PG), Fantastic Mr. Fox (PG)
July 13-14-15, 2010: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (PG), Madagascar 2 (PG)
July 20-21-22, 2010: Night at the Museum: Nattle of the Smithsonian (PG), Monsters vs. Aliens (PG)
July 27-28-29, 2010: The Tooth Fairy (PG), Hotel for Dogs (PG)
August 3-4-5, 2010: Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (G), Furry Vengeance (PG)
August 10-11-12, 2010: Shorts (PG), The Spy Next Door (PG)
August 17-18-19, 2010: Surprise final film

Doors open at 9:00 am, and the movies will begin at 10:00 am. You can’t bring outside food or drink in to the theater, and strollers/carseats are also not allowed. In past years, the theater has offered a special $4 “Kid’s Tray” food option, but I don’t know if that’s the case this summer.

If you’re new to the area, the theater is located at 5020 Convention Drive, right across from TRAC.

Fairchild Cinemas: 2010 Free Summer Movie Schedule is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

You can move your mouse over the lines to see specific stats. It’s quite interesting to see where people are coming from and going to. For example, the long red line pointing down to Texas shows that 28 people moved out of Franklin County and relocated to Harris County, TX — that’s where Houston is. Did one of our businesses relocate to Houston in 2008? I don’t recall.

The map comes from this tool on Forbes.com, and the data is from the IRS. Since the IRS doesn’t report inter-county moves of less than 10 people, some relocations in and out of Franklin County won’t show up.

Pasco & Franklin County Relocation Map is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

It’s scheduled for June 29th from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Tickets cost $32 and are available now at TRAC and at Ranch & Home in Kennewick. Your ticket includes the party and a sold-out midnight showing of Eclipse at Fairchild Cinemas. All ticket holders will be entered to win one of four Twilight custom charm bracelets and a glass of wine if over 21.

Here’s what they have planned for the pre-party at TRAC:

• Richland Wal-Mart and Canyon’s Edge present a Twilight Fashion Show
• Twilight look-a-like theater production
• “Fire & Ice” appetizer stations
• Twilight themed cake contest
• Vampire & Wolf Pack face and body painting
• Eclipse silent auction and raffle includes autographed actor’s photos
• Ticket holders wearing red will be asked to participate in the “Bella Rescues Edward” skit
• Twilight vendors
• and more…

So, yeah, this isn’t your average movie premiere, is it? Eat your heart, Iron Man.

Twilight Eclipse Premiere Party at TRAC is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

Her favorite breakfast spot is IHOP, so we just went this weekend to celebrate the end of another school year and the start of summer break. We don’t go out for breakfast very often, so this is becoming a favorite tradition for both of us.

Cari and our son go to a different restaurant in another part of the Tri-Cities, but we always enjoy driving down Road 68 and pulling into the IHOP parking lot.

Do you have any family traditions that take place in Pasco?

A Summer Tradition is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.

After reviewing the public input, and considering things like finances, impact on the surrounding neighborhoods, estimated traffic volumes, and forth, the original 10 options have been narrowed to these four (highlighted in red):

The four options are:

#1 –A new span located just north of the Hanford 300 Area and connects to Columbia River Road and W Sagemoor Road on the east.

#5 — A new span from Columbia Center Boulevard in Kennewick to Road 100 in Pasco

#6 — A new span from Edison Street in Kennewick to Road 68 in Pasco

#7 – An additional bridge next to the existing US 395 “Blue Bridge

There’s a ton of data on the CRCSTC web site, including the results of the public survey. Tri-Citians who took the survey favor a bridge between Road 68 and Edison St. — what’s listed as option #6 above. The second preferred option is a bridge between Road 100 and Columbia Center Blvd.

You should check out the CRCSTC web site, which has a lot of interesting data if you’re interested in what’s going on with this bridge study. Or just wait for the next batch of information about the four finalists, and another public survey to get additional input this summer.

Columbia River Bridge Options Down to Final 4 is a post from the Pasco Real Estate Blog.