It gets to be that time of year when I start surveying the Northwest League – before the mad scramble of getting player information together in less than a week to be ready for Opening Day.

Any new hotels? Any new restaurants? Any new affiliates?  Any good promotions during the summer?

The little things for a broadcaster on the road that gets the juices flowing during a long summer.

The one thing about the Northwest League, however, is it is one of the rare circuits in the minor leagues where things remain status quo more often than not.  All seven road hotels will remain the same. all seven road affiliates are the same (haven’t been a change in the league since Toronto came to Vancouver in 2011), and all seven other broadcasters are also back.  That makes it easy to know what ammenities you need for a trip and what options are close.

One of the things I enjoy is finding a go-to restaurant for a trip – especially one that I can get a good lunch and have left-overs for a postgame snack and also work well with the per diem.  Though I haven’t found any new restaurant openings near the seven hotels, I’ll definitely be scouting the lay of the land to see if any can replace –

Eugene (The Jail – enormous portions of teriyaki chicken); Everett (Buzz Inn – great comfort food); Hillsboro (McMenamins Roadhouse – Chipotle – love their bowls), Salem (Lucky Fortune – huge Chinese portions), Spokane (Panda Express), Tri-City (Panda Express), Vancouver (Dollarama/Fruiticana – Dollar Store to Stock the Room/Fresh Vegetables).

On to the promotions – excited for some of these:

June 19 in Eugene – Rodeo Night (should I bring my cowboy hat); June 23 in Spokane (Smokey the Bear Night – “Only you can prevent forest fires”); June 29 in Tri-City (Sunglasses Giveaway); July 3 in Tri-City (3rd of July fireworks); July 11 in Eugene (Duck Dynasty’s Mountain Man will be there – my son loves Duck Dynasty); July 12 in Eugene (Soccer Scarf Giveaway – actually something I don’t have); July 24 in Everett (Seahawks hat giveaway); July 26 in Everett (Turn Back the Clock Night); July 27 in Hillsboro (D-Baxter Appearance – Arizona Diamondbacks mascot appearance); August 15 in Hillsboro (Food Truck Rally – food trucks at the yard); August 19 in Vancouver (Shawn Green appearance); August 20 in Vancouver (Socks Giveaway – first-time I’ve seen this one).

There will also be post-game fireworks in Salem-Keizer, Tri-City, Spokane, Everett, and Vancouver.