My Baseball And Cultural Experiences In Harlingen, Texas – Part 1

This past week, my travels took me to the Southernmost tip of Texas for work (ArcBest). I flew into Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas on Tuesday night. I was excited for my work spot and also excited that I would have some personal time in the mornings to check out some baseball experiences in and around Harlingen. On the Lyft ride over to the hotel, I asked the driver how far it was to Mexico. He replied, “oh, about 25 minutes or so.” Wow, I thought, this is the farthest south I have ever traveled, other than Key West, Florida. I recently worked in Buffalo, nearly 25 minutes or so from the border of Canada so I guess this trip was sort of the polar opposite geographically.

Wednesday morning, I woke up to sunny skies, near 80 degree temperatures, and roughly 5 hours of time until I had to be at work. So, I hit the trail virtually via Google Maps and found a few baseball fields and stories that I wanted to follow up on in person. First stop, Harlingen South High School Baseball Field.

The gate at the opening of the South Harlingen High School baseball and softball complex on Dixieland St. was open, so I entered and found a parking spot near the baseball field. There were some men working on the softball field and I later ran into a worker fixing something on the baseball field. Other than these men, a few birds, and some bees, I was alone to walk the field and take some photos. The South Harlingen High School Baseball Hawks have a nice facility there with the fields and batting cages that support the team, training wise. I took a few photos and walked the perimeter of the field, as it was a beautiful South Texas morning with lots of sunshine and little or no wind.

I had another place to visit before returning to the hotel for some breakfast/brunch – Pendleton Park. Pendleton Park is a multi-use, multi-recreational park that offers walking trails, tennis courts, a pool, baseball and softball fields, and tons of open spaces for recreation. When I arrived and parked, I noticed a massive military tribute park and walked over to view some of the memorial plaques. It was very impressive – all of the military, all of our military were saluted and honored in this park. I took a few moments to remember and praise those who are serving and those who have served.

From the memorial gardens and plaques, I walked the dirt path around the tennis courts over to the South Texas Little League fields. Quick note to share, there were about 20 to 25 stray cats just hanging around the tennis courts and off the trail. None were loud or weird, they were just there. Okay, back to my baseball find at Pendleton. By my count, there were about 5 fields for youth to hone their skills via the volunteers and coaches of the South Texas Little League. There were some men doing lawn care and work on the fields, so I took a few photos and headed back over to the Cat Trail, and back to my rental car.

Having worked up a bit of an appetite walking around the two Harlingen baseball experiences, I decided to head back to the hotel for some breakfast and a coffee reset. I had given myself enough time to experience some cool stuff and prepare for my first night working in the Harlingen ABF Freight Terminal. I loved visiting the two fields, immersing myself in the military memorials for a respected pause, and driving around Harlingen hoping to spot some more potential baseball experiences. Overall, it was a fantastic first day of baseball and cultural experiences in Harlingen, Texas visiting interesting baseball fields and incredible recreational facilities.