Day 8 - Baltimore - #6 Camden Yards - Back below the Mason-Dixon

(Wednesday July 30) - As we left New Jersey, we were thinking about not making the trip to Washington to watch the Nationals.  We had been going hard for a week now and we were getting tired and missing our own more comfortable beds.  Tammy and I had decided that Baltimore would be our last stop on this trip and surprisingly, the boys were okay with that.  We had rationalized the decision by saying that Washington would be a whole other trip and we could just include a visit to Nationals Park when we come back to see the Nation's capital.
Trey had been looking forward to this stop as the Orioles are probably his second favorite team (after the Braves).  His favorite player is third baseman Manny Machado who plays for the Orioles.  As an added bonus, the O's were playing the Los Angeles Angels who have one of the most exciting teams in baseball with players like Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and Josh Hamilton.

Tate waiting for the gates to open, sitting in the shade on the Cal Ripken commemorative monument.

We arrive in Baltimore around 3 in the afternoon and we check in at our hotel and then order our tickets over the phone.  Since it was a weekday game, good seats were readily available.  Our hotel was within walking distance to Camden Yards so we got there around 4:30 and did a little souvenir shopping.  The gates opened at 5:05 and we wanted to get inside to watch batting practice and hopefully catch a ball or get an autograph.
When the gates opened we entered Eutaw Way and headed for the outfield bleachers where we saw the Orioles taking batting practice.  We went down to the front row and admired all of the hits and begged the Oriole players for a ball like everyone else.  Trey's favorite player just happened to be taking BP and I was hoping he could hit one our way.  Wouldn't you know it, we were not there long when he hits a shot to deep center field where we were standing.  It didn't make it over the fence but hit the warning track and bounced right over Trey and Tate's heads and right into my hand.  Score!!  I had snagged a ball for the boys that was hit by Trey's favorite player.  My ticket to be "Dad of the Year"!  Trey has been enamored with that ball ever since.
After batting practice we headed to our seats which were down the third base line about 10 rows back.  Really good seats for $30.  Tammy and Trey went and got us something to eat from Boog's BBQ named for Baltimore icon Boog Powell.  It was pretty tasty.
The game was very entertaining.  Baltimore started the scoring early in the first inning when a Manny Machado single was followed by an Adam Jones home run.  Baltimore's starting pitcher, Kevin Gausman had a perfect game through 5 innings.  The Angels' big three went 1-12 in the game and did not have much of an impact.  The Orioles won the game 4-3.

 

Orioles' Park at Camden Yards.

Orioles Park at Camden Yards is a beautiful stadium.  The atmosphere and the fans are very friendly.  Outside of Fenway Park, I think that Orioles Park was probably my second favorite ballpark (Sorry NY).  It was kind of a depressing feeling to think that this would be it for baseball games for a while, but we were excited to get home.  After the game, we walked back to the hotel which was about 2 blocks away.  The next day we were going home.

Trey and Crazy Hair Tate on Eutaw Way at Camden Yards.

Day 7 - Back to NYC? #5 New York Mets - Citi Field

Day seven (Tuesday) began with us leaving Boston and deliberating whether or not we wanted to go back into New York City.  Tammy and I had kind of decided to skip the Mets game as we really didn't want to deal with the city again.  But after much consideration on my part, I suggested that we go ahead and do it.  After all, we had become experienced travelers and since we had done it one time, it wouldn't be that bad.  Besides, we would probably be real upset if we fulfilled this dream of attending all the Major League parks and we had to go back to New York to cover the Mets.  "We are right here.  Let's do it!"
We head back into the city on I-95 and drive over the George Washington bridge which was pretty neat.  We reserve a room in Secaucus, NJ near the place we had stayed a few nights earlier.  It was mid afternoon when we arrive so we decide to start heading into NYC.  We head to the bus stop and get our bus passes and prepare for the 15 minute ride to the Port Authority station in Manhattan.  As the bus arrives, the driver notifies us that the air conditioning was not working.  "No problem", we say.  It won't be that long of a ride.  Little did we know that it was now 5:00 and traffic into the city was at a stand still.  This turned into the MOST MISERABLE ride of my life.  On a ride that was probably 5 miles in distance, it took us 2 HOURS to get there on a bus that had no AC.  The only relief we had was the roof vent at the top of the bus.   It was HORRIBLE.  I have to commend the boys.  They did great and did not complain too much.  Needless to say, we took the first opportunity to get off the "bus ride from Hell" after we exited the Lincoln Tunnel.  It was now after 7:00 and the game was to begin at 7:05.
We arrive at Port Authority and head for the subway for a ride into Queens.  Here is where another valuable lesson was learned.  It turned out we were not as experienced as we thought.  When going a great distance across town, take the express line!  We took the number 7 local train which had to make 19 stops before we could reach Queens and the Mets Stadium - Citi Field.  It took a while.  I did not know much about Queens, but found out that it is a pretty big borough.  Most of what I had in mind was learned by watching "The King of Queens" on TV.  No surprise, it wasn't much like that at all.  Finally, we arrive and head to the ticket counter.  We had missed three innings already so we just got 4 seats in the upper deck and headed inside.

Our view of the scoreboard and Jumbo Tron at Citi Field.

Wow! What a beautiful ballpark!  Nestled deep inside one of the least aesthetically pleasing boroughs in NYC is this jewel of a stadium.  It was very impressive.  The Mets were playing the Phillies and by the time we get to our seats it is in the 4th inning with the Phillies winning 2-0.  Cole Hamels was pitching again for the Phillies who we saw pitch against the Giants back in Philly.  Dillon Gee was on the mound for the Mets.  The highlight of the game came in the 7th inning when Phillies second baseman Chase Utley hit a Grand Slam to right field making the final score 6-0.  After the game, we catch the No. 7 Express back to the other side of NYC (It didn't take nearly as long to get back, thus the name express!).
We were finally through with NYC although it was bittersweet to look back across the Hudson River as we exited the Lincoln Tunnel on the New Jersey side to see the beautiful New York City skyline and be in awe of how the city looks at night.  Another park checked off and another day down.  The next day we would head south into Baltimore.

A panoramic view from the lower levels of Citi Field.

Day 6 - #4 Boston and Fenway! So Good, So Good, So Good!

This game was one that I, and we as a family had really been looking forward to. My youngest, Tate, is now a big Red Sox fan ever since learning that they are his cousin JR's favorite team. And I have always wanted to go to the famous Fenway Park. This was going to be a treat. We stayed the night in the town of Waltham which is just west of Boston. Since it was day 6, we were desperately needing to do some laundry so Tammy decided to go get that taken care of (I did volunteer to do it but I guess she wanted it done right) while I entertained the kids in the indoor pool. It was nice to get to enjoy a leisurely morning. Afterwards we find a Moe's Southwestern Grill nearby for lunch and then head into the city via the light rail.
We arrive in the city and make the short walk to Yawkey Way. We get our tickets and then hit the stores looking for Red Sox souvenirs. By this time it is nearly 4:30 and the gates don't open until 5:20 so we go to a place called Loretta's for supper. This was chosen because it offered southern country cooking and country music as it's theme. By now during the trip I needed and little taste of southern atmosphere.

The view outside Fenway Park.

We finish eating and head across the street to the stadium. The boys and I were giddy with anticipation of what it might be like inside the 100 year old iconic ballpark. It is very difficult to describe it. Simply amazing. Again I felt like I had stepped back in time. It just had that nostalgic feeling of a different era. The park had the smells of the great food and all the vendors selling various items like you would see at any stadium but it just had a different feel to it. It was great. We make our way to our seats which were located in the lower level very close to the right field foul pole that every true baseball fan knows as "Pesky's Pole" named for Johnny Pesky who played for Boston in the 40s and 50s. Immediately the boys are awed by the sights of The Green Monster, Boston's famous 37 foot high left field wall.  Trey had even gotten a Green Monster T-shirt before we went inside the stadium.  We had great seats for a matchup between the Sox with Clay Bucholz as the starter  and the Toronto Blue Jays. I wasn't really excited about seeing the Blue Jays again but after finding out that R.A. Dickey, the famous knuckleballer and former Cy Young Award winner was the starter, the boys and I were pumped. As a bonus we got to see Dickey warm up in right field directly in front of us. It was fun for the boys and I to see his knuckleball in action up close.

The boys with the Green Monster in the background.

Unfortunately, for Tate the game was not even close. R.A. had the Boston hitters off balance all night. He was sharp even striking out David Ortiz (Tate's favorite player and Boston's most feared hitter) twice. The Blue Jays jumped out to an early lead thanks to a Melky Cabrera home run over the "Green Monster", which was pretty exciting for the boys to see. The final score was 14-1. Tate was a little bummed out but was not surprised since the Red Sox had been struggling all year. The outcome of the game was not a big deal. The fact that we were at Fenway Park was all that mattered and to see the permanent grin on Tate's face was priceless. The highlight of the experience was probably hearing all those Boston fans singing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" in the 8th inning which is why I titled this post the way I did. Everything about the experience at Fenway was "So Good"!
I think we were all in agreement that this was our favorite park that we had visited up to this point. Another amazing experience on what had become a most incredible journey.

Tate from our seats.  That's Pesky's Pole behind him.

Days Four and Five - Cooperstown

Oh man!, the day I had been looking forward to for 5 years had arrived. That's when Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine retired from playing baseball. I had watched those guys during the glory days when Atlanta won 14 straight division titles. I knew these guys would be first ballot Hall of Famers and the sports writers made it official this past winter that they were going into the Hall of Fame.  And to make it better, Bobby Cox was also going in with Joe Torre and Tony La Russa. Frank Thomas, one of the most feared hitters of all times was also going to be enshrined.   If there was ever a time to go to an induction, this would be it. Again, I have to give Tammy credit. She was determined to make it happen that we get there.  And we did, we were going to Cooperstown, although we had to get a room that was 40 miles away (Tammy booked it 4 months ago!).  Apparently this was the same story for a lot of people. There are very few hotels there and the ones they do have are booked up years in advance on Hall of Fame weekend.
We arrive on Saturday afternoon and begin our stroll through the streets of Cooperstown. It is a quaint little town nestled in the hills of upstate western New York. You don't just happen by it. But it is like stepping back in time. It is a carnival like atmosphere this weekend. There are former players signing autographs at tables on the street (for a small fee which I didn't like but that was the only way to keep order I guess). We saw former Braves John Smoltz, John Rocker, Ryan Klesko, and Marquis Grissom signing anything people would give them. Pete Rose was also rumored to be in town but we didn't see him.
Then we prepare to witness one of the best kept secrets in all of baseball: the Hall of Famers Parade. At least I did not know of it. But every Hall of Fame Weekend on Saturday at 6:00 the returning HoFers participate in a parade where each player and his spouse or other family member ride in the back of a pickup truck right through the middle of town. This is a chance for the fans to get up close to see some of baseball's living legends. It was unbelievable. There we were just a few yards away from some of the greats of all time. We pushed our way as close as we could to try to get a front row seat. We pushed the boys up to be right along the rail to get a good view no thanks to this guy from Chicago who as Tammy put it, was not "kid minded".
Here is a short list of some of the players we saw: Hank Aaron, Whitey Ford, Ernie Banks, Phil Neikro, Gaylord Perry, Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Johnny Bench, Cal Ripken, Reggie Jackson, Tom Seaver, Tommy Lasorda, Carlton Fisk, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Ricky Henderson, and Barry Larkin just to name a few. Over 50 players returned to honor the new inductees who were at the end of the parade. Finally, the "new guys" came through in alphabetical order so as not to favor one over the other: Cox, Glavine, La Russa, Maddux, Thomas, and Torre.

Greg Maddux in the Hall of Famer Parade

The parade was probably the biggest highlight of the trip for me. It was like a dream. Every baseball fan needs to experience that. I'm sure the grin stayed on my face for hours afterwards. Could it get any better?
We drive the 45 minutes back to Norwich where our room is and spend the night only to drive back the next morning for the next day's events. After finally getting a parking place we walk through Cooperstown to the Hall of Fame. Again, on the way. there are more signings going on at different places. We saw Darryl Strawberry and Dale Murphy among others. We stand in line to get into the Museum for about 30 minutes. We finally get in and see the exhibits for about 45 minutes when we have to leave to catch the shuttle out to where the induction ceremony will be held which is about a mile away. We arrive at this field which reminded me of what Woodstock must have been like. As I found out later, there were approximately 48,000 people there to see the ceremony. Of course we were not even close to the stage. In fact, we must have been 5-6 hundred yards away. Fortunately they had a big jumbo tron screen and adequate speakers to allow us to view the ceremony. Another indication of how large the crowd was could be seen by the fact that there were well over 100 porta johns there too.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

The ceremony began and good thing for us the three Braves inductees went first. No disrespect to the other guys but we were ready to leave at that point as the boys were getting hot. For me, the speeches were great. Very meaningful and moving. I have never been more proud to be a Braves fan. It was an awesome event. After Bobby Cox spoke we decided to head back into town and finish our tour of the Hall of Fame.  The boys were exhausted and did not really appreciate all the baseball history that they were exposed to but I think it will be memorable nonetheless. We had had our fill of baseball nostalgia and headed out of town. I remember thinking as we left what an overwhelming couple of days we had just enjoyed. It would take a while for all of it to really set in. Like I said, this was going to be the highlight of the trip, or so I thought.

Our view at the induction ceremony.

We left Cooperstown and headed 280 miles east to Boston.

Day Three - The Big Apple and Ballpark #3 Yankee Stadium

The next day it was time to take on the big city. Tammy and I were excited to show the boys NYC and they were excited to see it. Now I'm not going to lie, I am a little intumidated by large urban areas not to mention the largest in the US. So I was not going to drive. We were staying in Secaucus, NJ which enabled us to take a bus right into the city via the Lincoln Tunnel. We arrived at the Port Authority Bus Terminal which is at 42nd street and very close to Times Square. It was mid-morning and we had planned to be in the city all day and head up to the Bronx for the Yankees game. So we start walking and walking. It was fun to see the sights and especially to see the faces of Trey and Tate. Tammy, being the responsible mom had instructed the boys (and me) that they were to hold mom and dad's hand at all times (Tate of course would be the one who would need to be reminded of this rule several times. Trey was just fine with it). Tammy writes her cell number on the boys arms should they get separated from us (she is a great Mom!).
"Can we see NYC in one day?" I thought. Well, not adequately but we were going to give it our best shot. We set out into Times Square and take in all the sites. We see all the electronic billboards, the place where the ball dropped on New Years Eve, and of course, the Naked Cowboy, which Tate (and Tammy too I think) got a kick out of. We head to Rockefeller Plaza, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Grand Central Station, and over to The Empire State Building. The boys wanted to see The Statue of Librrty which was at the southernmost part of Manhattan so that meant we needed to take the subway. Here was a part of New York culture the boys needed to see. And here was where we looked the most like tourists because as you may know it can be confusing.
We make it to the correct station and get out to Battery Park to get a view of Lady Liberty. The boys finally feel like they have seen something they can identify New York City with. We go by the 9-11 Memorial and try to explain to them what it is about. We walk up through the financial district (see the big bull) and get back on the subway headed to the Bronx and Yankee Stadium.

The Statue of Liberty.

Ah, the main reason for coming here. We arrive in the Bronx and Yankee Stadium is like a "diamond in the rough". It is a beautiful facility located in a not so beautiful part of the city. We get our tickets and head in. The guy taking our tickets advises us to go see Monument Park first before the game starts and we do. It was very impressive. I'm not a Yankee fan but as a baseball fan, Monument Park is pretty special. To see all of that Yankee history, I sensed that it was a preview of what we would see on the next stop of our journey in Cooperstown.

The boys outside Yankee Stadium.

We found our seats for the game in the upper deck behind the 3rd base line. The boys and I were in awe. It was a good game. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and Mark Buerhle started for the Toronto Blue Jays.  It was also a special treat for the boys to get to see Derek Jeter who is playing his last season. He began with the Yankees in 1995. Tammy and I are seeing the Yankees in New York for the second time. The first time was back in 2004 when we saw Jeter take a dive into the stands going after a foul ball against the Red Sox at the old Yankee Stadium. Jeter suffered a broken nose. 

In this game four home runs were hit; two by former Hickory Crawdad Jose Bautista, one by Carlos Beltran (a favorite player of Trey's), and one by Ichiro Suzuki, his first of the season and the game winner. Yanks won 6-4. After the game we get back on the subway and return to Port Authority where we catch the bus back to our hotel. It was a very long day but one where a lot of memories were made. Time to rest up for the drive to Cooperstown the next day and for me, the highlight of the trip.

Yankee Stadium Jumbotron.  Monument Park is below it just beyond center field.

A Panoramic view from our seats.  It is a beautiful stadium.

Day Two - Game One - Stadium #2 Philadelphia

The City of Brotherly Love. After surviving the night at the Motel 6, we were ready to get going pretty early. We drove into the city and found the Philadelphia Sports Complex. I have to give credit to Philadelphia for their city planning. Every major sports team's home facilities are right there in the same area and there is adequate parking for each.  Since we arrived so early the parking attendant said she was not charging yet so we didn't have to pay to park. Score!  There was a subway station at the Sports Complex which was at the south side of the city. We decided to ride up into the city to see the sights. After all, the Social Studies teacher in me had to go show the boys the areas where our country was founded.
We exited the subway in the heart of the historic district. The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall were in plain sight. We saw the Bell and then took the tour of Independence Hall. What a moving experience for me. To be right there where the founding fathers were deciding on the course for our great nation. Wow!  I was reminded of Nicholas Cage running through there in National Treasure, proof that I watch too many movies I guess.

Independence Hall where the Declaration was discussed and signed.

Then back on the subway to Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies. As a Braves fan, I wasn't too excited about seeing the Phils but it was our first ballpark on the big baseball trip so we were ready.  We grabbed some lunch and of course, what do you eat while in Philadelphia - a Philly Cheesesteak!   Tate and I were very impressed with the meal.

Citizens Bank is a very nice stadium full of the rich Phillies history and in some ways it reminded me of Turner Field. We got our tickets in the upper deck and got ready for the 1:05 game where Cole Hamels would be pitching against former Brave Tim Hudson of the Giants. It was great to see "Huddy" although it was hard to see him in that Giants uniform. The temperature was hot as you would expect for an afternoon game in July. The game was a pitchers' dual. Both starters were sharp. The Phillies won the game 2-1. We didn't see the end as we headed down with the boys to line up for the Kids Run the Bases activity at the conclusion of the game. We couldn't miss an opportunity for the boys to run around the bases at Citizens Bank.

First Ballpark, Citizens Bank Park in Philly.

Tate and Trey running the bases as seen on the Big Screen!

Our time in Philly was enjoyable for the most part. We got to combine some history with some baseball and got the first stadium checked off. On to New Jersey to find a room for the next two nights. Again using our handy dandy Hotels.com app we were able to find a room in Secaucus at the Holiday Inn Express. It turned out to be a really nice place with easy access to the NYC.

Year One - Day One - Travel Day

The first day we left home at about 10:00 am heading to Philadelphia. We knew it would be a long drive so we had the Minivan packed and stocked with plenty of snacks for all and movies to entertain the boys. We decide to head up I-77 into Virginia and then take I-81 up through the Shenandoah Valley. What a beautiful drive.  Of course that area is rich in historical sites that I am just itching to see but my traveling companions would be bored out of their minds, besides we have to get to Philly and get a room in order to get to the game the next day. So I keep the hammer down.
Now here is where I need to interject a very important piece of information. As I mentioned in the previous post, my wife Tammy is a planner. She likes to have itineraries prepared well in advance before we ever leave town. But for this trip, she has only a baseball schedule and list of driving times from place to place in hand. This was a little disconcerting for me. "You mean we don't have reservations at hotels?  No baseball game tickets pre-purchased?" I was comforted with the reply of "we'll be fine".
Well, I wasn't so sure about that. After all we both had smartphones. We had all the information we needed right in the palm of our hands. It turns out those phones are extremely handy.
On the way up to Philadelphia I thought it would be neat to stop over in Hershey so the boys could see where some of their favorite candies were made. We got there and did the little ride on tour of the factory which disembarked right there in the candy store. And of course we had to get some Hershey's candy made right there in Hershey PA. Check!  The boys thought it was awesome.

That's one big Hershey Bar!

Next, it was on to Philly to find accommodations. We, or I, had decided to use Hotels.com to find a room. It was a very useful website that allowed us to pick a room based on what we were looking for. We had found a couple of options in the neighborhood called King of Prussia located just west of the city. Instead of booking online we decided to drive by the places first before committing.  We looked at some mid range hotels I guess like Best Western and Holiday Inn but on the way in we spotted a Motel 6. It looked pretty nice and seemed to be in a safe location. We only needed it for one night and we would be on our way. Oh boy!  Sorry Tom Bodett but you can leave the light OFF for us from now on. Kind of weird when a hotel room has laminate flooring throughout. Tammy was concerned about bed bugs. It was late and we were tired so we decided to stay and make the best of it.  We survived the night with an important lesson learned. I don't mean to sound uppity or anything, but discount rate hotels are discounted for a reason.

Not a big deal because the next day we would begin an epic quest that will lead to many awesome experiences!

A quick diversion on the way to Philly.

Can We Really Do This?

In deciding what our 2014 summer plans would be, we knew that we would make our annual Holden Beach trip with extended family, which we did and was great, but that was taken care of in mid June. What about the rest of the summer?
Well...how about a trip to a baseball game?  Sounds cool. After all, the boys have really gotten into the game. We are huge Braves fans and try not to miss a game on TV.  But where to?  We had already been to Turner Field on Memorial Day to see the Braves and Red Sox. So then my wife and I (really my wife - Tammy gets all the credit for this one) decided to make a trip up north. Since it was announced that some of our beloved Atlanta Braves would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, it had kind of been a pipe dream of mine to go to Cooperstown in July to see the induction ceremony. But that is a long way and is it worth going that far just for the Hall of Fame?  Well yeah! Was my first thought but then the practical side of me reared its head so I did not think much of it. Then my lovely and thoughtful wife started thinking. 'What if we make it a trip to see several games? I think the boys would love it".  "Yes we will!" I thought.
Now Tammy is not known to do things halfway. If she is going to do something, she is going to do it right with lots of pre-planning and forethought put in ahead of time. She found out when the induction ceremony would be in Cooperstown and got the MLB baseball schedule out and got right to work. And what she came up with would seem impossible. She suggested that we go to Philadelphia for a Phillies/SF Giants game, head up to NYC for a Yankees/Blue Jays game, and then over to Cooperstown for a couple of days for the Hall of Fame ceremonies. Leave there and go to Boston for a Red Sox/Blue Jays game, go back to New York for a Mets/Phillies game. Head down to Washington and Baltimore to see the Nats and Orioles. Wow!  Can we really do this?  If there is anything that gets my wife motivated, it's the idea of a challenge. Well,  here we go.  We left our own friendly confines of our Rutherford College, NC home on Wednesday July 23rd. "Man, this is going to be awesome!" But can we pull it off?

For numerical purposes, we are going to count Atlanta's Turner Field as Ballpark #1 as the boys have been there several times.