#30 T-Mobile Park The Last One! Mission Accomplished!

On Thursday, August 8th, we entered ballpark #30 on this great quest that we had set on back in 2014. To accomplish it in 2024 was a year behind schedule, but all in all, it was such a good feeling to be able to say, “We did it!”  The game featured the Seattle Mariners taking on the Detroit Tigers in what would turn out to be a very entertaining ballgame. 

Tate and Trey outside of T-Mobile Park 

T-Mobile Park was a pretty cool place to see a game. They do have a roof that will open and close depending on the weather. In the day we were there, the Seattle weather was wonderful, about 75 degrees and no rain so the roof would be open. We make our way in and this game was one of their “value games” so tickets were fairly affordable. We got seats behind home plate for about $45 each which was a great deal. 

View from our seats. 

The game was a pitchers’ duel at first and we cruised through the first 6 innings very quickly. The Tigers managed to pull ahead 3-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth. It was “rally time” as we kind of wanted our monumental game to be a little more exciting. And the Mariners delivered!  The M’s were able to get the bases loaded and then Mitch Haniger came to the plate with 2 outs down 3-1 and he hits a double to right center field scoring all 3 runners enabling Seattle to walk it off by the score of 4-3.  

The Mariners Walk It Off!!!

Stadium #30 of 30

As the game ended and we were walking out, there was such a tremendous feeling of accomplishment that I felt as I was trying to wrap my mind around what we had just accomplished as a family. It was almost inconceivable at the time that we set out to do this in 2014. I have to give Tammy the credit on this one. She is the one who threw down the challenge. I was just excited about going to a Hall of Fame induction.  She took it to a whole different level. And what a collections of memories and stories that we have to tell. In that 11 year time span, baseball has become a major part of our family. Both boys have played all through middle school and high school as well as during the summers in travel ball and showcase ball. They have had amazing careers so far as Trey and Tate both have been selected as the Player of the Year in their high school conference. Trey is now playing in college at Lenoir-Rhyne University and Tate will be finishing up his high school career next season. 

Many people may not understand why we did this, but when your kids have a passion for something, sometimes, as parents, we tend to go overboard. And maybe we did, but what an amazing adventure it turned out to be!

After the game, we went back to our AirB&B for the night. The next day we would go back for another game since we had a couple more days in Seattle. We got seats in the outfield and I have to say, that game was not as stressful for some reason. After all, we had checked the box so all that was left to do was to just sit back and enjoy the game which we did because the Mariners beat the Mets, always a pleasure for any Braves Fan!

The Absolute Best Ballpark Feature!!! (According to Tammy)

Footnote:  T-Mobile Park ranks very highly on Tammy’s all-time list because they are the only stadium that we have been to that not only lets you get free refills, but lets you bring the cup back at a later game AND ALSO get free refills!  Kudos to you, Seattle, for being very fan friendly when it comes to game refreshments!

Year 11 - The Emerald City and the last stop on our Quest

What started 11 years ago with a pipe dream that was sparked by a Hall of Fame induction came to fruition in the Summer of 2024 with the completion of a bucket list adventure for our family to see a game at all 30 Major League Ballparks.  It was a huge challenge and took longer than originally planned, but we did it!  We started this in 2014 and the goal was to complete it by the time our oldest son, Trey, graduated from high school.  Well, he graduated in 2023 and due to many difficult family losses that year, we had to postpone the completion of our goal to another year.  We had one park left - Seattle.  And as you know, for someone living in North Carolina, getting to the Pacific Northwest poses a real challenge.  But we planned and saved and budgeted and decided to get it done in August of 2024.

But this trip was not just going to be a trip to see a ball game.  We decided to finish this quest of making memories by finishing it up in style.  After seeing a game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, we would then get on a big boat and go on a 7-day Alaskan cruise!  This was going to be an epic trip.  On Wednesday, August 8th, with the threat of Tropical Storm Debby coming in from the Gulf of Mexico and drenching the Deep South, we flew out of Charlotte on a 5 1/2 hour flight to Seattle.  

On the approach to Seattle, we got a good look at Mt. Rainier

Upon arriving at the airport, I got my first experience with a company called Turo.  Rather than deal with a rental car company, you can now rent people's cars from them directly, just like you would rent a house on Air B&B.  Tammy had used this service before when she had gone on a trip to Wisconsin and she was very happy with how the process worked.  So we tried it again.  We picked up our car that was left at the airport parking garage and off we went to find the Air B&B that we had booked for our 3 night stay in Seattle.

We arrived at our place and found it to be quite accommodating and comfortable.  We then headed out to get some dinner at a local Chinese restaurant and picked up some groceries at an Amazon Fresh, which was a pretty neat little grocery store.  We headed back to get some rest as the next day we would go downtown to see the sights and check out the city, and check off number 30!

Of course in Seattle there are a few attractions that you must see.  The first stop was the Pike's Place Market.  It was jam packed with so many vendors peddling fresh vegetables, crafts, baked goods, and of course, seafood.  The market took up probably 3 blocks down along the waterfront next to Puget Sound.  It was bustling with activity.  We picked up a few things and grabbed some lunch trying out some of the local seafood.  The busiest place of all was probably the shop billed as the original Starbucks, which some of the locals will dispute saying that the original shop was a little farther away, but it did not deter the dozens of people waiting in line out the door to get in.

Next we made our way a little farther north to find the Space Needle, the iconic attraction built for the 1962 World's Fair that many people think of when they think about Seattle.  At one time the 605 foot high tower was considered the tallest structure west of the Mississippi. It was an impressive sight and a huge attraction as so many people were there.  The surrounding areas are like a carnival in that many shops and vendors try to lure in the many patrons of the Space Needle.  As you may recall from our St. Louis trip, I am not a big fan of heights and I was not about to go up in that thing.  But Tammy and the boys were excited to go up.  So they bought their tickets (at $40 a pop!) and got in line while I found a Starbucks and got me a coffee and found a shady spot to sit down and listen to the sweet sounds of a Guatemalan Pan Flute Band (They were fantastic and Zamfir would have been proud).

World Famous Seattle Space Needle - 605 feet tall

Trey and Tate at the top with Puget Sound in the backgroud

Chillin' from 600 feet up

After a busy morning and early afternoon, we were feeling a little "Sleepless In Seattle", so we decide to head back to our place and get a little rest before heading to the ballpark.