Days 5 & 6- D.C. Non-Baseball Days

With all of the All-Star events coming to an end, why would we possibly need to stay around our nation's capital any longer?  Well, as you might have guessed, the Social Studies teacher in me felt obligated to take the boys around the city to see some of the historic sights and at least make this trip somewhat educational.  So, on Wednesday after the All-Star game, we had made arrangements with our Congressman, Mark Meadows, to take a couple of tours.  Our first stop was the Library of Congress where we took a tour and got to see the place where Nicholas Cage was running around trying to find the Presidential Book of Secrets (According to the tour guide, there is no such thing).

A lot of neoclassical style in the LOC.

The Reading Room was very impressive

  After that, we went to Congressman Meadows office where his assistant had arranged a private tour of the Capitol provided by one of the Congressman's interns, a guy from Appalachian State named John, who did a  good job (I did catch about 4 or 5 inaccuracies that he told us on the tour but I did not say anything as to not embarrass him).  While touring the Capitol, we were able to catch a glimpse of some pretty big names - Speaker of the House Paul Ryan walked by as did Majority Whip Steve Scalise (the guy who was shot at the Congressional softball game last year) and we saw former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.  John kept going on and on about how fortunate we were to see some of the "Stars of the Congress".

Trey and Tate outside the Capitol

During our tour, we felt pretty important as we got to use the Congressional tunnels which connect the Congressional offices to the Capitol.  As our tour concluded, we were given four House Gallery Passes which we would use on Friday after the White House tour to actually go into the House Chamber.

A Magnificent Building

Upon leaving the Capitol, we grabbed some lunch nearby and then headed back to our apartment for a little downtime.  Tammy and the boys wanted to go and do a little shopping.  That evening, we actually got back in our car for the first time to drive to find the outlets.  There was a Tanger Outlet nearby and we went there for a couple of hours before we went back home for the evening.

On Thursday, we decided to go to the Smithsonian Zoo (Tate wanted to go see the Pandas).  It was surprisingly very good.  I don't think it gets the credit it deserves, but it had a wide variety of animals and was quite a bargain with it being free to get in (just like all the other Smithsonian properties).  And of course, the first stop was to see the Pandas!

They were very cute!

After walking around the zoo, we decided to head back to our apartment to rest and relax since we had been going pretty hard for 5 straight days.  So, we go back to take a nap and then head to the park which was two blocks away.  At the park, I had thought that we could maybe throw the baseball around a little bit.  Unfortunately, there was not that much room.  We realized just how much we can appreciate having a wide open space to throw a baseball around.  After the park, we walked to a little nearby Chinese restaurant called the Hong Kong Carryout.  It looked like a "little hole in the wall place" but the food was incredible and the portions were plenty so that we could eat the leftovers the next day.  Friday would be our last full day in D.C. and we had some pretty cool things planned.

Day 4 - Fan Fest and All-Star Game

After the awesome time we had at FanFest on Sunday, we decided that we needed to go back.  So I found some more tickets online for about $6 each and we headed back to the Civic Center on Tuesday morning to get to FanFest.  We wanted to get there early so we could get a Max Scherzer bobblehead by being one of first 300 people in the door.  (As it turned out, we did get there in time, but the bobblehead was about the size of a Christmas Tree Ornament)  By being there early, the boys were able to participate in a lot more of the activities without having to wait in line.  They also were able to get registered to participate in the Home Run hitting contest. We were able to get another Hall of Famer's autograph - Rollie Fingers, so that was pretty cool.  We also got to meet and have a picture made with MLB Network's Kevin Millar, who is someone the boys watch every day on the show, "Intentional Talk".  As a bonus, we got to witness a Hot Dog Eating contest sponsored by Nathan's Hot Dogs featuring the greatest Professional Eaters on the planet, including the 16 Time Nathan's July 4th National Hot Dog Eating Champion, Joey Chestnutt who set a new record this past Fourth of July when he ate 74 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes!

Hot Dog Eating Contest at FanFest

The Legend - World Champion Professional Eater Joey Chestnutt with Trey and Tate

It was quite a sight to see these people devouring so many hot dogs in 5 minutes.  According to Tammy, "it was disgusting".  The boys had their own baseball cards made at the Topps booth which was pretty cool.

Tate's Baseball Card

Trey's Baseball Card which he autographed!

After our second day at FanFest, it was time to head back to Nationals Park for the 89th MLB All-Star Game.  This was, for me, the most exciting part of the trip.  The chance for our boys to see so many Superstars at one time was pretty special.  We go there early and, as usual, we were planning our strategy to get an autograph or at least a BP ball.  Trey and I again went to the National League dugout in hopes of getting an autograph from anyone who would sign, especially any of the Braves players who were there.  Unfortunately, no one came out to sign so we decided to go to the outfield to try to catch a ball or get a player to throw us one.

Trey and Tate watching Batting Practice hoping for a ball.

After waiting and watching in awe of all of the great players out on the field, we had just about given up on getting anything.  It was getting more and more crowded by the minute.  To no one's surprise, this was going to be a sold-out event.  As the boys were just about fed up and ready to go up to our seats, in steps Aaron Judge to finish up his BP round.  This guy is HUGE.  He is a mammoth of a man.  He hits right-handed and we were standing in right field.  I was not feeling very optimistic, but he is very strong and could hit it out of the park to all fields.  Just then, he cracks one toward right field and as I am watching it, I notice that it is coming right towards me.  I have my glove on and am popping my fist inside it in anticipation of possibly getting to make a play.  As I watch the ball, it is heading right toward me.  As it crests and starts its downward path, I am ready!  I stick up my glove as high as I can because I know there may be some other people who may try to jump in front of me to intercept it.  Just then, it lands in my glove and I am squeezing it as hard as I can so no one else knocks it out.  Score!  I just caught a baseball hit by Aaron Judge and I am sure to be my kids' hero now.

Trey and Tate with the "Aaron Judge Ball"

After batting practice, we go to find our seats in anticipation of watching the "Midsummer Classic", the All-Star Game.  We were very excited since four Braves players would be participating with two of them, Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis being chosen starters for the game.

Our Seats for the All-Star Game

Freddie Freeman being introduced (and booed by the Nationals Fans, thus the smile)

The Non-Starters (Folty and Ozzie representing the Braves)

The game started and we enjoyed all the pregame ceremonies.  All the Superstars of the game were represented.  It was every young (and old) kid's dream to see all of those big names together on the same field.

Freddie Freeman

Nick Markakis

Mike Foltynewicz

Ozzie Albies

The game was very exciting as far as All-Star games go.  There was a record number of home runs hit by both teams with 10 dingers being hit.  The game went into extra innings (free baseball) and the American League won 8-6.  Even though we were pulling for the National League, we still enjoyed the game very much.

After the game, we headed back to our apartment taking with us cherished memories of a very special 3 day stretch.  The next day would not include much baseball as we would go on some "boring tours" that Mom and Dad wanted to do.

Day 3 - Home Run Derby Day!!

After getting back fairly late the night before, we decided to kind of sleep in and lay around a little on Monday morning in preparation for the anticipated late night watching the Home Run Derby.  This was a day that we were all looking forward to because, who doesn't like to see a lot of home runs, right?  MLB puts on an event called Play Ball Park which is an opportunity for kids to play whiffle ball at a park right next to the stadium.  Tate had participated in it the day before and we were going to let both boys participate prior to going to the ballpark.  Monday was a VERY HOT day with temps in the mid-90s so to go and watch the boys play outside in that heat was not something I was looking forward to.  Since we had Derby tickets, that also enabled us to get into the Gatorade All-Star Workout Day, which was the event where I thought Trey would have a good chance of getting an autograph if we got there early enough.  Well, the workout day started at 5:00 with the gates opening at Nationals Park at 3:00.  So, we decided to leave our apartment around 11 AM and go down to the ballpark and have lunch and then go to Play Ball Park and then into the stadium.
So for lunch, we go to a place called Declaration where I had one of the best foot long hotdogs that I have ever had.  While we were eating lunch, I asked Tammy if she had the tickets to the Home Run Derby.  She gave me a wry look and said, "No".  Of course, I thought she was joking and asked, "you're kidding, right?"  And then I realized she was not kidding.  Panic mode!  So now we have to scramble around and figure out a way to get back to the apartment and get the tickets and get back to the stadium.  All the scenarios are running through my mind about how to do this.  Tammy insists that she go get them and that I take the boys to Play Ball Park.  So my choice is to figure out a way to get the tickets or go to Play Ball Park with the boys and melt like a snowman in the 95-degree heat.  After much deliberation, it is decided that Tammy go get the tickets and I sweat my keister off watching the boys.  And wouldn't you know it, Chevrolet saves the day.  As Tammy is walking to get on the subway, there is the Chevrolet tent offering rides to anyone wanting to go within a five-mile radius.  They offer to give her a ride back to the apartment, wait on her, and bring her back to the ballpark!  And give her an ice-cold Coke Zero!  So, in 25 minutes she has the tickets and is back while I am soaked through with sweat at the Play Ball Park.  I tell the boys it's time to go and we head toward the stadium.
As we enter the stadium, the boys and I plan our strategy to somehow get an autograph or at least a baseball during batting practice.  Our plan is to head toward the right field foul line and get a close look at the All-Stars coming out and maybe get someone to come sign autographs.  Unfortunately, no one was signing autographs but we did get to see a lot of the players up close, and we did get a couple of baseballs thanks to some of the pitchers out shagging.  Jacob deGrom from the Mets and Ross Stripling from the Dodgers each tossed us a baseball.  So, all was not lost I guess.

Trey and I in our Home Run Derby Seats.  Trey holding a ball we got in Batting Practice.  If you look real close, you can see the Home Run Derby Stamp on the baseball.

After the All-Star workout and BP for the Home Run Derby participants, it was time for the Derby.  We were able to score two pairs of seats up in the right field section on the second deck.  The Nationals promoted these seats as "Home Run Derby Dream Seats" and they did not disappoint.  The boys were super excited about the Derby.  We, of course, were rooting for Freddie Freeman representing the Braves, but we were actually pulling for any left-handed hitters since we were sitting in the right-field seats.  How cool would it be to be on national television catching a ball?  As it turned out, Trey and I sat together and had 3 balls come very close to us, two in front and one behind us.  Tammy and Tate were in kind of the same situation.  However, one very nice guy caught a ball right behind Tate and then gave it to him. 

Tate was given the Home Run Derby ball from the guy behind him.  Very cool guy!

He was a Nationals season ticket holder and he told Tate he had to become a Nationals fan.  Tate then offered to give him the ball back!  Way to go, Tate!  But the guy relented and Tate was able to take home one of the 114 balls hit in the Home Run Derby. 

It was a great lesson in Human Behavior.  Some people were going nuts in trying to catch a ball, even to go so far as to knock other people over.  So, for the guy to give Tate his ball was really cool.  All in all, it was an awesome event and one of the highlights of our trip.  So we head back to the apartment and get ready for the next day's events in anticipation of the All-Star Game.

Day 2 - FanFest and the Futures & Celebrity Softball Games

We awoke on Sunday morning with anticipation of going to FanFest.  After our experience on the subway, which was not too bad the night before, we looked into using Uber.  We had never used an Uber before and to be honest, I had some reservations.  My brother Joe and his family just got back from NYC and he told me how he had paid $60 for an Uber ride.  So, just out of curiosity, I looked into it.  I had downloaded the app on my phone and punched in the location we wanted to go to and the location of where we were and voila!  We could take an Uber ride to the Convention Center for around $7.00.  Wow, that was cheaper than the subway.  So with the punch of a few keys on my phone, there was a car waiting outside our apartment in about 5 minutes and it took us to FanFest.  I was impressed with Uber and we would use it several more times.
Now I had no idea really what to expect but, was I pleasantly surprised!  It was like a Baseball Disneyworld!  There were so many cool things to see and do for young and old.  And you never knew who you might run into.

At the entrance of Fan Fest

Boys getting some fielding work in

Trey getting some swings in

Getting autographs from Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry

There were Hall of Famers there signing autographs as well as vendors giving away promotional items and there were the experiences, which the boys really liked.  For example, they had pitching machines where fans young and old could participate in hitting, fielding, and throwing games.  There were all kinds of exhibits showcasing baseball history, Negro League history, Minor Leagues history.  There was so much to do that we knew just one day there would not be enough.  We decided we needed to squeeze in another day at FanFest.  More on that in another post.  As we left FanFest, we were walking to the subway station to get to the ballpark when we were stopped by someone working for Chevrolet and they were running a "Grab a Chevy" promotion.  They asked us if we wanted a free ride to anywhere within a 5-mile radius.  We told them we were on our way to the Ballpark and they offered us a ride in a new Traverse, which was really nice.  And they gave us each a free 20 oz. Coke since Coke was partnering with Chevrolet on that promotion.  Score!  Free ride to Nationals Park and a free Coke!
My first impression of Nationals Park was pretty favorable.  It is in great shape.  It doesn't have the nostalgia that some have, but it kind of ranks in the middle of the pack of all the MLB stadiums I have been to.
Later in the afternoon at Nationals Park, we decide to attend the MLB Futures Game.  Originally we had decided not to go to this event but our youngest son Tate wanted to go to the Celebrity Softball game, so we looked into it.  I used TickPick to find some pretty reasonably priced tickets and we went.  It turned out to be a really cool event. 

Tate at the Futures Game, our first time at Nationals Park - Stadium #14 for the boys!

In the Futures Game, many of MLB's top prospects participated in a game of young players from the US vs. young players from around the World.  It was a pretty exciting game.  We even got to see two of the Atlanta Braves top pitching prospects, Kyle Wright and Touki Toussant.  Both played very well and in the game, there was a new record of 8 homers that were hit which doubled the previous record of 4.  That is always a good indication of how entertaining the event was for the boys.
After the Futures Game, there was the Celebrity Softball Game featuring people like Jamie Foxx, Disney Star Skai Jackson, Washington Wizards star John Wall, Washington Redskins star Josh Norman, as well as MLB legends like Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, and Bernie Williams among many others.  As an added bonus, we were entertained by D.J. Diesel a.k.a. Shaq.  It was an entertaining day and the boys enjoyed it.  So we left the park and again we used Uber.  Not bad even though the driver was not very chatty.  We got back to our apartment and crashed to get ready for the next day.

Day 1 - Baseball Trip 2018 - Here We Go Again - #14 Nationals Park - The Midsummer Classic - The MLB All-Star Game!

It’s been three years since our last big baseball trip when we traveled around the Great Lakes to take in Cincinnati, Detroit, Toronto, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. And that brought the total number of stadiums for the boys to 11. Two years ago we went to Florida and saw Miami and Tampa Bay, which were sandwiched around a cruise to the Caribbean. 13 down. Last year we decided to take a year off from the big mission and we just visited our beloved  Braves and their brand new stadium - SunTrust Park (which is pretty spectacular by the way).  The year off, if you can call it that, was so we could get ready for the next big adventure, and that was to try to get to the MLB All-Star Game.

Four years ago we started on this journey to see as many Major League Baseball Stadiums as we could. In 2014, we took an unbelievable trip to Cooperstown to see the Hall of Fame induction ceremony where 3 of our beloved Atlanta Braves were enshrined - Bobby Cox, Greg Maddux, and Tom Glavine among others. And on that trip, we went to stadiums in Philadelphia, Boston, both in New York, and Baltimore. We were supposed to go to Washington but by the time we were ready to go there, we were so tired we decided to skip that one and come home. My lovely wife (and event planner/coordinator) Tammy, who is always planning for the future discovered that the All-Star game in 2018 would be played in Washington D.C.  She said we could see that stadium when we go to the All-Star game!

Now, I remember thinking at the time that, Yes! That would be so amazing. But then I started thinking that our last name is not Rockefeller or Vanderbilt. There is no way we could afford that. Thus, the year off.  And I guess this is where I had underestimated our C.F.O. (Tammy) and her ability to budget properly to make this happen.  So here we are.  It's 2018 and we have done it.  We have done the research, pinched and saved our pennies and yes, we are headed to Washington D.C. for the All-Star Festivities.
So we started early, or should I say Tammy got started early on the planning.  We booked a week long stay at a basement apartment in the Capitol Hill section of D.C. on Airbnb.  It turns out the place was very adequate even though parts of the neighborhood were pretty sketchy, but I'll elaborate on that in a later post.  We purchased our tickets for the 89th MLB All-Star Game on StubHub and the tickets to the Home Run Derby on Vivid Tickets.  Now, as I eluded to earlier, we are not the Rockefellers and these tickets were not cheap.  And so now college is no longer an option for Trey and Tate but hey, we are making memories, right?  So we packed up the Minivan and headed out on Saturday to the nation's capital.
We arrived in D.C. around 4:00 in the afternoon and I had planned for us to see some of the sights and maybe see some of the monuments at night since they take on a different look and it is much cooler.  After we find our accommodations and get settled in, we decide to head into town to see the monuments.  We walk four blocks down to the nearest METRO station and purchase our cards to ride the subway (yes, it was obvious that we were tourists trying to figure out how to operate the ticketing machines).  Now they say D.C. is a walking city, but I had no idea we would have to do SO MUCH WALKING!!

Tate at the Lincoln Memorial

Trey and Tate in front of the Capitol

I think that night we walked 4 or 5 miles trying to see as much as we could.  We walked from the Capitol down across the mall past the Smithsonian buildings to see the Washington Monument, caught a glimpse of the White House.  Then headed to the World War II Memorial on our way to the Lincoln Memorial past the Korean War Memorial.  Then went to the Jefferson Memorial and back to the Subway station.  Needless to say, we all slept pretty well that night as visions of the next day's events were dancing in our heads - and that was to go to MLB FanFest at the Washington Convention Center.

Year 3 - Florida! #12 Miami and #13 Tampa

As we approach year three of this quest, let me recap.  In 2014, we started this journey as we traveled to Cooperstown NY for the Hall of Fame inductions.  We decided to see as many stadiums as we could while driving to and from New York.  That took us to 5  parks: Philadelphia, New York Yankees, Boston, New York Mets, and Baltimore.  We intentionally skipped Washington as we knew we would take the boys to DC eventually someday for a big Social Studies Field Trip.  Year two took us to 5 more: Cincinnati, Detroit, Toronto, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. And if you go ahead and count Atlanta, we were at a final total of 11 Ballparks.  We had covered most of the eastern United States with a couple exceptions down south in Florida.

To plan out your strategy of seeing all 30 MLB Stadiums, for us it was best to do it chunks, or to try to cover certain regions each year like we had done in years one and two.   Sometimes it works out pretty well.  In other places, it may not.  So, in year 3 we decided to check off the two teams in Florida - the Marlins and the Rays.  To only get two stadiums in seems a little like a waste of time and resources.  So, in true Jensen fashion, we are going to make it bigger.  We are going to go on a cruise between stadium stops!

Now the boys had never been on a cruise so this would be something that they would really look forward to. And to make it better, we invited our families to go along with us.  My brother Joe and his family and Tammy's sister Lisa and her family would join us on a Carnival Cruise to the Caribbean.  The boys were so excited to be going on a week long cruise with their cousins.

For us, it was a logistical challenge, but we are used to those by now.  We would go to Miami to see the Marlins, and then we would rendezvous with the family at the cruise terminal for to board the ship.  And then, on the way back home, we would stop in Tampa to see the Rays.

First stop - Miami.  I was a little concerned about this one because I had heard Miami could be a little sketchy, but hey, we had survived Detroit so this couldn't be that bad.  Surely we would be fine in Miami too.  And we were.  There was a lot of beautiful scenery in South Florida.  Palm trees, nice beaches, and cool cars.  We drove by a Lamborghini dealership because you don't see those everyday and we had to stop.  The boys are 9 and 11 now and are just getting in to cool cars.  And these rank near the top as being some of the coolest!

It was Lambo overload as we go to see a lot of really nice cars!

Tate got to sit in this car with the engine running.

After spending some time dreaming about driving these unbelievable sports cars, we made our way to Loan Depot Park, Home of the Miami Marlins.  This was one of the newer stadiums in MLB and it had a really appealing quality in that it was enclosed, which means air conditioning.  The picture below really doesn't do it justice.  It was a pretty nice ball park with bright colors, fairly new amenities, and did I say air conditioning?  The team was not really that good and they were hosting the Chicago White Sox.  Not the ideal matchup, but we enjoyed the game.

Panoramic view from the Left Field Foul Pole.

A couple highlights from the game - Todd Frazier was playing for the Sox at the time and was nice enough to come over and give the boys an autograph and to interact with them some.  Good dude!

Trey always enjoys getting an autograph.  Thanks Todd!

Another highlight was to be able to see Ichiro Suzuki.  He was playing for the Marlins that year and was approaching retirement so we were glad to be able to see him play in person.  We got to see him hit a double down the right field line and the fans were very appreciative.  You can see that in the attached video.   Ichiro hitting a Double!  All in all, the Miami ball park was pretty nice.  It did not have the nostalgic flair that many of the older parks have, but it was a nice place to watch a game.  And you could get a good seat as demand for their tickets is not that high unfortunately for them.

The next day we boarded the Carnival Magic to start our cruise.  Rather than bore you with details about that, I will just post some pics of the highlights:

The family had a blast but it was time to get back down to business as we had one more stop to make before heading home.

Tampa - Tropicana Field does not get much acclaim as far as being described as a nice ballpark.  It is somewhat dated as it opened up in 1990 and has some issues that need to be addressed, but we tried to be open-minded as we went in and we were pleasantly surprised at some of the features of the building.  We make our way to the park to watch the Rays as they host the Texas Rangers.

Tate and Trey outside of Tropicana Field

One cool feature was an aquarium tank with real live Sting Rays in the area beyond centerfield.

A view of the scoreboard and you can tell the turf is quite worn and probably needs to be replaced.

Trey getting an autograph from Cole Hamels before the game.

Pretty good seats and yes, Trey has already got his Rays souvenir T on, but still supporting the Braves

A great shot of the dome above Tropicana Field. Not a very endearing quality, but the building was air conditioned!

To enhance the fan experience, they did let fans walk out on the field after the game which was kind of cool and the boys enjoyed that.

So we were able to get two more stadiums down sandwiched between a family cruise. Lots of good times were had and some good memories were made.  As far as the map goes, we had now covered the entire eastern side of the US except for one place - Washington Nationals Park.  And we had a different plan for that which was going to be an All-Star Experience!