Road Trip 2008

It's been a while as I had a busy end to my year with all of the crappy football that UGA played throughout the fall. The baseball road trip of 2008 was simply awesome. Me and 7 friends started out in Atlanta and made our way up the east coast with stops in Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston to catch 6 different baseball games in 6 different stadiums in 6 days. Based on that I guess you can figure out that most of our time was either spent in the well equipped mini van that we drove or at one of the 6 stadiums that we visited.

Game #1 on the trip was in Baltimore for the Orioles and Rangers. For those that have not been to Baltimore, they have done an amazing job with the area around the stadiums (Oriole Park at Camden Yards and MB&T Stadium Home of the Ravens). There are several bars that surround the stadiums and the stadiums sit near the inner harbor. Prior to departing for the road trip, we had Indians jerseys made with the names of several of the characters from the movie Major League. For this trip, we had Roger Dorn, Rick Vaughn, Jake Taylor, Rube Baker, Pedro Cerrano, Lou Brown and Willie Mays Hays. The jerseys were a big hit at most of the bars that we hit up on the trip. We stopped at a bar just across the street from Oriole Park in Baltimore and I am almost certain the name was Pickles Pub. We all had several drinks before heading over to the game. Oriole Park is probably my second favorite stadium that I have been to thus far (behind Coor's Field). The layout is great and there doesn't appear to be a bad seat in the Stadium. Pickles was the only bar we hit in Baltimore, but I highly recommend it to anyone that will be attending an Orioles game in the near future.

Game #2 on our trip took us to Philadelphia and Citizens Bank Park. After a quick stop at Jim's Steaks in South Philly (Best Cheesesteak in Town) and quick pose with the Rocky Statue, we made our way to the Stadium. I had been to Citizens Bank last October for the playoff series against the Rockies and the atmosphere was very similar this time around as the Mets were in town. We had seats in the upper deck behind home plate. We made friends with the guys sitting behind us and that turned out to be a great idea as they had brought in a flask of Ketel One. The game was extra long due to a rain delay that happened late in the game. After the game, we made our way down to the bar that is attached to the stadium, McFadden's. It is a very cool bar and is great place to grab a drink after the game while the traffic dies down. I honestly don't remember a whole lot about it due to the fact that the Ketel One started to kick in at this point. Based on conversations with other folks in the group, its a must stop for those attending a Phillies Game. Other highlights of Citizens Bank include the Cheesesteak concessions out in Right Center Field. Both Tony Lukes and Pats have Concessions at the stadium.

Game #3 required a stop in the Bronx for the Yankees and Red Sox. We stayed in Manhattan and hit up a couple of the bars in the Times Square area, none of which that I would really recommend to anyone traveling up there. We did make a stop at Lombardi's Pizza, the oldest Pizzeria in the U.S. prior to our trip up to the Bronx. The pizza was very good, but is still a distant 2nd to John's on Bleecker. There are a couple of other locations including one in Times Square at 8th and 44th. As for the game, we caught a good one as the Yankees came from behind to beat the Red Sox. As for the stadium itself, its probably a good thing that they are tearing it down because the place is definitely showing its age. The $10 beers are also a little steep for my budget, but I did have one. It was nice getting to experience Yankee Stadium in its final season. I am very much looking forward to the new stadium and hope to get by there sometime this summer.

Game #4 came at historic Fenway Park in Boston. We stayed at the Westin Boston Waterfront and ate at a seafood restaurant that was not far from there. The seafood restaurant was worse than Captain D's or Long John Silvers. I can't remember the name of the place but its near the Waterfront and most the seafood is broiled. After dinner we made our way to Fenway. We had one of our seats located behind one of the famous poles that sit throughout the stands at Fenway, obstructing the view of most of the field. Aside from that, there are very few sporting experiences like a baseball game at Fenway. I had a Fenway Frank, wasn't quite as good as I had expected, but it was still a solid hot dog. After singing Sweet Caroline and watching the end of the game, we made our way over to the Cask & Flagon, voted the #1 Baseball Bar in America and I would have to agree with them. We arrived just before 11, about 1 hour before the celebration of my 25th birthday. We met some very nice people and had several drinks with our new friends. It was a great way to kickoff the celebration of my 25th. I definitely recommend the Cask & Flagon for anyone going to a Bo Sox game.

Game #5 (My 25th Birthday) had us back in New York for a game between the Mets and Giants at Shea Stadium. Shea Stadium is one of my least favorite stadiums that I have been to. The place is a dump, has airplanes flying overhead at all time, the Mets play there and there is a lot of orange throughout. None of which excite me a whole lot. We did tailgate on the train while we made our way out to Queens for the game. After departing the dump known as Shea, we made our way down to Little Italy for my favorite italian meal, Lobster Fettucini at Il Cortile. It would have to be considered one my Top 3 Restaurants in the Country. The food is excellent, the beer is good (Peroni is offered) and the atmosphere is special. After a wonderful meal, we made our way to McSorley's, one of the oldest pubs in NYC. They offer two kinds of beer, light and dark. They are both cask ales which means there is no carbonation. This allows for a much smoother beer and allows you to drink them much faster which can be good and bad. Its good in the sense that you typically will develop a buzz faster, but bad in the sense that they aren't cheap. It costs $9 for two 10 oz mugs which are about 50%-75% full. The server brings them to the table about 10 to 20 at a time. Cash only accepted at this place, so don't go in with a card. Know what you want when you are ordering and in most cases, you will be sat with other people that you don't know. Its a good way to meet people and in most cases, the folks that you meet are very entertaining. This was the conclusion to my 25th Birthday which turned out to be a very good one.

Game #6 was our final stop of the trip and it was along the Potomac in Washington DC at the new Nationals Ballpark. The ballpark was very nice and relatively empty as they are one of the worst teams in baseball. There are supposed to be considerable renovations to the surrounding areas that will give the stadium and surrounding areas a much needed improvement for gameday atmosphere. When in DC, make a stop at Old Ebbits Grill for excellent food and drinks at a place that has been around since the mid 1850's. It also has a great location near the White House. I have not had the opportunity to try any other pubs or breweries in the DC area, so if you have some that you recommend, please let me know.

After the game, we had an overnight drive back to the ATL. The trip was a fantastic one with a whole lot of driving, a whole lot of baseball and quite a few frosty beverages. 2009 will not see a baseball road trip, but it should be back on in 2010 with the midwest looking like the likely destination.