Game #8-Citizens Bank Park the 2022 National League Champions vs. Seattle Mariners

I forgot to mention in our previous post that somewhere in the roadways between Atlanta and Virginia is a footpad from one of our jacks. Not to worry because we have Amazon! I ordered a couple of footpads and pins on Amazon and had them delivered to our RV park in Baltimore. Now we have a spare in case the rough roads and highways continue to yield it's earthquake effects on our little home away from home. Now on to our visit to Citizens Bank Park where we saw the Philadelphia Phillies take on the Seattle Mariners. Thursday, April 27 was a great day for baseball and a visit to Citizens Bank Park! We were worried as we started out the 100-mile drive to the stadium from our RV park because it was very cloudy with a very strong chance of rain. I did my anti-rain dance before we left around the campground and it worked! We only had a few sprinkles during the game and no rain delays. The game was set to start at 1:05pm so we arrived at 11:00am only to find out the gates would not open until 11:35am. The stadium is located in the Southern part of Philadelphia right next to the Philadelphia Eagles stadium. Because we go to the stadium early we had plenty of time to walk around the exterior and capture a few pictures. Once the gates opened and we made our way through the long lines. When we entered the security area at the gate all of a sudden I heard a security person shout, "Hey you, lady with the hot dog come over here." He had to examine Jim's hot dog hat to ensure I was not bringing anything into the park that was not allowed. Thankfully they allowed hot dog hats. Once inside we chatted with a very nice woman from Guest Services named Donna who gave us all the details of what to see once inside the stadium. The capacity at the ballpark is 43,500 and for a Thursday day game these Phillies fans really know how to fill a stadium with attendance being 31,543. I saw so many young kids at the ballpark and the principal in me kept thinking over and over again,"Why aren't these kids in school?" If I think back to my childhood there might have been a time or two I missed school to go to a baseball game. Ha!Ha! We did our walk around the ballpark to see all the features of the park. We made our way to Ashburn Alley named after Phillies Hall of Fame center fielder Richie Ashburn who later became a Phillies broadcaster until his death in 1997. Ashburn Alley has many restaurants, shops and memorabilia from Phillies history. They have an All-Star walk with granite markers paying tribute to Phillies players who have played in an All-Star game. I found many of them difficult to read due to the wearing of the granite. What Jim and I really enjoyed was the Phillies Wall of Fame located behind center field. We read about many of the old time greats. We even saw Tug McGraw's (Tim McGraw's father) plaque which is pictured on our Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. This field also has bi-level bullpens located in right-center field. We walked over and saw both teams warming up before the game. You can get VERY close to the bullpens. The visiting team gets the top level meaning they are closer to the fans. Fans are allowed to heckle the players but must keep it clean. The area above the bullpen is closed 30 minutes prior to first pitch and remains closed until the end of the game. While continuing our walk around the park Jim found one of the pretty Phillies Ballgirls, Samantha who was selling 50-50 tickets and he was so sure he bought the winning ticket. No such luck! Now on to the food. I came hungry because I had a list of what to eat from my forever friend Kat Gelardi's daughter, Shauna Goodman. First thing is first, we had to get the Bull Dog from Bull's BBQ in Ashburn Alley. This was the hot dog recommended by the security personnel who frisked the hot dog hat. The line was pretty long at Bull's BBQ but soon Jim was wearing his famous hat and giving us his thoughts and ratings on the Bull Dog. He gave the Bull Dog a 6.5 but ate almost all of it. Next it was my turn so I started with the Federal Donut, afterall I did not have breakfast. I had a cinnamon sugar donut that was really tasty and I finished it in record time. Next we found our seats and I headed out before the first pitch to Chickie's and Pete's. I was told I must get the Crabfries and dipping cheese sauce at Chickie's and Pete's. Talk about a long line and very efficient workers. I kind of felt like I was reliving the Seinfeld episode of "The Soup Nazi." People are to know their order immediately and don't get distracted by talking to people in line while waiting to pay because you will hear a very loud "NEXT IN LINE!!!" Remember I told you in previous posts I love french fries so I was excited to get back to my seat and stack them on top of the donut I just ate. They were very good but a little too much spice for me. I did put a pretty good dent in the fry bucket and even let Jim have a few. Not that I should be hungry but in the 4th inning I could not take it anymore. The aroma from Uncle Charlie's Steaks was killing me as we were sitting right below it. Jim went up to grab us a cheesesteak sandwich to share and we both agreed it was absolutely one of the best things we have eaten in a ballpark. By this point I had eaten my way into a new pant size! Now on to the game. The game recap will be pretty short this time because it was very much a pitching and defensive game with the Phillies winning 1-0. Jim was delighted to see former Dodger players Trea Turner and Craig Kimbrel who now are playing for the Phillies. The first score and only score came in the 2nd inning when Kody Clemens hit a line drive to score a run. We did see some great defensive plays and three double plays during this game making the innings fly by! The defense was on point for both teams. The game ended with the Mariners only having 3 hits and the Phillies having 4 hits. We did not see a home run which we were hoping for because the mechanical lighted replica of the Liberty Bell in right field lights up and rings after home runs. The fans at Phillies stadium are so energetic and fun. Those around us were cheering and clapping the entire game. In between innings the music was so engaging that even I was up dancing. We have a few pictures of the fans on our instagram, they are fantastic! After the game was over they had "Seniors Stroll the Bases." I talked Jim into doing it with me because afterall we are a couple of old farts and needed a good walk after all that food. That was the first time we have been on a MLB field. It felt good to be on the field and touch each of those bases. I tried to get Jim to slide into third but he wouldn't comply. We just STROLLED THE BASES! The Washington Nationals are next up on Friday. Strong chance for the game being postponed due to rain. If that happens we will fly back later this summer to hit that park. Looking at the forecast I don't think I have a anti-rain dance that can stop this storm. Until next time PLAY BALL!

Game #7-Oriole Park at Camden Yards

After a two-day drive from Atlanta we have made our way to Baltimore. On Wednesday, April 26 the morning began with a few showers, not to worry we made it to the ballpark. You know the drill we get there early to take in all the aspects of the ballpark and surrounding area. One thing I can say is when they say the parking lot opens two hours before the game they mean it! We arrived 15 minutes before the opening of the parking lot and they made us do a u-turn out of the parking lot and wait. That gave us a little time to circle around the stadium and create a game plan for our visit. Once parked we walked around and saw the beautiful exterior of the ballpark. We saw all the retired number monuments at the main entrance and a very large statue of Babe Ruth called "Babe's Dream." Although Babe Ruth became famous as a New York Yankee, his roots are in Baltimore where he was born and grew up learning to play baseball. It was 11:00am and we were anxious to go in and explore the park but the gates were not open to the public until 12:00. So we decided to do the next best thing and that was to go to the historic "Pickles Pub." This pub is right across the street and as we found out it is where the locals go on game day. We had a little spirit drink and met a few very nice people. One of our encounters was with a gentleman, Brad at the bar who was eating the famous Crab Pretzel which he said was very tasty. We really wanted to try some of the food there but knew we needed to safe room for the hot dog review. Next we met a very nice couple Meridith and Brian who stopped us to ask about our shirts. We found out that they got married in Camden Yard! That's right in the ballpark. See our pics of Meridith and Brian on Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. As it inched closer to 12:00 we made our way to the gates because we had so much to see and that first pitch was at 1:05pm. The Orioles are playing the Boston Red Sox and today's game is the third in their series tied at one win each. It was unbelievable how many Red Sox fans were at the game. This ballpark has a very retro feel to it and was designed with that in mind. The seating capacity at Camden Yards is 45,971 and is ranked 9th in capacity of all the MLB stadiums. There is an old warehouse in the right field area that was incorporated into the architecture. It just gives the ballpark an old time feel with this large brick building. One of the first things we did once inside the park was head to see the bronze sculptures of the six Orioles greats whose uniform numbers have been retired. This area is located right behind the bullpens. Now the bullpens are something I have never seen before and are two-tiered. I have pictures of this on Instagram as I am not certain if any other ballparks have this feature. Another facinating detail in this stadium is that every seat is green, except for TWO. Those two seats are orange and one seat in left field represents the spot of Cal Ripken's 278th career home run. The other orange seat in right field marks the spot of Eddie Murray's 500th career home run. There is also a very nice "Oriole Hall of Fame" brick wall with plaques and picture of all those inducted into their hall of fame. Between the old warehouse and stadium is the famous "Eutaw Street." This street is closed to traffic and has many shops and restaurants including the famous Oriole baseball star's Boog Powell's barbecue stand. This is where we met up with our new found friends Allison and Guy who are also on a 30 ballpark tour in 2023. In this area of Eutaw Street, the Orioles have marked spots where home run balls have hit with small baseball-shaped plaques with names of hitters and dates. The record for home runs hitting Eutaw Street is eight in a season. The warehouse wall that is adjacent to Eutaw Street has been hit by several players during batting practice but never in a regular season game. However, Ken Griffey, Jr. during the Home Run Derby in the 1993 MLB All-Star Game hit the wall. We have a picture of that baseball-shaped plaque on the warehouse wall, again see our Instagram. Now on to the food. Jim in his usual fashion began exploring the food area for the hot dog for his review. We found a few seemingly very important people judging from their attire and badges who recommended the "Yard Dog." I could not even begin to imagine what this might look like after the Texas Rangers Boomdog which was two feet long. When we arrived to the counter we were greeted by a very friendly crew. We asked them about this special "Yard Dog" and they proceeded to tell us it was three footlong hot dogs on a bun. These three footlong hot dogs are slathered with crab dip and topped with Old Bay potato sticks. It was absolutely delicious and given a 8.5 rating by Jim Bray the Hot Dog Man. This is his highest rating so far on our trip and I would have to agree because I shared it with him and it was finger-licking good! Now on to the details of the game that was attended by 12,044. Not bad for a Wednesday afternoon. An interesing tradition that surprised us was during the National Anthem was that the fans literally screamed "Oh!" on the line of "Oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave." We had to ask someone what that was all about and were told it's tradition. The Orioles came out swinging after a tough loss the previous day. Orioles Anthony Santander hit a sacrifice fly in the 1st inning to bring in a run making it 1-0 Orioles. It did not take long for the Red Sox to answer back with a home run hit by Masataka Yoshida in the top of the 2nd inning. The action really heated up in the bottom of the 4th inning when Adam Frazier, Ryan O-Hearn and Ramon Urias all hit back to back singles bringing in one run making it 2-1 Orioles. Another single by Cedric Mullins brought in another run maing it 3-1. Then Adley Rutschman hit a sacrifice fly making it 4-1 Orioles. In the top of the 6th inning, Jim's favorite former Dodger player Justin Turner now playing for the Red Sox hit a sharp line drive down the right baseline to drive in a run making it 4-2. In the bottom of the 6th inning Red Sox had a pitching change with Richard Bleier replacing starter Tanner Houck. It didn't take long for the Orioles to put runners on base with Ramon Urias and Ryan McKenna having lead off singles. When Cedric Mullins came to the plate the crowd went wild. Mullins hit a sacrifice bunt advancing the runners to 2nd and 3rd. The next batter Adley Rutschman walked which loaded up the bases. Anthony Santander hit a sacrifice fly driving in a run making it 5-2 Orioles. After another Red Sox pitching change in the bottom of the 8th inning Baltimore put another score on the board with a hard hit double by Ryan McKenna to drive in a run. That pretty much sealed the deal for the Orioles with a final score of Orioles 6 and Red Sox 2. What a beautiful stadium with great fans and a "take me out to the ballgame" feel. Tomorrow we are off to Citizens Bank Park to see the Philadelphia Phillies vs. Seattle Mariners. Until next time PLAY BALL!

Game #6- Truist Park Home of the 2021 World Champion Atlanta Braves

We must have been really tired from our very long day of travel from Florida to Atlanta because it was the nearby trumpet from Dobbins Air Force Base playing REVEILLE that woke us up. It was 8am on Sunday, April 23 and our Astros vs. Braves game time was 1:35pm. We had a good laugh about waking up to the sound of reveille and talked with the neighbors in our RV Park to confirm it was every morning at 8am with the National Anthem at 4pm. Anyone who knows Jim and I know how patriotic we are and how we love and appreciate the beautiful country we live in. So this was a perfect RV park for us. We arrived at Truist Park at 11:00am in order to do our exploring of the park. This is our first outdoor stadium on our tour and the weather was perfect. We parked in a nearby lot and walked through "The Battery Atlanta" which has several restaurants and retail stores for fans to enjoy before and after games. The crowds were very large and many of the restaurants had very long lines. We decided to forgo one of the outside restaurants and make our way to the gate entrance. It was "Kid's Day" at the park and all kids under 14 received a piggy bank. Unfortunatly I did not qualify. LOL. Truist Park opened in 2017 after leaving Turner Field. One of the reasons besides Turner Field needing major renovations was the traffic congestions in the metro Atlanta area. All I can say is if it was worse than what we experienced getting in and out of the ballpark, I cant even imagine it! Truist Park has a capacity of 41,350 and today's game is sold out as they are playing their huge rivals. Once inside the park Jim and I decided to do our usual walk around the park and began in Monument Garden which houses many of the Braves prized jewels. At the center of this historical display is a 9-foot tall statue of Hank Aaron recreating the moment when he hit his record breaking 715th home run. Right behind this amazing statue is a sculpture made of bats in the number 755 which is the number of career home runs hit by Hank Aaron. We also saw the 55 bats and gloves that represent the 55 Braves inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Additionally, there is a water feature that has incorporated the 11 retired jersey numbers. Speaking of jerseys they have a large display of over 25 uniforms since 1871 that shows how the jerseys have changed over time. We really enjoyed seeing the trophy cabinet with the 2021 World Series Trophy and World Series Ring. What an fantastic way to give fans a total snapshot of the history of the Atlanta Braves. I even found out the Braves which began in Boston, were known as the Red Stockings in their early years. The Monument Garden was extremely well thought out and put together excellently! We continued our walk around the park and made our way to Hank Aaron Terrace. This sits just above left field and is a beautiful space where groups can purchase tickets to sit indoors or outdoors to watch the game. The minimum number of tickets you can buy is 20 with room for up to 400. Inside baseball fans have their own bar and restaurant for a small cost of $95.00 a person, food and non-alcholic drinks included. We finally made our way to our seats after our walk around this incredible ballpark. When we arrived to our seats we were greeted by our very kind ushers Harold and Keith. Jim got his hot dog recommendation from the ushers and we exchanged information took a few pictures and gave them our gift of salt water taffy and surfboard key chain. They were extremely helpful and shared many good tips. As we were taking pictures we noticed just beyond center field a water feature with boulders and evergreen trees. We found out this is nicknamed "Chattahoochee Falls." The water feature shoots water high in the air when the Braves get a home run of win the game. Now on to the food, you know the drill Jim got a hot dog recommended by our ushers and did his review giving it a 6. Check out the reel on Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. The absolute funniest thing happened when the gentleman sitting next to us shared that he had worked for Oscar Mayer for 18 years. We had a huge laugh and told him Jim has on his bucketlist to drive the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. HAHAHA. I had a barbecue pork sandwich which was more than I could eat but absolutely delicious. Not as memorable as those carnitos tacos at LoanDepot Park in Miami but very good. Before the game there was a parade of little league baseball players parading around the field because today the Braves are celebrating kids as well as reconizing the Deaf community. The national anthem was sung and signed by a children's choir who did a great job. During the game, about the 3rd inning we were greated by Heather Agan from Guest Services. Heather responded to my letter and has been keeping in contact with me since that first interaction in January. She brought us a gift of a bobblehead, Braves pennant, Braves lanyard and buttons commemorating our visit to Truist Park on our Field of Dreams Tour. The game began with a pitching duel between Braves pitcher Max Fried and Astros pitcher Cristian Javier until the first score was put on the board in the bottom of the 5th inning. This score came after Javier had retired 10 hitters in a row before Kevin Pillar hit a homer to make it 1-0 Braves. Then in the bottom of the 6th inning Ronald Acuna Jr. scored on a throwing error by Astros second baseman Mauricio Dubon making it 2-0 Braves. Pitching changes came for both teams in the 7th inning. Another pitching change for the Braves in the 8th inning after a couple of singles and a walk to load up the bases by Ian Anderson. The Braves brought in reliever A.J. Minter and it was Astros Yordan Alvarez who hit a two-run single to tie the game 2-2. Another pitching change for Houston in the 8th brought in Hector Neris who put the Braves down in order. On to the 9th inning where it fell apart for the Braves. A.J. Minter struggled for the outs and had a few singles hit off of him and a walk allowing the Astros to take the lead 3-2 before another Braves pitching change. Danny Young came in and hit Mauricio Dubon with a pitch which gave the Astros runners at first and second. Alex Bergman hit a deep single to bring in two runs making the game 5-2 Astros. The bottom of the 9th inning Astros brought in closer Bryan Abreu who walked the first batter, hit the second batter. This brought a spark of hope as there were runners on first and second with no outs. That ended very soon as Eddie Rosario grounded into a double play. The final at bat by Sam Hilliard ended when he struck out swinging. Final score 5-2. The Astros rode out of the park on their brooms having swept the series. So now after 6 games for us it is 3 home team wins and 3 visiting team wins. We are off to Baltimore with a stop in Fancy Gap, Virginia. We will attend three ballparks making camp in Baltimore. Game number 7 will be Baltimore Orioles vs. Boston Red Sox. Until next time PLAY BALL!

Game #5-Tampa Bay Rays have historical start to the year!

We just completed our 5th ballpark visit on Friday, April 21 to Tropicana Field where the Tampa Bay Rays played the Chicago White Sox. The Tampa Bay Rays team is HOT and they certainly have an fascinating ballpark. The capacity for this domed field is 25,025 and this Friday evening brought in a crowd of 17,973. The Tropicana Field has an interessting history having been built long before Tampa Bay had a Major League Baseball team, in fact 8 years. It was built in the hopes of drawing a MLB team to Tampa Bay. Original capacity was 45,369 but in 2008 the top third of the upper deck seating was tarped over reducing the capcity to 36,048 and then again in 2019 the entire upper deck was closed reducing capaity to 25,025-the lowest in the league. They felt this would create a more intimate and appealing experience for the fans and they were right. Tropicana Field has a unique exterior with a slanted domed roof and an almost circus-like tent look from the inside. The reason it was designed this way was to reduce cooling costs and protect from hurricanes. Lucky for us it was a giveaway night and we received two very nice belt bags when we entered the park. We did our usual walk around the ballpark and were so pleasantly surprised by the extremely friendly staff! Jim and I did not pass one single staff member without them welcoming us and greeting us. I definetly give this ballpark the friendly staff award! The ushers are called "Fan Hosts." One of the first Fan Hosts we encountered was Tom. He was so kind and offered to take pictures for us. He really took his time to get the just right photo; see his handywork in the photo on this post. Next as we arrived at our seats we talked with Fan Hosts, Sandy and Ellen who gave us lots of information and namely the hot dog recommendation for Jim. If you are not following us on Instagram you are missing Jim's entertaining hot dog reviews. @ourfieldofdreams2023 Of course, we gave our kind Fan Hosts our San Clemente gift bag with a surfboard keychain and salt water taffy and thanked them for their kindness. I would say the unique feature at this ballpark is the Rays Touch Tank. Just over the right field fence is a 10,000 gallon tank filled with three different species of rays. Admission to the tank is free but they limit it to 40 fans at a time. Pictures are on Instagram of Jim enjoying this experience. Tropicana Field has many food choices but as per usual we had to get the hot dog which was a foot long hot dog with grilled onions, bellpeppers, ketchup and mustard. Jim gave it an 8 which is his highest so far tied with Texas Rangers "boomstick." I could not resist getting the chicken and fries served in a helmet. Just something about eating food out of a plastic helmet at a ballpark that makes the game complete. The chicken was very good and the fries were excellent. It's rare I turn my nose up to a french fry. Now here comes the part that has you playing the Twilight Zone music in you head.....Sitting just two rows in front of us we see a man with a shirt on that says "A Lifetime of Memories One Field at a Time" with a big 30 on it. You know my husband Jim and how diffident he is, so he walked down to ask him about his shirt. Soon I saw them laughing and chatting as if they were best friends. See the pictures on Instagram as I camptured the moment. This gentleman is from California and visiting all 30 parks traveling by car. Oh and here is even another crazy part he is a principal. Guess our kind love baseball. We will be at several more games at the same time. Now that is the second couple in two games we have met living their DREAM! The spirit in the ballpark was exhilarating with mascots, cheerleaders and happy fans. There were quite a few White Sox fans at the game. Some of the White Sox fans we spoke to gave us good tips for our visit to see the White Sox. The 50/50 raffle people hit us up again and per our agreement we purchase $10 at each park. We haven't won yet but boy have I spent the winnings in my head at each park. LOL. Now on to the game. All I can say is way to make the Rays fans sit on the edge of their seats. The Rays have had a historic opening to the season holding the best record in baseball 17-3. The Rays came out in the 1st inning with bats swinging. Josh Lowe doubled and drove in two runs. Then Harold Ramirez homers to make the score 4-0 in the 1st inning! The White Sox answer back in the 2nd inning scoring 3 runs which brought about a pitching change. Unfortunately for the home team, the White Sox would go on to score 3 more runs in the 3rd inning and one more in the 4th inning. At this point the White Sox were ahead 7-4. A spark of life was renewed for the Rays in the bottom of the 4th with a few singles and an RBI for Yandy Diaz making it 7-5 where it remained until the bottom of the 9th inning. The real action that turned the tide for the Rays happened in the 9th inning with Christian Bethancourt hitting a homer into the stands making it 7-6. Then the play of the game happened when Brandon Lowe homered and made the final score 7-8. GAME OVER! A huge celebration for the Rays and their fans. The Rays are perfect at home with an 11-0 record and extend their season-opening home run streak to a record tying 20 games, they are tied with the 2019 Mariners. Fun fact about the 5 games we have attended, the HOME team has been victorious EXCEPT when they played Jim's team the Dodgers or my team the Giants. Home team has 3 wins and visitors(Giants and Dodgers) 2 wins. We are off to Atlanta where we will see the Atlanta Braves take on th Houston Astros on Sunday afternoon. Until next time PLAY BALL!

Game #4-Miami Marlins vs. Giants

On Wednesday, April 19 we visited our 4th ballpark, LoanDepot Park located in Miami in an area called Little Havana. The structure looks very modern and is the sixth MLB stadium to have a retractable roof. The roof takes 13-15 minutes to open, however, due to weather it is rarely open with only 15% of their games being played with the roof open. This ballpark is the third smallest in Major League Baseball with a capacity of 37,446. On our game day the attendance was 8,272 with about 2,000 being school-aged children on field trips. The Marlins struggle with attendance averaging just under 12,000 per game. Interesting that the Marlins did not have much activity going on for fans. I am not sure if it was due to it being a day game or if this is always the case. I only saw their mascot one time just before the game. Usually mascots are seen throughout the ballpark entertaining the crowd. I also never saw a cheerleader and they do have the Marlin Mermaids. So the energy in the park was rather low but not for me as I was so excited to see the Giants play for the first time this season. I know I have mentioned in previous posts that I have written every MLB guest services and even followed up with a second letter to gain information and recommendations for our visits. I never heard from the Miami Marlins Guest Services so we sought out the guest services desk once we got to the park. We talked with a very nice gentleman, Patricio who gave us a few tips, suggestions and a first visit button. One thing we felt was very unique was "The Bobblehead Museum." More than 600 bobbleheads of players, mascots and broadcasters of all MLB teams. They reside in a glassed-in, two sided display case. This is the largest permanent and public display of bobbleheads. We noticed the bobbleheads moving and that is due to the vibration plates that cause them to bobble. While we were walking around the stadium we spotted a man and woman wearing t-shirts that said 30 in 2023. You all know how shy we are so we approached them and introduced ourselves. We exchanged information and plan to follow each others journeys. After walking around the stadium we found our seats, which were right behind the visitors (Giants) dugout. No surprise to Jim! As we approached our section we always take a few minutes to chat with the usher. When we asked the usher his name he said, "Curtis." The look on my face must have shown great surprise as he asked why the look. I told him that Curtis were my dad and late brother's names. I then told him they both were huge Giants fans and would be so happy I was attending this game. It was kind of a sign to me that they were both with me for the game. Sitting in our section we were surrouned by Giants fans. We talked with several and found out about all of our connections to California. Many of the Giants fans we talked to had relocated to Florida but still remain loyal to the San Francisco Giants. As per our norm we arrive very early to the games to watch warm-ups and batting practice. We saw the newest Giant, Brett Wisely who was just called up from Triple-A the day before. There were two gentlemen with Wisely jerseys on talking to Brett Wisely at the fence. Of course I was curious so after they finished talking I asked them if they were related. The older gentleman's chest puffed up with pride as he announced, "That's my son!" I congratulated him and watched as he just radiated with happiness. Now on to the food. Jim did his usual hot dog review which you can see on our Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. I enjoyed very flavorful carnitas tacos which I would give a 10 out of 10! Usually I'm not that big of a lunch eater but I polished off two of those bad boys with no problem. The game was a long one going into extra innings. The Giants were first to put a score on the board in the 4th innning with Darin Ruf driving in a run on a hard hit double. The Marlins answered back with a run in the 5th inning. There it remained tied 1-1 with several threats to score until we went into extra innings. In the top of the 11th Michael Conforto and Mike Yastremski hit two-run homers off Devin Smeltzer, lifting the Giants over the Marlins to stop a five-game losing streak for the Giants. Thank goodness! I was a happy crazy Giants fan high-fiving all the Giants fans around me. Jim cheered too, but not nearly as enthusiastic as this Giants fan. That's our rule we have to cheer for each others teams. We ended the evening with a trip to Hollywood Beach Boardwalk near our RV park. We walked along the boardwalk and dipped our toes in the Atlantic Ocean. As we continued our walk we heard this guitar music coming from one of the restaurants. We decided to go in and have a bite to eat. The guitar player took a strong liking to Jim as he could tell he was a fellow guitar player by his song selection, namely, Neil Young. We sat for over an hour listening to his great music. It was the end to a perfect day. Now off to Saint Petersburg where we will see the Chicago White Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.

Game #3-Family and Friends in "The Juice Box!"

Boy oh boy, someone was unhappy the Astros lost last night! We were awoken at 3am by electrifying lightning zipping across the sky and thunder roaring furiously! Last night on Friday, April 14 we attended the Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park and unfortunately for the home team it was not their night. We arrived early to the ballpark to explore the stadium and take in the spectacular views of the downtown Houston skyline. Sadly the roof was closed but still presented a great ambience. The Astros decide if the roof will be closed or open and due to weather it was the decision to keep it closed. The roof takes from 12-20 minutes to open or close which is a bit longer than Globe Life Field. One of the fascinating features of Minute Maid Park is a replica of a 19th century locomotive complete with a coal tender that runs along the roof line in the outfield. The decision to make this train a part of the architecture provided a link to the historic Union Station and the railway influnce on the city of Houston. The coal tender runs the train on the track and blows the whistle whenever the Astros hit a homerun. Definitely a crowd favorite! When we began the planning of this journey many of our family and friends wanted to join us along the way. We were so pleased to have our son Shawn, great friend Angie, brother-in-law Mike and his friend Tyler join us for the game. The Astros fans were very kind and had a lot of enthusiasm. We had many fans stop us to ask about our shirts which list dates and ballparks of our tour. The staff at Minute Maid Park were beyond helpful and generous to take a picture or give a friendly suggestion. Our usher Jim, (nice name) gave the recommendation for the hot dog and even asked to take a picture of the action while Jim did his review! We were pleasantly surprised by a gift we received from Anita in guest services. Anita is a friend of our cousin Dalene who lives in Dallas. We received a certificate of our "First Baseball Game at Minute Maid Park", Astro hats, Orbit Bobbleheads and Orbit stuffed animals. Astro fans not only sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame," in the 7th inning but "Deep In The Heart of Texas!" What great fun! The food selections were plentiful at Minute Maid Park but of course Jim had to have a hot dog for his reivew. Check it out on our Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. I was not too adventurous as I was still recovering from that "Boomstick Hot Dog" in Arlington so I shared chicken strips and fries with my friend Angie and son Shawn. They were delicious and the fries were some of the best I have ever tasted! Now for the game highlights. World Champion Houston Astros lost to the Texas Rangers with a final score of Rangers 6 and Astros 2. Rangers bats were hot, almost like they were when we saw them earlier this week. Rangers players Nathaniel Lowe doubled in the 1st inning, Travis Jankowski tripled in the 2nd inning, Adolis Garcia homered in the 3rd inning and Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Jung both had RBIs. The offense for the Astros was not as strong with Yordan Alvarez getting a home run in the 3rd inning and Martin Maldonado blasting a home run in the 5th inning. Too bad the bases were empty. Never thought I would be cheering for the Astros, but we are rooting for the home team at all parks unless they are playing our team. Jim had a tough time rooting for the Astros since he is a Dodger fan but felt a little better because Jose Altuve is out on the injured list. LOL The night ended with a fan that obviously spent a little too much time in the beer garden running onto the field with a beer in hand. Security took care of him very quickly! Now we are off to game #4 with a stop in New Orleans for a gastronomic experience. Next game Wednesday, April 19 Giants vs. Marlins at Loan Depot Park in Miami, Florida.

Game #2 Texas Style

On Monday, April 10 Jim and I attended the Texas Rangers vs. Kansas City Royals game at Globe Life Field. Because this is the newest stadium in MLB we absolutely wanted to take the tour of the stadium. We arrived at 3:00pm to meet our tour guides Kirsten and Susan. What a wonderful experience these amazing ladies gave us in this 90-minute tour. We learned so much of the history about the building of this $1.1 billion dollar stadium. Globe Life Field is an engineers masterpiece. The 240,000 square-foot roof is the largest single-panel operable roof in the world. It takes 12 minutes to close/open with the help of 120, 42-inch wheels that sit on rails. We witnessed the opening of this monster and all I can say is UNBELIEVABLE! Another interesting fact is the distance between home plate and the backstop is 42 feet. This is not only the closest in baseball but pays homage to the number for Jackie Robinson, MLB's first Black player. At the end of our tour we watched batting practice and at the end Jim was given one of the balls from practice. We are so thankful to have taken this tour! After our tour we met up with our cousins who live in Garland, Texas just outside of Dallas, Dalene, Trey and Henley. As we were visiting with our cousins in the food court area two cheerleaders approached us and asked if Henley would be willing to participate in the "Steal a Base" game. At first she was reluctant and then agreed to participate. Of course, we thought this was the highlight of the game! Of all the nearly 20,000 people at the game she was asked to participate. She did a magnificent job and was given an official base that was signed by former players. Certainly the frosting on the cake for us! Jim's brother Don and his wife Rosie who live in Keller, Texas joined us for the game. If you're counting that is two brothers in two games. So happy to share this with family! Jim and I both agree that we will root for the home team as long as the Dodgers or Giants are not playing them. We were ready to cheer on the Rangers and boy was it a game. Jim was certainly happy to see his former Dodger, Corey Seager playing short stop for the Rangers. Seager definitely did not disappoint with a 1st inning home run. Jonah Heim catcher for the Rangers hit a home run in the 4th inning which really started the momentum for the Rangers. It was all over when Adolis Garcia hit a grand slam in the 6th inning redeeming himself in his failed catch in right field earlier in the game. All this said, the biggest star of the game was Andrew Heaney, Rangers pitcher who tied the American League record for most consecutive strike outs with 9 straight strike outs! Heaney too had a slow start in his first outings of the season but boy has he gotten the attention of the hitters now. Someone to watch for sure. Now on to the food. I told you I would be more adventurous in regards to food selection and I certainly held up my promise. Jim and I asked our tour guides Kirsten and Susan what we should get for Jim's hot dog review. These lovely ladies recommended the "Boomstick hot dog." It is a 2-foot long hot dog! You must see Jim's review on Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. Please follow our Instagram as I am certain you will find a few entertaining posts. We have landed in Houston where we have Jim's sister and parents to visit while we await our third game at Minute Maid Park on Friday. We will see the Rangers vs. Astros with Jim's brother-in-law Mike, our son Shawn who lives in San Antonio, and our great friend Angie who lives in Houston. Until next time baseball fans.......

FIRST GAME OF 30 IN THE BOOKS

On Thursday, April 6 we attended the Diamondbacks Opening Day, the first game on our tour of 30 stadiums. Jim's brother Dan who lives in Arizona attended the game with us along with his son-in-law Quinn. Our experience at Chase Field was exceptional for many reasons. First and foremost, the Diamondbacks played the Dodgers and the Dodgers won. "Yeah!" said no Giant fan ever!!! Well Jim was beyond happy and I had to uphold my marriage vows. Our vows included we must cheer for each other's teams as long as they are not playing each other. Let's just say Jim was cheering way louder than I was cheering! LOL Other reasons that made our visit to Chase Field so memorable were the people who worked there. From the gate attendant to the concessions stands workers, everyone was extremely friendly. We were even given a big bag of popcorn for free by a staff member. Remember Jim is wearing a Dodger shirt! One staff member in particular, Jeanette, our section usher, was so welcoming, helpful and friendly. As an example, Jim has a bad back and we forgot to bring Advil, she kindly directed him to the first aid center where he was given Advil at no cost at all. We gave Jeanette one of our gifts we brought along for the ushers. We wanted to bring something that represents where we live in San Clemente so we brought bags of salt water taffy and surfboard keychains. The food choices were plentiful around the stadium. Jim is on a mission to find the best hot dog on this trip so he began his first hot dog review with the Dbacks Dog. If you haven't seen his video review on Instagram you need to follow our Instagram: ourfieldofdreams2023. Let's just say it is very entertaining. I am not quite the hot dog fan that Jim is so I stuck to a delicious chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A. I know boring and I promise to be more adventurous at future stadiums. Now on to details of the game attended by 48,486 people, a sell out crowd. The national anthem was played on the trumpet by Jesse McGuire which was spectacular! The first pitch was thrown out by a Phoenix police officer Tyler Moldovan who was shot multiple times in the line of duty and continues to recover. Of couse there was a military flyover and the roof was open so we could see, hear and feel them up above. Well done Dbacks!!!! Unfortunately for the Diamondbacks the magic stopped there when the Dodgers took the field. Dustin May the Dodgers pitcher looked great and had 6 dominant innings. Freddie Freeman hit a solo homer in the seventh inning and the Dodgers won 5-2. I must also say the Diamondback fans were great sportsmen. There were many Dodger fans at the stadium for the Diamondbacks opening day and the Diamondback fans were very respectful and kind even though the scoreboard was not in their favor. All in all a great first game on our tour.

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AND WE'RE OFF!!!!

The months of planning and hundreds of hours of work have brought us to this amazing morning. We pulled out at 6:10am with hearts full of overwhelming excitement and minds full of anitipation for what lies ahead of us on this journey. Jim, the driver, I'm sure has many of his thoughts on the navigation of this big beast we are pulliung behind us for the next three months. As the co-pilot my job is pretty easy and natural for me....Ijust tell Jim where to go. LOL. We should arrive in Pheonix at 2pm today and enjoy the warm Arizona weather for the afternoon and evening. First game on the schedule is Thursday and we are delighted to have Jim's brother Dan and his wife Cathy joining us. We will be attending the Diamondbacks opening day where they will take on the Dodgers. Everyone knows Jim is a Dodger fan so he is thriled that this is our first game. But this planner has a little surprise for him....we won't see the Dodgers play again until we return to California. However, we will see the Giants three times along the way. It's just the way the schedules worked out. Lucky me!