It was a
Fourth of July weekend to remember this year as Older Son, Younger Son, DSO and I hit three Major League ballparks in three
days, a trip that had been in the works for several months.
For years
we have tried to go to at least one new ballpark annually (and see a game
there) on our way to visiting each one.
Not long after a game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. last summer,
Older Son was plotting on a map how we might double our pleasure in 2014.
After the
first of the year we studied game schedules a bit and it soon came together.
Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh would be in the middle of home stands over
July 4th. And with the
holiday being on a Friday, well, it was meant to be.
We weren’t
100 percent opposed to inviting female family members but they were advised
that it would be strictly a baseball trip, and a quick one at that. There would
be no time for any significant sightseeing or visiting renowned dining spots.
It would be “eat when you’re hungry” and no coddling of anyone.
The girls
gave their blessing but opted out.
Three of us
flew from here to Detroit on Thursday the 3rd where we met Older
Son who flew in from Dallas. We picked up a rental car at the airport and drove
to our downtown hotel near the ballpark.
Although it
had been pouring rain when we landed, the skies soon cleared, giving way to
incredibly beautiful weather that would stay with us throughout the weekend.
The temperature didn’t even get above 80 degrees until our last day.
On the recommendation of local friends with Michigan ties, we visited the rooftop of “Hockeytown,” which overlooks Comerica Park, where we would see our first game. Although Hockeytown’s obvious main focus is hockey (and there’s a framed Nashville Predators jersey prominently displayed), it’s a great local sports bar paying homage to all Detroit sports teams.
We made our
way across the street to the stadium where we saw the Detroit Tigers play the
Tampa Bay Rays. It was a hitting fest and the Tigers had three homeruns in the
first inning. They went on to win handily.
On Friday,
the July 4th holiday, it was on to Cleveland, about a two-and-a
half-hour southeast jaunt. It was another gorgeous day and before leaving Detroit
we drove near the Canadian border and by the original home of Motown
Records. (I had never said there would
be no sightseeing – just nothing
extensive).
We enjoyed an outdoor lunch in
Cleveland’s downtown warehouse district and a stroll along the pier on Lake
Erie before checking in our hotel and going to watch the Cleveland Indians play
the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. The Royals’ bats were flying and
they took down the home team.
A
spectacular post-game fireworks show above the stadium was a fitting finale to
Independence Day, or so I thought. My young travel companions were soon pushing
– or dragging -- me way outside my comfort zone, and keeping me up far past my
bedtime. Before I knew it we were
sharing a midnight pizza at a nearby “open late” spot.
Younger Son had done some
research and learned that the house featured in the movie “A Christmas Story”
is in an old Cleveland neighborhood. We thought it was worth a drive-by
Saturday morning before going to Pittsburgh. The neighborhood has capitalized
on the movie’s popularity with not only the house, but a museum and gift shop
across the street, taking up almost an entire block.
We arrived in downtown Pittsburgh
in the early afternoon and enjoyed lunch at a local deli and a walk along the
riverfront before walking across the Roberto Clemente Bridge (closed to
vehicular traffic on game days) to PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates,
for a late-afternoon start time. There was a festive atmosphere around the
stadium, similar to football tailgating, as baseball fans enjoyed refreshments,
live music and games of corn-hole toss.
The Pirates were playing their
intrastate rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies had plenty of fans
there talking trash right back to the hometown Pittsburgh fans dishing it out
to them.
We saw another great game, a win
for the home team with lots of hits, in a beautiful stadium that frames the
city’s skyline beyond the outfield.
We spent the night at an airport
hotel and we three Nashville travelers were back home early Sunday morning.
It was the perfect trip for a
baseball fan – three ballparks in three days, with three great guys kind enough
to take an old guy with them.
