Whenever possible, I like to book at least two days in each city I visit for baseball. The primary reason for this is that inclement weather will be less likely to throw a wrench into my plans. If it rains on the first day of my visit, there’s a good chance that I’ll get to see a game on the second day.

My visit to Cleveland in May was the opposite of this scenario — perfect weather on day one and not-so-perfect weather on day two. My first ballgame in the U.S. in more than 1,000 days was a thrill in every way, but I could tell when I looked out my hotel window on my second day in town that Mother Nature might be disruptive.

I’ll freely admit that there are some things to enjoy about it raining on gameday, but game postponements aren’t on this list.

If this hadn’t been my first baseball trip in a long time, I’d have likely rolled the dice, assumed that there wouldn’t be a game, and stayed at my hotel. But after a lengthy baseball travel drought, I decided that even if a single pitch wasn’t going to be thrown, I’d be happy to hang out at Progressive Field for a bit.

The rain managed to hold off on my drive into downtown Cleveland, but the gray skies and the fact that the ballpark’s lights weren’t on as I approached told me that I’d be lucky to see any baseball on this second day of my trip. Nevertheless, I parked in my usual garage …

… and made the short walk toward the Right Field District Gate. I was the first fan in the area, partly because I was very early and partly because of the ominous weather forecast. I took advantage of the quiet environment to wander around and snap shots of some of the sights that I hadn’t seen a day earlier. Here’s one cool attraction — the phrase “Who’s On First?” written out in large stone blocks:

People typically use the blocks as benches, which means that the slogan is difficult to read or photograph unless no one else is around. With no crowds, I also took my time reading a number of the plaques that I’d briefly checked out about 24 hours earlier, as well as snapping shots like this one of the Larry Doby statue:

As you can see in the photo above, the sky was gray but the ground was dry — at least for now.

I stuck my phone through the fence around Heritage Plaza to take this picture of the area without any fans …

… and then set out for a slow walk around the park’s perimeter as I waited for the gates to open.

At the midway point of my walk, I took a shot of the Progressive Field sign at what I think is a cool angle:

Next, I poked my head through the open gate to see the players’ parking lot, vowing to check it out from above later in the afternoon:

By the time I made it back to the Right Field District Gate, the weather had changed considerably:

There were perhaps just a couple dozen fans in this area by now, and after a short wait, the gates opened and we entered to find some shelter. As you can see here, most people gathered under the second deck overhang:

I joined them a moment after snapping that shot. Instead of just standing around, though, I took advantage of the light crowds to explore the area a bit and see some of the sights I hadn’t checked out a day earlier. I ducked into The Corner, an ultra-cool two-level bar in the right field corner, scampered up a flight of stairs and soon had this view:

That’s a fire pit in the foreground, which adds a cool ambiance — and a nice source of heat — on cool days at the ballpark.

As you might’ve noticed in the above photo, the tarp was on the field. My gut told me it would remain there for the first of the day, but there was no announcement just yet. I spent the next little while snapping shots of the field from different angles while hoping that the rain might subside:

Next, I found a spot that gave me an elevated view of the players’ parking lot, which allowed me to see some vehicles from a better vantage point than what I’d previously been able to see from street level:

After checking out the vehicles for a moment, I returned to my elevated spot above The Corner and snapped this shot:

With the rain still falling, I decided to take a walk around the cross-aisle and enjoy the view, even if it was a soggy one:

As first pitch theoretically approached, the video board switched from playing Guardians highlights to display the following message — which I don’t think came as a surprise to anyone:

I was virtually certain that no baseball would be played on this day. This became even more apparent when I checked the Guardians schedule on the MLB app and realized that both they and the visiting Cincinnati Reds had off-days the following day. The simplest solution would be to cancel this game and reschedule it for a day earlier.

Happy to have shown up and spent some time at Progressive Field but also ready to find a drier spot, I decided to bid farewell to the Guardians and swap my evening baseball plans for a steak dinner. It wasn’t long before I saw on Twitter that the game had indeed been postponed — and, as I expected, rescheduled for the following day. My ticket would get me into that game, but I had some obligations back at home that meant adding another day to this short trip wouldn’t be in the cards. So, instead of gearing up for another game, I checked out of my hotel just before 5 a.m. the following day and made the long drive home — happy to have been back in Cleveland, even if I was only able to see one game.

Like many of you, I didn’t attend any live baseball games in 2020. And while a lot of you got back to regular baseball travels early in 2021, I didn’t. I fortunately managed to attend three Toronto Blue Jays games on the final week of the regular season, but otherwise didn’t do any traveling.

I was hopeful throughout this past off-season that 2022 would be the year I returned to traveling, and as the pandemic situation around North America seemed to improve somewhat and border restrictions loosened, I realized sometime in April that I’d be able to travel again.

While it was tempting to plan a lengthy, multi-city/state trip to kick things off in grand fashion, I had a different idea.

My first trip wasn’t one of my usual baseball road trips. No hours and hours of meticulous planning, no excited pre-trip announcements and no lengthy travel itinerary.

Instead, my primary object was to take a quick trip to Cleveland’s Progressive Field to document some of the changes around the ballpark since the team rebranded as the Guardians so that I could revamp the guide on my website accordingly.

Quick, easy and a perfect way to get back to traveling.

I arrived in Cleveland shortly after lunch, checked into my hotel on the outskirts of the city and had about 20 minutes to relax before it was time to make the short drive downtown. I was positively giddy as I approached Progressive Field and saw its illuminated toothbrush-style light posts come into view — a sight that I eagerly anticipate every time I visit Cleveland. Just a moment later, I got off the highway, made the short drive down East 9th Street and parked in the parking garage between Prospect Avenue East and Bolivar Road, which is the garage that I’ve used every time I’ve visited Cleveland. By the time I climbed out of my car on the third level of the garage, I was so excited that I half-walked, half-jogged through the structure until I made it to street level and started down the sidewalk with this as my view:

This would be the eighth game I’d attend at Progressive Field since 2010  — but more importantly, the first U.S. ballpark I’d visit since July of 2019.

* Insert ridiculous grinning emoji. *

A few more hurried steps down East 9th Street, and I was standing in the plaza outside of Progressive Field’s Right Field District Gate, the best place for fans to enter the park:

The Right Field District Gate is filled with interesting sights that tell not only some of the history of the Cleveland franchise, but also of the ballpark itself. You’ll see enormous statues of Lou Boudreau, Larry Doby and Bob Feller …

… displays that recognize many of the team’s all-time greats …

… and even some plaques that detail the biggest moments at Progressive Field:

And on this day, you might’ve seen me — grinning like a goof at the thought of being back in the U.S. for baseball for the first time in more than 1,000 days:

Woo hoo!

I didn’t stand around taking selfies for long. Instead, I snapped a panorama of this beautiful scene …

… and then began my customary walk around the park.

I began by walking counter-clockwise around Progressive Field, following Larry Doby Way, which runs between left-center field and the Gateway East parking garage. This spot used to be known as Rally Alley. Perhaps it still carries that name, but the signage that used to hang here is now gone. The area looks like this, and while it’s packed with fans closer to first pitch, it was largely deserted because I was so early:

I’ve often said that the video board at Progressive Field is one of my very favorites in all of baseball. Whenever I visit the park, I’m excited to get inside and check out this enormous structure that reaches skyward over the bleachers. For now, though, I had to be satisfied with seeing it from behind:

As I moved along Larry Doby Way, things opened up and I could see Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, home of the NBA’s Cavaliers, on my right …

… and the Left Field District Gate on my left:

Next, I turned left and walked to the corner of Ontario Street and Carnegie Avenue, where I wanted to see the stadium marquee with the new Guardians branding. Other than the new Guardians wording atop the video board, the marquee sign is the biggest physical change that has resulted from the franchise’s rebranding. Here’s a look at it:

(And here’s how it used to look, if you’re interested.)

Normally, I’d continue my walk around the park’s perimeter until I got back to Gate C, but I had a different idea in mind for this visit. As you probably know, the Guardians took their name in honor of the Guardians of Traffic, which are a series of statues that appear on the Hope Memorial Bridge. What you might not realize is that this bridge is just a few steps away from Ontario and Carnegie, so I wanted to check the statues out in person and, of course, snap a bunch of photos. Of all the shots I took, this one is my favorite:

Before I crossed the street toward the ballpark, I waited for a break in the traffic so that I could shoot this relatively car-free shot:

Then, it was time to follow this sidewalk toward the Right Field District Gate, where I had to wait around impatiently semi-patiently for the gates to open.

Eventually, the gates opened and I lined up close to the front of the line. A moment later, I was through the gates and into the park — a moment that I obviously had to document with this view of the scene:

OK, so that’s not the most exciting photo that you’ll see today, but it’s a significant one to me because I was finally inside the park, rather than outside.

The visiting Cincinnati Reds were taking batting practice, and while it would’ve been cool to snag a baseball during my first game of the season, this wasn’t really a priority. I stood and watched BP for a few minutes …

… but was soon too excited to begin walking around the park and checking out all the sights. First, though, another selfie:

Since I was in the right-center field seats, it made sense to go check out Heritage Park. It’s just a short distance away in straightaway center. Heritage Park is definitely a must-see stop whenever you visit Progressive Field. It’s the type of place that a first-time visitor can spend a long time browsing, so I recommend heading there soon after you enter to ensure that you have enough time to see everything. The upper level of Heritage Park is circular, with a statue of former Cleveland manager Frank Robinson in the center and plaques around the perimeter:

Head down the steps, and you’ll see a displays that recognize the team’s top 100 all-time players, the city’s Negro Leagues history and Ray Chapman, who was killed by a pitch in 1920. Progressive Field’s bullpens are stacked to the left field side of Heritage Park, so that’s where I went next:

Then, I returned to the Heritage Plaza area to snap this photo of the Jim Thome statue:

All of Progressive Field’s statues are nice, but the Thome one is the most special for me. Not only do I fondly remember watching Thome play, but the team’s plans for this statue were unveiled during a game way back in September of 2011, which I attended with my brother.

The occasional wafting of stadium food through the air was a wakeup call to my appetite, so I decided to start assessing my food options. The Right Field District has a wealth of eateries, especially if you’re looking for something other than standard ballpark fare. I took a slow walk through this area to check out the individual concession stands with the goal of having something unique catch my eye. Concessions such as Hometown Sausages, Barrio, Melt and Rally Burger all caught my attention, but I thought I’d continue along the concourse to see what other choices might await me. As I assessed my choices, I opted to work up a bit more of an appetite by walking all the way around the concourse and checking out a few more sights.

Here’s a look down the third base line …

… the home run porch …

… and a shot from the left field bleachers that shows the bullpen area and the three seating decks above right field:

Next, I went down to the field level seats, where I took some shots like this one as the field was being prepared:

From there, I returned to the concourse to resume my quest for dinner — and it wasn’t long before I found what I was looking for: Something unusual to kick off my 2022 season.

Ballpark meal #1 of the year came courtesy of the Happy Dog concession stand, which is known for its hot dogs with unique toppings. I went with the Slider Dog, which sounds straightforward but ranks pretty high on the list of over-the-top ballpark fare that I’ve eaten over the years. The Slider Dog is a beef hot dog topped with pimento cheese, crumbled bacon and Froot Loops. Yes, you read that right. Here’s how it looked:

Its size made it somewhat challenging to eat, but this was a really good hot dog. I love mac and cheese as a hot dog topping, and the tiny bit of spiciness from the pimento was a nice addition. The bacon offered another texture, and the sweetness and crunch from the cereal was better than I thought it’d be. I’ve occasionally ordered ballpark fare that I’ve been unable to finish for one reason or another, but I’m proud (embarrassed?) to say that the cardboard tray that held this meal was empty a few minutes after I sat down.

(By the way, if you noticed that I took the above photo from the upper deck, that’s in keeping with my usual tradition of taking ridiculous ballpark food to a low-populated area so that no one sees my animalistic eating habits.)

I’m glad that I tried this unique hot dog, and I’d encourage you to try it, too. It’s not the type of meal that you’d eat during every ballpark visit, but if you’re looking for something zany to share on social media, this is about as good as it gets. Plus, there’s a good chance that you won’t need a midnight snack after consuming this meal.

Once I’d eaten, I snapped this shot that shows an elevated view of the several of the spots I’d visited earlier:

Beyond the flags are the Right Field District Gate and Heritage Plaza. Heritage Park is behind the trees that are to the left field side of the bullpens. The Right Field District concession stands are just out of sight beneath the overhang from the second deck seats on the right of the photo.

After taking that photo, I devoted some time to exploring the upper deck a little. Here’s a look at the pedestrian bridge that connects Progressive Field with the Gateway East parking garage that I mentioned earlier. Larry Doby Way runs beneath this bridge, and the basketball arena is just out of sight to the left.

I then made my way along the upper deck concourse until I was high above the first base line, which allowed me to have a good view of the iconic scoreboard with its new and enormous Guardians signage up top:

Finally, here’s an image that shows a different view of the attractions behind the outfield fence that I mentioned a moment ago:

With a little time to spare before first pitch, I started to make my way back to the main concourse, stopping to check out an elevated view of the Hope Memorial Bridge. If you look carefully, you’ll see the Guardians of Traffic statues:

Next, I made my way to the team shop where I browsed the new Guardians items. As always, I spent most of my time at the MLB Authentics section, where I checked out game-used items such as these old Indians scorecards:

They were priced at $75, which I found semi-amusing because I spent the same amount on a game-used scorecard at Comerica Park more than a decade ago. It would seem that I overpaid a little.

As first pitch approached, I went back to the upper deck, partly wanting to enjoy an elevated view of the game’s start and partly keen on burning off a few calories from dinner. Here’s where I settled in to watch the first two innings:

Between the second and third innings, I went back down to the main concourse and watched some action from the standing-room area in the left field corner:

An inning later, I relocated to a spot on the cross-aisle behind home plate. The ushers at some parks don’t let people linger in this area, but I’ve mostly found the staff in Cleveland to be cool. I positioned myself in a spot where I wasn’t blocking anyone’s view, and then enjoyed some action from this perfect vantage point:

Later in the game, I returned to Heritage Park to check out some of the displays I hadn’t previously seen. It wasn’t exactly crowded when I visited earlier, but it was completely empty now. That meant that I could spend a bit of time with Frank while I checked out a bunch of the plaques:

After a brief stop behind the bullpens on the way out of Heritage Park …

… I made my way up to the second deck in right-center field. There were almost no fans in this level, and I grabbed a seat in a section that was completely empty and offered this spectacular view:

And that’s where I sat for the remainder of the game, enjoying the action from a distance, keeping an eye on the video board to my right and occasionally taking peeks at the sun setting beyond the beautiful Cleveland skyline. And most importantly, just being happy and grateful to be back at a ballpark.

It’d been a long day of travel, so I didn’t linger once the game was over. My seat position meant that I was able to quickly exit via the Right Field District Gate and be back in my car and headed toward my hotel in just a few minutes. I was in bed not long after getting back to the hotel, already looking forward to returning to Progressive Field the next day.

I’ve been fortunate to see major league and minor league ballgames at 76 different ballparks so far, as well as attend other games in a handful of independent league parks. You probably know this if you’re a longtime reader of this blog, but something you might not know is that I’ve started over the last few years to visit other parks even if there aren’t any games to watch. So far, I’ve been to 20 parks without seeing games, and it’s been a fun experience to check out the sights without anyone else around.

November isn’t exactly a month for baseball travel, but late last November, I had a chance to check out a pair of modest ballparks that once had an important role in minor league baseball in Canada — and that played host to many future big leaguers.

I started my exploration in Hamilton, Ontario, which is 36 miles southwest of Toronto. Today, the city has a collegiate-level team called the Hamilton Cardinals, who play in the amateur wooden bat Intercounty Baseball League. The Cardinals play at a 3,000-capacity ballpark named Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium, which opened in 1970. My primary interest in this park is that it was once home to the Hamilton Redbirds of the new-defunct Short-Season A New York-Penn League. As you might imagine, the Redbirds were affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals. The team played in Hamilton for five seasons, 1988 through 1992, making the playoffs just once. After their time in Hamilton drew to a close, the Redbirds franchise relocated to Glens Falls, NY, where it was rebranded as the Glens Falls Redbirds. The franchise moved two more times, eventually ending up in State College, PA, where it became the State College Spikes. (I saw the Spikes back in 2013 when they were a member of the NYPL. The franchise is now a member of the new MLB Draft League.)

A handful of future MLBers suited up for the Redbirds while they were in Hamilton. The most notable name is probably Brian Jordan, who was also known for his stint in the NFL, and other names you might recognize are Mike DiFilice, John Frascatore, Sean Lowe, John Mabry, T.J. Mathews, Donovan Osborne and Allen Watson.

Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium is part of a large sports complex that is situated between a residential area and a golf course. Surrounding the ballpark are a track and field facility, an arena, a handful of softball fields and several mixed-use fields. Here’s a Google Maps overhead view of the ballpark:

Although I knew I wouldn’t be able to get into the ballpark, I was keen on exploring as much of its perimeter as possible. Nature, however, had other plans. Significant rainfall the day before my arrival meant that the fields around the park were saturated with water, and since I hadn’t packed a pair of rain boots for this trip, I had to be selective about where I ventured.

I started my self-tour by checking out the signage behind home plate …

… before walking toward the right field foul pole and turning to look back toward where I’d been a moment earlier:

This next shot will make it look as though I could’ve easily walked onto the field, but I was shooting through a chain-link fence with a gate that was locked tight:

The grass beyond the outfield was very wet, making it impossible to get directly behind the fence without suffering a major soaker. Here’s a shot from some semi-dry ground that looks in the direction of home plate:

And here’s a look at the modest bullpen area in foul territory:

Since it wasn’t going to be possible to cut through the grass behind the outfield fence, I retraced my steps and ended up partially down the third base line where I was able to snap this shot of the artwork on the end of the home plate bleachers:

I love the modest look and feel of parks like this one. I don’t know exactly how it looked when it hosted an affiliated team, but it’s a thrill to think how hundreds of players with big league dreams came through here early in their careers. For many of them, Bernie Arbour Memorial Field was the first stop in their journeys as professionals.

Even though I focus my travels on MLB and MiLB ballparks, it might be fun to see if I can revisit this park someday to see the Cardinals in action.

The next day, I made my way to the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, which is located just a short distance from Niagara Falls. My mission in St. Catharines was to check out what is now called George Taylor Field, but was once known as Community Park. With a reported capacity of 2,000, it’s currently home to the Brock University baseball program, but spent more than a decade as the home ballpark of the Toronto Blue Jays NYPL affiliate — the St. Catharines Blue Jays (1986 to 1994) and the St. Catharines Stompers (1995 to 1999). Here’s a bird’s-eye view of the park:

The St. Catharines alumni list is far more impressive than that of Hamilton. Most notably, Carlos Delgado played for the St. Catharines Blue Jays at the ages of 17 and 18 in 1989 and 1990, respectively. The ’89 campaign was the slugger’s first taste of professional baseball, and he only hit .180 without any home runs — obviously not an indicator of his power, as he went on to hit 473 home runs in the big leagues. Future all-stars Chris Carpenter, Pat Hentgen, César Izturis, Jeff Kent, Vernon Wells, Woody Williams and Michael Young also suited up for St. Catharines. One notable manager for St. Catharines was Doug Ault, who is better known for hitting a pair of home runs during the Toronto Blue Jays inaugural game in 1977.

This park was significantly more modest than the park in Hamilton, and just as difficult to access — albeit for a different reason. Wet conditions weren’t an issue on this day, although there were snow flurries in the air. Instead, the whole park was surrounded by a chain link fence that had locked gates. Despite everything being sealed up, I found a pair of gates that were chained together but had a small opening at the bottom. Absolutely no one was around, so I crouched down and began to see if I could squeeze through the opening … just as an SUV came around the corner and stopped about 20 feet from my position so that four teenagers could climb out. It turns out that there’s a private school next to the baseball field, which made me cringe a little as I wondered if my actions had been visible through any of the school’s windows.

As it turned out, the opening between the gates wasn’t big enough to accommodate me, so I retreated and did my best to snap some shots through the fencing. Here’s the home plate entrance, with the gate I futilely tried to sneak through in the foreground:

There were several pieces of the bleachers in a pile next to the third base grandstand:

Here’s a look at the back of the third base dugout …

… and a shot from left field that shows the third base side bullpen, grandstand, press box and some of the field:

It’s unlikely that I’ll return to this ballpark for a game, but I’m happy to have had a chance to check it out — even if I wasn’t able to get beyond the fence.

Let’s hope that 2022 brings the opportunity to explore a lot more ballparks, particularly those that feature games!

The Blue Jays game on the afternoon of October 3 was the final one of the season for the club — and my final game of 2021, too.

Of course, the Jays had played 161 prior contests since the regular season began, and this would be just my third game of the season. You won’t hear any complaints from me about only making it to three games in 2021. Given how I felt shortly after the start of the season, I consider myself fortunate to have attended any games at all.

All that said, I woke up early on the morning of October 3, feeling eager to get back to Rogers Centre. Before doing anything else, I pushed back the curtains to check out the fantastic view of the Toronto Inner Harbour, only to see that the conditions were wet:

Fortunately, the domed design of Rogers Centre meant that that afternoon’s game wouldn’t be in jeopardy. As much as the Toronto stadium isn’t exactly a favorite of mine, I’m thankful that weather-related game postponements aren’t ever an issue.

Since it was raining, I decided to skip my morning walk around the neighborhood. Instead, I wanted to do a little more exploring of my hotel, The Westin Harbour Castle. As you might’ve seen in my previous blog post, I’d spent time a day earlier checking out the hotel’s roof deck. On this day, I decided to take a tour of enormous lobby, which was stylishly lit up first thing in the morning …

… and then check out the gym and a handful of other common areas. Once I’d wrapped up my tour, I returned to my room and hung out for a few hours before heading over to Rogers Centre in the drizzle. The walk between the Westin and Rogers Centre takes less than 15 minutes, which I’d appreciated on the two previous days, but especially appreciated on this day as the rain fell. I walked strategically to stay under the overhangs of various large buildings along the route, and soon had this view as I cut through Roundhouse Park and saw the ballpark come into sight:

A moment later, I was even closer — and you’ll see that there wasn’t much of a crowd outside at this early hour:

Here’s some further proof:

If you’ve been a reader of this blog for a while, you’ll know that it’s not exactly a surprise when I’m the first fan in line at one of the gates. Instead of lining upright away, though, I decided to make a slow lap around the outside of the stadium before choosing an empty gate, lining up for a short period of time, and then entering into the 200 Level on the third base side. I immediately went to the front row and snapped my first shot of the field a moment later:

As you’ll notice, the closed roof gives the whole ballpark a darker feel than what you might’ve seen in the photos in my previous two posts.

The Jays were nearing the end of their batting practice session, and with a lot of empty space beside me …

… I hoped that a hitter might be able to pull a baseball down the line and into the second deck so that I could snag it. Just a few minutes after I had that thought, the Jays jogged off the field and I was left contemplating my next move. After taking this selfie as the field began to empty …

… I decided to head toward home plate, pausing for a moment to turn back and snap this shot of the video board and the WestJet Flight Deck — the latter of which was largely empty at this early hour:

Next, I made my way down to the 100 Level. Like a day earlier, I was surprised that the ushers didn’t ask to see my digital ticket as I walked down through the 100 Level seats toward field level. I wanted to check out something I’d noticed from a distance earlier in my trip, but hadn’t photographed. Take a look at the view from where I stood down the first base line:

Prior to the three-game series that I attended, I’d never seen the blue barrier between the seats and the field. I’m not sure if it’s a pandemic-related measure that is designed to increase the space between fans and players, or if it was added prior to the pandemic but I just hadn’t seen it before. (For the record, I last visited Rogers Centre in 2016, so I suppose it could’ve been added in 2017, 2018 or 2019.) If it’s not related to the pandemic, I’m wondering if it’s designed to keep fans off the expanded protective netting that was added early in 2020.

In past years, this area looked like this:

(I took the shot above during a visit in June of 2016, and you’ll see that the front row seats were immediately behind the fence in foul territory.)

Anyway, it’s sort of curious. The barrier obviously reduces the ballpark’s seating capacity to a slight degree and moves fans father from the field, which is crummy.

Speaking of that netting, here’s a shot from farther back about how this area looks now:

I really miss ballparks that didn’t have netting down the lines. Not a popular opinion, perhaps, but I’m glad I got to visit so many different parks before this enhanced netting became the norm.

My next stop was back up to the WestJet Flight Deck in straightaway center, where I snapped this fogged-glasses selfie:

Then, it was time to grab something to munch on. Given that there were far fewer concession options this season than in years past, my chance of finding something unique to eat was pretty much nil. Instead, I decided to grab a most classic ballpark fare of all:

As you might’ve noticed, I ate the hot dog on the third base side and watched the grounds crew prepare the field for the game.

After eating, I followed one of the ramps up to the 500 Level to take a look around. One thing that caught my eye was the logo on this seat at the end of one row:

Those of you who are a certain age may recognize this as the SkyDome logo. Rogers Centre was originally known as SkyDome when it opened in 1989 and kept that name until 2005. I should note that most of the seats have Rogers Centre logos on them, but I saw a handful in the upper deck with the original logo. It’s weird to think that these seats have survived more than 15 years since the ballpark changed its name.

Next, I went down to the 100 Level and stood behind the Baltimore bullpen for a few minutes. Some members of the bullpen staff began tossing baseballs into the crowd shortly after my arrival, but nothing came remotely my way. When that action died down, I snapped this shot of Orioles catcher Pedro Severino chilling out before the game:

Shortly before first pitch, I did something I never do — I sat down in my ticketed seat and stayed there for the whole game. With no exaggeration, this is the first time I’ve done this at a game since I started traveling for my website and blog in 2010. The reason for this unusual behavior? I’d done all the exploring of Rogers Centre I wanted to do, and I simply wanted to relax and enjoy some baseball. This was a game that had big implications in the Blue Jays season — spoiler: they won the game but didn’t end up making the postseason — and after going nearly 800 days without seeing live baseball, the idea of just sitting down and watching the action was very appealing to me.

Here’s the view from my seat once the action began:

The action, it turned out, wasn’t only taking place on the field. The Jays were running a homestand-long 50/50 draw that was climbing rapidly throughout the game, so I was having fun watching a TV screen near my seat to see the tally as it grew. The take-home amount ended up being a staggering $1.632 million. You might be surprised to hear that I didn’t win it, which is a shame because I’d made elaborate plans about how to spend most of the sum while I watched the game.

I lingered for a bit after the final out, enjoying another walk through the concourse and once again feeling appreciative of being able to attend some games in 2021. After I’d made a full lap, I exited and began the short walk back to my hotel — stopping to take one last look at the stadium under a gray sky:

With an early flight home scheduled for the following morning, I grabbed an early dinner and ate it in my hotel room while I caught up on highlights from the day’s MLB games throughout the evening. As I watched the highlights, I continued to keep an eye on the view out my window — something that I enjoyed many times over the course of my stay at the Westin. If you’re starting to plan your 2022 baseball trips and have Toronto on your list, I absolutely recommend this hotel. Its close proximity to Rogers Centre, the upscale amenities and the spacious guestrooms make it a home run for any baseball traveler.

If you’re considering The Westin Harbour Castle, make sure that you book the Game Day Experience package. It gives you your guestroom, free parking and a $25 food and drink credit at the hotel’s Chartroom Bar & Lounge and The Mizzen Restaurant. Check out this link to learn more about this package.

After ending a personal streak of 798 days without live baseball by attending a game at Rogers Centre the night before, it was time to build a two-day streak with live baseball.

Before I headed over to the ballpark for the 3 p.m. game, though, I wanted to take some time to explore my hotel and the neighborhood around it. I’m an early riser, even on baseball road trips. I was up while it was still dark outside, watched the picturesque view slowly appear through my window as dawn broke and then began to check out the scene around The Westin Harbour Castle. First on my list of stops was the fifth floor roof deck, which featured a number of noteworthy things. In addition to offering a really nice view of the sun rising over the Toronto Inner Harbour …

… there was a rooftop garden that provides veggies and herbs for the hotel’s restaurant, a tennis court and lots of lounge-style seating around it:

Truly a cool place to hang out and, given the early hour, it was special to have the place to myself for the entire time that I was there.

Following my roof deck visit, I took an hourlong walk around the Harbourfront area. While I love this hotel’s close proximity to Rogers Centre, its location in the city’s Harbourfront area is really appealing, too. The Harbourfront is an area I’d heard about for years but hadn’t previously explored, so I’m glad I took the time. Here’s a look at the boardwalk that I followed along the edge of the water …

… and a look back at the sunrise over the water:

Of course, the CN Tower was visible in the distance for most of the walk, serving as a cool backdrop for photos like this one:

While there were lots of different walking routes that were worth taking, I figured it’d be only appropriate to swing past Rogers Centre in advance of my visit a few hours later:

I grabbed a quick breakfast — a protein bar, some beef jerky and a green smoothie — at a grocery store along my route and returned to my room to enjoy the view and scarf down the meal before it was time to do more walking. This time, I had my sights set on the campus of Ryerson University, which is several blocks north of the hotel. I love visiting school campuses on my various baseball trips, but this one has a special significance to me because I graduated from Ryerson way back in 2004.

The campus and the neighborhood around it have changed dramatically in the years since I graduated, and I’m a little embarrassed to say that my visits to the campus since then have been few and far between. On this quiet Saturday morning, I spent about an hour checking out the various sights, including the scenes that you’ll see below. From the top left, and moving clockwise are: My first-year dorm building; my second-year dorm building; the basketball court at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, which is situated in the old Maple Leaf Gardens building; and the Rogers Communications Centre, where I had most of my classes:

Once I’d finished at Ryerson, I returned to my hotel, changed into my throwback Blue Jays jersey and made my way over to Rogers Centre again. With gates opening at 1 p.m. for the 3 p.m. game, I wanted to hurry so that I could be the first fan to enter the stadium through my gate.

(Spoiler: I was.)

I once again entered at Gate 12 but, unlike a day earlier when I’d hung out in the 200 Level seats for a bit, I quickly made my way down to the seats on the first base side. Toronto’s ushers can be pretty, umm, attentive about checking tickets before fans can enter the 100 Level seats, and I was curious to see if I could get down to field level before the game, given the increased rules that were put in place this season. Surprisingly, I had no trouble, so I grabbed a seat and watched the end of Baltimore’s batting practice before snapping this panorama:

After the Orioles left the field and the grounds crew got to work, I took this selfie to convey how I was feeling about being back at the ballpark for a second consecutive day:

I also couldn’t resist taking a somewhat artsy shot of the CN Tower just beyond the ballpark:

Next, I made my way toward home plate, stopping to take this photo of the ballpark’s roof panels:

The retractable roof — the first of its kind anywhere in the world when the park opened in 1989 — has four panels. One of them is fixed, while the other three move along a set of rails as they open and close. When I was a kid, I remember staring up at the roof and being mesmerized by its appearance. In particular, I loved seeing the tiny-looking staircases and walkways around the steel trusses and imagining what it would be like to stand up there and look down at the field. All these years later, the roof is no less impressive to see. This is especially true when it’s moving, but I was glad that the good weather on this day meant that the roof would stay open all game.

A few minutes after taking the above picture, I made my way behind home plate so that I could capture the scene:

Next, I headed up to the 100 Level concourse to take a look around, and my attention immediately went to a sign that advertised that the team’s annual garage sale event was going on at that moment. Somehow, I’d missed any mentions of this event on social media before the game, so learning about it was a complete surprise to me. For the unfamiliar, baseball garage sale events take place at the end of the season and are an opportunity to buy merchandise and memorabilia at deeply discounted prices. The sign indicated that the garage sale was being held inside of Gate 13, so I walked through the concourse as fast as I could until I reached a lineup that easily stretched a couple hundred people. Like at the team shop, the Jays were limiting the capacity at the garage sale event, which was taking place in some type of corridor area that was a short distance from the concourse. I quickly decided that I wasn’t going to stand in line for what I assumed might be close to an hour, so I headed back to the seats with a slightly disappointed feeling because I assumed the best deals would be gone before I’d get to check out the sale.

Of course, those disappointed feelings didn’t last long, and I soon made my way toward the left field corner. Here’s a shot that gives you an idea of the various levels of outfield seating at Rogers Centre:

The names of Carlos Delgado, Tom Cheek, Tony Fernandez, Joe Carter and George Bell are part of the team’s Level of Excellence. Several other names appear on the other side of the video board. (If you’re wondering about the number beside Tom Cheek’s name, it represents the 4,306 consecutive games that Cheek called during his tenure as the original play-by-play voice of the Jays — a streak that spanned 27 seasons. Cheek is the announcer who made the iconic “Touch ’em all, Joe!” call after Carter homered against Mitch Williams to clinch the 1993 World Series.)

A notable name missing on the Level of Excellence was that of Roberto Alomar, whose name was removed this May in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct against the hall of fame second baseman. Alomar’s #12 was retired by the team in 2011, but the banner that commemorated that honor was also removed this summer. That means that Roy Halladay’s #32 is the lone Blue Jays retired number on display — other than Jackie Robinson’s #42, of course.

After enjoying the quiet field from this vantage point for a few minutes, I set off in search of lunch. One concession stand that I’d noticed a day earlier was the Tenders, Love and Chicken stand, which I decided to check out. Upon scouring the menu while waiting in line, I had my mind set on a spicy chicken sandwich until I saw a fan receive a chicken tenders basket. I quickly opted for it — not because I’m particularly enthused about chicken tenders, but because the box in which they came caught my eye.

Here’s a look at my box from a spot in the upper deck, where I’d visited to partake in the poultry:

As you can see, the box was designed to have two sauce holders, which I thought was clever. With past chicken tender orders I’ve had at ballparks, the sauce container has just been crammed into the basket next to the chicken. The concession stand had several different sauce options, and I appreciated that patrons got two choices instead of just one. I chose plum sauce and Texas BBQ sauce, both of which were pretty tasty. The chicken wasn’t anything to rave about, though, so this isn’t a meal that I’d likely order again.

Once I finished eating, I took this shot that shows the WestJet Flight Deck and the luxury area above it from a bird’s-eye view …

… and then moved a little to my right to snap this panorama of the ballpark:

Because I was already in the 500 Level, I wanted to check out something that I hadn’t investigated a day earlier. During my first game at Rogers Centre, I’d noticed that there weren’t any fans in some of the 500 Level seats in the outfield. Naturally, this made me want to explore these sections to see if they were formally closed off or if tickets just weren’t being sold in these sections. I got my answer in the form of this scene, which prevented me from being able to take the 500 Level concourse all the way through the outfield:

Of course, I had to have a little peek past the barrier, and this is what it looked like:

Pretty unexciting, so I decided to return to the 100 Level seating bowl to grab a seat and wait until first pitch.

After the first inning, I took a walk through the concourse and swung past Gate 13 to check out the garage sale scene. To my surprise, the line was almost nonexistent, so after maybe two minutes of waiting, I was able to enter. The garage sale, it turned out, was pretty underwhelming. While there were some excellent deals — including $10 on-field caps — there wasn’t anything in the way of game-used memorabilia. Perhaps these items had already sold out, or maybe they weren’t there to begin with. Either way, I spent about 15 minutes browsing the merchandise and then left without buying anything.

Instead of returning to my seating section, which was majorly crowded, I decided to find an open area in which to sit. After scanning the seating bowl from the concourse, I set my sights on a sparsely occupied section in the 500 Level beyond the right field foul pole. Instead of sneaking into the section, I approached an usher to say that my section was really crowded and that I wanted to sit in an area that was a little more roomy. To my surprise, he led me up a few steps and told me I could take any seat in one specific row. While I was quite a distance from the field, I could still see the action and the video board — and it was nice to be able to stretch my legs and set my backpack down on the seat beside me. Here’s the view from my new spot:

And here’s me with a ton of open seats around me:

Given that I didn’t have much Rogers Centre exploring left to do, I opted to remain in this seat for several innings. The weather was absolutely perfect, and being out in the full sun this late in the year was a treat. I remained in my seat until the ninth inning, which I watched from a standing-room spot in the concourse behind home plate.

After the final out, I exited the ballpark and walked over to Roundhouse Park, which is a large park space across the street from Rogers Centre. It’s got places to eat and drink and is also home to the Toronto Railway Museum, which includes several rail cars positioned around the park. Here’s a look back at the ballpark from a grassy section of Roundhouse Park:

After a brief walk around the park, I made the short walk back to my hotel. While I initially had a few different ideas about how I wanted to spend the evening, I decided that grabbing some sushi and crashing in my room would be the best course of action. On this day, I walked 30,150 steps, which I believe is my all-time record for a single day. Simply put, I was happy to get off my feet so that I’d be ready for more walking the next day. After all, there was still more baseball to watch on this trip.

There are a million ways that I could begin this blog post that details my first baseball game of 2021.

I could tell you how I went nearly 800 days between live baseball games, which was by far the longest such streak of my life.

I could tell you that like many of you, I had a bunch of exciting road trips planned for 2020 and 2021 that I had to cancel.

Or, how despite being an optimist, I was doubtful that this day would come before 2022.

These are all relevant parts to this story, but there’s no better way to begin this post than with gratitude.

Simply put, I’m hugely grateful to have been able to see some live baseball this fall — the first time I’d stepped into a ballpark since I left Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia way back in July of 2019.

I’m grateful that the world is slowly returning to a state in which fans are allowed back in stadiums. I’m grateful to be healthy enough to attend some games without serious concerns for my health. I’m grateful that the Toronto Blue Jays took numerous steps to protect their fans at games this season. And I’m grateful that you’re still reading this blog, even after all these months have passed.

Just grateful.

At various points early this season, I had pretty much resigned myself to the idea that I wouldn’t see any live baseball in 2021. It wasn’t an idea that I was very happy about, so I busied myself drafting up some itineraries for 2022 travel. But once the Blue Jays announced that they’d be returning home to Rogers Centre on July 30, I knew I had a really good shot at seeing some baseball late this season. Rather than jump at the opportunity to attend the home opener, I decided to hold back and see how things went in Toronto, and then buy some tickets for later in the season. The regular season-ending three-game series against Baltimore was a no brainer; I knew that the games would have a big impact on Toronto’s playoff push and, let’s be honest, I expected to see some victories for the home team.

Instead of driving to Toronto, which I’ve done several times over the years, I decided that I’d fly. Dirt-cheap ticket prices, plus the fact that I was honestly excited just to be able to fly again, meant that flying was the best method of transportation for this trip.

I can’t deny that I was positively giddy when I showed up at Ottawa International Airport for the short flight to Toronto. I got to the airport way earlier than necessary, simply so I could walk through the terminal, take in the sights and think about my long-awaited trip that was finally underway. I’ll spare you too many pictures from the airport, but can’t resist sharing this shot of my plane shortly before we boarded:

After spending a good amount of time wandering around the semi-deserted airport, I grabbed a seat near my gate and waited until boarding time:

Soon enough, we were in the air for the hourlong flight to Toronto:

Once on the ground in Toronto, I hopped on the UP Express, an airport rail link that connects Toronto Pearson International Airport with Union Station to give passengers the ability to travel between the two transportation hubs in about 25 minutes — a fraction of the time that you’d spend navigating the route by car:

From Union Station, I made a short walk over to the hotel that I’d be calling home for the next three nights. For this trip, I decided to stay at The Westin Harbour Castle, which I’d previously visited in April of 2013 while in town for a pair of Jays games. The hotel left a huge impression on me and nearly a decade later, it’s an understatement to say that I was pumped to be visiting again. I’ll have more details about the hotel toward the end of this post. First, though, I need to share this gorgeous view from my room:

The body of water is Toronto’s Inner Harbour, and the Toronto Islands and Lake Ontario are in the distance. It’s easily one of the best views I’ve ever had at a hotel, and one that I sat and enjoyed countless times throughout my stay.

After a quick lunch and a bit of walking around the waterfront, it was time to don a blue road trip tee, snap a photo in the mirror outside of the elevators …

… and make the short walk over to Rogers Centre. One of the things that makes this hotel appealing is its close proximity to the ballpark. The walk takes just 10 to 15 minutes, depending on your pace and how many crosswalks you need to wait for, and takes you through a part of the city that offers a lot to see. Staying at hotels that are within walking distance of the ballpark is one of my favorite things, as you might know if you’ve been reading this blog for a long time. I love the excitement of seeing the ballpark in the distance as I approach, as well as the fortune of not being stuck in a vehicle in the pre- and post-game traffic.

It wasn’t long before I cut across Bremner Boulevard and was looking at Rogers Centre with the 1,815-foot CN Tower just beyond it. To say that this scene was a sight for sore eyes was putting it mildly:

And speaking of eyes, I’d be fibbing if I said my eyes didn’t get a little misty a couple of times as I walked around the ballpark as the reality of finally being able to attend another live baseball game set in. Given that I’ve visited Rogers Centre so many times over the years — 13 times since I started this blog, and dozens and dozens of times before that — I didn’t feel a huge need to run around and take a few hundred pictures. Instead, I just took a slow walk along the sidewalk and turned right when I got to the end of the ballpark, making my way to Gate 10 so that I could snap this selfie:

I was pleased to see that Rogers Centre was opening its gates 90 minutes before first pitch for this Friday game, and two hours before first pitch for the two weekend games that I’d soon be attending. I’m a big proponent of getting into the park as early as possible, and while some teams have moved their gate times closer to first pitch since the start of the pandemic, I’m happy that the Toronto park kept its gate times consistent with past seasons. With about 45 minutes remaining before gates opened, I made my way to Gate 12, where I was (of course) the first fan in line.

As you might’ve heard, proof of vaccination was required to enter Rogers Centre — a decision I wholeheartedly applaud — so I took a minute to get my vaccination document and my photo ID ready to show staff at the gate. When it was time to enter, this extra step wasn’t a hassle at all. It added maybe five seconds to the whole process; it took far more time for staff to inspect my backpack. With a quick scan of my digital ticket, I was into the stadium. I decided that I wanted to get to the field right away, and since I was the first fan into this part of the ballpark, it was easy to cut through the concourse and run down the steps to enjoy this 200 Level view:

Finally!

As you might’ve seen in the image above, the visiting Orioles were taking batting practice. I hadn’t brought my baseball glove because I didn’t have room for it in my carry-on luggage, but I stood in this spot for a few minutes in case any balls came my way. During this time, not a single baseball made it to the 200 Level in either left or right field — perhaps part of the reason that Baltimore finished the season 52-110 — but not snagging a BP ball did little to dampen my mood.

Once I gave up on snagging a ball, I made my way over to the WestJet Flight Deck, a multilevel, standing-room party deck that opened in 2015. One of the things that I love about this spot is that it’s available for fans on a first-come, first-served basis — unlike a lot of party spaces around the major leagues that require a special ticket. There were only a handful of fans in the Flight Deck at this point, so I took a few minutes to walk through each of its levels, snapping photos like this one:

I was loving the blue-on-blue bunting that was hanging throughout the Flight Deck. It helped to give the ballpark a festive vibe, which is something that I appreciated for the entirety of my visit. Another fun addition to the Flight Deck was a DJ station, which you can see here — minus the DJ, who I believe was outside of the stadium helping to pump up the fans as they entered:

After a few more minutes of enjoying the Flight Deck view, I made my way to the nearest ramp to head down to the 100 Level. As always, the ramps were dark and dreary. I know it’d take a lot of money, but if the team would paint these corridors white, add a blue stripe or two and perhaps some pictures of current or historical players, it would be such a facelift. Don’t you think?

The dreariness of the ramps couldn’t erase the smile from my mask-covered face, though, as I hustled down to the main concourse to begin taking in the sights.

Here’s a look at the Flight Deck and its aforementioned bunting from down the first base line …

… and another shot from farther away, after I’d made my way toward home plate:

Next, I wanted to take some time in the team shop. I’d previously read that the team would be operating the shop at a reduced capacity of just 150 people, so I knew that browsing it now would be better than having to stand in a long line to enter later on when the stadium was filled with fans. As you can see here, there was no line-up at this point:

While the assortment of Blue Jays merchandise was somewhat of interest to me, I was keener on checking out the game-used stuff. The game-used section was tucked in a space at the rear of the store in past years, but when I made my way to this area, it solely carried children’s apparel. Quickly, I scanned the shop like the Terminator searching for a target, and found a small display of items not far from where I stood. Game-used bats, signed baseballs and even jars of dirt from Buffalo’s Sahlen Field (the team’s “home” for the 2020 season and part of this year) were all for sale, as was a good selection of game-used balls. There weren’t any other fans in this area, so I took my time perusing the baseballs. Here’s a baseball that Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers hit off Trent Thornton in the fifth inning of a May game, for example:

It could’ve been mine for $200, but I somehow managed to resist the urge to add it to my collection. Seriously, I wonder if anyone would spend this sum of money for this ball. It’s hard to imagine, right?

I was a little discouraged about the reduced game-used section, but I quickly turned my frown upside down upon seeing a new addition just a short distance outside the team shop. The Blue Jays Authentics kiosk carried a wide selection of cool stuff including helmets, locker plates and even players’ parking lot space signs from Buffalo. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s was for sale for $800, if that’s your thing:

There were lots of game-used bases, too, but if my baseball glove hadn’t fit into my carry-on suitcase, I could be certain that a base wouldn’t, either. I didn’t end up buying anything at the Authentics kiosk, but I’m very glad it’s now a part of this ballpark. Team Authentics kiosks are a fixture throughout the big leagues, and I’d been hoping for years that Toronto would finally get one.

Once I’d taken a lap around the 100 Level concourse, it was time to head to the nearest ramp and make the lengthy journey all the way up to the 500 Level. It’s a walk that took a few minutes and, I hope, helped to burn a few calories in advance of the many calories that I’d soon be putting into my body. I reached the 500s on the third base side, and immediately went out to the seating bowl to check out the scene:

As you can see, the grounds crew was just starting to tear down the cage and screens from batting practice, and the seats were still pretty empty at this point. You may have also noticed part of the CN Tower visible just beyond the upper deck. When the roof is open, as it was for this game, the presence of the tower makes the view from any of the seats on the third base side simply breathtaking.

I headed off to my right through the upper deck so that I could stand directly above and behind home plate, pausing on this short walk to pick up this coin from beneath one of the seats:

For those who aren’t aware, this is a Canadian $2 coin, which is commonly known as a Toonie. There’s probably nothing at Rogers Centre that one can buy for $2, but I was pleased with the idea of putting this money toward my fast-approaching dinner.

Speaking of dinner, I figured that I’d grab something now instead of contend with lineups later on. So, I made the lengthy trek back to the 100 Level and took a lap around the entire concourse to look for the best option for my first game in 798 days. I’ve had some good meals at Rogers Centre over the years, but I was a little disappointed with the selection of options during this visit. Several concession stands were closed — which I suppose is fair, given the reduced stadium capacity rules. There weren’t any real “specialty” concessions anywhere, so I tried to find the most unique option I could.

It came in the form of something called “Loaded Cheeseburger Lattice Fries,” which consisted of a basket of lattice fries that were topped with ground beef, shredded cheddar cheese, diced pickles and a secret sauce that tasted suspiciously like McDonald’s Big Mac Sauce:

I’d describe this dish by saying that the concept was wonderful but the execution was mediocre. Many of the fries were overcooked to the point that I couldn’t penetrate them with my fork. This wasn’t the type of meal that would be easy to eat at the best of times, but the firmness of the fries added to the challenge of eating it without wearing it. Fortunately, I’d taken a seat in the upper deck to eat, so there were few witnesses as I eventually go through my long-overdue ballpark meal.

After eating, I remained in the upper deck for a bit longer and enjoyed the view of the park as it began to fill. There were frequent reminders on the video board about wearing masks, sanitizing hands and taking other safety precautions, and the Jays did a good job of making this information entertaining by getting the players involved. Here’s George Springer demonstrating how to properly wash your hands while humming “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” for example:

I went back down to the 100 Level for first pitch, watching it from the concourse behind home plate, and then continued wandering around while keeping an eye on the game by monitoring the numerous TV screens around the concourse as I walked. I hung out in one spot with lots of windows and snapped this shot of the city as dusk was beginning to fall:

If you recall the selfie that I took from outside of the ballpark before entering, I was standing roughly at the top of the stairs toward the bottom of this photo.

As is usually the case for me, I spent the next few innings walking around the park, stopping here and there to watch some of the action on the field. Eventually, I once again ascended to the 500 Level — if you’re wondering how much walking I did throughout the day, the answer is 24,342 steps — so that I could enjoy this view for a few minutes:

Yeah, it was obstructed to my left side, but the big TV on that wall ensured that I didn’t miss any of the action. Besides, I was just happy to sit in this environment and take it all in.

Later in the game, I moved to the third base side, not far from where I’d eaten dinner a couple of hours earlier. By now, the sky was dark and the CN Tower was aglow. As impressive as this view is during daylight hours, there’s something even more magical about it after dark:

I spent a couple of innings in this spot, moving down to the 100 Level concourse to watch the ninth as the Jays closed out the Orioles 6-4. While I sometimes linger in ballparks after the final out, I didn’t feel the need on this night because I’d be back at Rogers Centre a little more than 12 hours later. Instead, I exited through the nearest door, stepping into the balmy Toronto night that offered this view:

Instead of retracing the path I’d taken from the hotel earlier that afternoon, I took another route that was shared by dozens of exuberant Jays fans who were hopeful about the team’s playoff chances after game #160. Before long, I was back at The Westin Harbour Castle and excited to relax for a bit after what had been a long and fulfilling day.

I spent the next 30 minutes or so scrolling through Twitter, catching up on the evening’s game highlights on TV and enjoying the night view out my window. As much as the location of this hotel made it a perfect choice for my baseball trip, the guest rooms were outstanding, too. While the lake view was the star attraction, I was also impressed with how spacious my room was. This was my first hotel stay since the start of the pandemic, and the cleanliness of the room made me feel perfectly comfortable. Rather than share my own photo, I thought I’d share a better image off the hotel’s website that depicts a room that was identical to mine:

If you’re interested in visiting Toronto on a baseball trip next season, I wholeheartedly recommend this hotel. Beyond this recommendation, here’s a tip for saving some money: Book the Game Day Experience package, which not only includes your overnight accommodation (with free Wi-Fi), but also offers complimentary parking for one vehicle and a $25 credit that you can use for food and drink (including alcohol) at the hotel’s Chartroom Bar & Lounge or for breakfast at The Mizzen Restaurant. A drink and an appetizer before you walk over to the ballpark for an evening game? Sounds perfect to me. Check out this link to learn more about this package, which isn’t just for baseball fans. You can use it if you’re traveling to Toronto this fall or winter to see the Maple Leafs or Raptors, too.

Over the last few weeks, several people and even a handful of teams have reached out on social media to ask which ballparks I’ll be visiting this season.

The truth is, I wish I knew.

Last year was the first year since 1987 that I didn’t attend at least one live baseball game, and as difficult as that was, I hoped throughout the summer, fall and winter that 2021 would be different. At this point, though, I’m simply not sure how this season will play out.

As much as it was very exciting to watch Minor League Baseball play games last night for the first time since 2019, it was bittersweet for me to follow the action from home — not because I ever attend MiLB Opening Day, but because this time of the year is usually filled with a tremendous level of excitement as I make travel plans for the coming months. As I browsed social media and watched a ballgame on TV last night, I couldn’t help but think about how my suitcase has remained in the closet since the summer of 2019, and what a weird thing that is.

There are a couple of obstacles facing my ability to travel, at least in the immediate future. As some of you probably know, I live in Canada. The Canada-U.S. border has been closed to non-essential travel since March of 2020 and isn’t showing any signs of opening soon. There are suggestions that it could open late this summer or early this fall, but a lot of positive things have to happen on both sides of the border between now and then. Additionally, I don’t want to travel until I’ve been vaccinated, and while many of my American friends have received their shots already, the vaccination rollout in Canada has been a little underwhelming, to put it mildly. I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to get my vaccination booked, but a current vaccine shortage in my province of Ontario means that I’ll be lucky to get my first shot before the end of May. If that happens — and I’m hopeful that it does — I’d likely be looking at my second shot in August or September.

All this to say, when people ask what my plans are for the 2021 season, I’m not being evasive when I say they’re really up in the air at this point.

So, what’s the glass half-full scenario?

In a perfect world, I’ll be fully vaccinated by the time the border opens in September. This could give me the ability to squeeze in some travel before the end of the regular season. Depending on how much time I have, my road trip plans might focus on some parks that are close, like Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Or, if I have time to put together a bigger trip, I might fly to Texas, North Carolina, Florida or Maryland.

What about hitting some games in Canada? That’s an option that sounds good in theory, but that isn’t as easy as it might seem. I’d love to see the Blue Jays in Toronto, but they’re currently playing their home games in Dunedin and will relocate to Buffalo next month. Experts suggest that it’s unlikely the team will return to Toronto in 2021.

The High-A Vancouver Canadians are starting 2021 in Hillsboro because of the closed border. The American Association’s Winnipeg Goldeyes, which played their home games in Fargo last summer, will also start their 2021 campaign in the U.S. The Frontier League seemed like it might be a possibility, with teams in Ottawa, Trois-Rivières and Québec City. Unfortunately, players from the three Canadian teams will form a travel team south of the border. While there’s plenty of “We hope to return home sometime this summer” talk from these teams, what will actually happen is anyone’s guess.

So, as painful as it is to say, it’s entirely possible that I don’t see any live baseball in 2021.

While you probably won’t see many posts on this blog over the course of the season, I can assure you that this blog isn’t dead. Far from it. As soon as I’m able to pack my bags and hit the road, I’ll be back to bringing you the stories about my adventures, just as I’ve done since I started this blog in 2011.

In the meantime, I hope you’ll check out my website and the blog that I’ve recently launched on that site. The site is filled with guides to MLB and MiLB ballparks that will help you to plan your trips, and the blog, which you may not have yet seen, features posts that will also help in that regard.

It’ll be a bummer if I can’t see any baseball this season, but if the world returns to some degree of “normal” and I’m able to travel in 2022, I’m telling you right now that there will be some epic adventures. I’m already mulling over a lot of possibilities, including some that are more ambitious than anything I’ve done so far.

Until then, I hope you and your family are healthy and that you’re able to attend some games this summer. And I look forward to seeing you in person at ballparks around the country as soon as I’m able.

If you’re like me, there’s a good chance that you’ve been in the fetal position since MLB and MiLB announced the postponing of the starts of their seasons due to the COVID-19 virus. Today, what should be Opening Day, is as good a day as any to crawl out of this position and talk about what we’re going to do in the weeks and months (gulp) until we finally get the good news that baseball is coming back.

Of course, my principal thoughts are with the people here and abroad who are battling this virus, those who are working hard to contain it and those who have been affected by it in any number of ways — including countless individuals in the baseball world. While I understand that there are bigger issues afoot in the world right now, no baseball for the foreseeable future is a major bummer. Like many of you, the postponing of the start of the season has dramatically altered my 2020 travel plans. I had 16 games booked through the end of May that won’t be happening, and I know a lot of you have affected plans, too.

That said, I’m trying to be as positive as possible during this bizarre period of isolation and no baseball — and I thought I’d share some ideas with you, too. Here are seven ways that you can beat the no-baseball blues.

1. Watch Old Games

One thing that I love doing throughout the off-season — and that I’ll be steadily doing from now until whenever baseball returns — is watch old games. If you’ve got MLB.tv, you can easily access the site’s archive of games and enjoy them. Don’t have a subscription? You’d be amazed at how many full games you can find for free on YouTube. The MLB and MLB Vault channels are pledging to show plenty of full games for the foreseeable future, but a lot of other channels upload full games, too. Type the name of any team with the term “full game,” and you’ll get countless results. I love throwing a game onto the TV in the background and keeping an eye on it while I work, whether it’s a regular season game, a Spring Training game or a postseason game. I’ve even watched a little NCAA action here and there. I particularly enjoy watching games from ballparks I’ve enjoyed visiting, as doing so brings back countless good memories. (Currently watching the Twins at the Brewers from Miller Park last August, for the record.) And we can all benefit from good baseball memories at a time like this.

2. Read Baseball Books

I’m constantly buying new baseball books to add to my collection, but I tend to buy them faster than I can read. This means that I’ve got a surplus of books that are in need of some attention, so I hope to catch up on some reading in the coming weeks and months. If you’re in a similar situation, you might enjoy digging into your collection, too. Of course, now is also a good time to buy some baseball books online and have them show up at your doorstep. Here are some titles that I’ve recently bought but haven’t yet read:

Where No One Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball (John Feinstein)

Hello, Friends! Stories From My Life & Blue Jays Baseball (Jerry Howarth)

The Last Best League: One Summer, One Season, One Dream (Jim Collins)

Bottom of the 33rd (Dan Barry)

The Only Rule Is It Has To Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team (Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller)

The Last Natural (Rob Miech)

3. Connect With Teams

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been thoroughly impressed with teams’ response to this difficult situation. Virtually every team I follow on social media has gone out of its way to provide new, daily content for fans. A lot of MLB and MiLB are providing baseball-themed coloring pages for people to print off for their kids, some teams are giving virtual tours of their ballparks and others are just doing a lot more fan interaction. Now is a perfect time to connect with some teams on social media. You’ll often find cool opportunities, including those during teams’ #WallpaperWednesday promotions. Yesterday, I got custom mobile device backgrounds from the Fort Wayne TinCaps, Las Vegas Aviators, Nashville Sounds and Quad Cities River Bandits, each of which served as a fun boost throughout the day.

4. Connect With Players

You’ll find that a lot of players are going out of their way to interact with fans on social media, too. One interaction that has become increasingly popular during this time of isolation is virtual autographs. A lot of players are announcing virtual signing sessions in which you submit a photo and get it back a short while later with a virtual autograph. Last week, Detroit Tigers pitcher Joe Jiménez signed for a bunch of fans, and I was able to get this picture — one that I took at Comerica Park in 2011 — signed. If you’re an autograph lover or you’re simply interested in having an exchange with a player, this is an easy and fun idea.

5. Dine On Some Ballpark Fare

Whether you’re watching an old game online or you’re sitting out on the deck to enjoy some sun after a long winter, why not dig into some ballpark fare? Fire up the grill and throw some hot dogs or brats on it, and then load up a bun with your favorite toppings. Make a batch of popcorn, buy some Cracker Jack on Amazon or broil some nachos. If you’ve collected some souvenir cups over the years, fill one with your favorite beverage and enjoy.

6. Open Some Baseball Cards

I bought a box of 2018 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball cards more than a year ago and haven’t yet opened it. I’ve been saving it for a rainy day, but I think we can safely say that that rainy day is now here. I’m looking forward to digging into the box and seeing what prospects I can pull. My buddy Craig the Midwest League Traveler told me that he’s buying boxes online and will open a pack whenever he needs a baseball fix — which is another home run of an idea. If you’d rather not buy any new cards, now is a good time to dust off your old boxes and binders and browse through your collection.

7. Read My Blog

OK, so this one’s a bit self-promotional, but I’ve got to throw it out there. If you’re thinking about baseball road trips, why not read about mine? I’ve written first-hand accounts of nearly 200 different games at nearly 80 ballparks dating back to 2010. See that search bar on the upper right corner of this page? Type the name of any MLB or MiLB team into it and if I’ve seen that team in action, there’ll be a blog post about it. Failing that, you can also scroll down to the “Archives” menu on the right side and click any month of any year to see whatever I wrote at that time. I hope that reading about some of my adventures will help you to pass the time until you can create your own. (And you can rest assured that when we get baseball back, I’m going to be doing a lot of traveling and can’t wait to share those adventures with all of you.)

I hope some of these points are helpful. If you’ve got other ideas, feel free to post them below or tweet them at me.

Here’s hoping that we’ll all be back at the ballpark before long.

Waking up in a city and knowing that you’ve got a game to attend that night is one of the best feelings you can experience on a baseball road trip.

The realization that you’ll be at a ballpark for several hours might be the first thing that enters your mind, but it’s also easy to get excited when contemplating the block of spare time that you’ll devote to checking out the sights around the city.

Fortunately, my brother-in-law Shaun and I didn’t have to spend much time on our second day in Philadelphia trying to decide what we’d do before heading over to Citizens Bank Park. Prior to our trip, we’d thoroughly evaluated the tourist attractions around the city and beyond, and because we’re both history and military history nerds, it was easy to come up with a list of the things that we wanted to see before it was time for baseball.

Our downtown hotel gave us a perfect home base for getting around to a number of the sites we wanted to check out. After breakfast at a bagel spot a couple of blocks from the hotel, we walked over to Independence National Historical Park to step back into the city’s rich history. This area is home to a number of big attractions, but there were a few that we especially wanted to check out. Our first stop was the Liberty Bell Center, which wasn’t yet open for the day. That wasn’t a big deal, though, because we were happy to take a walk around the building …

… and peek through the glass to get a look at the Liberty Bell itself:

Sure, it would’ve been cool to see the bell without having the window in the way, but we were happy to simply see it — and to avoid the lineups that were already forming well before the center opened. Just a few steps from the Liberty Bell sits Independence Hall, the building in which the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were adopted. It, too, was closed at the time we arrived, but we enjoyed taking a walk around it and snapping some photos:

We walked around and read displays about a number of the other buildings and sites in Independence National Historical Park — the American Philosophy Society Hall, Congress Hall, Washington Square and more. These are sites that date back to the 1600s and 1700s, and it was fascinating to simply be in this space and take it all in. That’s one of the things that I really love about my baseball trips. Sure, baseball is always atop my priorities list, but I’m fortunate to get the chance to check out a variety of noteworthy attractions when time permits.

In all, we spent a couple of hours wandering around this area before we grabbed an Uber and headed to our next sightseeing location of the day — over the Ben Franklin Bridge into Camden, N.J., to visit the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial. Longtime readers of this blog might recall that I’m always up for a chance to visit museum ships, and that I’ve done so on a number of occasions. Sites in Boston and Corpus Christi are particular highlights that you might recall. Anyway, the U.S.S. New Jersey is one of the most noteworthy vessels in naval history, so the chance for us to tour it was one that we couldn’t pass up. The New Jersey is the most decorated battleship in the history of the U.S. Navy. It’s hard to believe, but it served from 1943 to 1991, meaning that it was active in the Second World War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and even the Lebanese Civil War. Getting to walk its deck and browse its different areas was impressive beyond words. I’ll just share a few quick shots of from the time that we spent checking out the ship, but I definitely recommend making time for it if you’re in Philly and naval history is up your alley.

Here’s a shot that shows the New Jersey from the pier:

And a look toward the bow of the battleship with the Ben Franklin Bridge that connects Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the distance:

Here’s a shot of me beneath the ship’s 16-inch guns …

… and Shaun keeping an eye out for any enemies off the starboard side with a machine gun:

As much as our attention for the bulk of our visit was on the ship itself, it was fun to check out the sights along both shores of the Delaware River. On the Philadelphia side, we had a good view of the city skyline and a distant view of Citizens Bank Park which, of course, made me even more excited for that evening’s game:

Our visit to the U.S.S. New Jersey was a couple hours in length, followed by another Uber ride back to Philly, where we grabbed a late lunch. No cheesesteaks this time, unfortunately. Instead, we opted for something relatively healthy at a small cafe near the water. With the goal of eating something light so that I’d have more room for ballpark food, not to mention some cheesesteaks the following day, I got a sliced turkey sandwich topped with apple and brie, along with a side salad:

After lunch, we headed back to our hotel to get changed, and then hopped in another Uber and zipped over to Citizens Bank Park. Just like a day earlier, we arrived shortly after the gates had opened. Again, we grabbed tickets at the nearest ticket office and headed in immediately afterward. This game’s promotion was a special one, giving fans a chance to go down on the field as part of the pregame ceremonies. This meant that huge throngs of fans were lined up outside of Citizens Bank Park long before the gates opened. While this experience would’ve been neat, it also would’ve involved a lot of standing around and waiting during the time that we could’ve been out doing some sightseeing. That said, we opted not to bother with trying to get down onto the field, but instead just enjoyed the spectacle in front of us.

Here’s how the scene looked a moment after we got through the gates, across the concourse and into the seating bowl:

As you can see, there were several hundred fans already on the field in specific roped-off areas. You might have also noticed the visiting Atlanta Braves leaving the field, which meant two things — the Phillies were due to come out shortly, and this would be a good opportunity to get down to the Atlanta dugout to see some players close up. We watched as the players filtered into the dugout in front of us, and I pointed out some of the stars to Shaun. One player who caught my eye was right-handed pitcher Anthony Swarzak:

He doesn’t exactly fit into the “star” category, but he’s noteworthy to me. In my very first game upon launching my website and blog — a 2010 visit to Rochester’s Frontier Field to see the Triple-A Red Wings in action — Swarzak was a member of the Red Wings roster and I got his autograph on a baseball. You can read about that first visit here and see a picture of the signed ball here. It was neat to see Swarzak again, now with 16 seasons of professional baseball under his belt.

A moment after Swarzak disappeared into the Atlanta dugout, I pointed out former Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel. He’s another player that I’ve seen on my travels, although not nearly as long ago as when I first saw Swarzak. I watched Keuchel pitch with the Houston Astros during a visit to Minute Maid Park in 2015.

Once all of the Braves had left the field, we decided to make a move down toward the left field foul pole. I wasn’t positive about what would be going on once the Phillies took the field, but the crowd of fans in that area made it evident that that was the place to be. As we found a spot in the left field corner, the Phillie Phanatic made an appearance to entertain the gathered crowd for a bit:

The Phillies took the field soon afterward and, to my delight, were wearing their throwback uniforms. It turned out that we’d picked a good spot to visit, because a moment after the players began to appear, Bryce Harper made his way to left field:

His visit consisted of two laps around the left field corner, mostly spent waving to fans and giving a few high fives:

As far as I saw, he didn’t signs any autographs or pose for any selfies with fans. A number of other current and past players, as well as members of the coaching staff, soon arrived and many signed autographs and took photos with fans, though. Here’s infielder Cesar Hernandez pointing at a group of fans:

And pitcher Juan Nicasio stopping for a selfie with a lucky fan in front of us:

Outfielder Nick Williams is another player who spent a lot of time greeting not only the fans who were gathered on the field, but also those who were standing along the fence down the line:

We watched for quite as while as the players took laps around the field in front of us, and then headed off in search of something to eat. Once again, I had cheesesteaks on the mind, but a trip past the Shake Shack concession stand on the main concourse caused a change in our plans. I’d never previously eaten at a Shake Shack, nor had I encountered one at any ballpark I’d visited. (And the nearest Shake Shake is hundreds of miles from where I live.) I’ve seen a ton of videos on YouTube that extol the virtues of the Shake Shack menu, so I couldn’t resist grabbing one while I had the opportunity. Like the cheesesteak concession stands, the lineup at Shake Shack was lengthy — we were in line for close to 10 minutes before we placed our order, and it was another five or so minutes before the food arrived. The menu had four burgers on it, and I opted for the SmokeShack — a cheeseburger topped with bacon, chopped cherry peppers and ShackSauce. I grabbed a strawberry shake with the burger, and once I had both in my hands, we headed to the upper deck to find a spot to sit down and eat. Here’s a look at the burger …

… and the shake:

One bite into the burger, it was clear why there’s so much fuss about Shake Shack. It was a perfect burger with a legitimate homemade taste. I did, however, find it to be pretty small. I’d ordered a single instead of a double, granted, but I could’ve eaten several of these without even being silly. The shake was really good, and a perfect complement to the burger.

We remained where we’d eaten for a few minutes after wrapping up our burgers, enjoying the sight of the field as the fans left it and some of the Phillies began to play catch. Here’s a look at the view from our seats:

I don’t think Citizens Bank Park gets mentioned enough when people talk about beautiful ballparks. You can’t take a look at this panorama and not think of this facility as one of the best in baseball.

After a bit, we went back down to the main concourse to take a look around. I made a stop at the Phillies Authentics kiosk, which is always my favorite type of store in any ballpark. It’s loaded with all sorts of game-used equipment, game-worn apparel and other items that are hugely enticing to a collector like me. Here’s one display that caught my eye — a selection of game-used baseballs from the previous night’s contest:

Resisting the urge to buy anything, we continued along the concourse until we arrived in Ashburn Alley for our first visit of the day. We’d spent a considerable amount of time there a day earlier, and were eager to return. This time, instead of hanging out on the main level, we took this set of stairs …

… up to the Budweiser Rooftop:

Once there, we grabbed a couple of chairs along the rail and enjoyed this view as the action got underway:

We spent innings one and two on the rooftop, and then abandoned our seats in favor of finding a spot to hang out on the concourse level. The spot we chose was a location against the railing in shallow right field, where we had this vantage point of the field …

… and this picturesque view of the setting sun:

If you noticed the 11-1 score for the Braves in the image above, things didn’t get any better for the home side. After an inning on the main concourse, we went to the upper deck and saw that Atlanta had scored two more runs while we were climbing the stairs:

(If you’re wondering why the video board’s content looks vintage, it’s because it was a retro night. In addition to both teams wearing their throwback uniforms, there were a number of other old-school details around the park — including this change to the video board.)

We chose this bird’s-eye view of the field for the next few innings:

It gave us a chance to take in the ballpark from this area for the first time in our visit, as well as enjoy a cool breeze that was blowing through the upper deck. That breeze did a good job of cooling us down after all the walking around, but I knew we needed to grab a cool snack before we left. With a couple of innings left in the game, we went down to the main level, found the Philadelphia Water Ice concession stand that we’d visited a day earlier, and grabbed a couple of frozen treats. This time, I opted for lemon:

It wasn’t quite as good as the cherry flavor that I’d had 24 hours earlier, but it also didn’t leave me looking like I was wearing Joker-esque lipstick. You win some, you lose some.

Speaking of winning some, this day turned out to be a total winner. Shaun and I packed it full of sightseeing and baseball, and it was one of those days that makes you think, “Boy, I sure did a lot of stuff today,” when your head hits the pillow.

This would be our last baseball game of the road trip, and my final game of the 2019 season — but there was another day of fun in Philly before we headed home. Rather than devote a separate blog post to it, here’s a brief recap of what we did on an off-day on July 28.

*****

As we’d done a day earlier, Shaun and I laid out a full day of sightseeing for our final day in Philadelphia. This day wouldn’t feature any baseball, but it would give us a chance to take in some of the city’s iconic sights — and eat some more cheesesteaks.

We left out hotel early in the morning and took a long way to the Philadelphia Museum of Art — not because we were interested in art, but because we were interested in the steps outside of the museum. Yep, those steps are the famous “Rocky Steps” from the Rocky movie, so we knew there was no way we’d leave Philadelphia without running up them. Here are the steps as they came into view …

… and here’s a panorama that I took with my back to the museum, looking toward the park space known as The Oval, and with Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Philadelphia City Hall in the distance:

After I snapped the panorama, we grabbed this shot of ourselves posing triumphantly atop the steps:

This was an absolutely beautiful part of the city. As much as the Rocky Steps were our prime focus, we thoroughly enjoyed a walk up Benjamin Franklin Parkway and a trip around The Oval.

After spending some time around the Rocky Steps, and posing in front of the iconic statue of the Italian Stallion …

… we set off to another of Philadelphia’s must-see sights — Eastern State Penitentiary. It’s a famous penitentiary that operated from 1829 to 1971, and is now a museum. It’s notable for a handful of things, including revolutionizing incarceration by focusing on rehabilitation. More than 300 other penitentiaries were modeled after the Eastern State mentality, making it one of the most important penitentiaries in the world. When it was built, it was the biggest and most expensive public building in the country, and it eventually became home to such notorious inmates as Al Capone. The thing that I found most interesting about the prison was how it apparently hadn’t gone through extensive cosmetic upgrades when it became a museum — which added to the creepiness and intrigue of the experience. Here’s what I mean:

Not all of the prison was in this state, though. Some areas were a lot more swanky. Here’s a recreation of how Capone’s cell looked during his 1929 incarceration:

After leaving Eastern State, we made stops at a handful of museums throughout the afternoon. Between all of the sightseeing and walking, we’d definitely worked up some cheesesteak-worthy appetites. Now, there are countless places to get a cheesesteak in Philly, but we decided to head to East Passyunk Avenue to sample sandwiches from Geno’s and Pat’s — two longtime cheesesteak joints that are conveniently positioned across the street from one another. It’s a spot that is busy virtually 24 hours a day and popular among locals and tourists alike. We arrived shortly before dinner time — a good piece of advice that I read prior to our visit is to schedule cheesesteak restaurant visits outside of traditional meal hours in order to avoid long lineups — and I snapped photos of Geno’s …

… and Pat’s:

Next, we got in line at each eatery. The plan was to buy a cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz from each of them and tear them in half so that we could try each of them at the same time.

Although our tear didn’t turn out to be very equal …

… we both dug in and it was immediately apparent to us that Geno’s was a better sandwich. Pat’s was good, but on this day, the Geno’s product was perfectly gooey and provided the exact taste and texture that I want in a cheesesteak. I mentioned in my last post that my favorite cheesesteak ever was from Tony Luke’s. This one from Geno’s was just as good in my mind, so I’ve got Tony Luke’s and Geno’s in a tie atop my cheesesteak list. What about you? Let me know in the comments section below.

Our dual cheesesteak dinner was a fitting and perfect way to wrap up an outstanding weekend in Philly. We’re already making plans about where we’ll go this season. Who knows? Perhaps I’ll make a baseball fan out of Shaun yet.

Bring on 2020!

Many of you know that when I take my baseball road trips, I’m a solo traveler almost 100 percent of the time. Of all the games that I’ve attended since launching The Ballpark Guide in 2010, only a handful of them have been with someone. There are rare occasions in which I plan a trip with a travel partner, however, and my late-July sojourn to Philadelphia was one of those times.

On this trip, my travel partner was my brother-in-law Shaun. He’s not just my brother-in-law, though. He’s my partner in The Ballpark Guide, and while you don’t see any references to him on the website, his work is absolutely critical to it. Simply put, there’d be no Ballpark Guide without him.

Funny enough, given all the work that he’s put into the site, he’s not remotely a baseball fan. Fortunately, it didn’t take much convincing to get him to agree to a weekend in Philly with a little baseball, a little sightseeing and a bunch of cheesesteaks.

We live about eight hours from Philadelphia, so instead of driving down in one shot, we drove to Syracuse on the evening of July 25, and then proceeded onto Philly the following day. This was actually Shaun’s first baseball game, so it was a thrill for me to be an ambassador for the sport, so to speak. My mission wasn’t necessarily to turn him into a baseball fan by the end of the weekend, but rather to show him how I experience ballparks and baseball games and, hopefully, give him some fun along the way.

And introduce him to cheesesteaks. Lots of cheesesteaks.

After some sightseeing on the trip from Syracuse to Philadelphia, we got to the city at 4 p.m., checked into our downtown hotel and after soaking in some air conditioning for a short period, grabbed an Uber and headed over to Citizens Bank Park. You might remember that I visited CBP twice back in 2013, so this wasn’t going to be a ballpark visit in which I’d spend the entire game exploring the park and documenting the sights. There’d be some of that, certainly, but this weekend was more about just soaking in the ballpark experience with my brother-in-law.

We hadn’t bought tickets in advance, so as soon as our Uber driver dropped us off, I snapped this picture …

… and then hurriedly made my way over to the closest ticket office and grabbed a couple of cheap tickets. The ballpark’s gates had just opened, so instead of taking a walk around the exterior, we went straight in.

Batting practice had already finished, which was unfortunate because I’d hoped we could hang out in the outfield for a few minutes and try to get Shaun a baseball. Undeterred, we went straight down to field level so that I could point out of some of the various elements of the park. Our first stop was the right field corner, where we had this view:

Sure, the spot where we stood may be pretty standard for baseball fans, but given that I had a chance to let someone into my world, this scene in front of us was a thrill. I probably sounded like an auctioneer as I rattled off details about the various sights in front of us, told anecdotes about my previous visits to Citizens Bank Park and answered any questions that Shaun threw my way. Once we’d spent a few minutes down at field level, we made our way up to the concourse and began to walk along the third base side, eventually making the turn around left field, where we stopped so that I could snap this panorama:

As you can see, the ballpark was still fairly empty, but the one area that was hopping was Ashburn Alley, which stretches from left-center to right-center. You can actually see all of the red-clad fans if you look to the left side of the panorama. Ashburn Alley is my favorite spot at CBP — and I’m certainly not the only fan who feels this way. By the time we got there, it was absolutely packed with fans. Here’s how it looked:

We’d come to Ashburn Alley for a few reasons. As the most fun and boisterous spot in the park, I wanted to make sure that Shaun got to check it out. I also wanted to show him the bullpens, which are stacked in this area:

Of course, there are a million exciting things to see along the alley. We took a lengthy browse through one of the team shops and I pointed out the Liberty Bell sign overhead:

As you might guess, food was on my mind — which was a good thing, because we were in the right place. Ashburn Alley has a number of concession stands, and my constant babbling about the merits of cheesesteaks on the drive to Philly made it a simple decision for us to get in line to grab a couple. Now, there are a few cheesesteak vendors at Citizens Bank Park — as well as countless across the city — and everyone has his or her favorite. I’ve been fortunate to try a number of them over the years, and the best cheesesteak I’d eaten up to that point was at a Tony Luke’s location. It was easy for me to recommend this particular brand over anything else, and the long lineup in front of us was a testament to the popularity of this particular eatery. When we made our way up to order, I ordered mine with Cheez Whiz and Shaun got provolone. With cheesesteaks in hand, we fought our way across Ashburn Alley to a spot along the railing, and then dug in:

(In reviewing the photo above, I noticed the tendon on the side of my neck bulging out a little — a testament to how much I was apparently enjoying the bite.)

My cheesesteak was delicious, as expected. Shaun liked his, but found it to be a little dry. I suggested that he go with Cheez Whiz next time, as I feel that the cheese choice gives you the moist, greasy, artery-friendly consistency that you’re going for with this type of meal.

Before I started the second half of my sandwich, I snapped this cross-section shot to give you an idea of how much meat it contained:

I find that this is the perfect amount of meat. Yes, it’s possible to fit more in, but when you’re standing to eat it — and don’t want to be wearing half of it — this is the right amount to eat with ease.

After eating and taking a few minutes to let the meat sweats subside, we continued our walk around the concourse to take in the sights. The next spot we checked out was the Phillies Wall of Fame area, which features a number of plaques and, a new addition since my previous visit, some statues that honor the team’s World Series titles in 1980 and 2008:

Next, we took an escalator ride up a level to continue checking out the sights. I love the fact that you can see the Philadelphia skyline from CBP, and took Shaun over to a spot where we could check it out:

Our next stop gave us an overhead vantage point to check out the open space with the World Series trophy statues, as well as the displays honoring the team’s retired numbers:

We then moved into a spot that gave us a good view of Ashburn Alley from one end. It was still fairly busy, and you can see that the crowd lined up at Tony Luke’s was still very long:

The Campo’s Philly Cheesesteaks concession stand, for the record, is just on the far side of the staircase leading up to the Budweiser Rooftop. It had a decent-sized lineup, too.

Before too long, the players had taken the field and begun to warm up, so we headed to a spot where we could see right fielder Bryce Harper. I’ve been a fan of Harper’s since I met him as an 18 year old with the Hagerstown Suns and got his autograph after patiently waiting next to his truck in the ballpark’s back parking lot. (You can read all about that adventure here.) Funny enough, though, this would be the first time that I’d ever seen Harper in action. On my visit to Hagerstown, he had the day off because of a minor injury, and I hadn’t managed to see him later that year as he rose through the minors, nor after he’d made it to the big leagues. In any case, we were a considerable distance from the field, but I still took a few shots of Harper playing catch:

We watched the first inning from roughly where I took the above photo, and then made our way up to the upper deck for the second inning. Here’s a view of this beautiful ballpark in the bottom of the second:

From this spot, Shaun snapped this photo of me with one of my new The World Needs More Baseball shirts:

Eventually, we returned to the main concourse to continue to walk around to check out the sights. The next place we visited was the Harry Kalas statue not far from Ashburn Alley:

We watched a bit more of the action on the field from the alley, and then went back up a few levels to check out the view of the neighborhood around Citizens Bank Park. Here’s a panorama that I really like, showing Lincoln Financial Field and Wells Fargo Center, as well as the Xfinity Live! venue:

Since we were headed to the upper deck, anyway, we grabbed a pair of seats on the third base side and enjoyed a little more of the action with this outstanding view:

Midway through the game, I could see some signs of action in the bullpen areas, and wanted to give Shaun a chance to see a reliever getting ready to enter the game. It’s something that I enjoy watching as often as I can, so I figured a first-time ballpark visitor would get a thrill out of a front-row spot to the action. We made our way down to the main concourse and made a quick detour to a nearby Philadelphia Water Ice concession stand to pick up a pair of cherry ices. Here’s mine:

My photo didn’t turn out all that well, in part because of the dark conditions and in part because I was rushing to get to the bullpen before one of the Atlanta Braves pitchers got up and started to throw. Fortunately, our hurrying paid off, and we were able to grab a pair of spots at the railing above and behind the bullpen plate to watch the action:

As the game wrapped up, we took a quick Uber ride back to our downtown hotel, the Sonesta Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square:

This was the first time that I’d ever stayed at a Sonesta hotel, and was thoroughly impressed with not only the service we encountered during each interaction with staff, but also the size and stylish design of the rooms, as well as the on-site dining options — a funky spot called Art Bar, which is perfect for a post-game drink and snack, and Ruth’s Chris Steak House. Perhaps most impressive about this hotel is its location. The Rittenhouse Square neighborhood is easily one of the most popular areas in the city, and is filled with restaurants, shopping options and plenty of green space. Although a walk from this location to Citizens Bank Park would be lengthy, the Uber ride was a quick and easy one. And, using our hotel as a home base for the weekend, we had no trouble covering a wide variety of Philly’s downtown attractions on foot.

We were on the move so much all weekend that we didn’t have a proper chance to enjoy all of the hotel’s amenities, but they certainly looked appealing. Take a look at this nighttime shot of the pool, located on the roof of the eighth floor:

And here’s an image off the hotel’s website of a room that looked just like ours:

I’d wholeheartedly recommend this hotel to you if you’re planning a baseball road trip to Philadelphia — and especially if you want to do a lot of sightseeing on foot when you’re not at the ballpark.

Speaking of sightseeing, we began our second day in the city with plenty of that before heading back to CBP for another memorable evening.