Three Days, Three Ballparks

On May 27 we took a quick drive up to Washington DC, then got settled into our campsite in nearby Maryland. We headed out to the ballpark taking the public transportation and met some of the locals. After an hour on the bus and Metro we must say that the people we met were very friendly and helpful. We arrived at Nationals Park, got our tickets, found our seats, and then were abruptly told to take cover because of the thunder and lightning. We waited it out for several hours and gave ourselves a self guided tour of the ball park while trying to stay dry.

So the night at Nationals Park ended without the game even starting. Due to the severe thunderstorm the game was postponed for a later date. However, we did have a great time hanging out at the ball park sampling the hotdogs and eating the $1 ice cream. Making a mad dash to the Metro through the downpour was a rather exciting experience, too.  

The next day we moved on to the next ballpark on the bucket list, Camden Yards in Baltimore. The Oriole's were out of town so a tour was the next best thing. We were very impressed with this beautiful ballpark and gave it a TEN on our scale of the parks we have visited so far. The new stadium was very classy with an old school look like ball parks from the past. 

After the tour, we had a excellent crab sandwich lunch at Dempseys, located in the huge warehouse at the ball field. The brick warehouse, pictured behind us, was built in the 1800's by the Baltimore Railroad. It was spared from destruction when they built the new ballpark. They completely refurbished it and it's now part of the park, housing the Oriole's offices, other businesses and restaurants. What a treat to visit this beautiful and historical ballpark! We are definitely coming back again to Camden Yards, next time to see a game. 

Three days in a row? No problem! We visited another major league ballpark today and enjoyed every minute of it. Our tour of PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, scored a homerun. The industrial steel and stone architecture was fitting of the Pittsburgh area. PNC's had seating for 38,000 fans and was uniquely situated alongside the Allegheny River with a spectacular view of Pittsburgh's skyline.

Tom is dwarfed standing next to the bronze statue of home run hitter, Willie Stargell 

 Waiting in the dugout for a turn at bat, unfortunately, no game today.

Here we are supporting the Pirates by wearing their colors, thanks to In-N-Out.

                         Check out the prime parking spot 50 feet from the stadium. Sweet!

We didn't get to sample a Buccaneer hotdog so instead we headed across the river to get a "Not So Famous Sandwich" at the Primanti Brothers Restaurant. It was featured on the Man vs Food TV show, made of fresh baked Italian bread, tender pastrami, tomato, vinegary coleslaw and fries INSIDE the sandwich! YUM!

And for dessert? What else but a pizza to go... Now that's a walk-off home run...