Trip Report (A little late)

Ok, I'll give you the Reader's Digest version: Baltimore rocked, Philadelphia sucked.

Now for the blow by blow:

Monday- We left bright and early, on the road by nearly 6:30. We had to make a pit stop at KB's parent's house, to pick up her sister (went back to college at New Paltz....figure we'd drop her off, since it was on the way). Got driving, stopped at Ulster rest area to get coffee and stuff. Well, I really wanted some juice, but the little gift store was open, so I guess my juice craving as well as my "I Love NY" tee shirt would both have to wait. Back on the road (lots of traffic for a Monday morning) and stopped at Exit 18-New Paltz. It was nice and convenient, since SUNY New Paltz in only 3 minutes off the Thruway. Said the goodbyes, and back on the road we were. Got onto 287 South, and.....hello New Jersey! Time to fire up the cell phone and exit to the left! No, seriously, we were through Jersey, through Delaware (Hi....we're in Delaware), and into Maryland. Found the exit off I-95 for us (things were going abnormally well.....our exit was the one before all the traffic started really piling up....), and got to Eastern Avenue, which we would take for 4 miles or so. Well, this wasn't the scenery I was imagining. Went through a large urban center (urban, AKA......) and into Greek town, where I could have had souvlaki at 19 different places each called Stavros' or Dmitri's.....and adorned with a Greek flag. But it was clean...a few turns (for the better) later, we were at out hotel......the beautiful Mariott Waterfront. Wow. Much too nice for us. Got to our room, room 2005 (20th floor), and lo and behold, a harbor view. Don't believe me? See for yourself.

Yep...that was it. And that was our worst weather day of the trip. If you look closely at the middle of the picture, toward the top, you can see the B&O Warehouse, which closely guards beautiful Oriole Park at Camden Yards (more on that later). Well, we got in, took a rest, then decided to peruse the harbor area a little bit. What a nice city.....the "Inner Harbor" area (what you see above, plus more) is a gorgeous, pedestrian-friendly area filled with shops, restaurants and other Baltimore regalia. We had a little lunch/dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (chains be damned, but this is a pretty good place).....then off to the game! Got to the park early....for pictures, of course! Take a look...

Me outside Camden Yards (Thats the warehouse!!)

Me and the Bambino

The first pitch (view from our seats)

I don't really remember much of the game.....If I remember correctly, Baltimore won, 4-2. Tejada homered, but I didn't care much about the game. Ten years from now, I'll remember being at the nicest ballpark ever created, on a night that couldn't have been scripted better for baseball (69 degrees and clear), and with KB, who seemingly enjoyed the game (or maybe the company I provide). It was a shame that there was only 15,000 people at the game....like I said, it was a gorgeous night, and with all the people milling around the harbor area, I would have expected a decent walk-up. But, perhaps this thing of beauty is taken for granted....a shame too. During the 6th inning, we took a walk around the stadium and took in more of the atmosphere. We explored Eutaw Street (the warehouse seems MUCH closer to the outfield wall on TV....thats quite a poke. No wonder Griffey's HR Derby blast is the only one so far). BTW, another cool thing about Camden Yards......the field is dug out, so that the middle of the stadium is street level. They have the big scoreboard in right that is SRO (and if tall enough, can look over)....well, that is street level. Neat idea.....just another thing that makes in cozier. Anyway, I had a delectable BBQ Beef sandwich from Boog's BBQ (no Boog today).......good stuff, with extra sauce, onions and a little horseradish. Yum. Before we knew it, game was over.....we walked back to the hotel room, but not before stopping again at the Cheesecake Factory for a couple of slices for the room. Got back, ate some cheesecake, then both passed out from exhaustion/food coma. Tuesday-Thursday I will write tomorrow...more pictures here though!Neat view from the Right Field Wall

Scot Shields signing an autograph for KB (she was thrilled)


Boog's BBQ (a must-visit....they have Pulled Pork and Beef, but I was told by locals that the Beef is best.....it lived up to their word)