Day 20

The drive from Baltimore to Atlanta is about 10 hours. We decided in the planning stages that we would drive through the night and stop in Greenville, SC which was only 8 hours away, take a nap, and then drive the very short drive to Turner Field for our 17th game of this trip. Tim’s older brother, Joey, offered us his apartment for the morning, and even did some grocery shopping for us. Rebecca and Andrew took care of the driving and everyone slept very well during our daytime nap. 

  We didn’t get to do our customary walk around the concourse before the start of the game, but we got to do something a lot better. Before the trip, Rebecca reached out to all of the MLB teams telling them about our adventure. The Braves thought it was a cool idea, and Chandler Faccento, a Guest Services Coordinator with the Braves, made sure we would have a great game day experience! He arranged for us to get field access before the game so we could watch batting practice, and promised us some pretty cool Braves gear. Needless to say, we were excited to go to the game. This was our fourth and final time seeing the Braves on this trip, and it was also our third and final time seeing the Padres. These two teams have given us some of the best game day experiences so far on this trip, and we wish we could continue to see them over the next 17 days. 

  When Chandler brought us down to the field, he mentioned that his boss, Erin Sheehan, was a Marquette grad as well, and was very excited for us on our trip. She came down to the field to meet us and we got to talking about the trip and Marquette. She asked us where we were sitting for the game, and we told her in section 415. She said no, and pulled some fancy Guest Services strings and we were upgraded to section 108! She took us on a little tour of the offices where we got to see some pretty unique Marquette gear, and talk about the construction of the new Braves ballpark: SunTrust Field. If we had more time in Atlanta, we probably would have been able to see some of the construction in person. As if the Braves and our Marquette connection hadn’t already spoiled us enough, we were also given field passes for the Charlie XCX concert post game, and the promises of H & F Burgers at some point during the game. 

  We found our amazing seats, met up with Joey and sat down to enjoy the game. This was our third time seeing Ross pitch for the Padres. We were a little worried for the Braves going into this game. We always cheer for the home team, and we are keeping track of our home team record. The Padres have hurt that record twice. They lost at home when we saw them against the Pirates and beat the Reds in Cincinnati. But today, the Braves won 4-1 and our home team record moved to 10-7. 
  We were surprised with some amazing Braves gear bags, filled with tshirts, hats, bobble heads, and tomahawks. They were a welcomed surprise. After the 7th inning stretch (which the Braves announced very well) we got to try H&F Burgers. Erin told us they aren’t as good as Sobelman’s in Milwaukee, but they are pretty tasty. We determined that they are a very different burger, and delicious. H&F is a restaurant in Atlanta that doesn’t have burgers on the menu, but is famous for them. The owner will sell 24 of them each night at 10pm, and that’s it. They are all made the exact same way, and they are pretty coveted by restaurant goers in Atlanta. 
  After the game we stayed for a bit of the Charlie XCX concert and then went for a drive around downtown Atlanta. It was pretty late so we couldn’t stop and do much, but we made sure to drive past the Georgia Dome and were very surprised to see that they are building a new stadium across the street, which is scheduled to open in 2017, the same year as the new Braves park. We will have to come back to Atlanta sometime in 2017 to experience the Braves in a brand new place and see the new football stadium.
  

Day 19

Our hotel in Pittsburgh conveniently had a Panera Bread in it, so we got a hot breakfast there before driving to Baltimore. It is only about a 4 hour drive from one park to the other, but we had big plans for Baltimore. The Orioles were kind enough to give us complimentary stadium tour passes, so we needed to be ready at the park by 1pm. 

  We planned it out leaving plenty of time, but once again, we came across a park whose parking signs threw us off a little. We found the spot and booked it to Camden Yards. Rebecca’s dad and brother were joining us for the game and the tour, we found them and caught the tour just as it was heading out.  

We learned all about the history of Camden Yards, which used to be the home of various warehouses and a train station. The park was built in the last 30 years, but was built to feel old. The designer wanted a ballpark, not a stadium. We have seen plenty of both on this adventure, and Camden Yards really feels like a ballpark. We were able to sit in the dugout, check out the clubhouse, see the media spaces, and we heard quite a few stories about Babe Ruth, who started on the Orioles. He grew up in a saloon that geographically was in the same space as right field, and Ruth grew up to be one of the best right fielders in baseball history. That is pretty cool. There is a statue honoring Babe Ruth outside of the park, and we were let in on a little secret, there is a mistake. We won’t tell you what it is, but we challenge you to figure it out the next time you are in Baltimore. 

We were kicked out of the park for a while so they could set up for the game. We moved the car and then took a walk to the harbor with Rebecca’s family. We got a great view of the city and it was a nice walk. 

  Mr. Dempsey treated us to dinner at the ballpark that night. In the eighties, the Orioles had a Rick Dempsey on the team, so it was the obvious dinner choice for us to go to Dempsey’s. The food was great, and the table got to experience bacon on a stick. It was the thickest bacon we had seen, covered in maple syrup. Dinner was great and we made our way to the seats. In addition to Rebecca’s family coming to the game, Tim’s dad was able to come down from DC to catch the game with us too. He was on a business trip, and the timing worked out perfectly. It was great to have so much family with us tonight. 

Before our trip started in all of our planning, we really wanted to get tshirts for our group. They are perfect and list our tour dates on the back. Through a connection of Megan’s, our shirts were made and given to us from Marshall Sign out of Plymouth, Wisconsin. On the days we wear the shirts, we get the best responses from people who see us. They are always full of questions about our crazy adventure. We are so lucky to have such a great local business help support us on this trip and make the experience even better! 

  The Orioles were playing the Red Sox and there were plenty fans for both teams in the stands. Game 16 was a very low scoring one. The Orioles one and only run was scored on a wild pitch. We saw three plays go under review during this game, and two of them were back to back. 

When we were getting ready for the 7th inning stretch, and heard Take Me Out to the Ballgame start, but it was never announced. We joined in about a third of the way through and then sang along to Thank God I’m a Country Boy. 

The Orioles helped our home team winning average, and made Rebecca’s dad very happy with an Orioles win, and made Andrew happy with a Red Sox loss. Tonight will be another drive through the night adventure on our way to Atlanta.