2009 Ballpark Trip - Photo Collage

We posed for a picture in each park. Here's the final product:

2009 Ballpark Trip - Statistical Evaluation

Statistical Evaluation

Length of trip: 54 days

States seen: 36 (+1 province, +1 district)

What states?   

Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada*, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware.
      + Ontario, Canada (province)
      + District of Columbia

      * While at Lake Tahoe, CA, we drove over the Nevada state line, turned around, and came back.  It still counts.

Total miles traveled: 14,524
Gallons of gas used: 387.415
Number of fillups: 65
Average fillup: 5.960 gallons

Souvenirs, etc. (aka The Swag with which We Came Home)

Our only souvenir for the trip is now complete: 

Final Odometer Update - August 11th

Miles this week: 687

Total miles: 14,524

8/10/2009 - Oriole Park at Camden Yards - MLB Ballpark #32

2009 Game #30 - Oakland Athletics at Baltimore Orioles

Final Score: Athletics 9, Orioles 1

Hot Dog - 3/5

As to all good things, the end must inevitably come.  Our thirtieth, and final, game of the trip took us to the Charm City on a humid Monday night.  We were joined by Tony, Jen, and Pete M. for our Baltimore experience and we made the most of our time.

Fellow Road-tripping Bloggers

8/9/2009 - Nationals Park - MLB Ballpark #31

2009 Game #29 - Arizona Diamondbacks at Washington Nationals

Final Score: Nationals 9, Diamondbacks 2

Hot Dog - 4/5

Looking at our schedule a week ago, we thought, “Oh yahoo.  A Nationals vs. D’Backs game.”  The reason for this disappointment, of course, is that both teams stink.  (Of course, our disappointment pales in comparison to Amanda’s when she finds out we didn’t get souvenirs for anyone.)  As it turns out, the Nats had won 7 in a row going into yesterday’s game, which they also won.  Who’d have thunk it?  It was a pretty good game through the 8th, when the Arizona bullpen blew up and allowed 4 runs.  Adam Dunn hit a homer in the bottom of the first, and it was all more or less downhill for the D’Backs from there.

Sightseeing in DC

Odometer Update - August 7th

Miles this week: 1,764

Total miles: 13,837

8/6/2009 - Yankee Stadium - MLB Ballpark #30

2009 Game #28 - Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees

Final Score: Yankees 13, Red Sox 6

Hot Dog - 2/5

I’d been looking forward to game 1 of this Yankee-Red Sox series since before we left on our trip.  I wasn’t looking forward to seeing a Sox away game in New York (I absolutely hate going to Sox-Yankee games), I was looking forward to the new Yankee Stadium.  I was looking forward to this park as much as I was Wrigley Field.  Everything I’d seen or read built the new stadium up to be a cathedral or museum or coliseum; and from the outside, that’s what it is.  The facade is impressive and beautiful, capturing the historical significance of the ballpark perfectly.

8/2/2009 - Turner Field - MLB Ballpark #29

2009 Game #27 - Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves

Final Score: Dodgers 9, Braves 1

Hot Dog - 3/5

7/31/2009 - Tropicana Field - MLB Ballpark #28

2009 Game #26 - Kansas City Royals at Tampa Bay Rays

Final Score:  Rays 8, Royals 2

Hot Dog - 3/5

Okay, I think I’ve figured it out.  About domes, I mean.  You know, why they’re lousy places to watch baseball games.