OT - Taking a Baseball trip

[Parkland Fan]

I thought some here might be interested based on all the baseball posts.

My friends from high school and I have been taking a trip to a baseball game for the last 11 years. There are usually 6 to 8 guys involved. We are class of 1966 from Allentown Central Catholic and Dieruff. We started by hitting the stadiums that we could drive to from the Lehigh Valley, but we have also flown to Miami. This year (tomorrow) we head to Tampa for the weekend. The Miami 4 day trip was great because one guy had some young relatives with a boat. We had a tailgate in the bay near Palm Beach. Water up to our waists but otherwise it was like a PSU tailgate. And yes there are topless beaches in Miami. (Throw a flag if you must)

Last year was Toronto, and we also watched some races on the city streets. This year if tickets for the Stanley Cup final are not scalped too bad, a few of us will try for that.

On the last day we take a vote to pick next year's destination. Two of us are Dodger fans so hopefully we can get a consensus to fly to LA.

Nobody likes to think that they are getting old, but when you spend a weekend with friends from high school you can relive the youthful years. If you have friends from the past who are baseball fans, you might want to consider this type of trip.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Good idea. I have friends who like to bet the ponies so we have started going to some road trip tracks. Belmont, Monmouth, Philly (Parx), Saratoga and Pimlico besides the local Penn National. Going to Keeneland this fall. First for me, they've been before. Thing about this sort of travel is you never know when these places aren't going to be around anymore, same with ballparks. Hollywood, Atlantic City, Colonial, and Suffolk Downs have all shut their doors in the past 2 years. For that reason and the pure enjoyment of it, it's a nice pursuit. I'm going to start going to more local dirt tracks and Nascar tracks too. I love baseball too but never had the yen to see many parks for some reason.

 

[fairgambit]

I thought some here might be interested based on all the baseball posts.
My friends from high school and I have been taking a trip to a baseball game for the last 11 years. There are usually 6 to 8 guys involved. We are class of 1966 from Allentown Central Catholic and Dieruff. We started by hitting the stadiums that we could drive to from the Lehigh Valley, but we have also flown to Miami. This year (tomorrow) we head to Tampa for the weekend. The Miami 4 day trip was great because one guy had some young relatives with a boat. We had a tailgate in the bay near Palm Beach. Water up to our waists but otherwise it was like a PSU tailgate. And yes there are topless beaches in Miami. (Throw a flag if you must)
Last year was Toronto, and we also watched some races on the city streets. This year if tickets for the Stanley Cup final are not scalped too bad, a few of us will try for that.
On the last day we take a vote to pick next year's destination. Two of us are Dodger fans so hopefully we can get a consensus to fly to LA.
Nobody likes to think that they are getting old, but when you spend a weekend with friends from high school you can relive the youthful years. If you have friends from the past who are baseball fans, you might want to consider this type of trip.

That makes me a bit envious for two reasons. First, you still have friends from high school and I have none. From time to time I still see people I graduated with, but we are more acquaintances than friends. Second, the baseball game idea is a great idea for any group of friends and yet, being from Pittsburgh, most of my friends are into the symphony and opera , although I guess we could travel to a different city each year in pursuit of culture. In any event, it is a great idea and I thank you for it.

 

[psengr82]

LA is a great idea...here is how to make it even better. Pick a week that the Phillies are on a West Coast swing. Start at Phoenix on the last day of the series and pickup the Diamondbacks. Head to San Diego which is a nice drive or fly which is a short trip. Catch the Padres for two games, and take in the sights. Then head up to LA to catch the Dodgers. If you are lucky the Angels may also be in town. Depending on schedule, the trip may also start in San Diego and end in San Francisco. I've done this several times.

Oh I love baseball!

Edit: I just checked the schedule. You can't catch 3 west coast teams this year. Dodgers and Giants in early July or Padres and Diamondbacks in early August. Go Phils!

 

[CDLionFL]

Last year, my brother and I did a baseball trip that went from San Fran to LA to Anaheim to San Diego to Minneapolis all in a 6-day span (he's a Yankees fan, I'm a Twins fan and we ended the trip with Yankees at Twins). This year, we're getting even more ambitious with a 9 games in 9 days in 5 cities trip -- Minneapolis (2), KC, St. Louis, Wrigley (2), Milwaukee, new Comiskey (2). May throw some golf in there too. Lots of driving but it worked out pretty well last year.

 

[ClarkstonMark]

Tampa is a crappy venue for baseball ... but at least you can hit Bern's for dinner!
Have a great trip!

 

[psurudy]

I agree about Berns. Great steakhouse. The wine list is the size of the NYC telephone directory. Have dessert upstairs and listen to the piano player.