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On the road again
After a terrific visit to Busch Stadium, we began the long trek to Atlanta. We broke up the trip with a stop at Steak N’ Shake — which proudly boasts some delicious shakes — for lunch. And the price was plenty affordable.
There were a couple accidents on the interstate that caused us to take some backroads in the hills of Kentucky. The wilderness was very scenic. It seemed like prime territory for sasquatch. Finally, after about nine hours, we were there, and we were bushed. We checked into our hotel, got some taco bell and a 12-pack, and planned out what to do in Atlanta.
Kicking off the journey
With a good night’s rest, we were ready to take on the ATL. Our first stop was the College Football Hall of Fame, and it far exceeded our expectations — and it got us all looking forward to football season even more than we already were.
You start by getting a credential badge on a lanyard and filling out information which includes indicating your favorite team. The badges have a chip inside them that store your team selection and allow you to access information on your team at certain exhibits.
After entering the building and going through a hallway that resembles a tunnel at that the players run out of on game day, the first thing you see is a display of more than 600 helmets from virtually every college football team in America.
We showcased our skills in the indoor facility for football drills. We had a miniature challenge among the crew, trying to hit three targets with a football. Ben and Nate both tied, so to settle the score, the winner would be determined by a field goal kicking competition. Ben would probably have to be the winner, just because he came closer to making his field goal.
The Hall of Fame also featured a 10-minute hype video about college football, virtual reality looks at current stadiums, and some great information on all of its inducted members.
For lunch we went to the Braves All-Star Grill. The inside was decked in Atlanta Braves memorabilia from the floor to the floor the the ceiling. We tested out the variety of options on the menu, as Nate and Ben both had fish tacos, Nick had a barbecue pork sandwich, and Nick had a cheeseburger with a fancy a touch.
The restaurant served a local beer called Tomahawk Lager by SweetWater Brewing Company, and it was very good. They had other beers on the menu, including a few more local brews.
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by the stadium to check out the area, which is called the Battery Atlanta and is almost like a city within itself. There is shopping, restaurants, bars, and even a theater. Ben and Nick picked up their baseball and bat, and then we all went back to the hotel for the game.
Our hotel was close enough to walk to the stadium, which was a huge plus for us since we didn’t have to spend money on transportation or parking.
Upon arriving at the Battery, we elected to go to the PBR bar, which faces the outside of the Sun Trust Park. The two-story establishment was huge and also featured ski ball, beer pong, and — as is custom with the chain of PBR bars — a mechanical bull. Drinks were pretty reasonable, a little more than 5 bucks per beer. We stayed for two drinks then headed into the game.
The game
The Ballpark was impressive. There was another bar inside the stadium, called the chop house, and a wide selection of food. They had pizza, burgers, hot dogs, tacos, barbecue sandwiches. Beers were about the same as everywhere else, about $10. We grabbed some drinks and found our seats… or so we thought (more on that later).
The home team struggled in this game, as the Marlins jumped on top early and never looked back. But we did meet some interesting people during the game. Some military personnel sat down next to Nick. They were from all over the world, so a few of them were very unfamiliar with baseball. Nick frequently had to explain what was going on and why it was happening. But the group was fun overall.
The game happened to be on Nick’s birthday, and his loving family back home arranged for the team pep squad to bring a birthday package to his seat and also put a birthday message on the visiting scoreboard. But that package never came. Not because of the Braves, but because us journeymen made the classic mistake of sitting in the wrong section.
Now that you’re done laughing and making remarks at how simple our minds must be, let us explain how it wasn’t all our fault.
The marking of the sections were a bit confusing to us. We were supposed to be in section 42. When we found it, the number 42 was displayed next to 142, which had an arrow pointing up while 42 had an arrow pointing down. This was displayed on the overhang from the section above, so we assumed 142 was the section above us and 42 was where we sat down — the aisle attendant never corrected us, either.
Ben knew about the package and he knew something must have gone wrong in the process. After going to guest services in the middle of the seventh inning, we realized our mistake. By the time we got to our real seats, the Braves committed the final out of the game. This was the view we were supposed to have for the whole game.
But, we did get to enjoy the Friday night firework show from our actual seats.
After the show, we headed back to the Battery area to hit up a couple of the bars. It reminded us a lot of Kansas City’s Power and Light and St. Louis’ Ballpark Village. There was an area designated as a dance floor, where a DJ played music over the loud speakers. We showed off our moves and went back to the PBR bar. Ben and Nick lost a game of beer pong (Shocking, I know. There must have been some unexplainable reason for this, but we’ll never know).
We stayed until the bar closed and then walked back to our hotel. It was certainly a great night despite the Braves — Nick and Ben’s favorite team — losing.
Ratings
The Battery Atlanta is not completely finished yet, but it's still pretty awesome. We didn't explore everything it had to offer as far as the shopping and the food places go, but we enjoyed what we did see.
The overall trip rating was an 8.4, which ranks it second in our rankings after the tiebreaker, breaking the tie with Kauffman Stadium. We loved the atmosphere of the ballpark and the surrounding area. We collectively agree this style of ballpark — the "city within a city" — will be a trend for future stadiums. It drew a large crowd and was plenty active even several hours before the game.
For us, the negatives were the marking of sections — of course — and while the food was good, it wasn't the best selection we've seen.
The overall trip rating was an 8.4, which ranks it second in our rankings after the tiebreaker, breaking the tie with Kauffman Stadium. We loved the atmosphere of the ballpark and the surrounding area. We collectively agree this style of ballpark — the "city within a city" — will be a trend for future stadiums. It drew a large crowd and was plenty active even several hours before the game.
For us, the negatives were the marking of sections — of course — and while the food was good, it wasn't the best selection we've seen.
| Rank | Stadium | Rating |
| 1. | Petco Park (Padres) | 8.9 |
| 2. | Sun Trust Park (Braves) | 8.4 |
| 3. | Kauffman Stadium (Royals) | 8.4 |
| 4. | Target Field (Twins) | 8.3 |
| 5. | Angels Stadium (Angels) | 8.3 |
| 6. | U.S. Cellular (White Sox) | 8.3 |
| 7. | Wrigley Field (Cubs) | 8.3 |
| 8. | Busch Stadium (Cardinals) | 8.3 |
| 9. | Chase Field (Diamondbacks) | 8.2 |
| 10. | Miller Park (Brewers) | 7.2 |
| 11. | Coors Field (Rockies) | 7.1 |
| 12. | Dodger Stadium (Dodgers) | 6.2 |
On deck
We will be heading to Tampa and St. Petersburg to see the Tampa Bay Rays play at Tropicana Field. Let us know if you know of anything we should do while we’re there! Also like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, @MLBjourneymen, and check out our Instagram account, mlbjourneymen.
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