Welcome to Detroit City

Boston Red Sox 1, Detroit Tigers 0 Ben's pregame pick: Tigers Pick record 5-10 Nick's pregame pick: Red Sox Pick record: 8-7 Nate's pregame pick: Red Sox Pick record: 7-5

Date: July 21, 2018 Overall trip rating: 6.4 Number of times Eminem's "Welcome to Detroit was played: only once (very disappointing)

Rough beginning

Think back to any comedy movie where an individual or a family is traveling. In those movies, everything that can go wrong, does.

That’s the way our first morning of travel seemed to go.

Our journey to Detroit started at 6:30 a.m. when we made our friend Cammie take Ben and I to the Budget Rental Car location near the airport — thanks again for the ride! While trying to get the car we had reserved several months in advance, I told the man at the counter that we need the piece of paper that allows us to take the car into Canada (according to the terms and conditions on the Budget website, all we had to do was ask for this paper and then we were allowed to go into Canada). But after my request, the man said the cars are not permitted to go to Canada and that this particular Budget branch does not abide by the same terms and conditions as the corporate company. *Maybe later I’ll link my post or email to Budget and the branch location informing them of the flaws that are keeping them from being a decent provider of services to customers.*

When the effort to subdue the furious rage inside became too much, we tried every rental car agency at the airport, and none of their cars were allowed to go to Canada. Furthermore, none of the vehicles could be rented and dropped off at another location, so we could not rent a car and take it to a bigger city where we could find a car that would let us cross the border.

We finally made a reservation with Enterprise that fit our criteria and got an Uber to take us to the branch. Upon arrival, the ladies at the counter told us that the people that make the reservations don’t really know how many cars are at the location. So, the car we reserved wasn’t there, and they wouldn’t have anything available until 1 p.m. at the earliest.

After many phone calls and research into other rental car options in surrounding cities, our fortune started to change after we were blessed with a miracle surprise car that was returned to the Enterprise branch. We rented the car for a short jaunt to Lincoln, where we rented an SUV that was allowed to go into Canada. After picking up Nate and switching vehicles in Lincoln, we were finally on our way.

The fun part begins

It took a few miles to let go of the frustration brought on by the long morning, but our excitement superseded the anger when we at long last began our long trek to Detroit at 11 a.m.

The road was uneventful for the most part, which is a good but boring quality of any road trip. We all got some work done during the trip, made a stop at the world’s largest truck stop in Walcott, Iowa, and grabbed dinner at a Culver’s in Stevensville, Mich.

A little after midnight, we reached Detroit, blaring some Eminem through our SUV’s sound system and rejoiced the nearing of the end of our trip. Our hotel was across the river from Detroit, in Canadian territory. So, we had our first crossing-the-border experience close to 1 a.m. We paid our $5 dollar fee for crossing the border and eventually found our hotel, despite the lack of help from our phones, which failed us due to international data plans — something we did not even think about looking into.

Metric system adjustments

There was a bar across the street from our hotel that we check out after we checked in to the hotel. The bar was called Panache Restaurant and Lunge, and it was a small, dimly-lit establishment. We had a couple beers, including a Molson Canadian, which seems to be as popular as a Bud Light is in the states.

The bartenders were friendly and the locals were bumping the music loudly; though, there weren’t many of them in the bar. After a couple beers, we walked the path along the Detroit River and took in the Detroit skyline across the water. It was a nice, calm ending to a long day of travel.

Game day

Being in the motor city, we knew we had to check out something Ford related, so we set out for the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, which was the birthplace of the revolutionary Model T car.
The plant is now home to a museum dedicated to the early editions of Ford vehicles. It costs 12 dollars to get in, but a tour, lasting about an hour and a half, was free with admission. 

The three floors were filled with cars from the early 1900s, the earliest we saw being a 1903 Ford Model A car, and even a replica of Henry Ford’s offices. We learned how Ford started the company — more than once after being told to leave it — and the evolution in the production of Ford vehicles. There were a lot of beautifully restored cars, as all the automobiles are owned by someone that allows the museum to show them.

Built in 1904, the plant’s appearance is very similar to the way it looked when was first erected. It still does not have heat or air conditioning, which made for a warm, steamy tour. Thankfully there were fans scattered through the inside of the building.

Walking around and looking at cars worked up a healthy appetite for us, so we headed out for lunch to a place that was recommended by one of the museum staff, Bucharest Grill: home of the shawarma.

In its essence, a shawarma, which none of us had ever heard of, is meat wrapped in a pita flatbread, and the restaurant itself is similar to a PepperJax Grill. But after one bite we realized something amazing had been missing from our lives, and it was the shawarma. There were many different styles, including chicken, beef, and the Bucharest Shawarma — which adds cabbage and fries to the chicken sandwich. You can order fries, but we ended up splitting them and still were unable to finish most of them. A shawarma is definitely recommended.

The game

We tried to go to the Motown Museum, but it was sold out of tours for the day and the gift shop was the only thing open to anyone not going on a tour. *Hint: If you want to visit the museum, get your tickets in advance.*

So instead, we just went downtown near Comerica Park to explore and find a bar before the game.
We visited Greektown, which was a few blocks packed small shops. After grabbing a last-minute Tigers shirt, we found the Detroit Brewing Co. tap house and decided to have a few beers before the game. The bar had a wide variety of craft beers, and fortunately for us it was happy hour. The bartender was fun and candid and made sure our glasses didn’t stay empty for too long. It was just a short 5-minute walk to the stadium, as we got ready for the game.

Our seats were in centerfield, the first row with the visitor’s bullpen between us and the field. We sat down in time to see Boston starting pitcher David Price warming up right in front of us.
We all kind of went different places for food. Nate and I had some good brats, but Ben hit the jackpot: mac and cheese with barbecued meat mixed in.

The Tigers struck early, loading the bases in the first inning and scoring a run out of the threat. Giving up only one run seemed like a mini victory for Detroit, but it ended up being the only run of the game! Both pitchers danced out of trouble a few times and eventually gave way to the bullpen.

We had to deal with a 5-minute rain nuisance in the eighth inning, but it subsided in time for the Red Sox to warm up closer Craig Kimbrel to shut the door on the Tigers. He gave up a hit but struck out two in the inning to end the game.

The night at the ball park concluded with a firework show, which featured quite an extravagant finale that seemed to never end. After the final boom, we left the park, got our car from the parking garage and headed back across the border to our hotel.

Ratings

There were a lot of things we really liked about Detroit. The area around the ball park had plenty to do and was entertaining, and we only explored a portion of it. But the biggest hindrance for us was the transportation. Aside from the typical busy traffic jams of a big city, our issues were summed up by the number of times we drove down a street only to find out it was closed and torn up. We thought the ball park itself was great. There was some variation in food options but we would have liked to see more. There were some cool areas within the concourse of the stadium, including a food court area and a beer garden with a ferris wheel in it.

Our ratings slated Detroit as our 13th-best trip, which seemed low to us until we looked back and realized that we’ve been on some pretty great adventures. It doesn’t help Detroit that we were only able to spend one full day in the city.

Rank	Stadium	Rating
1.	Petco Park (Padres)	8.9
2.	Sun Trust Park (Braves)	8.4
3.	Marlins Park (Marlins)	8.4
4.	Kauffman Stadium (Royals)	8.4
5.	Target Field (Twins)	8.3
6.	Angels Stadium (Angels)	8.3
7.	U.S. Cellular (White Sox)	8.3
8.	Wrigley Field (Cubs)	8.3
9.	Busch Stadium (Cardinals)	8.3
10.	Chase Field (Diamondbacks)	8.2
11.	Miller Park (Brewers)	7.2
12.	Coors Field (Rockies)	7.1
13.	Comerica Park (Tigers)	6.4
14.	Dodger Stadium (Dodgers)	6.2
15.	Tropicana Field (Rays)	6.1

On deck

The next leg of our journey will take us to Toronto to see the Blue Jays! Be on the lookout over the next few days for that post. Also like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, @MLBjourneymen, and check out our Instagram account, mlbjourneymen. 

Marlins Park: Welcome to Miami

Miami Marlins 2, Washington Nationals 1 Ben's pregame pick: Marlins Pick record 5-9 Nick's pregame pick: Nationals Pick record: 7-7 Nate's pregame pick: Nationals Pick record: 6-5

Date: June 21, 2017 Overall trip rating: 8.4 Designated Hitter: Nick L.  Number of alligators wrestled: Too many to count.

We were pretty excited for the trip to Miami. We knew even the road from Tampa would be interesting because we planned on stopping in the Everglades for a boat tour.

On the water

With hopes of seeing a few gators, we stopped at a place called Everglades Safari Park, which offered several different tour options. The one we chose, the cheapest, was 25 bucks and it takes you on the water in an airboat for 30-40 minutes.

The tour taught us a lot about the Everglades and the animals and plants that inhabit the area. Our tour guide, Laz, told us about a couple different trees and plants that can be seriously harmful to anyone or anything that ingests or even comes in contact with them.

Laz told us that alligators are actually peaceful creatures, and it's crocodiles that are more aggressive and dangerous. However, he also said they are starting to find more and more crocodiles in the Everglades, along with Burmese Pythons.

We only saw a few alligators on the tour, which was about what Laz expected. We thanked him after the tour and he told us that the heat causes a lot of alligators to hide under water. He suggested that we take our bikes out some evening on the Shark Valley trail, where he assured us we'd see plenty orange eyes staring back at us from the water.

After the boat tour, there's a movie to watch followed by another led tour down a trail near the water. Laz told us they had smaller gators at the end of the tour that we could hold, but he also said we'd be miserable, and frankly unsafe, on the trail if we did not have any mosquito repellent. We didn't feel like getting eaten alive by mosquitos, and we wanted to get back on the road, so we decided to skip the movie and the trail and continue our trek to Miami.

The beach

We got to Miami and knew we wanted to go straight to the beach, so we made our way to Miami Beach. We stopped at a place called Taquiza to get some tacos, and they were amazing; small, but still very good.

They had several different kinds of meat and different ways of preparing it. They also offered some good beer choices and delicious sauce toppings. And with the fun, outdoor seating, it was a great place to eat.

We then made the short walk to the beach, which was packed with people. The waves were definitely bigger than they were in Tampa, and that made it a little more fun to venture out into the ocean. We tired ourselves out pretty well just playing in the water and had inhaled enough salt water to care for, so we decided to just walk the beach for a while and soak up the sun and the atmosphere.

The beach was lined with tons of beach chairs and umbrellas for people to rent. People of all ages were playing in the sand and the water, and the ocean breeze made it a beautiful day to be at the beach.

When we got back to the hotel, we lounged a little bit at the pool and started plotting the rest of the night.

We were in the mood for some Chinese food, so we ordered in and started looking up some clubs to go to — after all, isn't that what you do when in Miami? Unfortunately for us, we were in Miami on a Wednesday, so most of the clubs weren't open; and the ones that were weren't open late like they would be on a weekend.

We found one club we were interest in and ordered an Uber to take us there. After a failed Uber attempt — a severe miscommunication with the driver — we our second driver came and got us, and he was outgoing and a lot of fun.

He took us to one of the few clubs open, and we immediately felt out of our element. Everyone was walking in wearing suits and dresses, and here we were in jeans, shorts and t-shirts. We took one step out of the car and quickly got back inside of it.

Our driver was cool enough to take us to another place, somewhere he recommended, but when we got there, the place looked like it had been closed down for some time. Our driver felt very badly about leading us astray, so he took us to one more spot.

This place ended up being a lot of fun. The bar is popular with the Russian population in Miami, but our favorite part about it was the $2.50 beers they were serving. It had an outdoor seating area, but everybody moved inside once the rain started coming down. And it was coming down hard.

We sat at the bar for a good portion of the night before making our way to the pool table, once it had finally opened up. We also ordered a plate of nachos, which was huge and very tasty. The bar stayed open until 3:45 am, at which point we called another Uber — had another mishap with that one — and eventually made it home with our fourth Uber call of the night.

The game

Our final game of our trip was at noon, so we didn't do a whole lot early in the morning before heading to the stadium. There were a few lots where businesses and organizations were charging people to park, so we found one a couple blocks from the ballpark that was charging 10 dollars and parked the car.

It started lightly raining on us during the walk to Marlins Park, so we were thankful that the Marlins have the ability to close the roof. Upon entering the second-newest stadium in the majors, we were in awe.

One very unique and fun attraction at Marlins Park was the Bobblehead Hall of fame.

We walked around the venue and thought it was gorgeous. We were there in plenty of time to walk around the whole concourse with hardly anyone there — which is kind of the norm for a lot of the Marlins' games.

We headed to our seats, which were not very far behind home plate. The nice thing about a low attendance is that tickets are cheaper, and we had pretty darn good seats for paying just 30 bucks.

Our stomachs started growling, so we went in search of some good food. Nate and Nick B. went part of the stadium called Taste of Cuba, which was kind of hidden from the rest of the food options. Nate got Cuban nachos while Nick had a Medianoche sandwich. Meanwhile, Ben found a place in the stadium that served sushi — something he had been begging for the whole trip.

The game actually had the potential to for a first for our journey. The Washington Nationals' starting pitcher Max Scherzer had a no-hitter going through 7 1/3 innings. The stadium, which was filled mostly with little kids from several summer camps, started buzzing about the chance to witness history. But with one out in the eighth inning, Miami catcher AJ Ellis ended that opportunity with an infield single off of  Scherzer's glove.

A fielder's choice gave the Nats, who were leading 1-0, two outs in the inning, but an error kept the Marlins at the plate. Scherzer hit the next batter and then the tying run scored on a wild pitch. The Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton singled home the go-ahead run, despite a potential insurance run being thrown out at home. But the Marlins had already done their damage.

Miami's AJ Ramos came into the game to pitch in the top of the ninth and earned the save. Scherzer threw eight innings and gave up just two hits and no earned runs while striking out 11 — an amazing game for any pitcher, and yet he was saddled with the loss. But it was a great game to watch, and the home fans celebrated as they left the ballpark.

The long road back

After the game, we went to the hotel and got some rest. We decided to leave Miami in the evening rather than waking up before the sun comes up to begin our trek home. We ran into more weather from the tropical depression, which started out as Tropical Storm Cindy. We also ran into a delay which lasted more than 40 minutes.

By the time everyone had made it to their respective homes, we had been on the road for roughly 30 hours.

Ratings

We had a lot of fun on this trip, but it was hard to rate. For example, we loved the modern look of the stadium, but the crowd at the game would have been non-existent if it hadn't have been for the day care field trips. We also loved the beach, but the traffic was terrible and getting an Uber was more of a hassle than anywhere else we've been.

Overall, the trip was an 8.4 and nestled in ahead of Kauffman Stadium and just behind Sun Trust Park. Like we stated, the sex appeal of the stadium and the food choices boosted Marlins Park when it came to rating the venue.

Rank	Stadium	Rating
1.	Petco Park (Padres)	8.9
2.	Sun Trust Park (Braves)	8.4
3.	Marlins Park (Marlins)	8.4
4.	Kauffman Stadium (Royals)	8.4
5.	Target Field (Twins)	8.3
6.	Angels Stadium (Angels)	8.3
7.	U.S. Cellular (White Sox)	8.3
8.	Wrigley Field (Cubs)	8.3
9.	Busch Stadium (Cardinals)	8.3
10.	Chase Field (Diamondbacks)	8.2
11.	Miller Park (Brewers)	7.2
12.	Coors Field (Rockies)	7.1
13.	Dodger Stadium (Dodgers)	6.2
14.	Tropicana Field (Rays)	6.1

On deck

Well, that does it for this year's journey. We're already excited for next year's trip, which will take us out of the country! We'll be going to Detroit to see the Tigers at Comerica Park and to Toronto, where the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Also like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, @MLBjourneymen, and check out our Instagram account, mlbjourneymen. 

Tropicana Field: Life in the dome

Cincinnati Reds 7, Tampa Bay Rays 3 Ben's pregame pick: Rays Pick record 4-9 Nick's pregame pick: Rays Pick record: 7-6 Nate's pregame pick: Rays Pick record: 6-4

Date: June 19, 2017 Overall trip rating: 6.1 Designated Hitter: Nick L.  Square inches of pizza consumed: Not sure. Blacked out after 54 inches.

Stadium by the bay

After our wild adventure in Braves Country, our journey took us into the Sunshine State en route to see the Tampa Bay Rays. But first, we decided to make a pit stop and stay the night in Orlando.

We battled some fierce rain storms upon entering Florida, but the torrential downpour was no match for our powerful minivan.

After arriving in Orlando a little after 7 p.m., we booked a hotel near the place Where Dreams Come True, Disney World. Stomaches growling, us journeymen set out for Miller’s Ale House — a huge restaurant with just about every kind of food available for order. We started the meal off with an order of Potstickers — pork dumplings and cabbage — before digging into Cajun Chicken Pasta, Jambalaya, Flatbread BBQ Chicken and Shrimp Scampi.

The opening round of the College World Series was on TV while we were there, and LSU was playing Florida State. We were a little surprised eat how many LSU fans were in the restaurant cheering on their team, until we realized we were fairly close to Gainesville, and all of these people were Florida Gators fans rooting for any team playing against their rival, FSU. It was a fun scene.

The plan was to go ahead and get some rest and get ready to head to Tampa in the morning.

The crew got to meet Nick B’s buddy, Andrew, who is a designer at the EA Sports video game company. Andrew took us on a tour of the facility, which seemed like a dream job for pretty much all of us. 

The building was very modern, and each floor had a theme dedicated to one of the video games EA makes — like Madden NFL football, NBA Live, etc. The offices dedicated for team meetings are also themed. One has turf for the floor to represent a putting green for the company’s golf game, and one even has a big ball pit in the middle of the conference table.

We had lunch with Andrew, who graciously foot the bill and gave us some tips of things to do in Tampa.

Road to Tampa

The drive from Orlando to Tampa was only a couple hours — a breeze compared some of our previous trips. One of the first things we wanted to do when we got there was see an alligator, so we went to a protective swamp land in search of the ornery beasts. But they were hard to come by. We did find one young gator, and as we were leaving we came across one that was a little bit bigger. And closer.

The hard work from our gator search left us parched, so we went to the Cigar City Brewery to quench our thirst. We just missed the final scheduled tour, so we decided to just get a few sample flights of the beer. 

The beer menu was quite impressive and had many different styles of beer. It was a little pricy, but we kind of expected that.

Inside the bar in the brewery, there is also a women that hand rolls cigars to be sold. It was an intriguing process, and she has apparently perfected it. 

For dinner, we found a fun pizza place which reminded us of the place we went to in Wrigleyville in Chicago. It serves New York Style pizza and features a ton of delicious options. Three of the four of us thought the Buffalo Chicken pizza sounded too good to pass up, while Chicken Parmesan was another popular choice.

As you can see from the size of the slices, we were beyond full after scarfing down the delicious, monstrous slices of goodness. The food babies growing inside of us made it slightly more difficult to make it through our walk along the river. A lot of people used the river walk to exercise or just to enjoy some time near the water. There were even boat tours available and an outdoor bar with a large seating area.

The fact that we struggled to make room in our stomach for a bucket of beers to go with the pizza assured us we were making the right decision to just go home and go to sleep before a big day at the beach. We had checked the weather which predicted rain beginning at 1 p.m. and lasting the rest of the day, so we had planned to get up early and go to the beach before the storm came.

Clear water at Clearwater

We woke up the next day and made our way to Clearwater beach. With the weather pretty overcast, and the fact that it was a Monday morning, the beach wasn’t too populated. We had room to spread out and throw the football and play a game of ultimate frisbee — Nick B. and Nate won.

The water felt great, but we became a little leery when we spotted a dead sting ray near the shore. To our surprise, it quickly swam off when we got closer to it. We still entered the water, but we did so with that sting ray, and its friends, in the back of our minds. The lifeguards patrolling the beach taught us the Sting Ray Shuffle — every three steps, twist your body side to side and let your feet dig into the sand — as a way to keep the rays away.

After playing in the ocean for a bit, we walked around the Clearwater area. We decided to eat at a seafood place called Cooters. The inside was decorated with license plates from all over the country and tons of goofy signs. The Nicks got a pair of jumbo margaritas (Tipsy Turtle flavors), while Ben and Nate both ordered Bloody Marys. Oh, and we got to keep the margarita glasses (for the price of 22 bucks, we better have).

As for food, the limitless snow crab was a temptation for Nate, but the 38 dollar charge nixed that idea. The Nicks and Nate did share some alligator bites, both fried and blackened, and they tasted just like chicken.

We went back to the hotel after lunch and washed off in the pool and relaxed a little longer in the sun. We went back to the room just in time as the storm the experts predicted finally arrived, and in full force too. We were glad we got to enjoy our time in the sand while we had it.

The game

After showering and getting a little rest at the hotel, it was finally time to head to Tropicana Field for the Rays game. Tampa Bay was hosting the Cincinnati Reds in an interleague battle. Walking up to the stadium — which is a domed venue — it largely resembled a parking garage. It was not very scenic. The inside was more like a concert arena with the indoor atmosphere and the climate controlled environment.

The food selection was very good. Tropicana offered just about anything you could think of, including a Cuban selection and even a gluten-free stand. Ben, Nate, and Nick B. each got the Cuban Burger, while Nick L. got some pizza. It was a very intriguing burger, piling deli meat on top of the burger. And it came with a ton of fries. It really was a great deal for 13 bucks.

The game was tight for most of the contest, with both pitchers throwing well early on. But the Reds got home runs from Scott Schebler and Scooter Gennett in the fifth and sixth innings. In the bottom of the sixth, Steven Souza Jr. hit a home run that never left the playing field. His deep fly ball, which was without a doubt going to be a home run anyway, hit a speaker on the catwalk inside the domed stadium. By rule, if the ball hits one of the two outside rings of catwalks, the play is a home run. It was a confusing and ultimately informative play. We had not seen anything like it.

Daniel Robertson tied the game for the Rays with a two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh, but the Reds answered with a three-run eighth and added another in the ninth to take the game 7-3.

Nick L. was our Reds fan for the game, mostly because he was wearing a red shirt. But he quickly made friends with the Reds fans sitting next to us, and created a friendly rivalry with the Tampa Bay spirit squad, who ended up throwing him a Rays shirt during the seventh inning. He put the shirt on and, we believe, that’s what prompted the Rays’ rally. He immediately took it off after Robertson’s homer, and we all know how the rest of the game went for the home team.

Our seats were good, first row of the section behind the suite seats. The seats themselves were kind of weird because they seemed to face center field, which forced us to turn our bodies to the right to see the action in the infield.

In the stands out near center field, Tropicana has a pool filled with rays. People can go up to the pool and check out the aquatic creatures, but, as we found out the hard way, you have to visit them before the seventh inning.

Postgame

The Tampa Bay spirit squad told us about a bar near the stadium to go to, and it was a great suggestion. The bar was called Park and Rec, and it was great for the inner child in any bargoer. The outside area featured a life-size beer pong court, which consisted of five 50-gallon trash cans and soccer balls. There was also a billiards table outside. Inside, there were several arcade games, ski ball, and air hockey. It was a lot of fun.

Park and Rec closed at 1 a.m., so we decided to go to the Galley afterwards. It was a nice looking bar and had good beer and a late night menu that hit the spot just right. We were the only three in there by the time we left. We finished our beers, left some of the fries, and made our way back to the hotel to get ready for the road to Miami.

Rating

We gave Tropicana a rating of a 6.1, which, unfortunately, makes it our lowest rated stadium. The appearance of the stadium, the seating, and the half-empty atmosphere depleted the score quite a bit. The food of the stadium helped as we all liked our choices and, for the most part, enjoyed our meals.

The nightlife, and the beach, was another saving factor for the rating. The bars we visited were fun and unique. 

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
13.	Tropicana Field (Rays)	6.1

On deck

Be sure to look out for our final post from this year’s trip, as we visit Marlins Park in Miami. The game is June 21st, so the post should be up very soon! Thanks for following us so far; it’s been a great trip thus far and we’re anxious to end it with another fun post. Also like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, @MLBjourneymen, and check out our Instagram account, mlbjourneymen. 

Sun Trust Park: This is Braves Country

Miami Marlins 5, Atlanta Braves 0 Ben's pregame pick: Braves Pick record 4-8 Nick's pregame pick: Braves Pick record: 7-5 Nate's pregame pick: Marlins Pick record: 6-3

Date: June 16, 2017 Overall trip rating: 8.4 Designated Hitter: Nick L.  Embarrassing moment: Wrong seats. Smh.

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.

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.

Busch Stadium: Nesting ground for the Redbirds

Milwaukee Brewers 7, St. Louis Cardinals 6 Ben's pregame pick: Cardinals Pick record 4-7 Nick's pregame pick: Cardinals Pick record: 7-4 Nate's pregame pick: Cardinals Pick record: 5-3

Date: June 14, 2017 Overall trip rating: 8.3 Streak: Nick L. (A Cubs fan in enemy territory) Number of players heckled: 3

Our journey began like every great adventure does, with four dudes piling into a minivan.

We upgraded our rental car after deciding we need more room, and the minivan definitely fulfilled that need. With copious amounts of leg room, plenty of space for bags, and a sleek, silver and heavy tinted design, we were set for embark on our 11-day road trip.

St. Louis

After splitting the seven-hour road trip between three drivers, we finally arrived in St. Louis just before rush hour. We were extremely fortunate to have a place to stay, as Nick’s aunt Nancy opened up her downtown apartment to us journeymen. 

Nancy must have heard our stomachs were growling loudly, because she had the perfect place in mind to take us for dinner — Joey B’s On the Hill.

The set up of the bar and grill was pretty typical for that style of restaurant, but the food was amazing. In addition to a huge beer selection, Joey B’s had just about any kind of food you desire. The onion rings are especially impressive, possessing about the same diameter of a baseball and a thickness comparable to an old fashioned flip-to-open cell phone. If you plan on getting the rings as a side to your meal, be sure to come hungry; otherwise, they’re almost a meal to themselves.

Nick and Ben got the Cowboy Burger, which was also massive, as onion straws piled so high the top bun was a good three inches from the patty. Nate and Nancy had the Brettman Burger, which is topped with white cheddar cheese and caramelized onions. Nick ordered the jalapeño burger —really there was no wrong way to have a burger at Joey B’s. It was all very good.

With stomachs full of meat and fried deliciousness, we took a couple hours or so to rest up at the apartment. The Nicks played a quick series of pool in the building’s common room. Nick won. 

The Village

For our first night out, Ben, Nick and Nick headed towards the stadium to check out the Ballpark Village, and this place was legit. Monstrous TVs lined one side of the enclosed courtyard, as a couple hundred, or so, Cardinals fans were watching the last few innings of St. Louis’ game with Milwaukee.

Surrounding the open area of the Village is a variety of bar options. We decided to hit up a personal favorite, Howl at the Moon. Being a Tuesday night, the piano bar was not crowded. Nick, a fan of the Chicago Cubs who are rivals with the Cardinals, found the courage to request that the musicians play the song “Go, Cubs, Go.” The Cardinal shirt wearing pianists were happy to oblige in their own way.

At the bar, we met two men from Wisconsin, in town to cheer on the Brewers. We talked with them about some of the places to visit while in St. Louis, as they frequently make the trip. By the time Howl at the Moon closed, we decided to go with the Brewers fans to a bar called Broadway Oyster Bar. It was a fun, New Orleans themed bar. The inside was small and full of lights and poster of blues musicians, past and present. But most of the entertainment was outside in the beer garden. We tried some local beers and swapped stories with the Brewers fans and some of the fellow bar-goers. The men’s bathroom was certainly interesting, as it almost required a man to hike up one leg into the sink to have enough room to use the facility.

Finally, about 3 a.m., the bar closed, and we took an Uber back to the apartment, telling our new friends we’d see them on the town again the next night.

Game day

The day of our first game on this year’s journey had finally arrived. And what better way to get in the mood for a Cardinals game than to go on a tour of Busch Stadium.

For 18 dollars we, we went on a tour which lasted about an hour. They took us through some of the suites, showed us the World Series championship trophies, and one of the press boxes. One of the coolest parts was when the tour group got to go on the field and into the home team’s dugout.

After the tour, we went the restaurant Cardinals Nation, which is also connected to the Cardinals’ Hall of Fame. Again, it was some good bar-and-grill food, with a few creative dishes and fun decor.

As has become a norm with most of our trips, we had to visit a brewery. And, being in St. Louis, there’s not bigger name in the beer market than Anheuser-Busch.

The Budweiser brewery offered several different tours, but due to our schedule being relatively packed, we chose the complimentary tour. Another complimentary tour begins about every 20 minutes. The tour guides showed us the stable where they keep with the famous Clydesdale horses, the massive warehouse that stores the beer during the process. One tank stores roughly 1.2 million beers. According to the tour guides, one individual would have to drink a 24-pack per day for 130 years to drink the amount of beer stored in just one tank. The warehouse stores 66 tanks.

We went through more of the facilities and enjoyed a free sample during the tour. At the conclusion of the tour, we got another free sample of any beer brewed at the facility. The architecture of the buildings was pretty fascinating. We would have liked to try one of the other tours that explore the facility in greater detail, but we had a couple other places to visit before our game.

We stopped at the Gateway Arch, but there was construction underway on the ground level below the arch. We had all already been to the impressive monument, so we elected not to spend too much time there or go up to the top of it. Instead, we headed back towards Busch Stadium to pregame a little bit at a rooftop bar called 360.

This is a great place to go before a game. It had an awesome view. There was a portion of the bar that was outside and had tables and chairs to enjoy the outdoors, and a larger part of it was indoors in the air conditioning. Beers were $6.25 each, which we kind of expected. After we had a few, it was time to go to the stadium.

The game

Our seats were in the front row in left field, and they were awesome. It was a great view and it was in the shade, which was especially nice on that hot and humid day. It didn’t take long for Ben to start heckling the Brewers players, especially left fielder Hernàn Perez. Ben got in a few good shots, but Perez and the Brewers were sitting pretty with a 6-0 lead after two innings.

The Cardinals slowly chipped away thanks to a pair of two-run innings, cutting the lead to 7-4. Then, in the middle of the seventh, we had a Stadium Tour first: a rain delay.

After what we estimated to be an hour, the game resumed. With the game nearing its end, Nick elected to go save our spots at Howl at the Moon, just missing out on a two-run home run from Aledmys Diaz to pull the Cardinals within 7-6 in the eighth inning. Unfortunately, immediately following the homer, the game went into another rain delay. And unfortunately for the Cardinals, the home team couldn’t keep its momentum going, as the Brewers came away with the win.

The domestic beers we drank during the game rang up at nine bucks apiece, pretty typical for a baseball game. Ben got nachos for dinner at the ballpark, Nate had a brat, and Nick ate a Philly Cheese Sandwich.

After the game, we found out that Nick had met up with our Brewers pals from the previous night in addition to making a new friend named Rico. Though, Rico did not stay around too long, and neither did we since the game ended after midnight. After last call at Howl at the Moon, we headed over to the PBR Bar, which was also a part of the Ballpark Village. We had one beer at PBR and watched Nick show off his moves on the dance floor, and then we called it a night. After all, we had to hit the road early for our next adventure.

Ratings

The Ballpark Village was a huge positive for Busch Stadium, which earned an 8.3 rating from us. The ballpark itself got a great rating when it came to the atmosphere, due in large part to the proximity and entertainment value of the Ballpark Village. The "sex appeal" of the stadium was also a big hit for us. The food at Busch Stadium wasn't very unique and there wasn't the variety we were used to from other parks, which did bring the rating down a little bit.

The nightlife was fun, but getting around the city wasn't as convenient as what we've had in the past. Uber was fine, but it proved costly by the time we visited all that we wanted.

The overall rating of 8.3 places Busch Stadium in eighth of the ballparks we've visited — though, four others are tied with the same score.

Rank	Stadium	Rating
1.	Petco Park (Padres)	8.9
2.	Kauffman Stadium (Royals)	8.4
3.	Target Field (Twins)	8.3
4.	Angels Stadium (Angels)	8.3
5.	U.S. Cellular (White Sox)	8.3
6.	Wrigley Field (Cubs)	8.3
7.	Busch Stadium (Cardinals)	8.3
8.	Chase Field (Diamondbacks)	8.2
9.	Miller Park (Brewers)	7.2
10.	Coors Field (Rockies)	7.1
11.	Dodger Stadium (Dodgers)	6.2

On deck

Our next stop on our journey will be in Atlanta, where we will see the Braves host the Miami Marlins. Atlanta is in its inaugural season at Sun Trust Park after moving from Turner Field.  Be sure to let us know about your experiences there in Atlanta or give us suggestions on things to do. Also like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, @MLBjourneymen, and check out our Instagram account, mlbjourneymen.