Milwaukee Brewers - August 19, 2014

The Milwaukee Brewers, also known as the food-gasm stadium, is the perfect stadium for people who love to eat.

First, there is HUGE tailgating action in the parking lot prior to games.  We have never seen so many people tailgating for a baseball game.  And I'm not just talking about throwing a few dogs on a grill.  These were elaborate spreads two picnic tables long loaded down with grilled bratwurst, grilled corn, salad, desserts and oceans of beer.  The parking lot smelled like heaven.  It made me want to know a Brewers fan so that I could join the fun.

The plaza was pretty cool, with a workers statue, as well as a statue of Hank Aaron.

There was a huge kids area in the stadium with tons of games to try.  Owen and Lee hit batting practice while Aliyah and I scoped out the food.  Once again, Lee and Owen were victorious in snagging a ball in batting practice.


The entire stadium sang the national anthem.  It was amazing.  I actually hate when someone comes out to sing the anthem and everyone just listens like it's a concert.  The national anthem is meant to be sung collectively or communally.  There were 42,000+ people there on a weeknight game.  The crowd roared.

The game was a double-fest, featuring 9 doubles!

After the 7th inning stretch, there was a beer barrel polka.  Everyone sang and danced and it was such good fun.  TC (the mascot) had a two story slide in center field.

Okay, let's talk food.  Oh my goodness, the food!  I don't know which was better the spaghetti stuffed meatball or the beef brisket parfait or the enormous baked potato.

Layers of mashed potato and beef brisket

Minnesota Twins - August 18, 2014

The Minnesota Twins game featured some things we'd never seen before.  We didn't get a chance to see batting practice, because it ended before the stadium even opened.  That's a drag.

There was a beautiful flag raising ceremony with a POW veteran and an organ recipient.  They also had an enormous Little League parade with more Little League teams than I have ever seen. 

The Twins game had absolutely the worst popcorn, but the best baked potato.  Owen discovered sunflower seeds and absolutely loved spitting the shells.  (Sometimes, it really is the little things.)

Whenever a run scored, the stadium's sound system would play the 1UP sound effect from Super Mario Bros.  It made us laugh every time. The stadium also featured free wifi.  That was a little strange and I think that there were more people on their phones because of it.

Baltimore Orioles - April 26, 2014

There are some stadiums that you walk into and you can just tell that BASEBALL fans worship here.  This was the feeling we got from the minute we stepped into the Orioles stadium.  The Orioles plaza is lined with statues and there are baseball plaques on the ground with the distance of each home run hit to that point.  There were amazing food stands lining the side of the plaza and the smells were intoxicating.  While Aliyah and I checked out the food, Lee and Owen tried to shag a ball from batting practice.  Owen ended up getting a baseball.  This is the perfect souvenir.

We got some amazing food, especially the homemade chips and Aliyah's personal favorite - thick cut bacon on a stick.  Owen discovered the delights of funnel cake.

Owen played a game where you had three pitches.  If you could match the speed exactly of two of your pitches, you would win.  He was a big winner and was so excited.

The Orioles have great diehard fans, and we got the chance to sit next to two really cool guys who have loved the Orioles since they were little kids.  They made the game a lot more fun. 

The Orioles are definitely in our top three favorite stadiums - great food, amazing vibe and wonderful fans.

Washington Nationals - April 24, 2014

The most amazing thing about our visit to the Washington Nationals ball park was that the cherry blossoms were blooming.  There were several trees in full bloom right inside the stadium gates.

The stadium was empty and the vibe of the place was a little underwhelming.  Everything was perfectly clean, but it seemed a little like a politician's stadium.  There just didn't seem to be the same amount of baseball passion there.

What it may have lacked in baseball passion, it made up for in baseball food.  I had the most amazing sandwich in the history of ball park sandwiches.  Mike Isabella, of Top Chef fame, has a stand in the stadium.  Just thinking about this sandwich makes my mouth water.  It was a roasted cauliflower sandwich with pickled vegetables.  I know that doesn't sound like much, but holy gastronomy, Batman!  It was good.

There was also a crepe stand.  Nutella crepes aren't normal baseball food, but mmm, mmm, good.

The game went so long that the stadium announcer alerted the crowd when the last Metro train was leaving.  Although we had taken the Metro to the game, we decided to stay until the end of the game.  That meant trying to find a cab after the game.  We headed to a taxi stand and after a long wait, got a taxi that looked like it might have been held together with scotch tape.  The taxi drive barreled through the streets while I silently prayed that this would not be the way we died.

New York Mets - September 28, 2013

We traveled to New York to celebrate Aunt Lilo's birthday, so we took a short detour to take in a Mets game.  Owen loved our La Guardia landing.  He felt like we were going to land right in the water and it was the perfect amount of stress and suspense for him.

The Mets stadium is pretty far away from the city.  We got turned around a few times as we tried to navigate how to get into the parking lot.  Once we got there, we enjoyed visiting the Jackie Robinson pavilion.   We also loved the home run apple that shot fireworks when the Mets got a home run and crossing Shea bridge in right field. 

The food was a little disappointing.  We got some New York classics, like bagels and black and white cookies, but they were not as good as the originals in the city.  It's possible that we were still jaded by the 2nd Ave Deli, where we had some of the best food in the universe, including THE best matzoh balls soup I have ever tasted and the most delicious broth of any soup ever.

Seattle Mariners - July 14, 2013

We had a blast at the Seattle Mariners game.  We drove from Canada after our cruise down to Seattle so that we could see the game.

It was a lovely stadium, but none of us can remember anything salient about it except that we had a great time and felt good about the people, the food and the stadium.  I guess that's good, but it just didn't ring a bell with us like other stadiums.

One thing we do remember is that the kids got to run the bases.  The line to run the bases was so long that it extended all the way to the upper deck.  We also got free t-shirts.  All in all, a great day.

Texas Rangers - April 5, 2013

To understand what a big deal it was for me to love the Rangers' stadium so much, you first have to understand the depths of my hatred for Texas teams.  My mom brought us up to cheer for Notre Dame.  My dad brought us up to cheer for whoever was playing against Texas.  I have been rooting against Texas for so long that anti-Texas is in my blood.

And yet...

The Texas Rangers stadium is like a cathedral to baseball.  It's gorgeous.  It's clean.  The people are amazingly friendly.  The pre-game entertainment is moving.  And the food...  Oh, the food.

An order of loaded homemade potato chips - some of the best ball park food on the planet

Grilled corn, slathered with butter and salt

The Boom Stick - three foot long chili dog Aliyah and Lee shared

Garlic parmesan fries - worth the bad breath

Houston Astros - April 3, 2013

O, Houston Astros, what an awful, awful stadium you have.  The Astros stadium was right there with the White Sox stadium in being neglected, abandoned and dirty.  There were two bright spots to this game.  We got to see it with the Clevelands and the trip brought us close enough to visit Susan.

Most of the concession stands were closed and the ones that were open just figured generic ball park fare.  Even their generic food was pretty bad.  The stadium was dark and empty.  I'm not sure if a stadium's vibe can infect an entire team, but if it's possible, it explains why the Astros were in such a slump.

The train in the outfield was pretty cool, but that may be the only thing that Tropicana Field had going for it.  Well, that and the giant balls.

Detroit Tigers - September 26, 2012

This was a special game because Owen won the tickets for us!  He put his name in for a drawing at Greenfield Village and weeks later, we got a letter in the mail saying that he'd won four tickets!

We've been to many Tigers games, but we branched out a little and got some craft beer and gourmet snacks.The kids took a ride on the Ferris Wheel.

Aliyah was doing a Youth Group project for Operation Beautiful, sharing messages that people are beautiful.  We used post-it notes and left them all over Comerica, including in the bathroom.  Aliyah got to hear two women talking about how cool her note was.

Being late September, it was pretty chilly.  We didn't bring warm enough clothes, so I headed to the Fan Shop to buy some warmer gear.  Mittens were crazy expensive, so I bought socks for Aliyah's hands and a towel to wrap around her legs.  Then I zipped Owen into my jacket. 

The stadium was full and there was a great crowd.  The scoreboard was amazing and we had a magnificent night together.

Colorado Rockies - July 27, 2012

We got to see Colorado at the end of our vacation with Lee's family to Snowmass, CO.

Coors Field is gorgeous - new and clean and full of friendly people.  We had lots of time before the game to try the games they had for the kids and everyone had a blast.

We had amazing seats on the third base line, only a few rows from the field.  It was one of the best views we've had.  Just as cool, the people behind us were really friendly and funny and kind.  It's amazing what a huge difference it makes to sit with people like that.  It makes the whole game better.

It rained during the game off and on.  It was warm enough that it didn't bother any of us.  Aliyah got her hat signed by one of the Rockies.  It was a gorgeous evening.