I have always been a fan of baseball games. Maybe not the game as much as the whole experience of going to a game. The fans cheering...hotdogs...peanuts...and enjoying an afternoon or evening outside.
Growing up outside of Cincinnati, we went to several Reds games at Riverfront Stadium (I don't care who you are...it will ALWAYS be called Riverfront Stadium!) They had this wonderful program where if you got straight A's in school, you'd get a a set of 4 free tickets. My sisters and I were always good students, so we'd each have our own set of tickets. Dad would cash them in for us and we'd go to 3 separate games during the summer. I have such great memories of those games!!
Now that I'm living close to B'more, we've gone to our fair share of games at Camden Yards. That is just an amazing stadium!!! It is aesthetically pleasing...and where else can you get crab cakes and BBQ ribs at a baseball game? They have $8 nights on Tuesday, so we can pile all the friends in a car and head up for a pretty cheap evening at the ballpark.
This year was my FIRST OPENING DAY ever. It was a cold, dreary, and rainy day, but we didn't care...it was Opening Day...the O's were tied for 1st!!!! We followed the Orioles tradition and started out at Pickles before the game....
and then headed inside to our seats which were located...well you can tell!!!!
The O's ended up losing, but we didn't care. It was Opening Day!!! And I knew that my adventures at Camden Yards wouldn't end way up at the top of the stadium...
A week later, I participated in the Orioles Advocates 5K run. This run started outside of Camden Yards, ran down through the Inner Harbor, Federal Hill, and ended up on the OUTFIELD!!! It was so invigorating at the end of a race to come through the player's entrance and right into the outfield. I had never actually been on a real baseball field before...and it's a memory I won't forget! Not to mention I did get yelled at for stepping on the field by accident..oops!
Little did I know that my adventures at Camden Yards were not over....
A little over a week later, Jason got some tickets from a contact through work that put us in the FRONT ROW beside the visitor's dugout!!
Yes - we were that close! I just had to lean forward a bit to snap this picture!! It was an amazing evening. Not only were the seats incredible, but the O's played an amazing game. They went into an extra inning with the White Sox, and I was horse from yelling and screaming for so long. What an experience!!!
I can now say that I have been up at the top of Camden Yards...I have been
on Camden's Yard in the outfield (sorry security guard!)...and I have sat in some of the best seats in Camden Yards. I love this baseball park! I love this team!!! We'll be going back to the Yard for several more games this season (
in fact, Jason just called and said he's heading back to the front row this month for the Yankee game with some people from work!). Whether we're in the front row or not...as long as the hotdogs, peanuts, and now pistachios (thanks Sean!) are there, I'll be there!!
And it's an added bonus to see this guy play...
Markakis!!!!
