Birdwatching in Baltimore

After allowing myself to sleep in and then coming to the realization that I was alone in BALTIMORE on the other side of the country, I had a minor freak-out, then did the only sensible thing and made a list. Things to Do: Book hotel for tonight. Find Honda Dealership. Get car serviced. Make a plan. It was Friday morning, and Tom’s plane would arrive in St. Louis Saturday at midnight, so I had a choice to make: continue with the itinerary and see the Orioles at Camden Yards by myself, or begin the thirteen-hour drive to St. Louis? Stranded in Baltimore not 15 minutes from the ballpark, I did what any true baseball fan would do in my situation—I drove down to the ballpark and bought tickets for the game.

I had every intention of getting to Camden Yards in time for a ballpark tour, having done my research at the hotel. But after quite the parking fiasco, I ended up missing the last tour by mere minutes and opted to check in at my new hotel instead. Besides, I’d rather see it with MB, when we can ooh and aah together. Back to my new hotel—that’s right, the place we had stayed the previous night was booked full, so I had to drive down the road. The Holiday Inn proved not too shabby, and just a half mile from the nearest correctional facility! In all seriousness, I liked the hotel, and I was hardly there anyway. After dropping off my luggage, I headed for the “local” Honda Service Center, then straight to Camden Yards. Shout out to the Honda guy for clear directions! While I still get rather angry with Cookie for her frequently sub-par navigation, I felt a whole lot better with her there when I was on my own.

Having driven approximately 7 laps around the ballpark and its neighboring vicinities earlier in the day, I knew exactly where I was going this time. I found a parking lot and eagerly walked to the stadium entrance, where I sought an Oriole employee for a pre-game dining recommendation. God bless her, “because you’re so young,” she (and Kevin and Josh) suggested Pickles Pub across the street, so there I went. I had a good two hours to grab some eats and take it all in. I chose the fried calamari (you gotta eat seafood in Baltimore, right?) and a hard apple cider. I felt awfully lonesome there by myself, so I texted MB. When I finished my food, I took a stroll down Eutaw Street, an enclosed area bordering the ballpark, where I bought some souvenirs (unofficial road trip ones) in the team store. I was mostly looking for a shirt for my brother, who is a die-hard Orioles fan, but I also bought a shirt for myself, mainly to commemorate me not getting myself killed in Baltimore (but also to have a memory of my solo visit). FYI, my official road trip souvenir is a baseball with the team logo from each stadium. I plan to build a shadow box to display my 30 baseballs and HOF/museum souvenirs.

For just $15, I was pretty impressed with my seat in the upper section of the field level in left field. I had a great view of the entire field and the scoreboard, which provided endless entertainment with player interviews and games at the intervals (Have you seen Kevin Millar’s “Oriole Magic” music video?). The game did not disappoint either, with the O’s walloping the Rangers, 9-1. To my surprise and delight, Camden Yards followed up the Friday night game with an awesome fireworks show. Having witnessed Washington’s less-than-stellar presentation, my expectations were low, but Baltimore’s display blew Washington’s out of the park. They set off the fireworks from the field behind the center field wall, so they were low and extremely close, so close that several of the embers landed on the field and bounced around before burning out. The dynamic show lasted for 15 minutes. Baltimore really outdid themselves. I highly recommend catching a Friday night game if you’re in town. I can’t wait to come back to Camden Yards with MB next summer. I think it will rank at the top of the list!