Alan & Claudia's MLB Ballpark Tour

Best Part of the City Alan says: Breweries, golfing, vegan restaurants, nice weather... Claudia says: After several years in the literal desert, I’ve been enjoying all of the waterfront spaces. Casual walks, trail running, seeing new cities down the peninsula, it has been really restorative!

Best Part of the City Alan says: Denver is pretty walkable and it is pretty awesome that you’re within driving distance of a lot of other cool Colorado destinations. Claudia says:  Denver has some awesome vegan food. (Its always about the food for me ...) City o’ City, ya’ll. Go there. Eat everything. Its also possibly the home of the happiest dogs in the world? So many good doggos!

Best Part of the City Alan says: It happened to be First Friday, so after the game we walked a few blocks north of the park to do the art walk. Saw some art, watched some live music, walked past some political booths, had a beer, it was cool! Claudia says: Now that we live in Phoenix the fun of finding our way around to the park in a new city on a vacation was definitely not a part of this ballpark experience but commuting downtown to meet up and walk over to the stadium together helped illuminate the potential of our new life here. The season has started and we’re settling in.

Best Part of the City Alan says: Bike paths, fresh air, a cool downtown (the video/arcade game bar Up Down was super fun). My brother Kirk gave us a tour of Kare11! Claudia says: The sculpture garden near downtown, the running trails that wind through Hopkins

Best Part of the City Alan says: We were only in L.A. for like 16 hours this time...went to Sunset Boulevard before the game, the hotel after the game, and the airport after that. Sunset Boulevard had a cool vibe. It was sunny! Claudia says: Before the game, we ate at a plant-based restaurant + brewery on Sunset Blvd, called Sage, and it was incredible! Seriously, though, jackfruit nachos. Also possibly the best margarita I had all trip. So good.

Best Part of the City Alan says: Choosing between amazing vegan tacos from Pokez, a million beaches, the Sunset Cliffs, tequila bars, renting $1 bikes and riding around the Gaslamp district and boardwalks is tough. We’ll have to go back to make a decision. Claudia says: Alan says we’ll have to go back to decide, I say when do we move!? I loved this city from the jump! I mean -- I ate a raw vegan taco lunch on an off-leash dog beach. H E A V E N. 

Best Part of the City Alan says: It’s near L.A.! Ha, Anaheim mostly felt like strip malls and highways to me but maybe we didn’t explore Anaheim itself enough. We mostly wound up exploring L.A., Santa Monica, and Costa Mesa (all awesome!!) instead. Claudia says: Anaheim hosts a bunch of a secret gems. From breweries (check out Unsung!) to the Packing District. Lots to do, drink, and eat. What’s not to enjoy? The sunshine doesn’t hurt either.

Favorite Parts Alan says: Everything, really. But the Negro Leagues and integration section and Latin-centric exhibits we saw (Viva Baseball and Osvaldo Salas's The New Face of Baseball) were super informative and really stood out to me.  Claudia says: The staff was wicked nice and the museum exhibits handled the complexities of the game and the history of the sport admirably.

Best Part of the City Alan says: The Art District was pretty cool. Restaurants with not just BBQ, cool public spaces. On the whole Dallas isn't what you might expect from a Texan city not named Austin. Claudia says: Arlington is a tough 25-30 minutes from Dallas but Dallas boasts a diverse urban experience. Each area from Uptown to the Arts District highlighted the complexity of this Southwestern city.

Best Part of the City  Alan says: Seemed super walkable/easy to get around. Plenty of Metro trolleys. Claudia says: The Buffalo Bayou trails are well-maintained and inviting for a stroll, a commute or fitness. Weather was a nice bonus too!

Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park Citadel vs. Delaware State, 2/24/17

Fenway Park  Red Sox vs. Yankees, 8/11/16

Best Part of the City Alan says: The Riverwalk, whether you Bubblr Bike it, kayak it, or...just...walk it. Claudia says: An easy place to travel around if you’re not in a hurry. Lots of good local coffee.

Best Part of the City Alan says: We stayed in Brickell and went to Miami Beach, Little Havana, Wynwood Art District, and Coconut Grove...and each had it’s own cool vibe you’ve probably read about. But the coolest thing was the free, unmanned Metromover transit system. Claudia says: ‘Mostly cloudy’ really meant a lot of sunshine and a few clouds.

But we were there. We heard the roaring World Series crowd paired with Howie’s calls over the radio as Granderson led off the game with a homer and as Harvey masterfully cut through the Royals line-up. We talked with fans. We met Norman the Mets cat. After the 6th inning we were hungry so we found a place with the game on in the city and grabbed dinner. As I’m sure you’re aware, in a deflating, typical, flukey, Mets-ian way, the Mets blew the lead in the ninth and eventually the game in the twelfth. It was close to 1am, the Mets lost, the baseball season was over and we faced a 4 hour drive back to Boston. "We’ll get ‘em next year,” I tweeted when I was on the train to work at 10am on November 2nd. And that’s why I haven’t been too distraught over it. Usually I have to tweet that in August. Baseball’s a fickle game; sometimes you get a charity hop and turn two, other times the ball hits a pebble and gets you square in the face and a run scores. What’s certain is this: a partner who’s happy to sit 8 hours in a car on a whim to go see a baseball game (that her favorite team isn’t even playing in) while knowing that there’s a good possibility that getting tickets won’t happen is a keeper. Sure, the game didn’t work out for us (in more ways than one), but having Claudia to share the moments with made it a night to remember. So our third season of the ballpark tour comes to an end and Claudia and I have reached park number 12 (over a third of the way!). We were a few flukey plays from adding Mets World Series tickets to our collection. We’ll get ‘em next year. - Alan

Cubs vs. Cardinals, 9/18/15

- Claudia & Alan