Tour favorites

On the way to Washington, D.C., a ballot was handed out on the bus for us to vote on our favorites of the tour. Here are mine, with a few variations.

Best ballpark overall
Yankee Stadium
This was the place where I stopped during the game to think “oh my God, I’m really here.”

Best new ballpark
Nationals Park
We visited several new ones on the tour – Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philadelphia – but the best was last.

Best food
Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia

Best beer
Fenway Park

Best fans
Red Sox

Best baseball moment
John Lackey’s near no-hitter

Best non-baseball moment
The “Sweet Caroline” experience

Place I most want to return to
Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown


Wow, there are a lot of Red Sox references on my list! Perhaps I can list that as “biggest surprise” – I couldn’t hate everything there as much as I’d intended.

All in all, after the thousands of words describing it, the one word that kept coming to mind while anticipating the trip still describes it most accurately: incredible.

And I’m very fortunate to have been able to go on the trip with Marybeth and Eileen. Their generosity, and being able to share all these experiences with them, is something I’ve very grateful for.