Back to Camden; It never gets old

Penny's thoughts

I've been to Camden Yards several times. There were a few trips with my kids when they were little, and we always enjoyed it. Until I read The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip by Josh Pahigian and Kevin O'Connell, however, there were things right in front of me I didn't know I was missing. If you travel to many stadiums, this book has a lot of great information.

As you enter the stadium and walk Eutaw Street, the commercial alley between the right field bleachers and the warehouse, you are walking over these:

These baseballs in concrete signify home runs that landed on Eutaw. This one happens to mark a home run by our "Parkersburg boy,"  Nick Swisher. We asked one of the men holding the "How can I help?" signs about these balls emblazoned in the concrete. He showed us one on the side of the warehouse. He said he is actually a marker - he watches for Eutaw home runs and, when one lands, he puts down a paper ball with the name of the player. That's another thing I love about Camden Yards, the people working there really know their stuff and they are willing to share it.

At the Eutaw Street stadium entrance, there are seven of these large number monuments. They honor Earl Weaver, Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken, Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, and Jackie Robinson.

We ate at Pickles Pub, right across the street from the stadium. The food was reasonable, bar food stuff. The deep fried pickles are definitely worth trying!

Don't forget when singing the National Anthem to yell out "Oh!" when you get to the Oh, say does that Star-Spangled banner yet wave part.

Row one seems to be a party crowd!

Our new friends, the Petters, (with my sister, Peggy) are season ticket holders and true O's fans! One of the things I love about this journey is the great people we have met. It is a good reminder of how many nice, friendly people there are.

There are two orange seats in the stadium. We asked another employee about them and her response was, "Honey, go down there and sit in that seat!"  She gave us the details on the seats and then yelled over to the usher in that section that I was coming over to get my picture taken in it. Well, I certainly didn't want to disappoint her! This one in the right field is the spot where Eddie Murray's 500th home run landed. The one in left field marks where Cal Ripken's 278th home run landed. This broke the Ernie Banks (we saw Ernie last year when we visited Milwaukee) record for most home runs by a shortstop. I got to point out to Randy that Banks and Ripkin both played shortstop long enough to be 1-2 in home runs.

After some convincing, Peggy tries out the orange seat too!

The seventh inning stretch offers not only Take Me out to the Ballgame, but John Denver's Thank God I'm a Country Boy.

I never get tired of going to Camden Yards.
Thumbs up
Scoreboard
Atmosphere in and out of the stadium
Fan enthusiasm
Surrounding area
Stadium
In game entertainment and music

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There is a lot of food offered, but vegetarians may want to eat before they get to the stadium.
Maybe it was the heat, but the mascot just wasn't working it.
Programs are five bucks.