Friday, August 15, 2014

The Trek East - Part II: DC to Baltimore

Yesterday, in Part I, I told you about my adventures in DC with son Jeff.  Today my travelogue continues with our journey from DC to Baltimore.

Sunday morning we were up bright and early.  We printed our tickets for the Orioles game and caught the MARC train from Union Station in DC to Penn Station in Baltimore.  The train was clean, comfortable, and on time -- and the one-way fare was only $7.00.  Such a deal!

I love the grandeur of the old train stations.  Here is a shot of the stained glass domed ceilings at Penn Station:


We then hiked to a great little 50s-style diner a few blocks from Camden Yard, where we joined daughter Allison and Ben, who had driven back earlier that morning from the wedding in Philadelphia, for a truly unique brunch.  Jeff found Jack and Zach Food based on very positive Yelp reviews.  There's a blackboard that lists the local farms that provide the eggs, meats, milk, grains and veggies for the items on their menu.  The omelets were great--served with homemade bread and jam.  Yummo!  No juice, though -- they don't grow oranges or cranberries in Baltimore, and although they DO grow apples, they ran out of apple cider.  Understandable on a game day, I guess.

After that hearty breakfast, we waddled over to Camden Yard -- truly a beautiful ballpark and extremely well-designed.  It was an absolutely perfect day for baseball -- low 80s and sunny, with a faint breeze.  We were in Row 11 on the right field line, barely under an overhang that provided shade.


I've been a baseball fan forever.  We were Minnesota Twins fans growing up  -- and my brother or I could earn a Bye from evening farm chores if we would listen to the Twins game on WCCO radio, and keep a scorebook play-by-play record of the game for my dad.   My brother has every scorecard from every baseball game he's attended since he was 9 years old --that's 50 years' worth!  And he collects baseball hats and t-shirts from every ballpark he visits.  His baseball memorabilia collection fills most of two rooms in their basement.  Here he is sporting a minor league t-shirt and hat -- and talking with his hands:




But I digress. (Ahem.)  Back to Baltimore.

After the game, Ben gave us a lift to Penn Station, where Jeff caught a MARC train back to DC.  Then we went to see Allison's new place, a nicely-renovated row house that she shares with two new roommates.  Her closet is bigger than my sewing studio --- well, almost.


Then we strolled around her neighborhood, had some yummy Greek yogurt with fruit, and headed to BWI where I said goodbye to my baby girl and caught my late evening flight to Manchester, NH.

To be continued...

TTFN
LeAnn

6 comments:

  1. Great day for watching a game! Sounds like an all around great day! I really like the grandeur of old train stations!

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  2. I love the way you hiked, then waddled! Ha! The diner sounds fun and delicious and those stained glass ceilings are beauties! Your brother is apparently a SERIOUS collector!! Fun look into your childhood too...

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  3. That sounds like a great day! My husband is a huge baseball fan too. :)

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  4. I've never been to a train station (or ridden a train) so I think that would be a lot of fun! The game sounds great and what a perfect way to spend the day with your children :)

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  5. It's so hard when our kids grow up and leave to live their lives. My Brother-in-law was here last night--in the process of moving his son from Calif to Washington--and he was dealing with loss. But it looks like your kids are doing well, and you too! Great trip so far!

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  6. Love the stained glass ceiling at the train station! Your brother is quite the baseball memorabilia collector--I didn't know you were a big fan, too. I like baseball, but do you know I have never attended a game? Sad, but true. (I played as a youngster, though. Does that count?)

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