Tips and Tricks: The remix of our east coast MLB stadium tour
A few weeks ago the hubby and I set out on a 5 day east coast excursion in an attempt to hit 3 Major League Baseball games and add 3 new stadiums to his Bucket List goal of visiting all MLB stadiums. It was literally a story of planes, trains and automobiles as we flew into New York, took a train to Philly, drove back up to New York and then back to Philly, train to D.C. and then flew home. (Our first stop at the Mets game originally got rained out so, after hitting the Phillies game, we spontaneously decided to drive back to Queens to catch the next game). It was CRAZY!! But oh so much fun.
This has been a Bucket List item for my man since before we even met. I love baseball games, but let's be real... I'm just a Wanderlust along for the travel and experience;) And if you didn't get a chance to read it, I explained my passion for celebrating my spouse a couple months ago. I also know visiting all the MLB stadiums is a pretty popular goal so allow me to share the best thing created (for baseball fans) since the game itself: http://www.baseball-roadtrip.com/
There are a lot of blogs and articles about how to hit all the stadiums in one road trip, but this site makes it easy to just plan a few at a time. You can put in the dates and stadiums and it will give you all the options possible.
Anyway, I really wanted to share a few cool things we did that helped make the most of our busy trip. With 3 baseball games on the agenda, we didn't have a ton of time to site-see these amazing cities, but we made it work.
First off, we decided to only hit a Mets game in New York because the Yankees were not in town and I know we will always find time for NYC, so there will be more opportunities in the future. The Mets Citifield Stadium is located in Queens, right next to La Guardia airport, the subway to Manhattan and also Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the site of the 1939 and 1964 World's Fair. Although that area can be a little sketchy we chose to stay right in the thick of it to experience the area and be able to walk through the entire park before heading to the game. Being next to the subway also allowed us to get into Manhattan (dumped us right into Time Square) to grab a quick bite before calling it a night.
My first recommendation when traveling to a new and different place is stay in an area that's not tourist-y. You get a much more real experience.
And if I could give ONE piece of advice when traveling to large cities (especially east coast) it would be to USE LOCAL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION and walk as much as possible. You get to see more of the area, it will be cheaper and faster than taking taxi's everywhere and, if you walk, you'll end up burning calories from the delicious food you gorge yourself with.
We took the Amtrak from city to city, which also allowed us to really see the beautiful scenery as well as the cool train stations that immediately take you back to the early 1900's when everyone took the train everywhere. Definitely will be doing that again.
We decided to stay in a Bed & Breakfast in Philadelphia, which was easily one of the best decisions of the trip. Especially in a historic place like Philly, staying in something like AirBNB or a Bed & Breakfast can give you a much more unique experience than staying in hotels. Our building was easily 200 years old, if not older. Plus, homemade breakfast was included!
After realizing the 2017 NFL Draft was taking place while we were there, we decided to skip transportation altogether and kill 2 birds with 1 stone... we took about 2 hours and jogged from place to place, stopping periodically to take pictures or just be in awe of the old buildings. (Also helped burn calories). We were able to run down Benjamin Franklin Parkway, around the Museum of Art, the Love Park, City Hall, saw Boathouse Row. We even walked back from Citizens Bank Park stadium, at night so we could stop by one of the local favorite cheese steak joints, Oregon Steaks. Soooo good! And my only tip for Philly is to ask the locals about food. I did a lot of research before we got there and found out that the most "famous" joints end up being the most tourist dense and aren't even the best tasting. We kept asking around and that's how we found out about Oregon Steaks.
Another train ride to D.C. allowed for beautiful views of the Potomac and tiny little coastal towns that looked like they came straight out of a movie.
D.C. is a monster in itself. After lots of researching and recommendation getting, we realized that we wanted to stay as close to the Capital Building as possible if you're planning on going "monument hopping", which is what the youngsters call it. So, we walked and walked and walked... (we didn't gain any weight on this trip:). We walked from the Supreme Court all the way to the Lincoln Memorial and hit all the major stops in between. Lunch was at a famously old restaurant Old Ebbitt Grill, right across the street from the Treasury building. The oysters were to die for.
Nationals Park has a Metro stop right next to it, so if you'd rather not walk the 1.2 miles, it's still easy to get there. Honestly, walk all over D.C. Everywhere you turn there's another famous building. It's pretty overwhelming so make sure you look at the map before you begin your journey so you don't miss anything. Oh, and most of the museums are completely free, as are the monuments so you can get a pretty great vacay for next to nothing if you plan it out correctly.
It just so happens that we met up with a friend who goes to school over by Georgetown so we took the $20 Lyft ride to the National Cathedral and ate breakfast at the sweetest little place next door. Our ride consisted of glimpses of Georgetown and the old, lush neighborhood it's surrounded by.
We went for the baseball, but I experienced the best of these three wonderful cities without forking out a ton of money! My love for the East Coast continues to grow! Even though my heart is in California, I don't think I will ever stop visiting these lovely, historical areas.
This has been a Bucket List item for my man since before we even met. I love baseball games, but let's be real... I'm just a Wanderlust along for the travel and experience;) And if you didn't get a chance to read it, I explained my passion for celebrating my spouse a couple months ago. I also know visiting all the MLB stadiums is a pretty popular goal so allow me to share the best thing created (for baseball fans) since the game itself: http://www.baseball-roadtrip.com/
There are a lot of blogs and articles about how to hit all the stadiums in one road trip, but this site makes it easy to just plan a few at a time. You can put in the dates and stadiums and it will give you all the options possible.
Anyway, I really wanted to share a few cool things we did that helped make the most of our busy trip. With 3 baseball games on the agenda, we didn't have a ton of time to site-see these amazing cities, but we made it work.
First off, we decided to only hit a Mets game in New York because the Yankees were not in town and I know we will always find time for NYC, so there will be more opportunities in the future. The Mets Citifield Stadium is located in Queens, right next to La Guardia airport, the subway to Manhattan and also Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the site of the 1939 and 1964 World's Fair. Although that area can be a little sketchy we chose to stay right in the thick of it to experience the area and be able to walk through the entire park before heading to the game. Being next to the subway also allowed us to get into Manhattan (dumped us right into Time Square) to grab a quick bite before calling it a night.
My first recommendation when traveling to a new and different place is stay in an area that's not tourist-y. You get a much more real experience.
And if I could give ONE piece of advice when traveling to large cities (especially east coast) it would be to USE LOCAL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION and walk as much as possible. You get to see more of the area, it will be cheaper and faster than taking taxi's everywhere and, if you walk, you'll end up burning calories from the delicious food you gorge yourself with.
We took the Amtrak from city to city, which also allowed us to really see the beautiful scenery as well as the cool train stations that immediately take you back to the early 1900's when everyone took the train everywhere. Definitely will be doing that again.We decided to stay in a Bed & Breakfast in Philadelphia, which was easily one of the best decisions of the trip. Especially in a historic place like Philly, staying in something like AirBNB or a Bed & Breakfast can give you a much more unique experience than staying in hotels. Our building was easily 200 years old, if not older. Plus, homemade breakfast was included!
After realizing the 2017 NFL Draft was taking place while we were there, we decided to skip transportation altogether and kill 2 birds with 1 stone... we took about 2 hours and jogged from place to place, stopping periodically to take pictures or just be in awe of the old buildings. (Also helped burn calories). We were able to run down Benjamin Franklin Parkway, around the Museum of Art, the Love Park, City Hall, saw Boathouse Row. We even walked back from Citizens Bank Park stadium, at night so we could stop by one of the local favorite cheese steak joints, Oregon Steaks. Soooo good! And my only tip for Philly is to ask the locals about food. I did a lot of research before we got there and found out that the most "famous" joints end up being the most tourist dense and aren't even the best tasting. We kept asking around and that's how we found out about Oregon Steaks.
Another train ride to D.C. allowed for beautiful views of the Potomac and tiny little coastal towns that looked like they came straight out of a movie.
D.C. is a monster in itself. After lots of researching and recommendation getting, we realized that we wanted to stay as close to the Capital Building as possible if you're planning on going "monument hopping", which is what the youngsters call it. So, we walked and walked and walked... (we didn't gain any weight on this trip:). We walked from the Supreme Court all the way to the Lincoln Memorial and hit all the major stops in between. Lunch was at a famously old restaurant Old Ebbitt Grill, right across the street from the Treasury building. The oysters were to die for.
Nationals Park has a Metro stop right next to it, so if you'd rather not walk the 1.2 miles, it's still easy to get there. Honestly, walk all over D.C. Everywhere you turn there's another famous building. It's pretty overwhelming so make sure you look at the map before you begin your journey so you don't miss anything. Oh, and most of the museums are completely free, as are the monuments so you can get a pretty great vacay for next to nothing if you plan it out correctly.
It just so happens that we met up with a friend who goes to school over by Georgetown so we took the $20 Lyft ride to the National Cathedral and ate breakfast at the sweetest little place next door. Our ride consisted of glimpses of Georgetown and the old, lush neighborhood it's surrounded by.
We went for the baseball, but I experienced the best of these three wonderful cities without forking out a ton of money! My love for the East Coast continues to grow! Even though my heart is in California, I don't think I will ever stop visiting these lovely, historical areas.
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