MLB Stadium #39!

We went to the Atlanta Braves game tonight because the team began playing in a new stadium in 2017! We saw a game at their former home, Turner Field, back in 2003.

Let me say this: Truist Park really didn't stand a chance after having been at the Texas Rangers game two days ago.

However, even if we hadn't just been to an amazing ballpark, we probably would still feel the same.

Truist Park was...ok.

Nothing great. It was perfectly fine and I'd place it somewhere in the middle of my rankings of all the MLB stadiums we've been to.

The building itself is nice, and obviously it's pretty new so things are in good shape, but it didn't seem to be very well run. Congestion everywhere, unbelievably long lines at every concession stand, and not particularly friendly employees. Also, there's always an intangible quality to every stadium and arena we go to - the fans. Sometimes the fans are great, and other times, not so much. The fans at tonight's game? So-so. Overall, I'd rate Truist Park as average compared with our other experiences.

One really nice thing was that Hank Aaron was being celebrated, so there were lots of career highlights shown. He was an incredible player and ambassador for the game!

We had three empty seats beside us because one of my best friends, along with her husband and their adorable son, were supposed to attend the game, too! However, they ended up changing their travel plans, and we missed being able to see them tonight! Atlanta is one of their teams, so I'm sure it would have been fun to watch the game with actual Braves fans!

We're now down to only three new stadiums we need to get to - Miami, Minnesota, and St. Louis. Neither schedule for Minnesota or St. Louis worked out with the driving trip, but we're thrilled to have attended games in Cincinnati, Dallas, and Atlanta in the past few weeks! Maybe we'll get to the remaining ones next summer!

Happy Tails to you!

30 in 30: Day 28

All of my pictures are from one place today, despite the fact that we were in five different states!

Daily Stats

Starting Mileage: 42,444

Ending Mileage: 43,175

Miles Traveled: 731

States Visited: TX, AR, LA, MS, AL

We went to Selma, Alabama and if you don’t know its significance, you need to do some reading.

To stand on that bridge and contemplate the historical events that took place there - NOT SO LONG AGO, I might add - was an exceptionally moving experience.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Happy Tails to you!

50 States in 2021: 40-43

We made it to State 43, which is the final “new” state for now! In only four weeks, we went to 30 states on this summer trip! We have seven to go, and we have a driving adventure planned for early September to get to those!

this sign was kind of a pain
because there was another sign
right in front of it

I didn’t want this weird
short sign in my picture!

Happy Tails to you!

30 in 30: Day 27

I got several messages after yesterday’s post about how many miles we drove. Let me explain that there was a reason for such craziness!

I had a professional development zoom call scheduled for this morning at 9:00 am eastern, which meant 8:00 am central. In order for me to be able to participate, we had to drive extra yesterday to compensate for the call delaying our departure today. As you might imagine, a trip of this magnitude requires a certain degree of exactitude in order to get to where we need to be each day!

Instead of stopping in Amarillo for the night, we drove about four extra hours to Norman, OK. This way, I’d be able to do the call and we’d only have a quick drive to Oklahoma City, where we had things to see today.

We both got up at 7:00 am after an incredibly exhausting day to get ready and pack up our things so we’d be able to hit the road as soon as the call was over. C even went down to sit in the hotel lobby so I’d have the room to myself for the call.

And then…I learned that the call had been rescheduled for an hour later. Because of our plans, I couldn’t hang around and wait for an entire hour when we had to get on the road.

All of that extra driving and planning around the call and getting up super early for nothing!

Daily Stats

Starting Mileage: 42,116

Ending Mileage: 42,444

Miles Traveled: 328

States Visited: OK, TX

Despite a less-than-ideal start to the day, we were able to spend the morning in Oklahoma City. I didn’t really have high hopes for OKC, but I ended up loving it! Knoxville surprised me, Lexington surprised me, and now OKC has surprised me! We talked about how we'll have to come back for a longer visit!

we went to the Oklahoma City
National Memorial and Museum
and it is so amazingly well done

it was such a moving experience

We drove from OKC to Dallas and checked into our hotel around 4:30. This is our third time visiting Dallas, and all I will say is that we cannot wait to leave tomorrow! You know that vibe I've written about before that exists in cities I really like? Well, it's not here. The traffic, the roads, the drivers...sigh. Every time we've been here, we've been thoroughly unimpressed.

109? Gross.

However, we went to the Rangers vs. Diamondbacks game this evening, so that made the aggravation of the rest of the city tolerable!

Happy Tails to you!