6. Nationals Park - July 22, 2016

Planning to visit Philadelphia was easy. I can drive there pretty much any day I want. It's traveling to these next two stadiums that was the problem.

I wanted visit both Maryland ballparks in one trip. While it's not too far, about 3 hours, I didn't want to take more time off of work.  So, trying to find that one weekend when both the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles were home was difficult. The same goes for Chicago, but I have to wait until next year for that.

The view from my seat in Section 222.

I was able to find one weekend towards the end of July that worked. The Nationals played a Friday night game and the Orioles played a Sunday afternoon game, and then I would make my trek back home.

I strategically booked a hotel in the middle of both cities, so I didn't have to drive a ridiculous distance to either stadium. Getting to the hotel wasn't too bad, just a lot of traffic. There seems to be a theme here.

I made it to my room at around 3:30 PM, the game started at 7:05 PM. I unpacked, charged my phone a bit and left at 5:00 PM. And luckily I left at that time because getting into Washington D.C. was not fun.

I finally parked, about 45 minutes before game time, in a lot that charged $30 for parking. And that wasn't even the most expensive. I recommend taking mass transit when visiting Nationals Park.

The stadium looks nice on the inside, but there's nothing memorable about it from the outside. If you look towards left-center field, the stadium is flanked by two large parking garages. Compared to some stadiums, like the ones in Pittsburgh and St. Louis, with a nice city backdrop, Nationals Park was a big let down.

As far as my seat, I had a very good view. I sat in Section 222, down the first base line. However, I wouldn't consider this a level-200 seat. The way the stadium is laid out, the even sections are upstairs and the odd-numbered ones are down. This should technically make this a level-300 seat.

The game itself was entertaining, despite it being my third time seeing the Nationals in the last calendar year. Washington welcomed in the San Diego Padres, another team I already saw. The starting pitchers were Luis Perdomo (SDP) and Tanner Roark (WAS).

Nationals star hitter, Bryce Harper

Padres right fielder Matt Kemp kicked things off with a solo home run in the first inning. The Nationals came back with two runs, including a solo homer by Jayson Werth. Kemp later his a 3-run home run in the top of the 5th. Daniel Murphy hit a home run of his own in the eighth, but it wasn't enough as Padres won 5-3.

In what seems like a regular part of these reviews, I had a hot dog from the park. Hot dogs are the easiest food to eat while walking around the stadium. The one that I had wasn't bad. It had a nice crunch and went well with chopped onions and mustard. No ketchup on hot dogs!

Getting back to my room was not as bad as getting to the game, but it still sucked. I had to drive around this neighborhood just to get to the highway. Drivers were pulling out in front of other drivers, blocking the opposite lane of traffic. Once you read my review of Fenway Park, you'll understand my hatred for traffic if you don't already.

Of the two stadiums I visited on this trip, I liked this one for a couple of reasons. One, my view was a lot better and two, it wasn't as hot out. The stadium was a little too bland for my liking. There weren't any memorable features to the stadium like many others.

If you're in the area, check out Nationals Park. Other than that, I wouldn't go out of my way to visit this park.