Baltimore - Final Stop

Breakfast, checkout, and one last ride on the DC Metro down to Union Station, where we grabbed the MARC train, DC's answer to CalTrain, which hauled us 45 minutes north to Baltimore. New city, new transportation method unlocked.

Speaking of which — we finally added "taxi" to the trip's ever-growing transit bingo card, flagging down an honest-to-god old-school Yellow Cab to get to the hotel. Location-wise, we picked a winner: 10 minutes to the Inner Harbor, 15 to Camden Yards. Beyond that, the hotel and its surroundings were... fine.  The harbor is home to the USS Constellation, the last non-powered, sail-only battleship built in 1854. So more history filed away. Nothing you'd frame and hang on the wall.

Our room wasn't ready, so we did the responsible thing — dumped our bags with the front desk and went to go find lunch at the Inner Harbor. It was sold as a bustling waterfront hub, but the reality was a few restaurants, the aquarium, some condos, and not a whole lot else. We did stumble onto a genuine win, though: The Rusty Scupper, right on the water, great food, better view.

By the time we got back, the room was *nearly* ready — however by "ready" I mean it was heat index "sauna." The AC was broken, so we called maintenance, who informed us of the thermostat's delightfully unhinged logic: turn it *up* for cold, turn it *down* for hot. So now our thermostat reads 85 degrees but the room feels SO GOOD. Physics at the SpringHill is fake and I've made peace with it.

Honestly, we needed that arctic breeze, because Baltimore's heat and humidity is HIGH. This was a solid 2-shower day, possibly heading into 3-shower territory.

Everyone power-napped ahead of the game, because we're professionals at this road tripping thing.

The plan was to scooter our way to the stadium — in DC, Lime scooters were basically wildlife, just roaming free on every corner. In Baltimore? Nowhere to be found. So we walked instead, which was totally fine, just hot. Very on-brand for the day.

Then we got to Camden Yards, and I have to admit some bias here: this is the ballpark that started the whole "let's go see every stadium" obsession. It was the original retro ballpark — the brick warehouse looming over right field, the jagged outfield wall, even little bronze plaques set into the sidewalk between the right field stands and the warehouse marking every HR that sailed out of the stadium and landed on the walkway. Small touch, big charm. The whole place still delivers — vibes, food, atmosphere, all top tier.

And the baseball didn't disappoint either. Orioles won 6-4 after breaking it open with a 4-run 7th. Got to see a Pete Alonso homer, a go-ahead 2-run triple off the bat of Gunnar Henderson, and our second look at the Phillies this trip — sadly, no Schwarbombs.

Ballpark food delivered too. The nachos had a flour tortilla lining the bottom of the tray, so once you'd made your way through the top layer, you could roll the rest up burrito-style. Genuinely brilliant design. My pastrami reuben was also outstanding — two thumbs up, 5 stars, top notch however you want to rank it.

Seventh inning stretch brought the standard "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," followed by a full-stadium singalong to John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." Tens of thousands of people belting it out together — one of the highlights of the night.

Baltimore also brought serious heat in the Tarps Off department — that 2026 phenomenon where a mob of kids and teens migrate to a random outfield section, strip off their shirts, and swing them around like they're at a music festival. At peak, it looked like a few hundred people were up there going for it. Lukas and Diego flirted with joining the movement for about two innings before ultimately staying put.

Walked back to the hotel through a few blocks that were, let's say, "character-building." Shower number 3, locked in. Now it's pack-up time and pointing the compass toward home.

Just over heard the boys say, "I already miss our trip and it isn't even over yet." I'm calling that a mission accomplished on the trip planning.