Day 5
Day 5--Tuesday, May 5, 1992
Miserable weather today and the timing couldn't have been much worse. I'm going to try, during this lengthy excursion, to take in a game
at many major league ballparks and today was to be a double-header:
Nolan Ryan and the Texas Rangers coming in to take on the Orioles in their
new stadium, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, at 12:15, then back up I-95 to
see the Phillies against the Dodgers in a 7:35 start. It was chilly and
damp at gametime in Baltimore and, by the end of the second inning, it had
begun to rain steadily. I wasn't prepared, having brought neither rainwear
nor an umbrella, and it didn't take long before I was well nigh soaked.
There was an exhibit at the Walters Gallery that I had just about given up
on seeing, but it suddenly began to sound like a pretty good alternative to
soggy baseball, so off I went. It was the Pfeil Collection (I didn't
really catch who the Pfeils were exactly, some rich art lovers, I think...)
featuring eighty or so works of American Impressionists, including John
Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt and Hassam Childe. I was really glad I went;
there were some beautiful pieces in the exhibit. The three or four innings
I spent at Oriole Park were well spent, too; it's a great looking ballpark,
with the feeling of intimacy you find in old parks but the conveniences of
a new one. I'm sure it will serve the Orioles well for many years to come.
Now, it was
time to bid adieu to Baltimore and retrace my steps back to Philadelphia. On the way out of town, I stopped by Bengies Drive-in
(featuring The Largest Screen in Maryland). The man who runs it, D. Edward
Vogel, is a drive-in buff himself and is in it for love and money. They
were not yet on a seven-nights-a-week schedule while I was in town ; they
were open only Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so I didn't get to see a show
there. I did get a tour of the facilities, though; it's a great place. If I
make it to southeastern PA again in late August, as I hope to, I may have
to run down here to catch a movie before I head for home. Besides, D.
graciously presented me with a couple of free passes to Bengies; it'd be a
shame to let them go to waste.
I rolled into Philadelphia just a few minutes before gametime but
I had to stop by the hostel first to stash my valuables, as I didn't want
to leave them in the car while I was at the game. So, it was the third
inning before I arrived at my seat. I didn't mind, though. I just want to
check out the atmosphere at the different stadiums (stadii?). On this trip,
the game's not the thing; it's just being out at the ballpark. Veterans
Stadium is not a bad place, either. It's a different kind of park, with a
sort of all-purpose feel to it but not a bad place for all that. But it
was a cold night in Philly, really nippy, and the chill began to set in
deeply after a couple of innings. After vacillating between Baltimore and
Philadelphia the last couple of days, I'm ready to head south tomorrow
evening and seek the warmth of the sun.
Continue on the American Odyssey.
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