Once we arrived in Treasure Island, we realized the Cardinals were in town. Now you should know that we are ordinarily very plugged in fans. But this season, the Cards were not playing well. Back in June, we had been watching NCAA softball after our trip to the SEC tournament that some of you may recall. Then, the WNBA season began with Britanny Griner’s return. And finally, there was the Women’s World Cup.
So I was a little embarrassed and excited to see that the Cardinals were playing the Tampa Bay Rays. Even more exciting was the fact that the stadium is not in Tampa at all but instead it is just 7 miles down the road from Treasure Island and it is air conditioned. We bought $10 dollar tickets on their MLB site (ten bucks-another bonus) and actually got to watch the Cardinals win though they tried to give it up in the 9th inning.
I must say that everyone working at the stadium was exceptionally nice and friendly. We had a wonderful experience. We decided on Cuban sandwiches for our classic ballpark food experience. They were very tasty and well done. They were selling Bud Light, BOGO. So it was a fun and yes, affordable trip to the ballpark.
And just like that, we had our sixteenth stadium. This was only the fourth stadium where it was the Cardinals that were playing; Cubs, Red Sox, Royals, and now the Rays. There were a lot of Cardinal fans at all these games, fans who traveled to Chicago, Boston, KC and Tampa Bay. Ironically right now, the Cards are in last place in the National League Central division and the Rays are in second place with a record that would put them first in any other division. They are likely playoff bound and I hope more fans start rallying around them. They are a good team.
I’m loving these travel snapshots!