Three years in fact but finally a return to a new baseball stadium as I traveled to Fredericksburg Virginia and the home of the creatively named Fredericksburg Nationals.
The "FredNats" as they are often referred to, played in their new stadium for the first time in 2021 and they are the franchise that traces back to the final version of the Hagerstown Suns (The Carolina League version traces to the Frederick Keys and currently the Aberdeen Ironbirds, while the AA Suns heritage leads to the now Bowie Baysox).
However, the morning started with another trip to the demolition of Hagerstown's Municipal Stadium and the work is moving along quickly as the grandstand stands no more and neither do either of the general admission stands.
would eliminate the buildings around the field.
I did grab (I asked first) two side pieces that my seats were missing and grabbed a brick from the grandstand for my "sister" Denise that she had been hoping to get for herself before heading to see the old Suns in their new home.
Long time readers may remember when the Suns were threatened with relocation by then-charlatan owner Bruce Quinn to Fredericksburg before things went awry and the town built a stadium for another colorful owner in Art Silber's then-high A Potomac Nationals from Woodbridge Virginia.
The MLB takeover of minor league baseball and the missed pandemic season would result in Silber's team dropping to the Low A level and therefore lies the connection to the heritage of the Hagerstown Suns.
Arriving near the ballpark, you drive through a seemingly endless area of strip malls, eateries, and stores which makes you feel like suburbia has truly begun to swallow itself.
The main entrance is on the right-field side and is where the ticket office is located, it's not difficult to find as there are two large crossed bats with the team logo in front of the gates.
Entering those gates, you look down on the field as the stadium was built above the playing field and around like a boardwalk.
It reminded me a lot of Aberdeen from the outside with hotels and condos around the stadium and on the inside, Fredericksburg reminded me a little of Lake County and a little of Charleston, West Virginia with the layout of the field.
There are decks in left and right fields where one can watch the game and hang out in areas designed for the casual person to have a good time around the game yet isn't worried about seeing every pitch.
You can see the game from most vantage points except for the concourse behind home plate, which is what reminded me of Charleston, and it's not a bad place to see a game.
However, I didn't see anything overly special about it either and it had that sterile feel that some newer parks with a retro design have.
I wouldn't go out of my way to go to Fredericksburg again but it's a nice place to see a game.
Just remember that the traffic is terrible and there really isn't a way to get there that you can avoid that.
Then came the main event, we traveled to two local establishments that are iconic places in the city in Allman's BBQ and Carl's frozen custard.
The first stop after leaving the game was Allman's and walking into Allman's made one think that they had been transported to the 1940s.
In a small building with an original neon sign that still works on the roof, taking a step inside is to take a step decades back into time.
Allman's retains many of the original signs inside and even has the original "wire" to slap an order ticket and roll it back to the kitchen.
I was going to order a pulled pork sandwich but decided to order what they described as a "deep-fried" hamburger with an order of french fries with a recommended side of macaroni and cheese after I asked, "what kind".
I know many may be wondering what the difference is but I really prefer the softer, cheesier style more than the crustier, harder version that is baked in an oven.
I enjoyed everything, including the burger which I would compare to a thinner well-done style such as one served at Steak N Shake.
I was given a pork sandwich to eat later and it was delicious, especially with what I would consider the real star of the show- their homemade sauce with a VERY strong vinegar base and that is right up my alley!
If I ever return to Allman's or know that someone is going, I am going to buy a container of that to take home!
Then we made a short side trip to Carl's a frozen custard stand a few miles away.
Carl's keeps it simple and it's all carryout and cash orders but their servers wear the old school style paper hats from the 1950s and I was told that the line goes around the block on summer nights.
I ordered a small strawberry custard with a little hot fudge since I wasn't really hungry but I hate passing up opportunities for places such as these to visit and my trips aren't often as in pre-pandemic.
Things that I once took for granted now make me at least think about safety, such as closer contact in a concourse for exposure and I hate feeling that way.
I'm far from a risk taker but I'm not someone that is over the top with safety either and it's sad that this thing has done such damage to the world and put it in our thoughts.
It doesn't stop me from going out and having a good time when I wish to but I'd be lying if I didn't admit to being a little uncomfortable in tight quarters.
Of course, I've always hated that and this just made it worse!
All and all, a good day, good food, and perhaps the only new stadium added to the list this year.
My work schedule is stuffed this year as of now and with gas at insane prices, I'm not sure if I will do many trips, although two are in the plans with others, and neither involve baseball at this time.
The closest stadiums that I would need to add aren't really day trip material as they are Fayetteville and Kannapolis North Carolina to the south, Dayton Ohio to the west, and Somerset New Jersey to the north.
The problem for me now is with MLB taking over, they have eliminated games on Monday (one of my two off-days) and greatly reduced the number of weekday games that start in the morning or at noon.
Adding those factors to the obvious ones of no local baseball and I'll be lucky if I go to seven or eight games this year.
I don't really miss the games or the baseball or even autographing but I do miss hanging out with my friends and talking about whatever comes to mind.
That's what I miss the most and I wasn't sure what I would miss most.
Jim Bouton finished his book Ball Four with the quote " You spend most of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out it was gripping you all the time"
For the time being, I am starting to believe neither myself nor the baseball has much of a grip on either of us at all.
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