Spring Break 2025 Road Trip: Part One, Philadelphia and Baltimore by Beth Dupuy

Back by no one’s demand or request, Beth, Xavier, and Alexander are blogging our epic spring break road trip. On a quest to travel to every Major League Baseball stadium, from April 19-24 we’ll mark the Phillies, Orioles, Nationals, and Mets off our list. Josh, sitting jealous at home as he couldn’t come on this trip, will have to read all about what he missed.

Saturday morning, we left Boston at 0530 for the drive to Philly. We got so lucky with our rental, a brand new Ford Explorer with only 28 miles on it when I collected it from Back Bay on Friday morning. (What was not so lucky was getting a $30 parking ticket 2 hours after I picked it up while stupidly trying to park in Cambridge when I stopped into work. 4 minutes after the meeting was done and 6 minutes before I got back to the car, I was ticketed.)

Having left so early, it was a quiet and uneventful drive, except for the mistake I always make getting off the GW bridge and onto the Jersey Turnpike that results in our having to make a u-turn in Lodi while I make the boys listen to Credence Clearwater Revival.

Philly, Day One

We arrived in Philly around 11 and got to our hotel in Center City. We walked to City Hall, past the Liberty Bell, to catch the Sports Express SEPTA train to Citizens Bank Park. Kids under 11 are free on the train and it only cost $1 for Xavier and me (just like the bet that Randolph and Mortimer made in Trading Places!)

It was a beautiful day, a little hot for April with a high of 83 degrees. The Phillies were playing the Miami Marlins. It was a high scoring game with a final of 10-11 Phillies. The Marlins staged a close comeback in the top of the 9th, scoring 3 runs with 2 outs but couldn’t quite pull it off. The home team won.

After the game, we made our way back to Center City and walked around all the history. We walked past Declaration House, where Thomas Jefferson lived for a time while drafting the Constitution.

Philly, Day Two

We didn’t have much time on day two as we needed to get to Baltimore for the 1335 Orioles start but we made the most of the morning, going to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.

After getting our fill of history, we moved on to some of Philadelphia’s most famous movie locations, starting with Rocky and then to one of my absolute favorites, Trading Places.

Baltimore, Here We Come

We arrived in Baltimore to see the Orioles play the Reds. Camden Yards didn’t disappoint and is now Xavier’s second favorite park. But sadly, they were crushed by the Reds 24-2. Yikes.

After the game, we drove to DC and straight to see baby Lily and Molly and Mitch. We packed so much into two days! Xavier will tell you all about our time in DC in the next post but here is a taste …