We are back! It was a hot and sweaty trip south as our family enjoyed checking out the Palmetto State…where the people were friendly, the sights were beautiful and the food was satisfying. There were three ballpark visits along the way and we drove, splitting the journey into two days from New Jersey. The first stop was Salem, VA and traffic slowed our arrival as we got there around 5 PM (I’m beginning to think I-81 in Virginia is just as bad as I-95 in terms congestion and accidents). Within the Roanoke Valley, Salem acts like a suburb to the larger city, but one that has it’s own little small downtown, which we drove through before reaching the ballpark. It was 95 degrees, but a breeze helped and it thankfully cooled off quickly as the sun went down. This is an older ballpark with a different design as the home plate area is quite open and airy. Seating sections are broken out into three levels, with a lot of space in between and that leads to distanced seating. The vibe is laid back with minimal sound effects and promotions and that fits the setting as it is serene with the close-up view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. There were negative aspects though and a lot of just felt lazy, like no parking signs for getting to the ballpark lot (we initially parked in the arena lot as it’s a big complex). The Kids Play area had some shaky bounce houses and my wife said at least a dozen parents got redirected to a different area for wristbands as there were no signs. Meanwhile, the replica Fenway Park section was just sad. Give this park some TLC and it can really shine as that view is hard to beat on the East Coast.
Before arriving in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, we made an afternoon stop a few hours away in the state capital, Columbia. It was too hot for us to eat outside in the Soda City Market, so we grabbed an indoor lunch before seeing the Capitol building and the State Museum. I liked downtown Columbia and hope to be back to catch some events with the Gamecocks. It’s then 2 hours to Charleston and I absolutely see why so many fall in love with this place. It is indeed a great travel destination as the whole place is stunning. The history, architecture and beauty of the Holy City is all around as I was amazed how it’s not just one section, but really the entire area that is great. I also didn’t know that Golf Carts as a mean of transportation is a thing as we saw plenty of them about. Our hotel hub was over the Ravenel Bridge in Mount Pleasant and our three days in the area included touring downtown, Battery Park, the City Market, Magnolia Plantation and the Angel Oak Tree. Food was hit or miss as I was really disappointed in Rodney Scott’s BBQ as the pork was dry and not that flavorful. For the restaurants in the heart of the city, wait times on the weekend were 1-2 hours (that ain’t happening with kids). However, we did get a victory by making reservations ahead of time as we had a great meal at Fleet Landing. Local delicacies were had with me enjoying Red Rice, Pimento Cheese Grits and Triggerfish. The rest of the non-shellfish allergy folk had shrimp.
Sunday Evening was for baseball at The Joe….Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park that is. The former mayor that served the city for 40 years certainly deserves to have his name on this stadium given that he was not only instrumental in getting this place built, but he also did so much to make Charleston as great as it is today. He was the rare politician that was universally loved and even rarer that he did so much that was good for his jurisdiction. With this ballpark, the city negotiated a land swap with The Citadel and in return, this nearby D1 school gets to use the field for their season. After getting past the poor parking lot, the rest of the stadium is decent. I actually liked the concourse the best as since the site is on the outskirts of downtown, marshland goes right up to a side of the ballpark (making for an unusual corner entrance). That leads to a unique visual along the walkways, while the team does good to decorate the actual building with RiverDog stuff. Inside, a seabreeze cooled things off actually helping to make it a comfortable summer game to take in. Seats are a little tight, otherwise it’s a seating bowl with a split walkway and some overhang shade closer to the suites/party area in the upper end of the bowl. The stadium was half-full for a RiverDogs loss to Lynchburg.
Late Tuesday, we drove two hours up the coast to the Grand Stand for the last stop on our vacation, Myrtle Beach. Wah-wah-wahhhh. I’m not a fan in general of beachlife, but this one was for the wife and kids, who do love it. Thankfully, we got a good hotel as Cabana Shores was in the perfect spot, away from the rowdiness and hustle/bustle of downtown Myrtle Beach and growing North MB. It was this nice little quieter section, where we could walk across the street to the beach. We generally did something in the mornings and evenings, with some time in the pool or at the beach during the afternoons. Whether you’re on Route 17, Ocean Blvd or the Boardwalk, bring your wallet. Activities included Family Kingdom Amusement Park, Alligator Adventure, Mini Golf (that was cool, there were some good ones), the Skywheel, Arcade games and Ripley’s conglomerate of ripoff attractions (though the aquarium had a mermaid show under water).
Coastal Carolina University in Conway is 25 minutes from Myrtle Beach, but it’s summer so there were no Chanticleer sports in session. I did plan it so that the Myrtle Beach Pelicans were in town and we saw them on a Thursday Night. Great timing for a thunderstorm as that came through 4:30 to 5:30 PM and it’s exit left a more pleasant air mass for the game and there was only a 15 minute delay as they got the field ready for play. The Pelicans are affiliated with the Chicago Cubs and there’s a surprising amount of stuff around for that team far away (though I could see some vacation pilgrimages being made). There are still things geared towards the Pelicans as well, and of course you have to have a Beach themed party deck. A water tower literally towers over the stadium since it’s right next door and I wished they painted this with team colors, like they do with the Carolina Mudcats. Pelicans Ballpark is another green one and the seating bowl is intimate with most of it around the infield as it is split between an upper and lower section. The seats themselves are surprisingly low to the ground, even to the point of being jarring when you first take a seat. Myrtle Beach came away with a 5-0 victory on this night.
All of the stadium visits on this trip were Carolina League ballparks and I’ve now seen 8 out of the 12 teams in that circuit (including all 6 north division squads). Detailed reviews of these three most recent visits can be found below:
Stadium and Arena Visits 
