Games 28 and 29: April 23-26 Toronto and Philadelphia

I saved the final three stadiums for this season, pretty much because I didn't want to end this chase. Toronto and Pittsburgh aren't too convenient when coming from L.A. They're expensive to fly to and you can't fly non-stop to or from Pittsburgh to many places. As you know, my trips usually hit three cities in a weekend. That just doesn't work here. So I'm going to Toronto and Philadelphia and saving Pittsburgh for later. There was a recent fare sale and I was able to get an Air Canada flight from LAX to Toronto for $224. That's a lot for a one way flight but $100 less than it usually is. The flight is actually $207, but Air Canada charges you $17 for an aisle seat. I broke my leg a few years ago and I need to stretch it out periodically. That makes an aisle seat mandatory.

I decided that if I was going to make one trip to Rogers Centre I'd stay at the Renaissance Toronto Downtown Hotel. That's part of the stadium. It's more expensive than what I usually choose but it's one of a kind. Some people have said that I should get a room facing the field and watch it from there. That's at least $150 more expensive than a regular room and I don't think it's worth it. The novelty of watching the game in a hotel room would wear off quickly and then I'd be watching the game from the outfield. Who wants to watch a game out there? It'd make sense if I was going with a group but I'd be watching by myself. So not only would I be watching from a less choice seat but I wouldn't have the pleasure of watching with other fans. Chatting with fans is part of the experience.

The flights from Toronto to Philadelphia were also very expensive, but I found a flight on United that I could get for 12,500 miles. There are $53 in Canadian and American security fees. Yow! International travel. Philly is easy for me, however. I have family there and always will have a place to stay and plenty of people to catch a game with. I haven't decided which game that weekend I'll go to yet. If any of my Philadelphia peeps want to go, let me know.