BC Lions

One of my favourite travel traditions is taking an annual self-indulgent, solo trip to satisfy my inner baseball nerd. Over the years, that now has me sitting at visiting 16 of the 30 major league ballparks with my brain constantly working on the logistics to tick off the final 14. The pandemic years put a halt to my progress that I’m glad is changing this year as I have plans to visit Detroit and Cleveland later this summer.

Last summer, looking to scratch the itch of live baseball, I decided to take the relatively short trip to Vancouver for a few nights of minor league baseball. The Vancouver Canadians, an affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, play out of the cozy and idyllic Nat Bailey Stadium. For the low cost of $25 you can have the best seat in the house behind home plate. A beautiful Vancouver summer evening, cold local craft beers and the crack of the bat….. couldn’t be better!

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Although finding your place in a new city and a new province takes time, I’ve been pleasantly surprised how quickly my new hometown has truly felt like home. Before moving to Saskatchewan, I really only knew of the province through a few of its far reaching stereotypes – the cold, the wheat, and yes, the Roughriders. I’m still awaiting my first cold snap – moving here in April was a brilliant stroke of timing. I’ve sampled liberally a number of delicacies made with the staple crop of the province, and now, I’ve perhaps become a real Saskatchewanian (Saskatchewaner?)… I’ve seen my first Roughriders game in person.

Continuing the tradition of my wife and I taking an annual “honeymoon” trip in lieu of anniversary gifts, honeymoon #4 was a weekend in Regina to see our new favourite team. Although this trip was a blast, my wife has insisted that honeymoon #5 be more along the lines of previous destinations (Puerto Rico, San Diego/Tijuana, Boston). But I digress.

Game day in Regina got underway with an incredible bit of good luck and timing. Off on a search for coffee, I stumbled into a celebration of the 1966 Grey Cup winning Riders team happening in our hotel. They had brought along the Grey Cup and I got to spend a few minutes with this iconic symbol of Canada. It’s dented and scratched up. It’s clearly a good times trophy and I can’t imagine the likes of the parties it has seen in its 106 years of life.