Fireworks at Durham Bulls Athletic Park (Durham Bulls/Discover Durham)
PLEASE NOTE: The fringe pick up stop for this tour has changed to the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, 2621 Prince William Parkway, Woodbridge, VA. The pick up time is still approx. 7:55 am.
Baseball fans, are you ready to take a break from the $20 beers and $125 box seats at major league ballparks? Here’s the perfect chance to reconnect with baseball at its most genuine and restore your faith and excitement in the game you love—and get an insider’s glimpse of both its history and its future.
Join Bruce Adams and Peggy Engel, authors of Fodor’s Baseball Vacations: Great Family Trips to Minor League and Classic Major League Ballparks Across America, on a 5-day tour that brings you into the heart of Bull Durham country in North Carolina, where the revival of minor league baseball began.
Watch the stars of tomorrow play in classic 1930s ballparks, learn how the top players make their way from college teams and the minors to the major league, and spend the Fourth of July in the best way possible: cheering the Durham Bulls at their home field, where of course, there’s a fireworks display.
You’ll see baseball—and America—from a whole new perspective as you travel through the towns and cities where the game has long been a way of life.
Highlights of the tour include:
- a tour of the classic 1926 Durham Athletic Park (made famous in Bull Durham), and a game at the Bulls’ current home, a modern stadium that offers views of the city’s downtown similar to those from Baltimore’s iconic Camden Yards
- a meeting with experts from Baseball America magazine, who know the sport’s rising superstars better than anyone
- a visit to the North Carolina Baseball Museum at historic Fleming Stadium (a 1939 WPA project) in Wilson, a chance to meet officials from the Coastal Plain League and the Wilson Tobs, and an evening game in which the Tobs take on the Morehead City Marlins
- a session with players, coaches, umpires, and scouts to learn about summer college baseball at Edenton’s historic Hicks Field (a WPA-era project that’s among the last remaining wooden-bleacher ballparks in America), an evening game that sees the Edenton Steamers host the Outer Banks Daredevils, a Tidewater Summer League rival,
- a visit to the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, and
- a meeting with a Durham Bulls executive who offers perspectives on college baseball, and a Triple-AAA International League game hosted by the Durham Bulls on July 4.
The itinerary also includes walking tours of Edenton, a vibrant colonial port city that once served as the capital of North Carolina, and historic downtown Durham. And no visit to the state would be complete without experiencing Carolina-style dining at local favorites, including Parker’s Barbeque in Wilson. The group stay two nights each in Durham and Edenton.
Whether you’re already a serious baseball fan or simply want to experience the pleasures of a more down-to-earth (but no less exciting) side of the game, this Carolina visit is the perfect ticket for any fan.
GENERAL DETAILS
- Cost includes bus transportation, lodging, all activities, admissions and fees, gratuities, and these meals: 4 breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.
- Tour departs by bus from the Mayflower Hotel, Connecticut Ave. and DeSales St., NW, with a pick up stop at the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, 2621 Prince William Parkway, Woodbridge, VA at about 7:55 a.m.
- Single-room supplement $350 (factored into the Single Room Member and Single Room Non-Member pricing).
- Singles registering at the double-room rate are paired (on a nonsmoking basis) if possible, but must pay the single-room supplement otherwise.
- Detailed information is mailed to registrants about four weeks prior to departure.
- Registrants may want to consider purchasing trip insurance.
