In 2022 as we drove through Buffalo at 70 miles an hour I noticed just how close the Buffalo Bisons stadium is to the highway. Tantalizingly close. Had we not struggled to cross the border due to extra COVID security, I would have been tempted to leave Canada to go to a baseball game in the United States. Through COVID complications, the Buffalo Bisons became the Trenton Thunder during part of the 2021 baseball season. Seeing that they had a scheduled home game for the day after the eclipse made staying an extra day a slam dunk (oops, wrong sport metaphor).
We returned to our $4 for ten hours street parking spot and spend the day on the tandem checking out the Erie Canalway Trail. They have an impressive trail system, which we should have studied more ahead of time. We ended up on trails that went through industrial places -- which is great for people who want to commute, but not great for sightseeing.
Some pictures from our two rides. All together we rode about 30 miles.
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The bike ferry would have cut down the time
it takes to go back to Downtown Buffalo,
but it only runs in the summer. |
We followed the advice of last night's server and had lunch at Pearl Street Grill. We relaxed into the warehousy vibe and air conditioning as we enjoyed our sandwiches.
After some more biking, we went to the 6 PM game. Between the late lunch and early first pitch, timing was off for dinner before the game. The evening cooled off enough for us to enjoy one of my favorite Spring baseball traditions -- hot chocolate. Until 2020 when Thunder switched to the much shorter Draft League season, Don and I would start the season in April with a cup of hot chocolate to help take the chill off. It was warmer that a typical opening day game in Trenton, not enough to need a blanket, but just the right amount of chill that we enjoyed the warmth of the hot cup. It was such a good cup, Don went back for a second one.  |
| The stands were pretty empty |
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| Always fun when the home team wins! |
The stadium's chant of Let's Go Buf-Fa-Lo threw me off as I'm used to the four beat chant of Let's Go Thun-Der, but while they could have done a four beat Let's Go Bi-Sons, they chose the five beat version and we went along.
When we got to the stadium, though we were seated in what I suspect were season ticket holder seats, it was quite empty. Afterwards I told Don I would have loved to have asked a season ticket holder if they visited Trenton during the 2021 season to see their opinion. He said I wished I had said something sooner as he noticed a couple of people seemed to be season ticket holders and I could have talked to them. Missed opportunity. Instead we sat behind a co-ed group of six friends in their late sixties, early seventies having as much fun as college-aged fans. Some knew the game. Some seemed to be at their first game. They worked together so everyone had a good time. I enjoyed watching their interaction between plays.
A highlight was the Bison had a Double Play in the Chik-Fil-A Double Play inning so we scored a free 5-piece set of nuggets. We cashed that in the next day for lunch on our ride home to New Jersey. It was just as bad as I remembered, perhaps a bit worse. Don ate mine, too.
I really enjoyed seeing a AAA game again. Each season Thunder says they are closing to having an affiliate for the following year. Once again, they don't have one.
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