Backroads, I love them. If I can avoid highways and interstates and crowded turnpikes, I am all in. With all the airline travel I have been doing recently, I have found a very efficient way to get to the airport with little or no hassle. Case in point, my travel to Norfolk International Airport now consists of local roads that cut out the need to hop on I-64 altogether. And the bonus of that is, you really get to see the area you live in and perhaps find a hidden gem – a great restaurant, a cool music venue, and (fingers crossed) interesting baseball stuff. The food and tunes results are still pending. However, I did find a cool baseball field to visit. And I did just that yesterday afternoon.
Driving towards the airport via my cut through plan on Wesleyan Dr., I spotted a parking lot on the left next to a church and parked. I walked up a hill overlooking the baseball field at Virginia Wesleyan University and took a few photos. Then, I realized I was in the wrong parking lot. The actual entrance to the school was up the road (signs that I apparently missed). So, after taking in a really nice view on a really nice Winter Thursday afternoon, I hopped in my car and headed for the actual entrance to the University. I stopped at the security gate, mentioned my intentions to the guard, and he politely directed me to the athletic field locations of VWU sports.
It has been below average temperature wise for Hampton Roads the past few days. Temps have been hovering around 50 with a gusting, chilly wind to drop the temps into the 40s and feel likes into the 30s. Thursday was the first day in a week that the sun was out, it was hot, and the wind was all but non-existent. A very comfortable 60 degrees or so, light but not disruptive clouds in the sky, plenty of blue skies. I parked in the adjacent lot to Kenneth R. Perry Baseball Field and made my way over to the bleacher area.
Nice looking field and bleacher area, press box with upper deck for camera usage, classic looking brick base and set up perfectly for family and friends to watch the VWU Marlins Baseball team. Off to the left field side of the field, a player was in the batting cage hitting some baseballs off a Tee. I was thinking I may have arrived just prior to a scheduled practice, so I hustled around the field looking for plaques or retired jerseys, that sort of thing. As I made my way out to left field, I noticed a gate locking in the field and players and outsiders from the street so I spun around and headed back towards the right field side of the field.
I actually visited Perry Field one other time. This past Summer, when Rachel and I were visiting and looking at properties, I stopped in to watch an AAU tournament game. It was a wicked hot August morning and I quickly ran out of water, so needless to say I didn’t stay the whole game. I was glad to find the field again so close to my house and have the time and energy to walk around it.
As I made my way out to center field, I noticed the other part of the security gate from left field. There was a church and school on the other side of the fence, the area I first parked in. So the gate was there to protect the VMU students and family as well as the churchgoers and their families. I got a few more photos of the field before heading back to my parked car.
Perry Field is only about 5 miles from my house now, so I will definitely be back there for a VMU game. I checked their 2024 schedule and they play a ton of home games in March, so I will be sure to get over there for one or two. And with the temperatures sitting nicely in the 60s and 70s for the next month or so, the conditions will be ideal for baseball games.
The Baseball Storyteller 