Last weekend, my friends and I traveled to Denver for our annual baseball road trip. This was our 18th “Boys of Summer” trip.

We stayed at the Le Meridien in downtown Denver. The rooms featured comfortable beds, beautiful views and fantastic showers. The staff at Le Meridien were attentive, helpful and full of fantastic suggestions.

On the 20th floor is 54thirty, Denver’s highest open-air rooftop bar. At 5,430 feet above sea level, 54Tthirty offers breathtaking views of Denver.

It was about a mile walk to Coors Field. Along the way we passed many cool bars, restaurants and shops. For a Friday night, the area was lively without being overcrowded.

Home of the Rockies, Coors Field opened in 1995. The stadium holds more than 50,000 fans and is usually a sea of purple. In addition, the seats in the 20th row of the upper deck are purple to mark the elevation of one mile above sea level. We witnessed six home runs as the park lived up to its homer-friendly reputation. Unfortunately, the Rockies lost to their rival Arizona Diamondbacks. Despite the loss, it was still a fun night at the old ball game.

Our “Boys of Summer” trips started in 2001 with a quick trip to Cleveland. We have seen 29 games in 24 stadiums in 22 cities. We always cheer for the home team, unless they are playing the Cubs, and our “record” is 16–13.

Honestly, it wouldn’t matter if we saw all losses. Baseball is merely the backdrop. Spending quality time in wonderful cities with great friends is really the best part.

— John Wroblewski, online writer