This fan took a day trip to Clearwater to watch the Phillies. He was back in time for work the next morning.

You can head down to Clearwater, Fla., take in a Phillies spring training game, and go to sleep in your own bed back in Philadelphia the same evening. South Philly resident Eric Lord just made the trip on Sunday.

“It was so cold last week, and windy,” Lord said. “I was like, ‘Man, I really need to go somewhere.’ I remembered spring training was starting, and I looked at the schedule like, ‘Oh man, it’s Sunday. I have work Monday.’ I said, I’m gonna figure it out, and I did, and I just went. I needed to get away from the cold weather for a little.”

Lord woke up at 3:30 a.m. in Philadelphia to get to the airport and fly down to Clearwater, paying about $32 for his flights on Frontier Airlines. Upon arriving, he hung out at a few local bars while waiting for the start of the Phillies’ 1 p.m. game against the Orioles, bonding with another traveler over their shared love for Shane Victorino.

After the game, he met a group of local Philly sports fans and spent his evening with them at another bar before getting on the plane and heading back to Philly that same night.

Lord frequently travels to Philly sports games, including trips to Dallas and New Orleans to watch the Eagles play in 2024, and he often plans trips on short notice. Usually his trips are full weekends, unlike Sunday’s day trip.

“I’m someone that loves to travel, but the problem is, it’s so hard to find people to travel with you when you want to travel,” Lord said. “Years ago, what I decided is, I’m just going to follow Philly sports teams, because I’ll never be alone. I’ll always have friends in every city, because as long as you have an Eagles shirt on or a Phillies shirt on, you’re instantly friends with everyone. I started doing that a few years ago, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

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Since starting his travel journey, a number of Lord’s new acquaintances in different cities have become long-term friendships, and people that will host him on return trips, making his continued travel even more cost-effective. Some of his early hopes for 2025 include a trip to Montreal to watch the Flyers and a trip to Chicago to watch the Phillies.

All in all, Lord estimated he spent somewhere between $200 and $300 on the day trip, including all the food and drinks.

“A little pricey, but totally worth it.”