The Portland Sea Dogs are a minor league Double-A team affiliated with the Boston Red Sox (a perfect marriage in baseball-crazy northern New England). They play through summer at Hadlock Field, a delightful small stadium near downtown that still retains an old-time feel despite aluminum benches and other updating; it’s one of the better minor league parks at which I’ve ever attended a ballgame.

Activities are geared toward families, with lots of entertainment between innings and a selection of food that’s a couple of notches above basic hot dogs and hamburgers. (Try the tasty fries and sausages, and make sure you get a Sea Dog biscuit: local vanilla ice cream between two chocolate chip cookies.) You might even catch future pro stars.