Ballpark Savvy

You may have seen the itinerary for the trip my dad and I took in July 2010. We visited most of the places I talked about, but there were a few modifications along the way. As I had said before, our total cost for tickets to the 5 games and hotels for the 5 nights was $500 ($250 per person). To learn more about my methodology for planning a baseball road trip, click here.

Out of the 5 games we witnessed, not one of them was a close game. The most exciting blow out we watched was when my Reds hammered the Cubs on July 4th by the count of 14 - 3. Here is a quick recap of some of the food and experiences we took in.

We traveled to Sauget, IL, which is a suburb of St. Louis, and saw the Gateway Grizzlies play. The real reason for this stop was to try the self proclaimed "best burger in baseball". This was featured on Man vs. Food and consisted of a bacon cheeseburger sandwiched between a Krispy Kreme donut.

My review is; eh. It was alright. The donut was grilled, which was weird, and it didn't have as sweet of a taste as I imagined. The game was also a laugher; 17 - 7 when we left in the 8th.

Here are a couple other photos from the day:

We woke up to a huge parade going down our street. Apparently it was festival time in St. Louis. We took in chocolate malts at the historic Crowne Candy Kitchen, which was also featured on Man vs. Food. We then ate Hodak's fried chicken for lunch before heading to Busch Stadium. Here are some Saturday photos:

We took a late night drive to Chicago after the Cardinals game was moved to a 5:30 start. We had a midnight pizza run to Godfathers, which my dad is crazy about. We arrived at the hotel around 2:30 am, then woke up to head to Wrigley Field. We ate lunch at Wrigley, and then had dinner at Lou Malnati's pizza followed by ice cream at a wonderful place called Capannari's in Mount Prospect, IL. We stayed near O'hare, so it was only about a 10 minute drive for us. Should you decide to go, may I recommend the 10 year aged Vanilla flavor; incredible.

The highlight of the day was the 14 - 3 spanking of the Cubs by my Reds. Wrigley Field never disappoints and is probably the best venue in all of Major League Baseball in my opinion. I also was able to meet up with Andrew Van Cleve, who I have come to  know through running this website. Andrew and his wife live in Wrigleyville, and travel to sporting venues unlike anyone that I know. Andrew runs his own website, found here, and is very knowledgeable when it comes to finding cheap tickets. Here are some photos from Sunday:

Monday was an interesting day. We didn't really have any plans, or any real ambitions to go see downtown Chicago. As it turned out, we made a nice day of it in the suburbs of Chicago. We started with lunch at Al's Italian Beef; a Chicago institution. This was my first experience with Al's and I was not disappointed. That sandwich was amazing.

Somehow it then occurred to me that the original McDonalds was in Elk Grove. I had just watched the CNBC 1 hour special on McDonalds the week before, and like Celine Dion, it was all coming back to me now. So we made a detour to check out Ray Kroc's first establishment. We didn't get to go inside, but it was cool to see. It is now a museum, but I was just amazed to see the humble beginnings of what is now one of the most powerful brands in the world.

While taking a couple of pictures outside, this random guy walked up and asked if we were from the area. I said "Yeah, we live down the street but we like to come by and take photos of McDonalds whenever we get the chance." I didn't really say that, but the thought crossed my mind. The guy went on to say that Harry Caray was buried just down the road. We were always big fans of Harry, so we thought we would try to find his resting place.

We pulled into All Saints Cemetery to find that the office was closed. However, the wonder of smart phones and Verizon's 3G coverage allowed me to google it and find the exact spot where he was buried. We checked the map, took a drive, and wound up at Harry's grave plot. I guess I was a little surprised that it was just a standard marker with little fan fair. Cemeteries creep me out, but it was cool to see.

The nightcap was watching the Whitesox beat up on the Angels at US Cellular Field. We ate Wow Bao at the ballpark, which was decent. It was like an Asian hotpocket in the shape of a biscuit. The Cell was a very nice ballpark, but the official parking can be a zoo. Dad preferred to go the 'official' route, despite my plea for the free shuttle from Buffalo Wild Wings that I recommend in my US Cellular Field Guide. We got lucky that there were fireworks after the game, so we got a head start. However, driving and parking at US Cellular Field could easily be as bad as you have heard.

Another cool thing was the fact that it was mustache night at the ballpark. This meant free staches were given out along with free Remington trimmers. Ironically, I really needed to trim my beard that night - no joke.

Some Pictures:

We woke up and took a drive over to Smoque. This is a barbecue joint in Chicago featured on Diners Drive-ins and Dives. The place lived up to the hype. The beef brisket was off the charts. Afterward we headed up to Milwaukee, ate frozen custard at Kopps, and checked into the Staybridge Suites; which was a phenomenal hotel.

Tuesday night took us to Miller Park to see the Brewers get killed by the Giants. Perhaps you are noticing a trend. We didn't see one game within 5 runs. Miller Park is also a tailgating hub, and fans are everywhere before the game. The roof was open on this night, and the ballpark is very impressive. I had chorizo sausage at the game, which is served in a tortilla with pico de gallo. Despite the fact that this combination sounded odd, I ate it as is. That was a wise decision. I highly recommend.

Post game we stopped by an old drive in called The Kiltie for some ice cream; because I love ice cream in the summer. We went back to the hotel to find that the Cardinals had given up 9 runs to the Rockies in the 9th to lose, which made this a great end to an incredible day.