Saturday, 5/31 - St. Louis vs Cubs
Drove to St Louis, stopped a saw giant cup. Rolled into town and went to the Soulard neighborhood for lunch (tacos) and wandered for a bit. Had coffee at Protagonist Coffee and then headed for the Arch. Parking was a pain the butt (recurring theme for the trip). We walked by the river and around the arch, eventually going down under it to buy a couple of stickers from the gift shop. Weather was overcast and light drizzle but it was supposed to clear up by game time.
Checked into the hotel (Westin); parking was a pain again. Walked over to the game. While waiting to go in the rain became a more steady drizzle and by the time we were inside it was full-on raining. We walked around, watching it rain. Got burgers and fries and sat on the ground under an overhang. It was muggy and sweaty. As game time got closer, the rain had stopped and we dried off our seats with napkins. The game ended up being closer to a Cubs home game there were so many Cubs fans there. The Cubs won and we went back to the hotel.
Sunday, 6/1 - Cincinnati vs Braves
Got up early (5:15!) so that we could be on the road in time to make it to Cincinnati for the 1:40 first pitch. Drove across the bottom of Illinois and Indiana, skirted into Kentucky past Louisville and up into Cincinnati. Hit traffic as we were coming into the city and scrambled to find parking. Made it with 30 min to spare. The weather for the day started out overcast but by the time we were there it was a bright and sunny 74 degrees. We had great seats right behind the visitor’s dugout. Acuña started the game off with a first pitch homer, but that was really the highlight of the game for the Braves. They made a last ditch effort in the top of the 9th to come back but couldn’t quite pull it together.
We only stayed in our seats for ~ 4.5 innings because we were getting baked by the sun (ended up slightly sunburned) but really enjoyed being able to wander the concourse and watch the game from most anywhere.
After the game we drove over to our rental in the OtR neighborhood, dropped off bags, parked the car and then went wandering. It was neat to finally see OtR in-person, having heard about it for 30+ years. We ate dinner at Krueger’s Tavern, sitting outside on the sidewalk Euro-cafe style. Great food and atmosphere. After that we got ice cream from Graeter’s and wandered back to the condo to crash for the night.
Monday, 6/2 - Milwaukee vs Giants
We didn’t need to get up quite so early, so took our time (relatively speaking) getting up and going. Grabbed coffee from Deeper Roots Coffee across the street from Findlay Market and were on the road 8:30ish. We’d planned to stop in the Indianapolis area for gas. Since the route through the middle of the city wasn’t any longer time-wise, decided to do a quick detour through downtown Indianapolis to see what we could see. Monument Circle looked neat so we parked the car the first place we could (stupid SalesForce tower parking) and wandered around the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument for a bit.
After hopping back in the car, we headed for Milwaukee. Quick stop in Merrillville, IN. Horrendous traffic in Chicago. Finally made it to Milwaukee about 3. Checked into the hotel and headed over to the “Third Ward” area to wander around the area around the river walk. Found the “Bronze Fonz” and got coffee from Anodyne Coffee. After some more wandering we got in the car and headed for the game.
For the only time of the trip, parking was stupid easy. Our seats for the game were amazing (second row, behind home plate) and the Brewers routed the Giants 16-2. The stadium roof was open and the game atmosphere was great. Highlights: seeing the sausage race and singing Roll Out the Barrels during the 7th inning stretch. Also, the cheese curds.
The architecture around Milwaukee was cool - lots of grand late 19th century buildings (including our hotel). Would like to go back and spend more time there.
Tuesday, 6/3 - Chicago vs A’s
Got up and going around 8 and headed over to the Fernwood area to get coffee from Anodyne (again) and get our first glimpse of Lake Michigan. Wandered along the shore for a bit and then hit the road for Chicago.
Since we had all day until the game we planned to see a few things. Got into town about 10:30, dropped the car off and took our first ride on the L to head over to the Field Museum. Wandered around, ate lunch, wandered some more and then strolled down the lake shore. Walked up Queen’s Landing, sat beside Buckingham Fountain, saw Cloud Gate (the bean), and sat beside Crown Fountain (the faces) for a bit. Walked back to the hotel, checked-in, and rested for about an hour before heading for Wrigley via the train.
Seeing a game at Wrigley was a great experience - except the wind was stupid cold. Ate Chicago dogs before first pitch (good but messy). As game time crept up it kept getting colder. I gave in and bought an overpriced sweatshirt. By the 7th inning stretch we were both shivering. So, after singing along we headed out. The train ride back into town was crazy crowded but otherwise uneventful. Good day but was happy to get to bed.
Wednesday, 6/4 - Chicago
No baseball today so we had all day to do whatever we wanted. Started out by getting coffee and croissants from Intelligentsia Coffee on Randolph. Weather was perfect and we sat outside and watched people and traffic. At 9 we headed towards the river so that we would get in line for the architecture river cruise at 9:30. The river cruise went from 10-11:30 and we had fun going up and down the Chicago River, seeing all the buildings and learning about Chicago.
After the river cruise we grabbed lunch from Giordano’s (classic deep dish pizza), took the leftovers back to the hotel and then headed for the Art Institute of Chicago - which is incredible but also overwhelming. So many great works of art. From there we took a (long) walk over to Navy Pier, where Jana got attacked by a bird. After recovering from that and seeing the Bob Newhart statue, we walked back up the river walk and then back to the hotel (after grabbing some drinks from 7-11) to eat our leftover pizza and get some much needed rest.
Thursday, 6/5 - Home
The drive home was long (9 hrs) but uneventful with stops in Champaign, IL (for gas), Mount Vernon, IL (for coffee at Panera) and Dyersburg, TN (for waffle fries from CFA).
