Baseball/Family Trip Report

 A solo trip in which my main goals were to hit 2 new ballparks and spend time with my mother.  

7/17- Flight to Chicago (O'Hare) went off on schedule.  I was a little worried about the wildfire smoke.  It was a bit hazy but I've seen worse and I was never uncomfortable outside.  

I had a major SNAFU at the Amtrak station.  I thought that trains to Milwaukee ran every hour.  Nope, it's every 2 hours.  I arrived at Union Station just after 11 AM expecting to get tickets for a 1 PM departure.  I've never had trouble getting same day tickets in NYC.  Sold out!  The 3:00 would still get me into town in good shape to make the game.  Sold out!  No chance to get on standby either.  With the game at 6:40, the 5:00 train would arrive at 6:30.  Figure with the walk to the hotel, check in and transport time, the BEST case scenario would be an 8:00 arrival with the game half over.  I decided to bite the bullet and take a cab from Chicago even though it was a rip off.  It was still cheaper than a flight up there.  

At any rate, I got into town on schedule by 3PM and had time to check out the Harley Davidson museum.  Small but still pretty cool.  Though my hotel was within walking distance of the train station, it was 3 miles from the ballpark.  Fortunately, there was a bar just a quarter mile away that provided a free shuttle.  The game turned fun in the late innings and the home team won on a walk off hit in the 10th inning.  

Though I didn't really do a proper tour of Milwaukee, I found it somewhat underwhelming.  I didn't hate it but neither the stadium nor what I saw of the city will steal your heart on your first visit.  Back to the hotel at 10:30.  No rest for the weary the next day.  This time I did check the availability at Amtrak in advance.  The only available time from Milwaukee to Chicago was 6:15 AM.  That meant that I needed to be out the door by 5:00.  OUCH!  

7/18- No issues with Amtrak today.  I arrived in Chicago at 8 AM then dropped off my bag at the hotel.  The Cubs game started at 1:20 but the gates opened before noon.  I took a walk through Millennium Park and up to the Riverwalk before catching the Red Line to Addison and Wrigley Field.  This ballpark did live up to expectations and the fans were passionate as well.  Cubs won 6-2 and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  

After the game, I made a stop at the 360 John Hancock tower.  Though the skyline was somewhat obscured by the haze, it was still worth a stop.  I chilled at the hotel for a bit then went out for Chicago style pizza.  It was decent but I still prefer the New York style.  I capped off the day with some night shots of the skyline.  

7/19- Slept in a bit then took the subway to Oak Street Beach for a dip in Lake Michigan.  It's normally dead flat in the summer but today, waves were surprisingly big.  If you didn't know better, you would have thought that you were in the ocean.  My only gripe was that the floor was awfully stony in the shallow though it did smooth out as the water got deeper.  You really need aqua socks, which I didn't bring.  The real safety issue was that a big wave could send you back to the shallow.  If you get knocked down, you could get some cuts and scratches on the stony ground.  For this reason and the time crunch, I didn't stay long but did body surf a few waves.  A boogie board would have been nice.  As far as the North Coast, I have now taken a dip in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana and expect to add to that.  

I checked out just before noon and took the subway to Midway for a flight to Pittsburgh, where I met up with my Mom and sister.  I'm glad I did that but missed my Dad more than I expected.  Dinner was a steak followed by an early bed time.

7/20- Drove 2.5 hours to Blackwater Falls in West Virginia with a quick stop at Deep Creek, Maryland.  Nice easy trail down to the falls and it was worth the trip.  We stayed in today for dinner and watched some TV.  

7/21- Delays on the flights home.  It was nerve racking but I didn't miss my connection.  Overall, a fun but stressful trip.  I have now completed the National League and have just 4 parks to go.  That's probably it for 2026 but I "might could" swing a day trip to Minnesota at the tail end of the season.