I'm planning a trip with my dad and grandpa to check out some of the MLB ballparks in the Midwest. We'll be flying into our first spot and then driving around to all the others. The trip is from June 21-29. Based on my current plan, we'll be in these cities/stadiums: St. Louis, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Chicago (NL), Pittsburgh.

 

I'm looking for any advice on the itinerary, including: places to stay/eat/drink; whether to buy certain tickets in advance or try StubHub or even buy them on gameday; alternative itineraries; anything else you can think would be helpful.

 

My current plan is roughly as follows:

 

6/21: Arrive in St. Louis. Cardinals vs. Phillies, 4:10 PM. Spend night in St. Louis.

6/22: Leave at 7am, make 5-hour drive to Cincinnati. Reds vs. Blue Jays, 1:10 PM. Spend night in Cincinnati.

6/23: Off day. Make 6-hour drive to Milwaukee. Hopefully stop at Three Floyds Brewpub.

6/24: Brewers vs. Nats, 8:10 PM. Sleep in Milwaukee.

6/25: Brewers vs. Nats, 2:10 PM. Or, Cubs vs. Reds, 7:05 PM. I've been told there's too much traffic to do both. Lean toward Brewers game, here.

6/26: Spend day in Chicago. Cubs vs. Nats, 8:05 PM.

6/27: Off Day. Make 7-hour drive to Pittsburgh. (Alternatively, there's a 4:05 PM Chi vs Nats game. Could go to that; then drive part way to Pitt that night; and then finish drive to Pitt next day.)

6/28: Pirates vs. Mets, 4:05 PM.

6/29: Fly home.

 

Here is the link to my Google Doc breaking down the Midwest teams' schedules and some other notes:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsfKmhW09eQBdEw3cmc5TjVwUzZ6R3Q0OXNnVzFCeWc&usp=sharing

 

Thanks!

For St. Louis - Doesn't sound like you'd be doing dinner there if the game's at 4, but maybe for lunch.... if you like BBQ, check out The Shaved Duck. It's in theTower Grove neighborhood which is just a few miles from the stadium. I ate there before a Cards game last year - great food & atmosphere, live music (at times), nice craft beer selection.

checkout airbnb.com for places to stay. There are similar websites out there too. Much better than a hotel imo.

Thank for the tip. I wholeheartedly agree; the challenge is getting grandpa on board.

For St. Louis - Doesn't sound like you'd be doing dinner there if the game's at 4, but maybe for lunch.... if you like BBQ, check out The Shaved Duck. It's in theTower Grove neighborhood which is just a few miles from the stadium. I ate there before a Cards game last year - great food & atmosphere, live music (at times), nice craft beer selection.

You. You....get me.

Great stuff, thank you! The New Glarus fruit beers are badass. They have a new one called Serendipity that is fantastic, and another called Strawberry Rhubarb that I don't think I've had.

 

Are their beers (even if not the fruit ones) on tap at the stadium, or is it thoroughly dominated by Miller? (False dilemma, but whatever )

Where have you been tasting them? I didn't think that they distributed much out of state.

 

The beer selection at Miller Park wasn't impressive from what I can recall, but it might have improved since I was there (2011). I remember hearing that they would have New Glarus Spotted Cow on tap, but I saw no signs of it. It was a lot of Miller and Leinenkugel, but I had some other microbrew (the name I am now forgetting).

 

The beer selection at Wrigley isn't great, either. The authentic thing to do would be to order an Old Style (bottles are easier to come by). Your best option in terms of quality would be a Goose Island 312 (don't be a dumbass and order a three-twelve, it's three-one-two).

My buddies and I trade beer via mail and also bring stuff back when we visit places.

 

Spotted Cow would be pretty nice at a ballpark. I won't break my neck looking, but maybe I'll get lucky.

 

Three One Two....good to know.

Just move your trip up 2 months and go to Dark Lord day.

Talking of ballpark trips, I'm considering going on one this summer. Has anyone had any experience of organised trips or have you favoured to organise yourself?