The Kennedy Ballpark Tour resumed for our Summer 2022 trip! We just arrived home, and we are officially over halfway through the list of 30 teams. Here's a collage of the ballparks that we have already been to:
We picked our destination to Minneapolis and Milwaukee while we were on last year's trip. Much like Kansas City and St. Louis, we thought we would replicate the itinerary of flying to one city and then traveling to another, crossing off two ballparks in one swoop. With Minneapolis and Milwaukee complete, we have now mostly covered the Midwest!
Traveling usually brings a mixture of excitement and anxiety. I look forward to the adventure and the memories, but I am also nervous about the preparations and the logistics of a successful traveling experience. Especially since we have added two kiddos to the mix, my feelings lean a little more to the anxious side. Lately, there have been a lot of flying horror stories in the news due to staffing shortages and continued COVID-19 complications. Luckily, none of my worst-case-scenarios came true, and we had a smooth travel day to start our trip. We had a mid-day flight that left Greensboro around 11AM and had a short (as in 10 minutes!) layover at La Guardia. The second flight departed around 1:30PM and was the longer flight, about 3.5 hours. The kiddos did great (mostly!) Eli napped during the first flight to New York, which allowed Emmy undivided screen time. She was a happy girl with her snacks and the surprise iPad that we brought along. During the second flight, Emmy and Eli stayed awake, and at one point, they both ended up with Daddy, even though they each had their own individual seats. There was some bickering when one wanted control of the iPad, but Boomer and I did our best to manage moods and appetites. We landed in Minneapolis around 3:30PM, and after unloading and grabbing an Uber, we headed to our hotel to check in. There is a 1-hour time difference in Minnesota, and our stomachs were still on NC time, so we soon set off to find dinner. Boomer's friend Marshall recommended Blue Door Pub for the famous Minneapolis Juicy Lucy, which is a hamburger patty stuffed with cheese inside. Boomer ordered the "Picnic Blucy" with pulled pork, chipotle slaw, and onion rings all piled on the burger. I had the classic "Blucy", with blue cheese inside, and a side of "Bandit fries", topped with a sweet-and-spicy BBQ seasoning. Delicious! We headed back to the hotel to get some rest after a full and successful travel day.
On Thursday, even though we did not set an alarm, the kiddos roused shortly before 7AM. It was a little earlier than I had hoped after a long day of traveling the day before, but we took our time getting ready and eating breakfast downstairs in the hotel. We then made our way to the ballpark. Our hotel was within sight of Target Field, less than half of a mile. In fact, there was an indoor pedestrian bridge called the Skywalk that connects several buildings in the downtown district, and our hotel had direct access to the ballpark from the Skywalk. It was neat to walk completely indoors to the stadium. The Twins were finishing up a three-day series with the Cleveland Guardians, and it was a noon game. Although temps were in the 90s, we had seats in an upper section in the shade. There was a nice breeze which kept us cool throughout the entire game. Boomer did a great job picking out our seats, and along with our tickets, he also purchased a meal combo for hot dogs and drinks, so we didn't spend any additional money on food inside the stadium. There were moments that Emmy and Eli got antsy, especially as we pushed through nap time, but with snacks, coloring, race cars, and field trips to the bathroom, we managed to stay for the whole game. Boomer even kept score, which is an optimistic task with two kids crawling all over you. We must have brought the Twins luck, because they pulled off a 1-0 win, with a solo homerun in the 3rd inning. Emmy and Eli were a little confused when the crowd cheered "Let's go, Twins! Let's go, Twins!" - they wanted to cheer "Let's go, Braves! Let's go, Braves!" - their Daddy was quite proud. Even though he wears the home team's shirt for each of our games, the Kennedys are still Braves fans. With this visit to Minneapolis, Target Field makes #16 for the Kennedy Ballpark Tour.
The original plan was to take an Amtrak train from Minneapolis to Milwaukee, much like last year when we traveled from St. Louis to Kansas City. However, when I checked my phone in the morning, I had an alert that our 8AM train had been delayed until around 9:30AM. It didn't seem like much of a big deal, until I received another alert with another delay, and then another. When the departure time pushed past noon, I quickly hopped on my phone to see if there were any other options. We made the quick decision to buy bus tickets instead. I purchased the tickets on my phone just a few minutes before 10AM, and we were on the Greyhound bus, pulling away from Minneapolis at 10:30AM. It was a whirlwind! We hustled out of the hotel and to the station, which happened to be only minutes from our hotel. The bus ride was a long 7 hours, but the kids did great with snacks and devices to keep them occupied. The air conditioning went out about halfway through the trip, which added to the craziness of the day. We finally arrived in Milwaukee just before 6PM (which was about 4 hours before the Amtrak was finally projected to arrive). After checking in at our hotel, we went to a German restaurant called Mader's, which was recommended by one of my coworkers. The staff dress in traditional German attire, and all of the dishes are authentic to Germany. I had not fully done my research, so we were a bit surprised that it was a restaurant with white tablecloths, and we were still dressed in our casual (and somewhat sweaty!) clothes from being on the bus all day. Boomer and I told each other that it would make for a good story one day, as we confiscated all of the sharp and breakable objects from Eli's side of the table. Our waiter was fantastic and not at all bothered by our appearance or children. We ordered the beer cheese spread with pretzel crostinis for our appetizer, along with salads, and for our main course, the German Sampler, their most popular dish inspired by John F. Kennedy, with three meats: wiener schnitzel, Kassler Rippchen, and Rheinischer sauerbraten. I'm still not entirely sure what I ate...but it was delicious! After wrapping up dinner, we were glad to get back to our hotel to collapse for the night. We faced some obstacles, but we made it to Wisconsin! All in all, Boomer was a champ carrying kids and suitcases, and we made a great team. I was proud of us for navigating a tricky travel dilemma. Boomer absolutely deserved the beer he got at dinner!
Day 4 (Saturday, June 25th): Milwaukee Brewers' Game
I really can't think of any major mishaps or curveballs (ha ha!) on this day. And boy, we needed a smooth day after our previous day on the bus! In the morning, we took our time waking up and eating breakfast at the hotel. There was a slight drizzle as we walked around the city, on the hunt for the famous Wisconsin cheese curds. We made our way to the Milwaukee Brat House on Old World 3rd Street. These cheese curds were unique with their dusting of Parmesan cheese and the buffalo dipping sauce - yum! We briefly walked along the river, before heading back to the hotel for naptime for Eli. Throughout the trip, his naps were irregular to non-existent, so it was nice to have about 2 hours to rest before the mid-afternoon ballgame. Eli woke up energized for the "Walkie baseball game." First pitch was at 3:10PM, and the Brewers played the Toronto Blue Jays. The light rain had continued throughout the afternoon, but luckily American Family Field has a retractable roof, so we were nice and dry inside. Boomer surprised us with club level tickets with an air conditioned concourse and cushioned seats. With the roof and the upgraded seats, we were very comfortable for the game. I couldn't resist; I got a second round of cheese curds, and Boomer got a brat. The Brewers took an early lead 5-0. The Blue Jays caught up with a few late runs, but luckily the home team held on for the win 5-4. The Kennedy Ballpark Tour checks off another ballpark and another win!
Day 5 (Sunday, June 26th): Flying Home
Aside from a last minute gate change and a slight delay on our second flight, our journey home was pretty smooth. Our first flight was not until 1:40PM, so we had breakfast at the hotel and then made our way to the Milwaukee airport. It was a nice surprise to find a kids play area in our terminal. Even Daddy joined in on the fun! Both kiddos wanted to be next to him on both flights, so Boomer was a good sport to sit in the middle and fetch snacks, help with devices, and be a pillow when Eli inevitably fell asleep. We touched down in Greensboro just before 10PM and pulled in at home right at 10:30PM. Whew, we did it!
We've now had a second successful Kennedy Ballpark Tour with our family of 4. I've learned a few things along the way. First, it's never fun to pack. I'm pretty minimalistic, and both years we have managed to fit everything we need in two carry-ons and two bookbags. Until the kids are a little bigger to be responsible for bags of their own, we've found that this amount of luggage is perfect for managing the airport, Ubers, and other stages of travel. The umbrella stroller is another must. This year might be the final year of using it...but at least for this year, we used it many times for Eli.
Aside from a last minute gate change and a slight delay on our second flight, our journey home was pretty smooth. Our first flight was not until 1:40PM, so we had breakfast at the hotel and then made our way to the Milwaukee airport. It was a nice surprise to find a kids play area in our terminal. Even Daddy joined in on the fun! Both kiddos wanted to be next to him on both flights, so Boomer was a good sport to sit in the middle and fetch snacks, help with devices, and be a pillow when Eli inevitably fell asleep. We touched down in Greensboro just before 10PM and pulled in at home right at 10:30PM. Whew, we did it!
We've now had a second successful Kennedy Ballpark Tour with our family of 4. I've learned a few things along the way. First, it's never fun to pack. I'm pretty minimalistic, and both years we have managed to fit everything we need in two carry-ons and two bookbags. Until the kids are a little bigger to be responsible for bags of their own, we've found that this amount of luggage is perfect for managing the airport, Ubers, and other stages of travel. The umbrella stroller is another must. This year might be the final year of using it...but at least for this year, we used it many times for Eli.
Another thing I have learned: devices are sometimes necessary. The iPad came in handy during the downtime of waiting and on the airplane. Boomer downloaded a few apps ahead of time, and Emmy loved the racing game and the cookie maker.
Escalators, moving sidewalks, and elevators - all the fascinating things of travel! The kids loved any opportunity to ride on one of these!
I just loved seeing the bond between Emmy and Eli. Sure, there were moments that they pestered each other and as a result, there were time outs and stern warnings. But there were sweet moments too, like Emmy teaching Eli his letters and playing peek-a-boo.
It will probably take us a day or two to catch up on our rest (and laundry!) and then it will be off to more summer adventures. As always, I am a little sad for our vacation to be over. But we have already picked our destination for next year and are looking forward to continuing the Kennedy Ballpark Tour in 2023!
