It all started as a favor to my younger brother. He will be matriculating at that bastion of academic excellence known as Arizona State University, and he asked me to help him move down there. Since I was going to be out of town for a spell, I figured it’d be worth finding out how long I could string out the trip as an extended ballpark journey. I had been looking at other windows to do it, including early and mid-September. In the end, a trip starting in early August made the most sense in terms of flexibility and scheduling.
Unlike the trip I had taken to the East Coast two years ago, this one will have a different mode of transport for most of the duration: train. I’d been longing to take a long train trip for several years now, and the cost and hassle of either driving thousands of miles or coming in and out of airports everyday was not particularly compelling, so I looked to the rails as an alternative. Amtrak has a series of rail passes which can work well for such a trip. I purchased an 8 segment/15 day pass for $389 with no additional taxes or fees (thanks, government subsidized passenger rail). I’ve made partial reservations on some trains and will soon lock in the rest, though I know I can easily make changes prior to and during the trip. The journey is compressed enough that it’ll require a single one-way plane trip from Dallas to Kansas City, but beyond that everything’s ground-bound and quite leisurely. Train travel is something I recommend to everyone looking for a change of pace. It’s not perfect, but you may find it suits you with some planning.
Enough background. Here’s the itinerary.
The downside of this two-week stretch is that I’ll barely miss the A’s at Minnesota on August 13-15, but I’m trying to make up for that by checking out the Kane County Cougars on August 16. I’d like to check out young lefty Ian Krol while I’m there, but from the looks of things I’ll be catching a game a couple of days before or after his scheduled starts.
In total, I’ll be going to 12 sporting events, including 8 MLB games, 3 MiLB games, and 1 exhibition NFL game. Interspersed in the trip will be several ballpark and stadium tours, plus visits to other venues such as the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City.
I haven’t decided what the posting frequency will be for the trip, whether it’ll be per event or per day. I’ll try to do a local “trial run” prior to the trip. What do you think of the trip? Do you have any suggestions for places to eat, watering holes, etc? Drop ’em in the comments.
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wow, what a great tour! when you go to Wrigley, take the L to Clark Street for the full experience.
How are you traveling from Houston to Dallas? Overnight or early morning train? How long (time) is the trip from Houston to Dallas?
@SPara – Haven’t decided yet. There is no direct train (amazing, huh?), so I may do a one-way car rental or slum it on Greyhound. No big deal to me either way. Southwest has pretty much killed the idea of rail travel throughout Texas.
I’m a transplanted Bay Arean who has lived in Chicago for just over 4 years, and your blog has occasionally served as somewhat of a lifeline back “home,” so to speak. Anyway, yeah, take the Red LIne L to Addison and walk around. Murphy’s Bleachers on Sheffield and Addison is a crowded hot spot on game days but becomes a quieter neighborhood tavern on non-game days, so might be a good place to stop and eat when there’s no game. Had a hearty meatball sandwich on an icy winter’s night there once.
As far as watering holes, Slugger’s on Clark is pretty cool–huge, and has batting cages and Dave & Buster’s-like carnival games/entertainment on the second floor. But it’s in the part of Wrigleyville known as douchebag central. If you need a break from that scene, you may want to head to either Roadhouse 66 further south on Clark, or Gingerman’s further north, which has a pretty good draft beer selection and jukebox.
As far as US Cellular, there are a few pre- and post-game places scattered around there, but not many (it’s probably somewhat better than the area around the Oakland Coliseum in that regard, though). Yet it’s not really in the sort of area that invites you to wander around after a game, unlike Wrigleyville. After the Sox game, you can always take the L or the Dan Ryan back north.
Sounds like a great trip. Good luck.
Correction: Murphy’s Bleachers is on Sheffield and Waveland.
I’m very impressed at your double-dip on August 22nd. Two games, two different sites…a full eight(?) -hour day of travel and baseball. At least the nightcap is nearby your abode.
Might try to join ya for the Stockton game at Muni. 🙂
Thanks as always for your great updates on the blog.
Awesome trip!
The Astrodome? Wrigley Field? Whatever Portland’s-soon-to-be-decomissioned-for-baseball thing is called this week? I thought this site was put up for the glory of all things new, and to eliminate old relics like the Coliseum. Now you’re saying that those places are worth visiting?
Looks like a lot of fun. Have a great time!
Brian (Quote) “The Astrodome? Wrigley Field? Whatever Portland’s-soon-to-be-decomissioned-for-baseball thing is called this week? I thought this site was put up for the glory of all things new, and to eliminate old relics like the Coliseum. Now you’re saying that those places are worth visiting?”
Any ballpark is worth visiting if you haven’t seen it before — even the Coli.
But worth seeing does not necessarily mean worth saving.
And old doesn’t always mean good.
Other than being a long-time baseball site, the Coli has virtually no redeeming features. It was the ugliest and most badly shaped of the concrete ashtrays, and then it became even uglier and more misshapen when it was remodelled for the Raiders.
It is grotesque, and has not earned survival rights.
The Coliseum definitely needs to be replaced but it wasn’t always a dump. Prior to the Raider’s renovation it was a great place to see the game. It’s a relic but that’s not a bad thing. It’s of it’s time and the time is over. I remember catching a game at Busch II and Fulton-County Stadiums. They’re no Fenway or AT&T, but they’re still fascinating in their own right.
ML, have a great time.
I’ll be at Wrigley the week before you. Too bad we’ll miss each other. This sounds like a hell of a trip and adding the train to the trip is just too cool
I whole-heartedly recommend booking space on the sleeping car for the Portland-Oakland segment of your (most enviable) journey. Riding 1st class on the train that runs between Seattle and L.A. (the Coast Starlight) gets you a bedroom and access to the upgraded lounge. For more info, see pacificparlourcar dot com
@dumboldboy – Thanks for the recommendation. Last time I rode on the Coast Starlight was 2003, just prior to the introduction of the Pacific Parlour Car. I’ll definitely inquire about it. Even back then it was a wonderful trip.