This was my first great baseball trip that I took by myself. I am quite happy that my old Volvo survived this. My Pirates went to Chicago and played the White Sox and Cubs back to back over Memorial Day weekend which is why I did this. I started down in Washington taking in the Nationals and Phillies. This was back when the Phillies were good, they did make it to the World Series that year. The Pirates then came to town and then I followed them out to Chicago and then took in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in Cleveland before seeing the Astros play in Pittsburgh. I also took an excursion up to Milwaukee to see the Memorial Day game between the Brew Crew and the Cardinals. That trip was a lot of baseball. I filled it in with a few other excursions. For pictures from the stadiums go to the Baseball section.
Chicago 2009
George Washington’s Birthplace
First stop was at George Washington’s birthplace on the Northern Neck. Nice place, but it was also impossible for him to throw a silver dollar across the Potomac here. This may have also been the place where he chopped down the cherry tree (or didn’t).
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness and Spotsylvania
Had some time so I visited these Civil War battlefields. I had been there before but was much younger and took pictures this time. Check out pics from these battlefields here!
Washington DC
I’ve done a lot of the touristy stuff in DC but never really went through the museums so it was time for a visit to some of the Smithsonian museums. Also took a trip up to the top of the Post Office Pavilion tower. Now that is a view!
Driving to Chicago
This is a long drive. I took I-70 to Indianapolis and then headed north on US 31 to South Bend. After a photo op at Notre Dame I took in the Indiana Dunes Lakeshore and then headed into Chicago. It was the beginning of Memorial Day weekend. Traffic around Chicago was awful. It took me a bit to find my hotel. They had reduced the rate since part of it was under construction. It was right by the Red Line which went to both baseball stadiums so it worked out well. There was also a brewery right up the street.
Chicago
I had flown through O’Hare before but this was the first time on the ground. I found I like the place and deep dish pizza! Went up in the Willis Tower, walked around Soldier Field, toured Wrigley Field, went up in the Hancock Tower and did a few other things. Ate at Pizzeria Uno. While there my belt broke but there are few better places to be than the Miracle Mile for that. I bought a nice new belt that lasted me for years.
The only regret I had was that I didn’t take a drive on Lakeshore Drive. The Pirates lost 2 of 3 to the White Sox and split in the two games with the Cubs. I saw Freddy Sanchez have a 6 hit game, those are incredibly rare. I had a ticket for the third game but decided to skip town and the Pirates lost that game. Mr. T was the guest for the Memorial Day game. He might have pitied the Pirates but they had the last laugh in that one. The Tuesday game wound up being rain shortened and that was probably for the best.
Milwaukee
Saw that the Brewers were playing a Memorial Day matinee game so I drove up and took it in, most of it at least. Also took a stroll around downtown Milwaukee. I left after the 7th so I could listen to Bob Uecker on the radio. This may have been the best game I ever saw, the Brewers won 1-0 in 10 innings. Made it back to Chicago in time for the Pirates and Cubs on what became a cold wet night.
With my beer bottle collection in mind I picked bottles out of the trash near the stadium and I got some good ones there. It looked a bit odd to the handful of people in the lot but I don’t care.
Cleveland to Pittsburgh
The Indians were home on my drive back from Chicago so I skipped the third game of the Pirates/Cubs series and headed home. Since the Tribe was playing the Rays tickets were “on sale” so I sat 9 rows from the field for $25. 2+ hour rain delay in this one and I wasn’t back to the motel after midnight. Took in the matinee game the next day which also featured a long rain delay with a nasty thunderstorm passing through. The Cavaliers were also home that night in the NBA Semifinals against the Magic so the area was buzzing. Walked around downtown Cleveland too but didn’t have time for the Rock and Roll HOF.
After leaving Cleveland I took in the Pro Football HOF before making my way to Pittsburgh where I took in the Astros/Pirates series. Got lots of goodies in the Strip District on Saturday to show my Pittsburgh Pride.