Traditional Baseball Roadtrip #4: Mid-Atlantic States-Part 1: The Philadelphia/Washington Run

Date: May 11, 2007 through May 12, 2007
Primary Destinations: MLB Cities of Washington D.C. and Philadelphia

Games Attended:

Game 1: Florida Marlins vs. Washington Nationals, May 11th, 7:05PM EDT, RFK Stadium, Washington, DC http://www.ballparkreviews.com/washdc/rfk.htm

Game 2: Chicago Cubs vs. Philadelphia Phillies, May 12^th, 3:45PM EDT, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA http://www.ballparkreviews.com/philly/cit.htm

Roadtrip Summary:

There is a very high concentration of Major League Baseball teams in the Mid-Atlantic States. The six teams located in this region are:

• New York: New York Yankees and New York Mets
• Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates
• Maryland: Baltimore Orioles
• Washington D.C.: Washington Nationals
  

The stadiums of these teams, with the exception of the Pittsburgh Pirates, are within comfortable driving distance of our Northern New Jersey location.

We regularly attend games of both the New York Yankees and New York Mets. In fact, during one season, I saw the Yankees play every other American leave team. I was accompanied to most of those game by my daughter who was 9 years old at that time. For this reason, the objective of our Mid-Atlantic States Baseball Roadtrip is to visit the remaining teams that play in this region of the country at their home stadiums.

Since it is hard to plan a single trip for consecutive dates during with each of these teams play at home, our strategy is to visit them through a series of short weekend roadtrip. For instance, it is not normal that the Phillies, Nationals, and Orioles are at home during a short period, such as four days. This was our first Mid-Atlantic States Roadtrip and we choose to see a Philadelphia Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park and the Washington Nationals play at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (RFK Stadium). At this point in time, Citizens Bank Park was the newest stadium in this region, having become the new home of the Phillies in 2004. At the same time, the Nationals already announced plans to move to a new stadium; made the design plan for their new ballpark (eventually named Nationals Park) public on May 14, 2006; and confirmed that the 2007 baseball season would be their last at RFK.

Again, I was accompanied by my brother, Bob, on this Mid-Atlantic States Baseball Roadtip-Part 1, which is better know as “The Philadelphia/Washington Run.” The trip lasted just 2 days and we saw just one game in each city. We drove from Northern, NJ directly to Washington, D.C. and arrived in time to see an evening game, stayed overnight in accommodations near Annapolis, MD, and traveled back via Delaware the next day to attend a late afternoon game in Philadelphia. This trip included a one-night stay to visit our ailing Aunt Bert and her family near Dover, DE. We were joined at the Phillies game by our cousins Roger and Art.

Though a family visit was planned into our trip, the cities of Philadelphia and Washington D.C. as well as other destinations along the route through NJ, PA, MD, and D.C. offer a vast opportunity for family recreation or entertainment and a large number of historical sites. In addition, a number of minor league and independent baseball league teams are located in NJ, DE, and MD and permit additional stops for an expanded Mid-Atlantic Region Baseball Roadtrip. A list of suggested stops follows in the sections titled “Suggestions for Additional Roadtrip Attractions” and “Some Suggested Alternatives.” Also, information about a number of baseball teams conveniently located along the route between the Metropolitan New York City area and Washington D.C. is provided in the “Roadtrip Planning Resources” section.

MLB Final Scores and Box Scores

Game 1: Final Score: WSN 6 FLA 0 Box Score:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WAS/WAS200705110.shtml
Game 2: Final Score: PHI 11 CHC 7 Box Score:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI200705120.shtml

Travel Method, Route, and Distances:

May 11th

• Drive: 235 mi to Washington D.C

May 12th

• Drive: 133 mi to Philadelphia, PA
• Drive: 107 mi to Wayne, NJ
  

Approx. Total Drive Miles: 475 mi

En-route Attractions Visited:

• None

Suggestions for Additional Roadtrip Attractions:

Washington D.C.

1. Three Houses of the U. S. Government: White House, U. S.Capitol Building, and U. S.Supreme Court Building http://dc.about.com/cs/walkingtours/a/ThreeHouses.htm
2. National Mall and Memorial Parks: Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial, World War II Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and Vietnam War Veterans Memorial http://www.nps.gov/nama/index.htm
3. Smithsonian Institute Museums: Air and Space Museum, American History Museum, National Zoo, American Indian Museum, Portrait Gallery, National History Museum, and More http://www.si.edu/Museums/
4. Old Town Trolley of Washington D.C. Day Tour (Hop-On, Hop-Off Tour) http://www.trolleytours.com/washington-dc/union-station.asp
5. Washington D.C. Ducks Tour, http://www.trolleytours.com/washington-dc/dc-ducks.asp
6. Self-guided MP3 Audio Walking Tours of Washington D.C., The National Mall http://www.viator.com/tours/Washington-DC/Washington-DC-The-National-Mall-MP3-Audio-Walking-Tour/d657-3781WAS2
7. Self-guided MP3 Audio Walking Tours of Washington D.C., Historic District Georgetown http://www.viator.com/tours/Washington-DC/Washington-DC-Historic-Georgetown-MP3-Audio-Walking-Tour/d657-3781WAS1
8. Union Station: History http://www.unionstationdc.com/history.aspx
   
9. Union Station: Food court http://www.unionstationdc.com/dining.aspx
10. Place to Eat: Mr. Smith’s of Georgetown (Restaurant and Tavern with Garden Patio) http://mrsmiths.com/v1/index

Philadelphia, PA

1. Historic Sites Tour

   http://www.visitphilly.com/history/

2. Liberty Bell

   http://www.visitphilly.com/history/philadelphia/the-liberty-bell-center/

3. Independence Hall http://www.visitphilly.com/history/philadelphia/independence-hall/
4. The Betsy Ross House

   http://www.visitphilly.com/history/philadelphia/the-betsy-ross-house/

5. Independence Visitor Center http://webmail.aol.com/31423-111/aol-1/en-us/Suite.aspx
6. Self-guided Walking Tour of Historical Philadelphia. http://www.theconstitutional.com/selfguided/index.php
7. Ride the Ducks (Street and Water) City Tour http://www.phillyducks.com/
8. Philadelphia Museum of Art

   http://www.visitphilly.com/museums-attractions/philadelphia/philadelphia-museum-of-art/

9. Rodin Museum

   http://www.visitphilly.com/museums-attractions/philadelphia/rodin-museum/

10. Independence Seaport Museum

    http://www.phillyseaport.org/

11. Phillie Cheesesteaks and More: these famous landmark South Philly Cheesesteak Stands are arch rivals and located on opposite corners on 9th St.
    
12. Geno’s Steaks, 12195 9th St. Philladelphia, PA 19147

    http://www.genosteaks.com/about.html

13. Pat’s King of Steaks, 1237 East Passyunk Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19147 http://www.patskingofsteaks.com/
14. Bookbinder’s Seafood Restaurant

    http://www.bookbinders.biz/

15. National Mechanics Bar and Restaurant

    http://www.nationalmechanics.com/

16. South Street: Bohemian Atmosphere of Philadelphia

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Street_(Philadelphia)

17. Lights of Liberty: Sound and Light Show about the American Revolution

    http://www.visitphilly.com/history/philadelphia/lights-of-liberty

18. Tour Lincoln Financial Field Home of the Philadelphia Eagles

    http://www.lincolnfinancialfield.com/stadiuminfo/stadiumtours.asp

19. Yards Brewing Company Tour

    http://www.yardsbrewing.com/tours.asp

20. American Helicopter Museum, 1220 American Boulevard, Goshen Township, PA 19380

    http://www.visitphilly.com/museums-attractions/philadelphia/american-helicopter-museum/

Roadtrip Planning Tips:

1. Attend two games at Citizens Bank Park. The stadium is architecturally interesting with an outfield that is open to view the skyline of the city.
2. Ashburn Alley, at Citizens Bank Park, is named after the Phillies legendary center fielder Richie Ashburn (who was also one of the original 1962 New York Mets). The promenade includes Allstar Walk, Memory Lane, and a Wall of Fame to honor former Phillies greats.
3. Statues at Citizens Bank Park honor Phillies stars Richie Ashburn, Robin Roberts, Steve Carlton, and Mike Schmidt.
   
4. The Cooperstown Gallery at Citizens Bank Park has paintings of former Philadelphia Phillies and Athletics players that were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
5. Both Citizens Bank Park and the new National’s Park are easily accessible by car with good parking facilities. For this reason, we recommend driving to these stadiums.
   

Some Changes Since 2007:

• The Washington Nationals moved to their new home stadium Nationals Park for the start of the 2008 baseball season. .

Some Suggested Alternatives:

1. Expand the duration of the roadtrip by adding one or more extra days with an overnight stay and see additional games by teams that play in towns/cities on the route between southern New Jersey and Washington D.C.
2. Attend a home game played by the Baltimore Orioles
3. Visit the home stadium and see a game played by an Affiliated Minor League Team.
   
4. Two Affiliated Minor League teams conveniently located just off the route between Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, PA are the Wilmington Blue Rocks, Frawley Stadium, Wilmington, DE Carolina League, Class A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and Aberdeen IronBirds, Ripken Stadium, Aberdeen, MD New York Penn League, Class A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles
5. See a game played by an Independent Baseball League Team, such as the Camden Riversharks at Campbell’s Field, Camden, NJ or Southern Maryland Blue Crabs at Regency Furniture Stadium, Waldorf-St. Charles, MD. Both teams are members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
6. AMTRAK’s Ascela Express train route services all of the cities with MLB teams in the Mid-Atlantic States, except Pittsburgh. This route has stops in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. In each of these cities, public transportation is available for transfer from the train station to the city downtown and where necessary to the stadium.

   http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer/AM_Route_C/1241245664867/1237405732511

Roadtrip Planning Resources:

The following are the web resources used for planning “Mid-Atlantic States-Part 1: The Philadelphia/Washington Run" MLB roadtrip:

Official Website of the Major League Baseball:

http://mlb.mlb.com

• Click on “Team Sites” and then click on the appropriate AL or NL home team, for instance, “Philadelphia Phillies” to get to a specific team’s website.
• On the specific team website click on “Schedule” and view the “Regular Season” schedule.
• Link to View Addresses of the Stadiums for each MLB Team:

  http://mlb.mlb.com/team/

Official Website of the Carolina League:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/schedule/index.jsp?sid=l122

• Click on the “Logo” listed across the top to choose a team in the league, for instance, “Wilmington Blue Rocks” to get to that specific team’s website.
• On the specific team’s website click on “Schedule” and view the “Regular Season” schedule.
• Click on “Ballpark Info” to view information about the home stadium.
• Determine the name of the stadium.
• Identify the address of the stadium (if the address is not given Google the name of the stadium).
  

Official Website of the New York Penn League:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/schedule/index.jsp?sid=l127

• Select the appropriate team to transfer to its website, for instance, the “Aberdeen Ironbirds.”
• View the home games on the season schedule.
• Identify the name of the stadium and its address.
  

Official Website of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball: http://www.atlanticleague.com/

• Select the appropriate team to transfer to its website, for instance, the “Camden Riversharks.”
• Identify the name of the stadium and its address.
• Official Website of the Camden Riversharks: http://www.riversharks.com/index.cfm
• Click on “2010 Schedule” and select the appropriate month for which you would like to view the schedule of games.
• Official Website of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs: http://www.somdbluecrabs.com/index.cfm
• Click on “2010 Schedule” and select the appropriate month for which you would like to view the schedule of games.
  

Traditional Baseball Roadtrip #3: The Western Loop of the Midwest

Date: May 14, 2006 through May 21, 2006
Primary Destinations: MLB Cities of the Midwest:
Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City

Games Attended:

Game 1: Chicago White Sox vs. Minnesota Twins, May 14^th, 7:05PM CDT, Hubert Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/minn/minn.htm

Game 2: Chicago White Sox vs. Minnesota Twins, May 15^th, 12:10PM CDT, Hubert Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN

Game 3: Washington Nationals vs. Chicago Cubs, May 16^th, 7:05PM CDT, Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/wrigley/wrigley.htm

Game 4: New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals, May 17^th, 7:10PM CDT, Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/stlouis/newbusch.htm

Game 5: New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals, May 18^th, 12:10PM CDT, Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO Game 6: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals, May 19^th, 7:10PM CDT, Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/kc/kc.htm

Game 7: Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox, May 20^th, 12:20PM CDT, U. S. Cellular Field, Chicago, IL

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/comiskey/comiskey.htm

Roadtrip Summary:

This was our second baseball roadtrip to the Midwest Region and it was planned for us to visit the teams that we did see on our first trip: Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, and Chicago White Sox. Since the teams that we saw during this trip were primarily to the west of Chicago, I have called this roadtrip “The Western Loop of the Midwest.” The trip lasted seven nights/eight days and during that period we saw seven games that involved seven different teams. The roadtrip was implemented as a fly and drive trip. Again, my travel partner for the trip was my brother Bob.

The cities visited on the trip were much farther apart than those on our Eastern Loop of the Midwest roadtrip. For this reason, we flew to most of them instead of driving. Even though our original flight took us through Chicago and continued directly on to Minneapolis, the hub for our trip was Chicago. This enabled us to see a home game of both the Cubs at Wrigley Field and the White Sox at U. S. Cellular Field. After seeing two Twin’s home games and a one night stay in Minneapolis, we returned to Chicago for two nights and saw one game at Wrigley Field, the Nationals versus the Cubs.

The next legs of our roadtrip made a loop from Chicago to St. Louis (303 miles), then St Louis to Kansas City (243 miles), and finally Kansas City back to Chicago (535 miles). Due to the long travel distances between Chicago and St. Louis and Kansas City and Chicago, we chose to fly these two legs of the trip. On the other hand, the route between St. Louis and Kansas City is primarily on a single highway and Kauffman Stadium is not located downtown or near the airport. For this reason, we needed a car in Kansas City to get to the stadium so we decided to drive that leg. In St. Louis we attended two games and stayed for two nights. While we saw one game and stayed just one night in Kansas City before returning to Chicago. .

In each city, we included some additional attractions to add a vacation flavor to our primarily baseball roadtrip. In addition to Chicago, which we explored extensively on our first Midwest roadtrip, we enjoyed both Minneapolis and St. Louis very much. In Minneapolis, we made a trip to the Mall of America and eat at one of its numerous restaurants and in St. Louis visited the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame and International Bowling Hall of Fame. Since the Royal’s baseball stadium is not located downtown, we had to drive toward the city to visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. One of our highlights of our trip was in Kansas City, lunch at the Original Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque Restaurant.

MLB Final Scores and Box Scores

Game 1: Final Score: CHW 9 MIN 7 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN200605140.shtml

Game 2: Final Score: CHW 7 MIN 3 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN200605150.shtml

Game 3: Final Score: CHC 4 WSN 0 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN200605160.shtml

Game 4: Final Score: STL 1 NYM 0 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200605170.shtml

Game 5: Final Score: STL 6 NYM 3 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200605180.shtml

Game 6: Final Score: STL 9 KCR 6 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/KCA/KCA200605190.shtml

Game 7: Final Score: CHW 7 CHC 0 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA200605200.shtml

Travel Method, Route, and Distances:

May 14th

• Fly: Newark Airport, Newark, NJ to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Minneapolis, MN.
• Light Rail Transit (LRT): 25 minute trip between airport and downtown Minneapolis. Departures every 7 to 15 minutes and operates from 6:45AM through 10:45PM.

May 15th

• Light Rail Transit (LRT): 25 minute trip between downtown and airport. Departures every 7 to 15 minutes and operates from 6:45AM through 10:45PM.
• Fly: Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Minneapolis, MN to Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Des Plaines, IL.
• Chicago Transit Authority (CTA): Blue line light rail—45 minute trip between airport and downtown Chicago. Departures every 7-15 minutes 24hrs/day.

May 17th

• Chicago Transit Authority (CTA): Blue line light rail—45 minute trip between downtown and airport. Departures every 7-15 minutes 24hrs/day.
• Fly: Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Des Plaines, IL to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, St. Louis, MO.
• MetroLink (Metro): 30 minute light rail trip between airport and downtown St. Louis. Departures every 7-15 minutes between 5AM and Midnight.

May 19th

• MetroLink (Metro): 30 min light rail trip between downtown and airport. Departures every 7-15 minutes between 5AM and Midnight.
• Drive: 229 mi from airport to Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

May 20th

• Drive: 31 mi to Kansas City International Airport
• Fly: Kansas City International Airport, Kansas City, MO to Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Des Plaines, IL.
• Chicago Transit Authority (CTA): Blue line light rail—45 minute trip between airport and downtown Chicago. Departures every 7-15 minutes 24hrs/day.

May 21st

• Chicago Transit Authority (CTA): Blue line light rail—45 minute trip between downtown and airport. Departures every 7-15 minutes 24hrs/day.
• Fly: Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Des Plaines, IL to Newark Airport, Newark, NJ.

Approx. Total Drive Miles: 260 mi

En-route Attractions Visited:

1. Downtown Skyways, Minneapolis, MN http://www.minneapolis.org/page/skyways-minneapolis.jsp
2. Mall of America, Bloomington, MN http://www.mallofamerica.com/
3. Mall of America Shopping and Dinning, Bloomington, MN http://www.mallofamerica.com/#/shop-dine/restaurants/
4. The Chicago Loop, Chicago, IL http://www.chicago.com/neighborhoods/Loop/
5. Greektown, 100-400 South Halstead St, Chicago, IL http://www.greektownchicago.org/
6. Ride the “EL” (elevated trains) to the Baseball Stadiums, Chicago, IL http://www.transitchicago.com/travel_information/maps/htsystemmap.aspx o Wrigley Field: click on and view North Side map o The Loop: click on and view Downtown map o US Cellular Field: click on and view Central/South Side map
7. Gateway Arch at the Riverfront, St. Louis, MO http://www.gatewayarch.com/Arch/
8. Museum of Westward Expansion at the Gateway Arch: Lewis and Clark Expedition Exhibit, http://www.gatewayarch.com/Arch/info/act.museum.aspx , http://www.explorestlouis.com/media/pressKit/lewisAndClarkAdventure.asp
9. Citygarden, St. Louis, MO http://www.citygardenstl.org/
10. St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame, St. Louis, MO (Currently closed and moving to new location in St. Louis) http://mlb.mlb.com/stl/history/stl_history_halloffame.jsp
11. International Bowling Hall of Fame, St. Louis, MO (closed and moving out of St. Louis) http://www.bowlingmuseum.com/
12. Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Kansas City, MO http://www.nlbm.com/
13. The Original Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque Restaurant, 1727 Brooklyn Ave, Kansas City, MO http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/our_restaurants/index.htm

Suggestions for Additional Roadtrip Attractions:

1. Nickelodeon Universe^R at the Mall of America, Bloomington, MN http://www.nickelodeonuniverse.com
2. Underwater Adventures^R Aquarium at the Mall of America, Bloomington, MN ttp://www.underwaterworld.com/
   
3. Minneapolis Queen at the Port of Excelsior, Excelsior, MN http://www.twincitiescruises.com/
4. Wrigleyville (neighborhood around Wrigley Field), Chicago, IL http://www.chicagotraveler.com/neighborhoods/wrigleyville-feature.htm
5. Harry Carey’s Tavern, Chicago, IL http://www.harrycaraystavern.com/
6. Millennium Park, Chicago, IL http://www.millenniumpark.org/generalinformation/
7. Chicago Trolley and Double Decker Co. (hop on hop off city sight seeing tour), Chicago, IL http://www.coachusa.com/chicagotrolley/
8. Chicago Riverwalk, Chicago, IL http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/attractions/tourism/chicago_riverwalk.html
9. Chicago River Architectural Cruise and Lake Michigan Shore/Chicago Skyline Cruise, Chicago, IL http://www.shorelinesightseeing.com
10. Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tour, St. Louis, MO http://www.budweisertours.com/
11. Forest Park, St. Louis, MO http://www.slfp.com/ForestPark.html o St. Louis Zoo at Forest Park, St. Louis, MO http://www.stlzoo.org/ o Science Center near Forest Park, St. Louis, MO http://www.slsc.org/ o James S. McDonnell Planetarium at Forest Park, St. Louis, MO http://www.slfp.com/McDonnellPlanetarium.htm
12. Gateway Arch Riverboats: Cruise on the Mississippi River aboard the Tom Sawyer Riverboat or Becky Thatcher Riverboat, St. Louis, MO http://www.gatewayarch.com/Arch/info/act.riverboat.ss.1hr.aspx
13. Steamboat Arabia Museum, Kansas City, MO http://www.1856.com/
14. 14. Harley Davidson Vehicle and Powertrain Operations Factory Tour, Kansas City, MO http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/content/pages/factory_tours/kansas_city.jsp
15. Boulevard Brewing Company Tour, Kansas City, MO http://www.blvdbeer.com/beer.htm
    
16. The College Basketball Experience, Kansas City, MO http://www.collegebasketballexperience.com/explorecbe.aspx
    
17. Kansas Speedway Tour, Kansas City, MO http://www.kansasspeedway.com/Track-Info/Track-Tours.aspx

Roadtrip Planning Tips:

1. Attend two games at Wrigley Field in Chicago and Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Wrigley is one of the most interesting baseball environments you will every experience. Also, St. Louis is a very interesting city and the baseball atmosphere experienced attending a game played at Busch Stadium is enjoyable.
2. Check the schedules of the Cubs and White Sox to identify dates that will permit you to attend games of both teams at their home stadiums.
3. Stay at least two nights in both Chicago and St. Louis.
4. The Minnesota Twins will have a new stadium Target Field for the 2010 season. We saw two Twins games because we did not anticipate ever returning. But, stayed one night; instead of two. That is our recommendation.
5. If possible, do not have a car while staying in Chicago, Minneapolis, and St. Louis. There will be little use for the car and additional charges for parking at a downtown hotel. Public transportation is available for traveling between the airport and downtown.
6. In Chicago, Minneapolis, and St. Louis stay downtown at a hotel that is conveniently located to public transportation. In Chicago there are stops on the EL for both Wrigley Field and the U. S. Cellular Field. While in St. Louis, we found an excellent, moderately priced hotel that allowed us to walk to the games. Finally, the Twins new stadium is on the LRT route.

Some Changes since 2006:

• Hubert Humphrey Metrodome closed at the end of the 2009 season and the Twins new stadium, Target Field, opens for the 2010 season.
  
• International Bowling Hall of Fame of St. Louis relocated to Texas.
• The St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame is temporarily closed for a move to a new location. Check to confirm that it has reopened.

Some Suggested Alternatives:

1. Fly into Chicago, IL instead of Minneapolis, MN and use Chicago as the hub for all travel. By picking the correct arrival and departure dates, it may be possible to see both the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox, one upon arrival and the other just befoe departure.
2. Drive the Chicago-St. Louis-Kansas City-Chicago Loop: o Wrigley Field, Chicago to Busch Stadium, St. Louis via Springfield, IL: 302 miles, 5 hr 10 min. o Busch Stadium, St. Louis to Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City: 243 miles, 3hr 50 min o Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO to Wrigley Field, Chicago via Des Moines, IA: 535 miles, 8hr 30 min.
3. Breakup up the long drive to St. Louis by adding an extra day with an overnight stay near Peoria, IL, where you can attend a Peoria Chiefs game. The Peoria Chiefs are the single A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs in the Midwest League. This stop will partition the 302 mile ride from Chicago to St. Louis into two approx. 170 mi drives. Chicago to Peoria is 171 miles and 3hr, while Peoria to St. Louis is 171 miles and 2hr 50 min. Peoria is approx 33 miles off of the direct route between Chicago and St. Louis. The MapQuest address of O'Brien Field, where the Chiefs play, is 730 SW Jefferson St, Peoria, IL.
4. Break up the long return trip from Kansas City to Chicago by adding two extra stops in towns with minor league teams. The first stop could be in Des Moines, IA where the Iowa Cubs play at Principal Park. Des Moines is right on the route suggested by MapQuest to drive from KC back to Chicago and is a 196 mi, 3hr 5 min ride from KC. The Iowa Cubs are the AAA team of the Chicago Cubs and play in the Pacific Coast League. The MapQuest address for Principal Park is One Line Drive, Des Moines, IA 50309. A second stop can be made in Davenport, IA where the Quad Cities River Bandits play their games at Modern Woodmen Park. The River Bandits are the single A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals in the Midwest League. This stop is also directly on the route outlined by MapQuest for traveling from KC to Chicago. The ride from Des Moines to the stadium in Davenport is approx. 174 mi and takes about 2 hr 40 min. The return trip from Davenport to Chicago is completed with an approx.178 mi, 3hr 10 min drive. The MapQuest address for Modern Woodmen Park is 209 S. Gaines St. Davenport, IA 52802.
5. Alternate choices instead of the Davenport, IA stop on the return route from KC to Chicago. Both of the following options are near Davenport, IA and a short distance off the direct route. o Clinton LumberKings, Clinton, IA, Alliant Energy Field, Single A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners in the Midwest League. o Cedar Rapid Kernels, Cedar Rapids, IA, Veterans Memorial Stadium, Single A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the Midwest League.

Roadtrip Planning Resources:

The following are the web resources used for planning a “Western Loop of the Midwest" MLB roadtrip. Official Website of the Major League Baseball: http://mlb.mlb.com Click on “Team Sites” and then click on the appropriate AL or NL home team, for instance, “Chi Cubs” for Chicago Cubs to get to a specific team’s website. On the specific teams website click on “Schedule” and view the “Regular Season” schedule. Link to View Addresses of the Stadiums for each MLB Team: http://mlb.mlb.com/team/ Official Website of the Pacific Coast League: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=l112 Click on “Iowa Cubs” in the listing of teams to get to their website. On the Iowa Cubs website click on “Principal Park” for information about the stadium and “Schedule” to access the “2010 Regular Season Schedule.” Website link for the Iowa Cubs. http://iowa.cubs.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t451 Official Website of the Midwest League: http://midwest.league.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=l118 Click on the appropriate team in the listing to transfer to its website, for instance the “Peoria Chiefs.” View the home games for the Chief’s 2010 season under “Schedule.” View information about O’Brien Field by clicking on “Stadium.” Website link for the Peoria Chiefs. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t443 Website link for the Quad Cities River Bandits. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t565 Website link for the Clinton LumberKings. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t500 Website link for the Cedar Rapid Kernels. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t492