A long week here at work with the impending East Coast Hurricane…and a vacation will certainly be welcomed next week! We are off to my first venture into the Midwest and really looking forward to it. The car will be our travel method and we’ll start out next Thursday by stopping in Akron for a visit to Canal Park and the Aeros. This will be #10 out of 12 for ballparks visited in the Eastern League and I should be able to finish up Harrisburg and New Haven next year. Then Friday, its off to South Bend, Indiana where one of my good friends is getting married over the weekend. In the midst of wedding facilities, Notre Dame Stadium is on the docket as we will be in attendance for the Notre Dame-South Florida season opener. Gives me chills just thinking about being there. On Monday, We’ll spend a little time touring South Bend after the wedding, then its off to Chicago! Through the week, we’re touring the Windy City and staying downtown. Two stadiums are planned there. First is Wrigley Field on Tuesday. I’ll be on emotion overload after seeing the Irish and Cubs within 48 hours. The second game is Thursday and that’s TBD. We’re going to take a break from the city and head to the suburbs to check out one of three minor league teams in playoff action, if they are at home: Kane County Cougars, Joliet Slammers or Windy City Thunderbolts. All three are still in playoff contention in their respective leagues. If none are at home, then we’ll head to the Southside to check out the White Sox. Our trip back home is on the weekend and another pit stop will be made in Akron to see one of the worst teams in college football (the Zips) in one of the newest stadiums in college football (InfoCision Stadium). Certainly a busy week and a half…I’ll be trying something new on this trip and doing a blog daily wrap-up each night. I’m hoping its easier for me to do this then to write a giant summary when I get back home, because that’s tough to do when I’m also writing reviews. So, until Thursday, have a good one and hopefully for those in the East you aren’t affected too much by Irene.
It’s an interesting question, which is the better stadium experience? Wrigley Field or Notre Dame Stadium? I’ve also been to Canal Park, and like dit quite a bit, but Wrigley and Notre Dame are absolute icons. I will be curious to see which direction you tilt…
Also, for your Chicago minor league excursion, if all 3 are options, then I would rank them as follows:
1) Joliet
2) Kane County
3) Windy City
All three are fine, but Joliet is far and away the best, Kane County has good food, and WC Thunderbolts are small and comfy…