Planning my trip took some thinking, as I wanted to attend games at each ballpark I came across, which means there needed to be a home game. There were also a couple other events I wanted to attend that needed to line up with home games, which further complicated the matter. Finally, I wanted to spend most of the summer camping to save on money and to get that nostalgic feeling I had once experienced with my family. Therefore with tickets bought and my car packed, I set off for almost 4 months of travel. Now, this travel was broken up into smaller trips, but I spent very little time at home base in West Virginia that summer.
I made my first trip in early May with my sights set on Chicago. Just a 9 hour drive from where I was living in Huntington at the time, I had made a few trips here before and felt it was the best place to start my trip, plus it lined up with a lot of other things I wanted to do at that time. My best friend also had plans to join me once I reached Illinois, so I set off on my own.
Understanding that I would be heading back to Indianapolis on this trip, I camped south of Chicago, about halfway between Chicago and Indianapolis. I got there in one day and headed into the city on my own that first day.
Chicago White Sox
My first day in Chicago was all about the South Side, but I didn’t plan anything else, because my friend had not joined me yet. So, I made it to U.S. Cellular Field early and decided to go on a walk. That walk ended up being an approximate 6 mile round trip to Soldier Field (home of the Chicago Bears) and back, but it was a nice way to take in the sights and settle into the trip. Unfortunately, I pulled something in my leg shortly after turning back, so I had a bit of a painful trip back to baseball.
I returned to the stadium as the gates opened and headed towards the nosebleeds for my game. Now, when I picked these games, I didn’t look into more than if they were playing at home and if they fit into my schedule for the summer, so I was quite surprised to learn of the event that day: retiring Paul Konerko’s jersey. I’m not a White Sox fan, but even I knew the name Konerko, so it was an exciting thing to witness. I remember the ceremony and liking the stadium, but the game itself holds little memory for me, aside from enjoying a day at the ballpark.
Indy 500
The next day led me to Indianapolis and I picked up my best friend from the train station. Fresh out of college, he joined me to cross off a bucket list item and to enjoy some baseball with me before we parted for our adult lives waiting for us (he had a fellowship and I had graduate school in a different state).
We had acquired tickets for the Indianapolis 500 and headed off for the Speedway. While I am not a race fan at all, I would highly recommend an event like this at some point in your life. The people were great, the atmosphere was invigorating, and the only downside was the sunburn.
Wrigley Field
We finished our portion of this trip with the Chicago Cubs (my NL team) playing the Washington Nationals (my best friend’s team). I had been to Wrigley before and this experience further solidified it as one of my favorite ballparks in the country. We explored the city a little before and after, but the day was largely about the game and the feeling of being surrounded by history.
We headed off the next morning to Minneapolis and a few stops up north before we would return to home base for a few days and head out on another trip.
Raven K 