Day 6 - Wisconsin Wonders - Lambeau Field and #18 - Miller Park

On Wednesday morning, we left out early from Minneapolis knowing we had quite a busy day ahead.  During the planning of this trip, we had nothing but baseball on my mind.  And it was not until I had a phone conversation with my buddy,  Brett Huffman, did I realize that we were going to be very close to Green Bay.  Now, as you know, Tammy was born in Wisconsin and she and her family are all about the Green Bay Packers.  Me, well, not so much, but I do enjoy football history.  And Green Bay has a lot of very interesting history.  So as I was mapping our trek from Minneapolis to Milwaukee, I looked at how far off the beaten path a drive to Green Bay would take.  It turns out it would take a couple hours extra.  So we decided to make it work.  Trey, who is not a huge football fan, has stayed true to his family roots and does like the Packers.  Funny story - we decided to keep this little diversion a secret from Trey.  In fact, since I am a history nerd, we had told the boys that we were taking a side trip on our way to Milwaukee to a famous battlefield (which was technically true).  After all, it wasn't unusual for me to want to see something historical.  He bought it.  It turns out, we had let Tate in on the secret the night before, but Trey had no idea.  Even though the signs on the interstate kept referencing how many miles we had left to Green Bay, Trey was oblivious.  Which made it that much better when be pulled in to the parking lot.  He was totally surprised!

Trey outside Lambeau Field in front of the Vince Lombardi statue.

It is a most impressive sight!  In fairly small Green Bay, Wisconsin, there is this beautiful stadium in the middle of a town that doesn't seem much bigger to me than Hickory, NC.  We decided to take the Stadium Tour (naturally).  It took about an hour, but it was very informative.  It could actually cause someone to change their allegiance to another team to become a Packer fan.  I was very impressed.  So much history and the pride that everyone there had for their team was incredible.

From inside the Atrium

Our view from the Alumni Suite

Our view coming out of the tunnel

The Jensens at Lambeau Field!

A very cool stop on our journey!

After an awesome time in Green Bay, we headed south to Milwaukee and Miller Park.  This had been a game we had been looking forward to.  And we were not disappointed.  Miller Park has a retractable roof and for this game, the weather was so nice outside that the roof would be open.  It is a beautiful stadium with lots of friendly staff.  We get there as soon as the gates open in hopes of possibly getting a BP ball.  Unfortunately, we didn't get one during BP because of the layout of the outfield.  It was not very good for souvenir seekers to be able to easily get a ball unless the shaggers on the would throw one to you.  So we gave up on that and tried to get autographs.  Trey is always on a mission to get as many autographs that he can.  He hurried down next to the Brewers dugout hoping someone (hopefully Christian Yelich) would come out and sign.  After 30 minutes or so, Tate and I gave up and went to find our seats which were on the Seattle Mariners side of the field.  As we get there, a few Mariners players are stretching and just a few autograph seekers are nearby.  As soon as we sit down, I see Mallex Smith signing and I tell Tate to go get a ball signed.  He walks straight up to him and he signs (and he goes on to have a great game that night too, just a coincidence I'm sure!).  Trey was unable to get an autograph and was pretty frustrated, even more so when he saw Tate's signed ball.  Trey would rally before we would leave.

The view from our seats.

The game was very entertaining, and unfortunately, the Brewers lost 4-2.  We did get to see an unusual occurrence.  The Brewers' Ben Gamel hit an inside the park home run which is something you rarely get to see.  And we got to see Mike Moustakas hit a home run over the right-field fence.  The game finished and Trey tried one more time to get an autograph.  He spotted one of the Brewers on the other side of the field.  He knew immediately by the hair who it was and took off.  It was All-Star Closer, Josh Hader.  I was holding my breath hoping he would still be signing by the time Trey got there.  Fortunately, Trey did get a pretty good signature.

Trey finally got an autograph - and it was from Josh Hader!

Miller Park was really nice and the people in Milwaukee are very friendly.  The stadium was a pleasant surprise and you can really feel the hometown pride of the Brewer fans, not unlike the love that most people in Wisconsin have for the Packers.  After a great time at Miller Park, we headed for the exit and got in the car to head south toward Chicago.  We were going to Wrigley the next day!

Day 5 - Some Downtime in Minnesota, Kind Of. #17 - Target Field

After we left the Field of Dreams, we headed north, bound for Minneapolis, Minnesota.  When planning for the trip, I reached out to my good friend, Nelson Neale for advice on where to stay and how best to get around Minneapolis.  Nelson and his lovely wife, Rose invited us to have dinner at his house upon arriving in Minnesota that evening.  And I must say, after 4 days of fast food restaurants and hotel breakfasts, it was a welcome treat to have a sit-down meal and good conversation with an old friend who I had not seen in a while.  We all had a great time catching up as well as being entertained by their 4-year-old daughter, Grayson.

After a very relaxing evening, we returned to our hotel and were looking forward to some downtime the next day before the Twins game later that night.  Or so we thought.  After a leisurely morning of resting and catching up on some laundry, we decided to visit the Mall of America.

Whoa!  What an impressive place.  Every shopper's dream place.  I don't know how many stores and restaurants are there, but if you can think of any name of a retail store, chances are it is there.  And the food choices were too many to count.  But to top it all, there are amusement park rides inside the mall.  It was incredible and a must visit place for anyone who comes to Minneapolis.

Amusement Park inside the Mall of America

Tate on the Log Ride

So after walking around the mall for several hours, we returned to our hotel to get ready for the game.  Once again, our friends, Nelson and Rose really took care of us.  They hooked us up with some great tickets for the game that night between the Twins and the Tampa Bay Rays.  We headed out to Target Field.

The Ball Park was very nice, as were the people there.  It is a great place to see a game.  The weather was perfect with temperatures in the mid 70s.

Target Field from section 109

We did arrive early enough for Batting Practice, the first time on this trip and if you've been reading this blog, you would know that is important for the boys.  Unfortunately, we did not get any baseballs this time, but a lot of BP home runs were hit.

The game looked to be a pretty good matchup between two different teams both at the top of their divisions.  The game turned out to be kind of lopsided as the Twins jumped all over the Rays 9-4.  The Twins' explosive offense already had double-figure hits by the 4th inning.

A Big Thanks to Nelson, Rose, and Grayson for a great time at Target Field

The food at the stadium was pretty good.  We had fried cheese curds for the first time, which were quite tasty.  The boys were excited to see a lot of hits including 3 home runs.  Our time at the Twins game was very enjoyable and once again, we thank the Neales for their generous hospitality and especially to Grayson for the in-game entertainment.

As an added bonus, we were also joined by our friend Ryan Feltis, a pilot with United, who had just flown in that afternoon and decided to take in the Twins game.  He, too, is trying to see all 30 Major League Stadiums and this was number 29 for him (one more to go, Fenway!).

So, after a "restful" time in Minneapolis, we would head to Milwaukee the next day.  17 Stadiums down, 13 to go.  We really had a great time in Minnesota.

Tate and Trey at Target Field

 

Target Field was a very nice park and the Minnesotans really like to cheer on their Twins.  The fans in the Midwest really have a lot of pride for their teams.  I guess that is why is referred to as America's Past time.  Every region in America comes out to support their teams especially in the Midwest in my opinion.

Day 4 - "Is this Heaven?" "No, it's Iowa" - Field of Dreams

On Monday, we headed out of Grinnell, Iowa where we had stopped for the night and made the 2-hour drive toward Dyersville, which is where the Field of Dreams was located.  Yes, the actual movie set that was used to make the movie that debuted 30 years ago.  This was mostly for my benefit as that has always been one of my favorite movies.  So, with the opportunity of going to see the actual farm and baseball field where the movie was made was too good to pass up.  First of all, let me say that you don't just happen by this place.  To get there, you have to be going there intentionally because it is located on a remote farm out in the middle of nowhere.  That did not matter to us.  We are on a baseball journey and this had to be included.

The Field of Dreams Farm in Dyersville, IA

As we were driving to Dyersville and seeing all the vast green farmlands and endless fields of corn, I was reminded of the scene in the movie where Terrence Mann (James Earl Jones) gave the monologue that would justify Ray Kinsella's (Kevin Costner) crazy idea of not selling his farm to investors after plowing up his cornfield to build a baseball field.

People will come, Ray.

They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway, not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past.

"Of course, we won't mind if you look around," you'll say. "It's only twenty dollars per person." They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it. For it is money they have and peace they lack.

And they'll walk out to the bleachers, and sit in shirt-sleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game, and it'll be as if they'd dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick, they'll have to brush them away from their faces.

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.

America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time.

This field, this game -- it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and it could be again.

Ohhhhhhhh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.

As we drove up the driveway, I have to say there was a sense of nostalgia and longing for the past with images of the movie running through my head.  And as we parked and walked out onto the field, it was like we were dipped in magic waters.  It was awesome!

There is a scene at the end of the movie where Ray gets to meet his late father who comes back as a young player and he finally gets to ask him to have a catch.  I always thought how cool that would be if I could have a catch with my boys on that field.  Well, we played on that field for a good half hour.  It was a special memory for me and hopefully for the boys too.

Trey and Tate on the bleachers by the ball field.

Did not see any ghostly players coming out of the corn this time, just these two characters.

So was it worth the extra 3.5 hours and an additional 160 miles out of the way to go here?  Absolutely!  Although we only spent about 45 minutes there, I think it will be a stop we will never forget.   So, we left there and headed for Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Game 2 - The Kansas City Royals hosting the Minnesota Twins at #16 - Kauffman Stadium

On Sunday morning, we awoke to heavy rains in the Kansas City area and we were very concerned about the game being washed out.  But fortunately, the skies cleared as we were heading into Kauffman Stadium.  To be honest, I am not a big Kansas City Royals fan and I was not really excited about seeing this game.  Especially after just having been to Busch Stadium, I didn't really expect this stop to be that impressive.  I was wrong.  Kauffman Stadium is amazing.  It has one of the most beautiful backdrops behind the outfield wall that I have ever seen.  The waterfalls and open-air views are very impressive.

The spectacular view from our seats

From down near the field.  Fortunately, the rains held off.

This game was a special event where they would commemorate the Negro Leagues that played back during the times of segregation.  Both teams dressed in the uniforms of Negro League teams that were located close to their respective cities.  The Royals wore the uniforms of the Kansas City Monarchs and the Twins wore the uniforms of the St. Paul Gophers.  In fact, the promotional give away for this game was Kansas City Monarch hats to the first 10,000 fans.

Tate, Tammy, and Trey sporting their KC Monarchs Throw Back Hats

 Kauffman Stadium has a lot for the fans to see and do.  There is a great activity area behind the outfield where kids of all ages can participate in a variety of things like batting cages and clocking their pitches (which Tate said was broken because his speed was not accurate!).

Human Statue Guy was pretty cool.

While Tate did that, Trey was among the autograph seekers down by the Twins' dugout where he was able to get a few signatures (Jonathan Scoop, Jake Odorizzi, and Luis Arraez).  There is a Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame which is quite impressive that fans can visit which does not require an extra charge.  And of course, there is a wide variety of foods and beverages for the fans to enjoy.  There was not a sell out crowd like the one we saw in St. Louis the day before, but the Kansas City Faithful that were there were very supportive of their Royals even though they are not having a very good season.  The game turned out to be very enjoyable.  The Royals must have been fired up in the Monarch uniforms as they were able to win the game to upset the first place twins by the score of 6-1.  We saw two home runs hit - one by the Royals' Hunter Dozier and one by the Twins' Eddie Rosario.  After the game, they let the kids run the bases so Trey and Tate took advantage of another opportunity to run on a Major League field.

Tate and Tammy in front of the iconic waterfall in right field.

For me, Kauffman Stadium turned out to be very impressive.  Maybe because I wasn't expecting a whole lot.  But the Royals are just four years removed from winning the World Series and you can tell that the fan base is still pretty charged up.  All in all, our time in Missouri turned out to be most impressive.  I guess they really did "Show Me" that baseball is pretty special in both St. Louis and Kansas City (See what I did there? Missouri is the "Show Me State").  Another thing that was really nice is that Kansas City has a sports complex where both their Baseball and Football teams' venues are located right next to each other so they can share parking.  And both are not in their downtown areas so the flow of traffic in and out is quite smooth.

Kauffman Stadium to the right with Arrowhead Stadium, where the Chiefs play,  to the left.

After the game, we headed north to Iowa where we would stop for the night, but not before going through Kansas City into Kansas just to say that we had been to another state.

The next day we would head to Dyersville, Iowa to check out the Field of Dreams Movie Site.

Game 1 - St. Louis - Cardinals hosting the Los Angeles Angels at #15 - Busch Stadium

One of the more iconic backdrops is at Busch Stadium where the Arch is clearly visible.

The first stop on our 2019 trip would be in St. Louis where we would see at least 3 first ballot Hall of Famers (Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, and Mike Trout) play.  The boys were ready to get started and what a treat we would have.  As usual, we head to the stadium early hoping to take in Batting Practice, but the weather did not cooperate.  There were thunderstorms all morning leading up to the 1:15 game, but the weather cleared out right before first pitch which was good for getting the game in but neither team took BP.

Albert Pujols at the plate on his return trip to Busch since he signed with the Angels.

It did not occur to us as we were planning this trip, but the series that would feature the return of Albert Pujols to St. Louis for the first time since he left as a free agent in 2011.  So the Cardinal fans really turned out to welcome back their hero who won two MVPs during his time there.  It was really cool to see.  Every time he came to bat, the fans gave him a standing ovation.  And in the 7th inning, Pujols hit a home run and the fans went wild!  The amazing part was that the home crowd gave him a curtain call, unheard of for an opposing visiting player, but it was really neat to see.
Let me just say how impressed I was by the Cardinal fans.  They have one of the most dedicated fan bases of any team in the Major Leagues.  I would say that 95% of the people in attendance at Busch Stadium that day had some article of clothing on that was red or said Cardinals on it.  It was most impressive.  The Cardinals went on the win the game 4-2 and there were 3 home runs hit (Marcel Ozuna, Albert Pujols, and Justin Upton).  The kids were allowed to run the bases which Tate participated in (Trey felt like he was too old) and we had a really enjoyable time.
Busch Stadium is a very beautiful ballpark.  The grandstands are fairly steep, which makes every seat pretty decent to watch a game from.  To see the Arch in the backdrop from centerfield is also very impressive.  This was stadium number 15  which marks the halfway point in all 30 stadiums.  In my opinion, it would rank in the upper third of all stadiums I have been to based on atmosphere and aesthetics.  It is a great baseball experience in St. Louis.

Tate on the field preparing to run the bases.

Tate running the bases after the game.

So after our time in St. Louis, we got in the car and headed west toward Kansas City.
Historical Side Trip:  Before going to the stadium, we (I) wanted to take a little field trip to the Cahokia Indian Mounds.  This is an archeological site located just east of the city of St. Louis that marked the site of an ancient Native American civilization that existed around the years 1050-1200 AD.  This was a civilization that was one of the largest that ever existed in North American history.  Not much is known due to lack of historical writings, but it was a fascinating place for history buffs.

Jensen Family Baseball Trip - Year 5 - The Midwestern Tour

Baseball, a spherical shaped bundle of twine, tightly wound, wrapped in two figure 8 pieces of leather that are bound together by 108 stitches.  It is a little over 9 inches in circumference and weighs a little over 5 ounces.  It is a rather insignificant object when you get right down to it.  But not at our house.  The spring and early summer of 2019 has been dominated by the game of baseball.  Trey and Tate both played for the Heritage Middle School team and have also played travel ball since those seasons finished up and have played nearly every weekend since.  And I just finished coaching the high school team and have been helping out with two travel teams since then.  So it is only fitting that when those activities wind down, we should begin our annual trip to fulfill our quest to see as many major league ballparks as we can before the boys graduate from high school.

To recap, in 2014 we began our endeavor with the Northeastern US where we saw Philadelphia, New York Mets, Boston, New York Yankees, and Baltimore, all while getting in a trip to Cooperstown to see three of my beloved Atlanta Braves being inducted: Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Bobby Cox.  The next year (2015) we went to Cincinnati, Detroit, Toronto, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland.  In 2016, we went on a family cruise and left out of Florida which allowed us to take in Miami and Tampa.  In 2017 we decided to take a year off from Stadium Touring in order to save up for the big trip in 2018 - that being the MLB All-Star Game at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.  Of course, we usually made a trip or two to Atlanta each year to see the Braves, which we did in 2018 to see the opening day at Suntrust Park where we saw a walk-off win against the Philadelphia Phillies.  So, if you're counting, that brings the total number of stadiums that our family has visited to 14.  This year's trip would be the most involved yet as far as how tight the schedule would be as well as the number of miles we would be driving.  But that has never been a deterrent before.  It just makes it more of a challenge.  This year, we are going to attempt to see St. Louis, Kansas City, Minnesota, Milwaukee, and both Chicago Stadiums - all in 7 days!!

Day 1 - Friday, June 21st - We head out from Rutherford College at about 8:30 in the morning and drive just about all day to Fairview Heights, Illinois, which is just about 10 miles from St. Louis where we bed down for the night to see our first game the next day.  It took about 12 hours to get there if you factor in all the times we stopped for meals and to stretch our legs.  The next day we would be heading to Busch Stadium.

Day 7 - The White House and Braves/Nationals Game

On Friday, we had a tour of the White House planned.  Again, thanks to the good folks at Congressman Meadows' office, we were able to get registered for the tour.  It is quite an involved process to be able to do that.  Only your Congressman's office can get you on the tour and it has to be planned about 3 months in advance.  Our scheduled time was for 7:30 am which meant we had to get up early to be there on time.  We were able to catch an Uber and get there in plenty of time to stand in line to get in.  I must say it was pretty exciting to think we would be able to go inside the White House.  Once we go through the many security checks, we are finally able to go inside.  It was very cool!

After the White House tour, we decided to head back over to the Capitol to use our Gallery passes and see the House of Representatives Chamber where they meet.  I was very impressed with that tour.  Unfortunately, they would not let us take pictures of that room.  It was a really neat experience.  After the busy morning we had, we walked back to our apartment and started packing to go home the next day.  We also had tickets for the Braves and Nationals game that night to cap off the trip.

We were very excited to be able to see the Braves on the road.  It was just good luck that they would resume their season after the All-Star break in Washington.  So we had to take advantage of that.  Tammy made sure that we got good seats right behind the Visitor's dugout so we could see the Braves up close.  Of course, we had to be there two hours before game time so we could see batting practice.  Again, Trey was hoping to get an autograph or two.  We get there as the Braves are starting BP and we hustle on down to get a good spot to try to get an autograph.  Unfortunately, that did not work out, but we did get another baseball thanks to Sean Newcombe who threw Tate a ball!

After batting practice, we head over to our seats which were amazing.  They must have been pretty prime seats because three rows in front of us were Freddie Freeman's wife and his young son, Charlie (who waved at Freddie every time he came into the dugout).  We were only six rows back which was close enough to get a good view of all the Braves players returning to the dugout.

Acuna, Albies, and Camargo

Dansby Swanson loosening up

Ronald Acuna Jr. leading off the game

Ozzie Albies

Freddie Freeman

Acuna talking to Paul Byrd with the assistance of a translator

Our view of the field six rows back

The Braves were able to get a big win against the Nationals which was a great way to end an amazing week.  The next day we would head home with fond memories of our experiences in Washington D.C.  This trip was incredible!  I know the boys will have some memories that will last a lifetime.  It will be hard to top this one.