BASEBALL TIME!!

The main purpose of our family traveling this week is to visit three more ballparks. We are in Chicago and we are heading to US Cellular Field (Park #13) for the White Sox versus the Detroit Tigers. When we started the baseball road trips in 2006, one of our first parks was Wrigley for the Cubs.

Again, since we have the train & bus passes for the weekend, that is the same method we used to the Field.
It's kid day at the Field and they are giving away White Sox backpacks to the first 10,000 kids that walk through the gates. Lucky enough, my two "brothers" received one - hello!! Am I not considered a kid??? Oh well...At any rate, you need to know that since my family & I are from Boston, we travel to these parks for the love of baseball and to see all of the parks- not to travel and see our beloved Red Sox. BUT - and there is always a but - we do wear our team colors proudly at the parks - whether they are playing or not!

My brothers love to get autographs (both balls & cards). The boys were lucky & met some of the Detroit Tigers players (the visiting team). For those of you who do not follow baseball like we do, you usually only get the visiting team to sign anything. You are not usually able to get into the parks while the home team is taking batting practice. The "big" meeting of the week was Johnny Damon who of course used to play on the Red Sox. That made Jeff's whole week!!

Me,on the other hand, am just happy to get to visit the dugouts - usually on top - but I stand proud! (The whole holding a pen waiting for the signature makes my arms tired!)

This is a picture of "Mom" and I on the dugout while we were at the field. Notice how happy I look?? Notice "Mom" rocking the home town pride??

Well I'm hungry. Time to go buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks.....well, "Mom", I'm kind of out of money.....

Play ball,

Jimmy

What to do in the Windy City???

What to do????

Oh we have plenty planned for today - but first off - it's Saturday, August 14th and its "Mom" & "Dad"'s17th wedding anniversary - and they were so wrapped up in the day that when they went by TWO different wedding parties, it didn't even cross their minds!!

After some discussions that I had with the front desk staff (ok - truth be told since I can't speak - it was "Mom"), we decided it would be cheaper for our gang to drive to the parking lot and then board the Metra train into downtown Chicago. It only cost us $1.25 for the parking which was good through 11:59pm at night. We parked & boarded at the Wood Dale station on the Metra train line (Milwaukee District / West Line ...Chicago to Elgin line). We were able to buy weekend passes on board at the family rate. My "little brother" was able to ride for free since he is under 11. (So, since I am ageless - I was a freebie too!!) You are able to take up to three children ages 11 and under free with a fare paying adult on weekends.  http://www.metrarail.com/ Once we arrived at Union Station, we decided that we would take the bus over to historic Navy Pier. (It was hot &my legs were already KILLING me!! It's hard to keep up sometimes!) We were able to purchase the 24 hour passes at CVS - the passes cost $5.75 a piece - but I was free again! No wonder my family takes me everywhere! You can get more information on this by visiting http://www.transitchicago.com/

That's me on the 15 story ferris wheel with the Chicago skyline in the background.
(Sorry..I think I have my lunch still on my face).

When we were in Chicago in 2006, we also visited Navy Pier (http://www.navypier.com/) then as well and had a great time. It has rides, the 15 story ferris wheel, restaurants, shows including the air show that was happening this weekend! My favorite part was riding the ferris wheel but only did it with Jeff & "Mom" as Jack is not a huge fan of heights....can't say I blame him -I was close to losing my lunch! Shhh...that's our secret! 

That's my "brothers" at the Navy Pier location of Garrett's Popcorn...awesome!
(Notice the Boston & Chicago shirts??)

After some games & shopping, we now needed a snack to hold us all....and what better filler than Garrett Popcorn?? http://www.garrettpopcorn.com/ They have many different locations in Chicago but they happen to have a Navy Pier location - we each decided to sample a different flavor - cheese, butter, caramel, and Chicago mix. Garrett's was a "must see" suggestion of Basic Boutique (http://www.basicboutique.com/). This is an online boutique that now has appointments for their Chicago based shoppers and they bring the goodies to YOU!

Bob Newhart & I discussing
"things"......



I see you!!

 One of the websites that we ("Mom" & I - she runs everything by me!!) researched before the road trip was http://www.roadsideamerica.com/. One of the interesting parts of this site is that you can print a list by state of "Attractions & Oddities". It was on this site that we (again - "Mom" & I) found a bunch of "different" things for the boys to see. "Mom" really wanted to see the TV land statute tribute to Bob Newhart - this is very close to Navy Pier. Other oddities included the Giant Noodle - which is part of the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese campaign (there was one in Boston at the same time too!), and the 30 Foot-Tall Eyeball.....don't ask!Check out this site - it has VERY cool things!

Neice made our day!

Last thing of the day that we HAD to do (as we didn't in 2006) was head to the ORIGINAL UNOS'S Chicago Bar & Grill....and what a treat it was! http://www.unos.com/ (Wabash & Ohio - (312) 943-2400) It's a bit different from all the other UNOS - they have a limited menu as to what we are used too. You also order your main meals BEFORE you sit down - when you put your name on the waiting list. Expect about a 30-45 minute wait (but we lucked out with only about 20 minutes!) The best part of the experience was our waitress Neice W. She took a liking to my "older brother" Jack - she took it upon herself to put the napkin like a bib on him...and then when his food was ready, she began to cut his food!! It was so funny! (Oh, Neice - I could use the help...me, the cute little gnome...yeah yeah Jack is charming - but my hands are a bit tied...hello!!)

What a super fun day in the Windy City! We Bostonians really like Chicago......quiet! I'll deny we said that! It will be hard to get me to be quiet you know. Us gnomes have the gift of gab!

"Mom" does NOT like spiders...but this is a LEGO one!

It's off to play at the Lego store( on North Michigan Street - Shops at Northbridge , 3rd floor (312) 494-0760). It's a surprise for Jeff....which only means "Mom" will be spending $$.

Having A Blast,
Jimmy

REST FOR THE WEARY!

We made fantastic time!! "Dad" & "Mom" got us to Chicago in record time - only 15 driving hours! Of course "Dad" is happy to say he did 8 of those hours...but "Mom" got the Friday traffic hour in Chicago so she gets extra credit for that! We have done 1,005 miles of our total trip.

The view of our hotel was great!

We were so very excited to get to our hotel. We stayed past Downtown Chicago in the town of Wood Dale, IL at the Doubletree Hotel Chicago-Wood Dale/Itasca (1200 N. Mittal Blvd (630) 860-2900 http://www.doubletreehotels.com/ ). What a great treat when you check into a Doubletree, is the warm chocolate chip cookies that everyone receives! (Hello...I may continuously be in the same position but I LOVE cookies...hello - family??) The entire staff at the front desk was so very helpful no matter what our questions were. They were super helpful with directions, where to get the trains, etc....High fives to the staff!! (Ok - boys can you help a fellow out here - hands are tied behind my back!!)

Time to explore the neighborhood for dinner.....and after driving around in the very bad rain storm ("Dad" just said he would love to see an EPIC storm while we are in the Midwest - ah, can we be careful for what we wish for???)......we ended up at Applebee's (Neighborhood Bar & Grill - see what I did there???). http://www.applebees.com/ (111 E. Algonquin Rd, Arlington Hgts (847) 758-0094 ) Kathryn H. was our waitress and she was super! She was very accomodating to my "younger brother" because he was having a hard time making up his mind! She quickly eased that situation - good thing for Jeff - "Mom" may have not been happy!! Great food & service at Applebees.....and now time to rest our weary bodies...yeah, don't worry about me - I'll just stand over here on the table...

Night, Night.....

Jimmy

We are leaving at WHAT time???

Well, the day had arrived for our annual Baseball Road trip. It's Friday, August 13th - and we are leaving to drive to Chicago. Since we are in MA and have about a 16 hour drive, "Dad" wants to leave at Midnight - yes, you read that correctly - 12:00 in the AM when most normal folks are tucked in their soft beds (or standing in the kitchen window as is my usual resting spot). So, since "Dad" will be driving until about 8am, it's to the car we go...and pulled out of the driveway at 12:10am.

So my "brothers" and "Mom" and I are sleeping - well, the boys are - all cuddled up with pillows & blankets - each in his own seat and I am wrapped in my towel for protection..oh, I meant warmth! "Dad" stopped and we all had breakfast at Denny's in North Olmstead, OH (http://www.dennys.com/) 2912 Lorain Rd - (440) -779-9775. Denny's is a great place to take kids - in fact, kids eat free on Tuesday & Saturdays from 4-10pm. We were there on Friday morning - and certainly hungry from traveling the last 9 hours (that's what the boys said - "Hello" -you were sleeping!!). Anyways - Bonnie Z. was our waitress & she was great! My "Mom" was teasing one of the boys that they didn't have something he wanted...and Bonnie played right along! Delicious food, GREAT service, and reasonably priced! It was also very easy on & off the road. If you visit Denny's, tell them you want Bonnie as your waitress!!

Now that we were refueled, time to gas up the car and off we went again....Chicago here we come!

Safe Journeys,

Jimmy

WELCOME!!

Hi Everyone & Welcome to my travel blog!

My name is Jimmy and I started on my travel adventures with my current family in 2005. My arrival happened due to my family's love of the show "Amazing Race" on CBS. During one of the tasks, the teams had to find one of the Travelocity Gnomes and carry it with them. Now I know I don't look anything like THAT gnome, but I'm the same idea. My family went onto ebay and purchased me for "Dad" for Father's Day. And as they say, the rest is history.

We've had some great vacations together but I am going to begin on our last journey which just happened in August, 2010. To give you some history, our family is on an adventure to visit all of the MLB (Major League Baseball) parks. There are 30 stadiums. With our trip in August, we have completed 15 - half way done! Once I have caught you up and given you the travel tips on my adventures, I will then backtrack to some of the older adventures - including the decapitation (but that's a story in itself!). And not to confuse anything but our family cat - yeah - her name is Journey!!

My next listing will begin the Midwest Road trip....all 3,093 miles of it!

We hope you will visit back frequently. With my family, you never know where we might be venturing off to!

Safe Journeys,

Jimmy