This Friday I'm flying to Chicago to begin a 16-day trip that will take me to 5 minor league parks in Iowa, Minnesota's new Target Field, the Blue Jays in Kansas City, Wrigley Field, and Miller Park in Milwaukee. The final day of the trip is July 25th, a Sunday. Until today, the time for the Cubs and Cardinals game that day had not been set, but I've just discovered that it is to be a night game! So I will check out the Brewers and Nationals in Milwaukee in the afternoon and then make a quick trip down I-94 to catch the Cards and Cubs in the nightcap before returning to Japan the following day.
There are two days off on this jaunt. The first is July 13th, which is the MLB All-Star Game and an off day in the Midwest League. The second is July 23rd, which is when I fly back to Chicago from Minneapolis. The only available flight was in the evening, so I arrive too late to see a game. I'm still hoping to switch to an earlier flight that would enable me to catch an independent league game or even the Brewers/Nats if Stephen Strasburg is pitching.
The full schedule is as follows:
Jul 10 New Orleans Zephyrs at Iowa Cubs 7:05 (PCL)
Jul 11 Beloit Snappers at Quad City River Bandits 5:00 (MWL)
Jul 12 Peoria Chiefs at Cedar Rapids Kernels 12:05 (MWL)
Jul 12 Beloit Snappers at Quad City River Bandits 7:00 (MWL)
Jul 14 Bowling Green Hot Rods at Burlington Bees 6:30 (MWL)
Jul 15 West Michigan Whitecaps at Clinton LumberKings 7:00 (MWL)
Jul 16 Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins 7:10
Jul 17 Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins 6:10
Jul 18 Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins 1:10
Jul 19 Toronto Blue Jays at Kansas City Royals 7:10
Jul 20 Toronto Blue Jays at Kansas City Royals 7:10
Jul 21 Toronto Blue Jays at Kansas City Royals 1:10
Jul 21 Schaumburg Flyers at Kansas City T-Bones 7:00 (Northern League)
Jul 22 Oklahoma City Redhawks at Iowa Cubs 7:05 (PCL)
Jul 24 St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs 12:05
Jul 24 Washington Nationals at Milwaukee Brewers 6:10
Jul 25 Washington Nationals at Milwaukee Brewers 1:10
Jul 25 St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs 7:00TripIt
A while back, I posted a number of useful websites that all sports road trippers should use. I've just happened upon another site that allows you to combine all of your itineraries into one place.
Known as TripIt.com, it allows you to forward e-mail confirmations from any commonly used travel site. Airlines, hotel chains, rental car agencies and aggregators such as Expedia or Priceline are all supported. After you sign up, you can create a trip with a destination and dates. Then just forward your itineraries to their e-mail address and they will combine them into a single page for that trip. Directions are sometimes automatically included and when they aren't you can add your own. Sports schedules aren't integrated though, which is about the only problem for me.
There's also an iPhone app that eliminates the need for printouts or e-mails. Everything is saved with all necessary information such as confirmation numbers, check-in times, etc. Just one touch and all the info is at your fingertips. I highly recommend this for anyone doing extended road trips, it really helps keep your plans organized.
Best,
Sean
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