Hey Batter Batter! Swing into you next vacation with Special Journeys as we see some awesome baseball games!

The first game on our Baseball tour brings us to the exciting city of Chicago at the Guaranteed Rate Field to watch as the White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians.  While we hope this will be an easy win for them, the Sox hold the record for the longest MLB game in history!  Lasting a whopping 8 hours and 6 minutes!  Back in 1984 the Sox played Milwaukee Brewers and were tied at 3-3 after 17 innings.  After coming back the next day to finish the game, it still resulted in a tie after a total of 25 innings were played!  Now that’s a long game.

The next day we head to see the other infamous Chicago baseball team, the Cubs play at Wrigley Field.  Built in 1914, Wrigley has been the beloved home of the Chicago Cubs for well over a century, and is the second oldest ballpark in the majors, just behind Boston’s Fenway Park which was built in 1912. There’s been a lot of baseball played here!  Here the Cubs play against the Cincinnati Reds.

After some excellent baseball games, you’ll surely work up an appetite, and when in Chicago we must stop for some delicious pizza, of course!  We’ll enjoy a wonderful pizza party at Lou Malnati’s.  Considered the oldest family name in Chicago pizza, Lou got his start in the 1940s working in Chicago’s first deep dish pizzeria. And when you’ve spent that long perfecting your craft, you know it’s going to be good!

Once we’ve had our fill of pizza it’ll be time to enjoy some shopping.  At Woodfield Mall we’ll find many store selections to choose from including Lego, clothing, electronics, video games, Build-a-Bear and more. And if you’d like to find something special to commemorate your time in Chicago, stop at Love From Chicago to pick up a city-themed souvenir, or Lids for a baseball cap!

Back to baseball, the next day we’ll travel see the Iowa Cubs where they’ll play the Toledo Mud Hens at Principle Park in Des Moines.  This will be our last baseball game of the trip, so make sure you grab some Cracker Jacks, hotdogs, and get ready to cheer for the home team!

On our way back home, we’ll spend a day exploring the 78-acre orchard, Apple Holler.  This wonderful area, which was once a dairy farm has been converted over the years to an apple and berry picking farm, delicious restaurant, and shop.  We’ll enjoy some of the farm’s fun activities such as see the Bee Observation Exhibit and Tree life Cycle Exhibit and see farms animals such as goats and horses. Then we’ll sit down to enjoy a down-home lunch. Think of mouth-watering sandwiches, chicken pot pie, and homemade mac and cheese, YUM!  We’ll also make time to stop at the store where you can pick up a hand-dipped caramel apple, from-scratch pie, jams, salsas and more.  It’s a perfect way to end our Baseball tour!

Signup Deadline: Friday, July 14, 2023