Our 2nd Baseball Trip

We just returned from the 2nd Fleming Family Baseball trip. This year we went to Chicago to see the Twins play 2 interleague games against the Cubs. It was quite a different trip than last years out east and quite quick but it was oh so much fun.

Thursday after work Bob and I headed over to Ames to so we could be ready to leave Friday morning. We were treated to a nice nights stay with Pat and Ashley and even got to be one of the few to see their new movie they just made. I loved it and I hope it does really well in the film festival in a few weeks.

Friday the original baseball gang met up at 5:00am. My dad, Tom, Cole, Pat, Ashley, Bob and I headed off to Chicago. With smooth sailing and little traffic we arrived at Wrigley field for the 1:20 game, with plenty of time to see the stadium outside and in. One of my goals of the trip was to have a real Chicago dog, well I had two different kinds, both were delicious and I absolutely love pickles, onions and tomatoes on my hot dogs, I was a true Chi-town person and did not add ketchup! The game was crazy awesome. Be sure to check out Milton Bradley’s huge mistake on YouTube . Twins won and there were lots of Twins fans there to celebrate. After making our way to the hotel we decided to get some real Chicago deep dish pizza. I can tell why people in the Midwest look the way they do with all this amazing food. After walking, getting lost and finding the place and the line we decided it would be better to order the pizza to the hotel. I needed food and I had a small hypoglycemic attack where I made a fool of myself but ended up being okay. We also realized that we were staying in a hotel just next to the MN Twins. We kept running into Twins players on the street. My brother and I also saw Loren Michaels walking down the street, it took a while to realize it was him and not Michael Bloomberg. Nice try Pat!

Saturday we headed over to Wrigley in the rain. We took the “L” over to the stadium which made me miss riding a subway and made me think of London-oh I miss big cities. The game ended up being delayed just a bit. It was so cold but thanks to my dad for thinking of me he purchased tickets under the overhang (so I wouldn’t get heat stroke) well it was too cold for that this year but our seats were nice and dry. Twins won in an exciting game. Whoooo!

Saturday evening my dad treated us all to a very nice dinner at the Capital Grill. We all enjoyed our food and some after dinner drinks, now Pat knows that when served a beverage in a sniffer, you don’t take it like a shot! We walked back to the hotel and Cole was able to get some Twins autographs. Pat, Ash, Bob & I decided to walking around Chicago a little more. We had just finished a drink in a bar (after Pat & Ashley chased down a random man they thought was Stephen King) we heard lots of cheering so we went down the street to see what was going on. All of a sudden we see over a 1000 people on bikes naked! It was a naked bike ride, yes nude! I snapped some pics, but I won’t put those up on the blog.

Sunday morning we took off early to head home from Chicago. I was sad to say goodbye as it was just a short trip. We headed home with no problems at all and it was so much different than last years long hours in the car. We met my mom, Becky, Merrick, & Macy for Lunch in Des Moines and then all went our separate ways.

I have to say I have the absolute best dad in the world. He is just the nicest guy and treats us all so well. Thank you dad for another amazing trip. You always outdo yourself and it is never necessary but very much appreciated.