Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minnesota!

My trip for 2014 is planned!!! Now to get some hotel info, tourist things to do, must see places, and any ideas you other chasers have from your own trips/experiences. Going to Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minnesota mid July. So far besides baseball, also going to Mall of America and the Harley museum. Will be traveling with a 9 yr old and a 4 yr old, so clubs and nightlife is out. Also has anyone done the tour and slide at Miller Park??? I seen tickets for that were $100 per person. Seems kinda high but it is a once in a lifetime experience.

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Comment by Jennifer Beale on January 24, 2014 at 12:02am: Yes thanks Boyd! Going to add your suggestions to my plans as well.

Comment by Lisa (21) on January 23, 2014 at 12:24pm: Boyd Harter! Your suggestions are awesome! I've checked out the websites and definitely have added the Safe House. My boys will love it! I'm going to leave the brewery tour up to them, as we have done the Budweiser tour a couple of times. I have been to a Cubs day game back in 2004, so this go around we are going to a night game. Thanks again!

Comment by Boyd Harter on January 23, 2014 at 5:42am: Last summer my daughter (11) and I followed our Cardinals for a week of games. We went to StL, Chicago then Milwaukee. We are passionate about the Cardinals and it was a trip that both of us will remember forever. The highlight of the trip was Wrigley. I was awestruck as we walked into the stadium. My daughter also fell in love with Wrigley, feeling a bit guilty of doing so as a die-hard Cardinal fan.

And while this trip was about baseball there was plenty of time to do other things. I assume you will find no shortage of things to do in Chicago. And with Wrigley hosting day games you might be hard pressed to find much time to do much else. I suggest going to the game(s) at Wrigley early. Aside from seeing the stadium and getting the requisite picture under the famous sign, you should know that they allow kids onto the field during batting practice. The Cubs will open up a roped section between the first base dugout and home plate where kids can enter to talk to the players and get autographs. It is a kids only section and the staff control how many kids are allowed in at a time. It's something your kids will remember forever.

Milwaukee has two activities you and your kids will love. First is the free Jelly Belly tour.
https://jellybelly.com/Info/visitjellybelly/wisconsin_warehouse

Don't let the "warehouse tour" dissuade you from going. Your kids will love it. There is a cute train tour of the warehouse with videos about how their jelly beans are made. It's short but very well done. After the tour they give each person a free bag of jelly beans. Then you go to thru the store to the free samples-bar. You can stay at the samples-bar as long as you would like sampling (for free) every flavor jelly bean and candy the company makes.

The Jelly Belly place is between Chicago and Milwaukee so plan your driving times. Because of our schedule we had to backtrack to the tour, about 30 minutes south of Milwaukee.

The second activity is the Safe House ( http://www.safe-house.com ). It is a spy themed restaurant with plenty to see and do as you wait for your meal. You will see that they market themselves as a bar / club but that isn't the case until late at night. My daughter (11) and I went here for lunch. It's the #1 thing she talks about on our trip. I don't want to say too much about the place b/c it's best if you go there not knowing much ahead of time. Trust me, you will not want to miss this place. The scavenger hunt they give you to do while you wait for your food will be a favorite of your kids (and you will enjoy it as well).

We did take a tour of the Miller brewery. My daughter was not excited about this beforehand but she was blown away by the bottling line. I don't think she had ever thought about how things are made / mass produced. She ended up enjoying the tour. Don't be afraid to take young kids on a brewery tour. There were many children on our tour. If it's not your thing there is a root beer brewery in town (Sprecher) that offers tours (and is well reviewed on Yelp). I think reservations are recommended or required.

The one thing that struck me about Miller Park is how inexpensive everything is. We didn't do the tour or slide. That did seem a bit expensive but the main reason was the times it was available were inconvenient. But the pitching, base running and batting cages were dirt cheap ($1 I think).

Sorry for the length of this post but I wanted to share some things to do that your children will enjoy and make your trip even more memorable.

p.s. My daughter says "make sure to tell them that they have to do the spy restaurant".

Comment by Jennifer Beale on January 22, 2014 at 6:56pm: Must be the year for the Central US, I'm finalizing my plans now but am planning Cleveland, Cinci, Pitt, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, & Toronto the last week in July / first week in August.

Comment by Lisa (21) on January 22, 2014 at 1:34pm: Thanks Anthony for the pizza place suggestion! I'll be sure to check them out! And Buddy, I look forward to hearing about your trip! We'll be going after the all star break so if you have last minute suggestions be sure to post them here! Thanks everyone! And I'm still interested in talking to anyone who has done the slide/tour at Miller Park. And if they think it's worth the $100???

Comment by Buddy on January 18, 2014 at 6:21pm: Wow that looks a lot like the trip I have planned out for this summer. Except that I have Cleveland on the front end of Chicago. I look forward to visiting that Harley museum. My trip is July 9-16 with the wildcard being the All Star game @ Target. I'll find some way in hopefully without busting the bank. Entering high demand sporting events by getting a lower scalped price after the start has always worked well for me but I want to be inside here when they announce the rosters. I want to have this ticket in hand before departure so I know I'll have to pay a fairly hefty price.

Comment by Anthony Hickey on January 15, 2014 at 11:21pm: Lisa, when in chicago the pizza that you want is Oven Grinders which i near Lincoln Park Zoo, Lou Malnatis or Geno's East. Also Navy Pier is nice but a ferris wheel ride is about 6 bucks a person and mini golf is about 10 a person. other than that there really isnt much to navy pier other than expensive restaurants.

Comment by Anthony Hickey on January 15, 2014 at 11:18pm

Comment by Lisa (21) on December 20, 2013 at 6:16am: Thanks everyone! We're debating between Shedd Aquarium and Museum of science, I'm leaning towards Aquarium because of traveling with the 4 yr old. I just think the water and animals will hold his attention longer. And Chicago style pizza....any suggestions? Or is every local pizza shop in Chicago pretty much the same? We've also added Kayak tours to our Minneapolis stop, weather permitting. It's always so exciting planning and talking about the next baseball adventure. I'm also still looking for some Milwaukee fans who've done the slide and tour? I think it sounds like a great once in a lifetime opportunity but $100 per person is very high just to go down a slide. Opinions please!!!

Comment by Matthew B on December 17, 2013 at 6:48am: Milwaukee Art Museum is pretty amazing. Depending on how many days you are in Chicago, maybe consider getting a city pass. That way you can see a bunch of attractions and save some money / time in line. Too bad your little ones aren't old enough Milwaukee has a couple breweries that are fun to tour. They also do dinner / party boats out on lake Michigan.