Baseball Road Trip Planning: November 2009

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Traditional Baseball Roadtrip #3: The Western Loop of the Midwest

Date: May 14, 2006 through May 21, 2006
Primary Destinations:
MLB Cities of the Midwest:
Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City


Games Attended:

Game 1: Chicago White Sox vs. Minnesota Twins, May 14th, 7:05PM CDT, Hubert Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/minn/minn.htm

Game 2: Chicago White Sox vs. Minnesota Twins, May 15th, 12:10PM CDT, Hubert Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN

Game 3: Washington Nationals vs. Chicago Cubs, May 16th, 7:05PM CDT, Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/wrigley/wrigley.htm

Game 4: New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals, May 17th, 7:10PM CDT, Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/stlouis/newbusch.htm

Game 5: New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals, May 18th, 12:10PM CDT, Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO Game 6: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals, May 19th, 7:10PM CDT, Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/kc/kc.htm

Game 7: Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox, May 20th, 12:20PM CDT, U. S. Cellular Field, Chicago, IL

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/comiskey/comiskey.htm


Roadtrip Summary:


This was our second baseball roadtrip to the Midwest Region and it was planned for us to visit the teams that we did see on our first trip: Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, and Chicago White Sox. Since the teams that we saw during this trip were primarily to the west of Chicago, I have called this roadtrip “The Western Loop of the Midwest.” The trip lasted seven nights/eight days and during that period we saw seven games that involved seven different teams. The roadtrip was implemented as a fly and drive trip. Again, my travel partner for the trip was my brother Bob.


The cities visited on the trip were much farther apart than those on our Eastern Loop of the Midwest roadtrip. For this reason, we flew to most of them instead of driving. Even though our original flight took us through Chicago and continued directly on to Minneapolis, the hub for our trip was Chicago. This enabled us to see a home game of both the Cubs at Wrigley Field and the White Sox at U. S. Cellular Field. After seeing two Twin’s home games and a one night stay in Minneapolis, we returned to Chicago for two nights and saw one game at Wrigley Field, the Nationals versus the Cubs.


The next legs of our roadtrip made a loop from Chicago to St. Louis (303 miles), then St Louis to Kansas City (243 miles), and finally Kansas City back to Chicago (535 miles). Due to the long travel distances between Chicago and St. Louis and Kansas City and Chicago, we chose to fly these two legs of the trip. On the other hand, the route between St. Louis and Kansas City is primarily on a single highway and Kauffman Stadium is not located downtown or near the airport. For this reason, we needed a car in Kansas City to get to the stadium so we decided to drive that leg. In St. Louis we attended two games and stayed for two nights. While we saw one game and stayed just one night in Kansas City before returning to Chicago. .


In each city, we included some additional attractions to add a vacation flavor to our primarily baseball roadtrip. In addition to Chicago, which we explored extensively on our first Midwest roadtrip, we enjoyed both Minneapolis and St. Louis very much. In Minneapolis, we made a trip to the Mall of America and eat at one of its numerous restaurants and in St. Louis visited the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame and International Bowling Hall of Fame. Since the Royal’s baseball stadium is not located downtown, we had to drive toward the city to visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. One of our highlights of our trip was in Kansas City, lunch at the Original Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque Restaurant.


MLB Final Scores and Box Scores


Game 1: Final Score: CHW 9 MIN 7 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN200605140.shtml

Game 2: Final Score: CHW 7 MIN 3 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN200605150.shtml

Game 3: Final Score: CHC 4 WSN 0 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN200605160.shtml

Game 4: Final Score: STL 1 NYM 0 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200605170.shtml

Game 5: Final Score: STL 6 NYM 3 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200605180.shtml

Game 6: Final Score: STL 9 KCR 6 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/KCA/KCA200605190.shtml

Game 7: Final Score: CHW 7 CHC 0 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA200605200.shtml


Travel Method, Route, and Distances:


May 14th

  • Fly: Newark Airport, Newark, NJ to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Light Rail Transit (LRT): 25 minute trip between airport and downtown Minneapolis. Departures every 7 to 15 minutes and operates from 6:45AM through 10:45PM.

May 15th

  • Light Rail Transit (LRT): 25 minute trip between downtown and airport. Departures every 7 to 15 minutes and operates from 6:45AM through 10:45PM.
  • Fly: Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Minneapolis, MN to Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Des Plaines, IL.
  • Chicago Transit Authority (CTA): Blue line light rail—45 minute trip between airport and downtown Chicago. Departures every 7-15 minutes 24hrs/day.

May 17th

  • Chicago Transit Authority (CTA): Blue line light rail—45 minute trip between downtown and airport. Departures every 7-15 minutes 24hrs/day.
  • Fly: Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Des Plaines, IL to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, St. Louis, MO.
  • MetroLink (Metro): 30 minute light rail trip between airport and downtown St. Louis. Departures every 7-15 minutes between 5AM and Midnight.

May 19th

  • MetroLink (Metro): 30 min light rail trip between downtown and airport. Departures every 7-15 minutes between 5AM and Midnight.
  • Drive: 229 mi from airport to Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

May 20th

  • Drive: 31 mi to Kansas City International Airport
  • Fly: Kansas City International Airport, Kansas City, MO to Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Des Plaines, IL.
  • Chicago Transit Authority (CTA): Blue line light rail—45 minute trip between airport and downtown Chicago. Departures every 7-15 minutes 24hrs/day.

May 21st

  • Chicago Transit Authority (CTA): Blue line light rail—45 minute trip between downtown and airport. Departures every 7-15 minutes 24hrs/day.
  • Fly: Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Des Plaines, IL to Newark Airport, Newark, NJ.

Approx. Total Drive Miles: 260 mi


En-route Attractions Visited:


  1. Downtown Skyways, Minneapolis, MN http://www.minneapolis.org/page/skyways-minneapolis.jsp
  2. Mall of America, Bloomington, MN http://www.mallofamerica.com/
  3. Mall of America Shopping and Dinning, Bloomington, MN http://www.mallofamerica.com/#/shop-dine/restaurants/
  4. The Chicago Loop, Chicago, IL http://www.chicago.com/neighborhoods/Loop/
  5. Greektown, 100-400 South Halstead St, Chicago, IL http://www.greektownchicago.org/
  6. Ride the “EL” (elevated trains) to the Baseball Stadiums, Chicago, IL http://www.transitchicago.com/travel_information/maps/htsystemmap.aspx o Wrigley Field: click on and view North Side map o The Loop: click on and view Downtown map o US Cellular Field: click on and view Central/South Side map
  7. Gateway Arch at the Riverfront, St. Louis, MO http://www.gatewayarch.com/Arch/
  8. Museum of Westward Expansion at the Gateway Arch: Lewis and Clark Expedition Exhibit, http://www.gatewayarch.com/Arch/info/act.museum.aspx , http://www.explorestlouis.com/media/pressKit/lewisAndClarkAdventure.asp
  9. Citygarden, St. Louis, MO http://www.citygardenstl.org/
  10. St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame, St. Louis, MO (Currently closed and moving to new location in St. Louis) http://mlb.mlb.com/stl/history/stl_history_halloffame.jsp
  11. International Bowling Hall of Fame, St. Louis, MO (closed and moving out of St. Louis) http://www.bowlingmuseum.com/
  12. Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Kansas City, MO http://www.nlbm.com/
  13. The Original Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque Restaurant, 1727 Brooklyn Ave, Kansas City, MO http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/our_restaurants/index.htm


Suggestions for Additional Roadtrip Attractions:


  1. Nickelodeon UniverseR at the Mall of America, Bloomington, MN http://www.nickelodeonuniverse.com
  2. Underwater AdventuresR Aquarium at the Mall of America, Bloomington, MN ttp://www.underwaterworld.com/
  3. Minneapolis Queen at the Port of Excelsior, Excelsior, MN http://www.twincitiescruises.com/
  4. Wrigleyville (neighborhood around Wrigley Field), Chicago, IL http://www.chicagotraveler.com/neighborhoods/wrigleyville-feature.htm
  5. Harry Carey’s Tavern, Chicago, IL http://www.harrycaraystavern.com/
  6. Millennium Park, Chicago, IL http://www.millenniumpark.org/generalinformation/
  7. Chicago Trolley and Double Decker Co. (hop on hop off city sight seeing tour), Chicago, IL http://www.coachusa.com/chicagotrolley/
  8. Chicago Riverwalk, Chicago, IL http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/attractions/tourism/chicago_riverwalk.html
  9. Chicago River Architectural Cruise and Lake Michigan Shore/Chicago Skyline Cruise, Chicago, IL http://www.shorelinesightseeing.com
  10. Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tour, St. Louis, MO http://www.budweisertours.com/
  11. Forest Park, St. Louis, MO http://www.slfp.com/ForestPark.html o St. Louis Zoo at Forest Park, St. Louis, MO http://www.stlzoo.org/ o Science Center near Forest Park, St. Louis, MO http://www.slsc.org/ o James S. McDonnell Planetarium at Forest Park, St. Louis, MO http://www.slfp.com/McDonnellPlanetarium.htm
  12. Gateway Arch Riverboats: Cruise on the Mississippi River aboard the Tom Sawyer Riverboat or Becky Thatcher Riverboat, St. Louis, MO http://www.gatewayarch.com/Arch/info/act.riverboat.ss.1hr.aspx
  13. Steamboat Arabia Museum, Kansas City, MO http://www.1856.com/
  14. 14. Harley Davidson Vehicle and Powertrain Operations Factory Tour, Kansas City, MO http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/content/pages/factory_tours/kansas_city.jsp
  15. Boulevard Brewing Company Tour, Kansas City, MO http://www.blvdbeer.com/beer.htm
  16. The College Basketball Experience, Kansas City, MO http://www.collegebasketballexperience.com/explorecbe.aspx
  17. Kansas Speedway Tour, Kansas City, MO http://www.kansasspeedway.com/Track-Info/Track-Tours.aspx


Roadtrip Planning Tips:


  1. Attend two games at Wrigley Field in Chicago and Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Wrigley is one of the most interesting baseball environments you will every experience. Also, St. Louis is a very interesting city and the baseball atmosphere experienced attending a game played at Busch Stadium is enjoyable.
  2. Check the schedules of the Cubs and White Sox to identify dates that will permit you to attend games of both teams at their home stadiums.
  3. Stay at least two nights in both Chicago and St. Louis.
  4. The Minnesota Twins will have a new stadium Target Field for the 2010 season. We saw two Twins games because we did not anticipate ever returning. But, stayed one night; instead of two. That is our recommendation.
  5. If possible, do not have a car while staying in Chicago, Minneapolis, and St. Louis. There will be little use for the car and additional charges for parking at a downtown hotel. Public transportation is available for traveling between the airport and downtown.
  6. In Chicago, Minneapolis, and St. Louis stay downtown at a hotel that is conveniently located to public transportation. In Chicago there are stops on the EL for both Wrigley Field and the U. S. Cellular Field. While in St. Louis, we found an excellent, moderately priced hotel that allowed us to walk to the games. Finally, the Twins new stadium is on the LRT route.


Some Changes since 2006:

  • Hubert Humphrey Metrodome closed at the end of the 2009 season and the Twins new stadium, Target Field, opens for the 2010 season.
  • International Bowling Hall of Fame of St. Louis relocated to Texas.
  • The St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame is temporarily closed for a move to a new location. Check to confirm that it has reopened.


Some Suggested Alternatives:


  1. Fly into Chicago, IL instead of Minneapolis, MN and use Chicago as the hub for all travel. By picking the correct arrival and departure dates, it may be possible to see both the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox, one upon arrival and the other just befoe departure.
  2. Drive the Chicago-St. Louis-Kansas City-Chicago Loop: o Wrigley Field, Chicago to Busch Stadium, St. Louis via Springfield, IL: 302 miles, 5 hr 10 min. o Busch Stadium, St. Louis to Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City: 243 miles, 3hr 50 min o Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO to Wrigley Field, Chicago via Des Moines, IA: 535 miles, 8hr 30 min.
  3. Breakup up the long drive to St. Louis by adding an extra day with an overnight stay near Peoria, IL, where you can attend a Peoria Chiefs game. The Peoria Chiefs are the single A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs in the Midwest League. This stop will partition the 302 mile ride from Chicago to St. Louis into two approx. 170 mi drives. Chicago to Peoria is 171 miles and 3hr, while Peoria to St. Louis is 171 miles and 2hr 50 min. Peoria is approx 33 miles off of the direct route between Chicago and St. Louis. The MapQuest address of O'Brien Field, where the Chiefs play, is 730 SW Jefferson St, Peoria, IL.
  4. Break up the long return trip from Kansas City to Chicago by adding two extra stops in towns with minor league teams. The first stop could be in Des Moines, IA where the Iowa Cubs play at Principal Park. Des Moines is right on the route suggested by MapQuest to drive from KC back to Chicago and is a 196 mi, 3hr 5 min ride from KC. The Iowa Cubs are the AAA team of the Chicago Cubs and play in the Pacific Coast League. The MapQuest address for Principal Park is One Line Drive, Des Moines, IA 50309. A second stop can be made in Davenport, IA where the Quad Cities River Bandits play their games at Modern Woodmen Park. The River Bandits are the single A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals in the Midwest League. This stop is also directly on the route outlined by MapQuest for traveling from KC to Chicago. The ride from Des Moines to the stadium in Davenport is approx. 174 mi and takes about 2 hr 40 min. The return trip from Davenport to Chicago is completed with an approx.178 mi, 3hr 10 min drive. The MapQuest address for Modern Woodmen Park is 209 S. Gaines St. Davenport, IA 52802.
  5. Alternate choices instead of the Davenport, IA stop on the return route from KC to Chicago. Both of the following options are near Davenport, IA and a short distance off the direct route. o Clinton LumberKings, Clinton, IA, Alliant Energy Field, Single A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners in the Midwest League. o Cedar Rapid Kernels, Cedar Rapids, IA, Veterans Memorial Stadium, Single A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the Midwest League.


Roadtrip Planning Resources:


The following are the web resources used for planning a “Western Loop of the Midwest" MLB roadtrip.


Official Website of the Major League Baseball: http://mlb.mlb.com

  • Click on “Team Sites” and then click on the appropriate AL or NL home team, for instance, “Chi Cubs” for Chicago Cubs to get to a specific team’s website.
  • On the specific teams website click on “Schedule” and view the “Regular Season” schedule.


Link to View Addresses of the Stadiums for each MLB Team:
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/
Official Website of the
Pacific Coast League: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=l112

  • Click on “Iowa Cubs” in the listing of teams to get to their website.
  • On the Iowa Cubs website click on “Principal Park” for information about the stadium and “Schedule” to access the “2010 Regular Season Schedule.”
  • Website link for the Iowa Cubs. http://iowa.cubs.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t451


Official Website of the Midwest League: http://midwest.league.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=l118

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Traditional Baseball Roadtrip #2: California Coast MLB Roadtrip

Date: August 7, 2003 through August 12, 2003
Primary Destinations: MLB Cities of California:
San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego,and Anaheim

Games Attended:

Game 1: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. San Francisco Giants, Aug.7th, 12:35PM PDT, Pacific Bell Park, San Francisco, CA http://www.ballparkreviews.com/sf/pacbell.htm

Game 2: Philadelphia Phillies vs. San Francisco Giants, Aug.8th, 7:15PM PDT, Pacific Bell Park, San Francisco, CA http://www.ballparkreviews.com/sf/pacbell.htm

Game 3: Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, Aug. 9th, 7:10PM PDT, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/la/dodger.htm

Game 4: Cincinnati Reds vs. San Diego Padres, Aug. 10th, 2:00PM PDT, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/sandiego/qualcomm.htm

Game 5: Chicago White Sox vs. Anaheim Angels, Aug. 11th, 7:05PM PDT, Edison International Field of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA http://www.ballparkreviews.com/anaheim/anaheim.htm


Roadtrip Summary:


Five of the six Major League Baseball teams located on the West Coast are concentrated in California. They are the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, Angels of Anaheim, and San Diego Padres. These teams are all conveniently located to the coastal cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. This fact makes it very easy to see most of them play at their home stadiums by simply making a trip either up or down the CA coast.

My brother Bob and I took this “California Coast MLB Roadtrip” in August of 2003. The trip lasted six days and we saw five of the six MLB teams of CA play games at their home stadiums. The trip began with a flight from our home in the metropolitan New York City area to San Francisco. Upon arrival in San Francisco, we took public transportation from the airport to our downtown hotel. This was the first stop in our roadtrip. Because of the newness of Pac Bell Stadium and other attractions in the city of SF, we chose to stay two nights and see two games. We would recommend this extended stay in SF to others.

The roadtrip continued by traveling south down the CA coast to San Diego; and we eventually returned back to the East Coast from LA. Due to the long distance between SF and the LA area, we flew from SF to Santa Anna, CA (just south of LA). Anaheim was chosen for our overnight lodging, instead of downtown LA. Anaheim offers a wide variety of moderately priced accommodations. The day of arrival we drove to Dodger Stadium to see a Los Angeles Dodgers game and the next day departed by car for San Diego. We stayed one night in San Diego and saw the Padres play at Qualcomm Stadium, and then returned for another night in Anaheim and an Angeles game at Edison International Field at Anaheim. We were able to walk from our hotel in Anaheim to the stadium to see the Angels play.

It is not easy to see all six of the teams in CA during s single roadtrip. This is due to the fact that the Giants and Athletics and/or the Dodgers and Angels are normally not at home during the same period of time. However, sometimes it is possible to catch a game of one of the teams just before it departs on the road and the other as it returns home. Our travel schedule allowed us to do this and enabled us to see the Dodgers and Angels, but not both the Giants and Athletics.

We both have visited San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego a number of times. For this reason, we did not plan many extra activities as part of this roadtrip. However, these three cities and other towns along the California coast are very popular tourist destinations and offer a wealth of family attractions. They include in-city entertainment attractions/activities as well are more remote destinations that would require a full day trip. For instance, in San Francisco, we visited Fisherman’s Wharf and took a cable car ride on the Mason/Powell Line. The Los Angeles and San Diego areas also offer endless opportunities for family recreation. Some examples in the Los Angles/Anaheim area are Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm and in San Diego there are the San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park. We had dinner in the Old Town Historic section of San Diego. Attractions like these provide the opportunity to fill extra time before and after games or expand the trip into a baseball-oriented family vacation.

MLB Final Scores and Box Scores:

Game 1: Final Score SFG 7 PIT 5 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN200308070.shtml
Game 2: Final Score SFG 9 PHI 1 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN200308080.shtml
Game 3: Final Score LAD 6 CHC 1 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN200308090.shtml
Game 4: Final Score SDP 2 CIN 0 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SDN/SDN200308100.shtml
Game 5: Final Score ANA 10 CHW 8 Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ANA/ANA200308110.shtml

Travel Method, Route, and Distances:

August 7th
  • Fly: Newark International Airport, Newark, NJ to San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, CA
  • Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART): San Francisco International Airport to Embarcadero Station, San Francisco, CA (31 min)
August 9th
  • Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART): Embarcadero Station, San Francisco, CA to San Francisco International Airport (31 min)
  • Fly: San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, CA to John Wayne Airport, Santa Anna, CA
  • Drive: 12 mi to Anaheim
  • Drive: 31 mi to Dodger Stadium
August 10th
  • Drive: 91 mi to San DiegoAugust 11th
  • Drive: 91 mi to Anaheim
August 12th
  • Drive: 36 mi to Los Angeles International Airport
  • Fly: Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA to Newark International Airport, Newark, NJ
Approx. Total Drive Miles: 261 mi

En-route Attractions Visited:
  1. Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, CA http://www.fishermanswharf.org/
  2. Cable Car Ride, San Francisco, CA http://www.sfcablecar.com/
  3. Old Town Historic Park, San Diego, CA http://www.oldtownsandiego.org/
Suggestions for Additional Roadtrip Attractions:

  1. Golden Gate Park and Bridge, San Francisco, CA http://www.sfgov.org/site/recpark_page.asp?id=17796
  2. Aquarium by the Bay, San Francisco, CA http://www.aquariumofthebay.org/
  3. Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, CA http://www.nps.gov/alca/index.htm
  4. Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, CA http://sanfrancisco.ripleys.com/
  5. Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, CA http://www.waxmuseum.com/
  6. San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and USS Pampanito Submarine, San Francisco, CA http://www.maritime.org/index.htm
  7. Ferry to Sausalito, San Francisco, CA http://goldengateferry.org/schedules/Sausalito.php
  8. Pier 34 at Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, CA http://www.pier39.com/index.cfm
  9. Universal Studios Tour and Amusement Park, Los Angeles, CA http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/visitor_info.htm
  10. Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Los Angeles, CA http://www.manntheatres.com/chinese/
  11. Rodeo Drive Walking Tour, Los Angeles, CA http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/losangeles/a/rodeo.htm
  12. Sunset Strip Walking Tour, Los Angeles, CA http://www.thesunsetstrip.com/?gclid=CNavicvy0ZwCFdFL5QodYyk_Hw
  13. Disneyland, Anaheim, CA http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/home/home?name=HomePage
  14. Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA http://www.knotts.com/
  15. Santa Monica Pier and Carousel, Santa Monica, CA http://www.santamonicapier.org/
  16. Venice Beach, West Los Angeles, CA http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/losangeles/a/venicebeach.htm
  17. San Diego Zoo, San Diego, CA http://www.sandiegozoo.org/
  18. San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, Escondido, CA http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/index.html
  19. Balboa Park, San Diego, CA http://www.balboapark.org/
  20. Belmont Amusement Park, San Diego, CA http://www.belmontpark.com/
  21. Maritime Museum, San Diego, CA http://www.sdmaritime.com/
  22. Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and IMAX Theatre, http://www.rhfleet.org/
  23. Historic Gaslight Quarter, San Diego, CA http://www.gaslamp.org/
  24. Mission Bay Park, San Diego, CA http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/missionbay/facilities.shtml
  25. Hornblower Cruises, San Diego, CA http://www.sandiegohornblower.com/
  26. SeaWorld, San Diego, CA http://www.seaworld.com/sandiego/
Day Trips Outside of San Francisco:
  1. Sausalito and the Muir Woods, http://www.ci.sausalito.ca.us/, http://www.nps.gov/muwo/index.htm
  2. Sonoma Valley Wine Tour, http://www.sonomavalley.com/index.php/Table/plan-a-visit/
  3. Napa Valley Wine Tour, http://www.winecountryminute.com/travel/napa-travel-summer-2009.html?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=winery%2Bin%2Bnapa&OVRAW=Wineries%20of%20Napa%20Valley&OVKEY=winery%20in%20napa&OVMTC=advanced&OVADID=18409464513&OVKWID=169137652513
  4. Monterey and the Monterey Bay Aquarium http://www.monterey.org/, http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/
Roadtrip Planning Tips:

  1. Do not have a car while staying in San Francisco unless you are planning to travel outside the downtown part of the city. If you stay and remain in the city, there will be little use for a car and the resulting additional charges for parking at a hotel. Public transportation is available from the airport to downtown.
  2. In San Francisco, stay downtown at a hotel that is conveniently located near the public transportation that can take you to AT&T Park. We stayed within walking distance of Fisherman’s Wharf, an excellent location.
  3. Check game schedules for arrival and departures of the Giants and Athletics and/or Dodgers and Angels to see it if possible to work out a schedule that will permit you to see both teams play at home.
  4. Fly between San Francisco/Oakland and the Los Angeles area.
  5. Lodgings in the Anaheim area permits easy access to Dodger Stadium and Angels Stadium of Anaheim. It is also more convenient to travel to/from San Diego from this location. Staying in Anaheim eliminates the need to experience the delays associated with getting in and out of central LA.
Some Changes since 2003:
  • Since the end of the 2003 baseball season, Pacific Bell Park has been renamed twice. The current name is AT&T Park.
  • For the 2004 baseball season, the San Diego Padres left Qualcomm Stadium and moved to a new downtown, waterfront stadium Petco Park.
  • After the 2003 baseball season, Edison International Field of Anaheim was renamed Angels Stadium of Anaheim.
Some Suggested Alternatives:

  1. Fly into LA and do the Southern California teams first and then fly north to San Francisco.
  2. See more than one game in AT&T Park (Giants) and/or Dodger Stadium (Dodgers).
  3. Extend the trip with extra days for non-baseball attractions/activities in the San Diego, Los Angeles, or San Francisco areas.
  4. Instead of driving between Los Angeles and San Diego, take a scenic ride along the Pacific Coast on AMTRAK’s Pacific Surfliner train. http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Route/Vertical_Route_Page&c=am2Route&cid=1081256322013&ssid=132
Roadtrip Planning Resources:

The following are the web resources used for planning a “California Coast MLB Roadtrip:”

Official Website of the Major League Baseball:
http://mlb.mlb.com/
  • Click on “Team Sites” and then click on the appropriate AL or NL home team, for instance, “San Diego” for San Diego Padres to get to a specific team’s website.
  • On the specific team’s website click on “Schedule” and view the “Regular Season” schedule.
Link to View Addresses of the Stadiums for each MLB Team: http://mlb.mlb.com/team/