Day 6 – Change of Plans in the Cream City

Ahhh…..it was so nice to get up in Milwaukee on Friday morning knowing that I didn’t have to go on a massive drive somewhere. Don’t get me wrong, I love to drive and this road trip certainly does lay claim to that. But like anyone else would be I was certainly worn down from traveling over two thousand miles in a span of five days. Friday would be a day to rest, relax, and catch up on this blog and other things related to the journey.

The Milwaukee portion of the intinerary was what launched the idea of this Midwest stadium road trip. A while back, I was informed by my sister that her husband would be playing in a weeklong softball tournament in Milwaukee and wondered if I wanted to come and spend time there for the week as well. Since they live in San Diego, I thought this would be a great opportunity to be with family and spend time in a great city that I hadn’t been to in a while. I was sold instantly.

But being the road tripper then I am, the mind started working. My first plan was to spend the week in Milwaukee and spend every night heading to a different ballpark in the Milwaukee/Wisconsin/Chicago area. Hmmm, maybe not. I’d be going to some previously unseen parks without Andrew, and I knew that wouldn’t sit well with him. So I thought some more and focused on Major League Baseball parks, and the rest is history. Here I am, Milwaukee!

So I was able to catch up on most of the backlog of posts and photos in the morning before heading out to the softball fields to watch my brother in law and his team in action. Unfortunately I got there in time to see his team get eliminated from the tournament (Gay Softball World Series – yeah, he’s straight and playing for a gay softball team….affirmative action I guess) in not so impressive fashion.

But as is the case with most amateur sporting events, win or lose the postgame is always a jovial atmosphere. As the beers flowed amongst team members and their supporters the question was asked. Who’s going to the Brewers game tonight??

Now as you know, I had Miller park lined up for Saturday. But heck if a chance to hang out with a crowd of friends is there at a ballgame, why not? Miller Park on Friday night it is!!

But of course, not before stopping off at one of State of Wisconsin’s two White Castle restaurants for another six pack of cheeseburgers. Hey, priorities here!

I haven’t been to Miller Park since the venue opened in 2001 and I was looking very forward to this stop. It’s a building that is architecturally striking upon first glance with its enormous fan shaped roof and four decks of seating. From our seats up high behind the plate it was very difficult not to pay attention to the roof above and the walls of the park beyond the outfield fence. We had a great view from there, if a bit high.

And yes, I went through a couple of brats and a chorizo at the park(with a Miller). Hey, there was a reason I only had six White Castles. Bratwurst with sauerkraut and a splash of the secret stadium sauce, trust me it doesn’t get much better than that anywhere. The signature food in Milwaukee and one of the great concession items in all of sports.

I know it’s a broken record, but the game was another good one. The Giants won a tight one 3-2 rallying from behind to win and surviving a strong start from Brewers starter Jeff Suppan, who went into the fifth inning before giving up a base hit. For a moment there, I was thinking it. Yes I was.

We did leave the game during the eighth inning, I was with my sister, brother in law and two month old nephew and the game was already three and a half hours old so off we went into the Milwaukee night and back to the hotel. A beautiful yard, I’m still impressed with it.

Other nonsense from the night that was:

Sphincter police alert!!! I was wandering around taking photos of the venue when I decided to go down into the lower seating bowl to snap a few shots. Left field corner, oceans of empty seats around me in the sixth inning and not two minutes go by and an usher stops by and asked to see my ticket. Go away!!! It wouldn’t surprise anyone if I told you that the guy looked like he took his kids to Braves games when they were in Milwaukee, would it?

Sausage mascot race!! Cheating! One of the mascots got an unfair headstart, but he didn’t win…justice prevailed.

Don’t know if it’s the best seventh inning stretch in baseball, but if there’s a more jovial one than singing the “Beer Barrel Polka” in Milwaukee I’d love to see it.

Plenty of seats available on the street, we were able to get sixteen seats together upstairs from a scalper for ten dollars each.

So will I head back to the park again today? I don’t know….got no plans as of yet. If not, a day on Chicago’s South Side beckons on Sunday afternoon.

-pjf