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Milwaukee: Day 1
The first day of our second trip of 2015 began with us parting ways with Chicago. We said goodbye to Laura, Tyson and the Windy City and hello to the short, 1 1/2 hour trip to Milwaukee. Along our way, however, we made another unscheduled stop.The Mars Cheese Castle.
Inside there was were several "rooms" with food, many different kinds of alcohol, and, believe it or not, lots and lots of cheese. It was a fun and nice break in a very short road trip.
After reluctantly leaving the castle, we finally arrived at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Milwaukee and decided that our bodies needed some time to recuperate before the game that night.
Pregame
We knew there were a few bars about a mile from Miller Park, so we decided to take a cab to that area. On our way out the door, the front desk clerk offered to call a cab for us and even gave us a coupon for a free drink at a bar close to the hotel. It was our intention to take advantage of this coupon over the next two days, but (Spoiler Alert) we didn't.The cab ride was about 4 1/2 miles and ran us about 15 bucks before the tip. Our driver gave us a suggestion on which bar to start at and dropped us off at Kelly's Bleachers.
We took the advice of one of our readers, Tony, and tried some cheese curds and a local beer called Spotted Cow. In addition, we tried Cordon Brewer Balls — ham, cheese and chicken bites in a breaded coating (and fried of course). Great suggestions, Tony. Both foods were amazing and the beer was cold and smooth.
Nate also got the Western Burger, which was topped with bacon, pepperjack cheese and onion rings.
As long as you order a drink or some food, Kelly's Bleachers will give you a ticket to ride their shuttle to the ballpark. This service was incredibly helpful and a joy. The driver, who was decked in a giant blue wig to support his Brewers, was fun, energetic and witty. Great food, delicious beer, and a safe and fun ride to Miller Park — it was a great way to start our evening.
The game
Driving up to the ballpark, the first thing we noticed was the unique physical appearance of the retractable roof, which was open when we arrived but was closed before the game began.
As soon as we walked through the gates, we were impressed with how wide open the inside of the stadium was. There wasn't just gift shops, food stands and drink carts, but there were chairs and tables for people to sit down and eat and drink.
While the extra space and furniture was nice, convenient and attracted a good-sized crowd, that led to there being empty seats throughout most of the game. As the contest went on, the seats filled and the crowd increased its energy level.
Each team received a home run — Atlanta's from AJ Pierzynski and Milwaukee's from Jonathan Lucroy — before the Braves scored three unanswered runs. Pierzynski drove in his second run of the game in the fourth with a single, while Cameron Maybin tripled in the fifth to score another run. Nick Markakis made it a 4-1 game in the seventh, but Milwaukee answered in the bottom of the inning with a double from pinch-hitter Shane Peterson.
The Brewers' Adam Lind homered to cut Atlanta's lead to 4-3 in the eighth. But the Braves sent Jason Grilli to the mound to close the game and give Atlanta the victory.
Postgame
After the game, we hopped back on the Kelly's Bleachers shuttle and went back to the bar. With your ticket, Kelly's Bleachers will give you a buy one get one free drink special. We stuck with the Spotted Cow.There weren't many people at the bar, but it was a Tuesday night. We made our two drinks last for a while, and finally called for a cab around 1:15 a.m. There was a mutual agreement that it was best to get some rest so we can be ready to explore Milwaukee the next day.
Milwaukee: Day 2
Being in Milwaukee, we decided we had to go on a brewery tour, if not multiple tours. We looked online at Miller and Pabst, and we loved the appearance of the Pabst buildings.The tour was $7 and included one free glass of PBR or Schlitz. We were a little early, so we enjoyed our beer and free pretzels while we waited for the tour to begin.
The owner of the brewery buildings, Jim Haertel, was our tour guide,
and he was the life of the party. Jim was energetic, funny, and knowledgeable.
He presented us with videos and a slide show with information and pictures
about the history of the Pabst company.
The presentation lasted about 40 minutes, after which Jim
politely reminded us to refill our beers and then led us on a
tour of the rest of the property.
Every room had a vintage look to it. There was a lot of
woodwork and stained glass, which kept us all in awe.
It was a lot of fun to listen to Jim. Anyone could tell
after five minutes of being on the tour that this brewery was his passion.
After the tour, we stayed at the bar, enjoying the cheapest drinks we’ve seen
throughout the trip.
The bartender, Margret, was kind enough to endure our
company throughout the next tour, when Jim made his way back to the bar with
the next group. After that, we told him we enjoyed the tour and talked a little
about the brewery. It was definitely a highlight of our trip.
What happened next could be considered a low point in our
trip — though we thought it was a claim to fame.
We left the PBR brewery in search of some food for supper.
Our wandering brought us to Major Goolsby’s, a sports bar that had stars and
stripes on the marquee and a sign for cheap PBR on the sidewalk.
When we asked what was good, the manager told us about the
Quad Challenge — four hamburger patties totaling 1 1/3 pounds.
The challenge was to finish the monster in 30 minutes or
less. Ben and Nick finished it in 10 minutes, setting a new record according to
the manager, and Nate finished shortly after. Again, some will debate this
accomplishment should not be one completed with pride, but the plaques that will be
hanging at Major Goolsby’s beg to differ.
The staff was fun and enjoyed watching our hunger and excitement
turn to agony, but we were glad we accepted the challenge. In all, we each got
a few koozies, a free drink/shot, a Facebook post on the bar’s page, a picture with their prized pig, and each
of our names and a custom message on a small plaque, which will be placed on
the back of one of the chairs in the bar.
As you can imagine, the walk back to the hotel was a little
more difficult with 20-plus ounces of beef in our stomachs. After the 1/2 mile
walk, which seemed longer than a 1/2 marathon, we decided to stay in for the
night. Aside from being on the brink of a food coma, we also knew our schedule
called for an early morning, when we would start our journey to Minneapolis.
Standings
This was a tough trip to judge. While we had some great experiences in Milwaukee, we didn't get to try a whole lot, and most of that falls on us. The overall trip earned a 7.2, placing it as fourth in our standings.
Miller Park earned major points for its "sex appeal". It was unique, modern and very aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Beyond that, it was fairly average. There wasn't much of a variety in food selections and the beer prices and choices were pretty typical. We had heard Miller Park had nachos on a stick, but it was nowhere to be found. Nick tried a Churrito, which was really just a taco flavored sausage, which was okay. Ben had cheese fries and cheese curds, while Nate stuck with the Dip N Dots due to the extremely long line at the doughnut ice cream sandwich stand. The crowd at the ballpark didn't seem into the game until about the seventh or eighth inning.
Another high-scoring factor for the trip was the people of Milwaukee. Everywhere we went they were kind and welcoming. The bar scene was a lot more relaxed than Chicago, which can be nice at times. As for transportation, it was easy to call for a cab, but we did not see any other methods to get from the bar/stadium to our hotel. The shuttle service from the bar to the ballpark saved this category. Walking was easy to do downtown, but, again, we didn't see any other way to get around.
We still had a lot of fun on this trip, and we thought the city was a great place to spend a couple of days.
Miller Park earned major points for its "sex appeal". It was unique, modern and very aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Beyond that, it was fairly average. There wasn't much of a variety in food selections and the beer prices and choices were pretty typical. We had heard Miller Park had nachos on a stick, but it was nowhere to be found. Nick tried a Churrito, which was really just a taco flavored sausage, which was okay. Ben had cheese fries and cheese curds, while Nate stuck with the Dip N Dots due to the extremely long line at the doughnut ice cream sandwich stand. The crowd at the ballpark didn't seem into the game until about the seventh or eighth inning.
Another high-scoring factor for the trip was the people of Milwaukee. Everywhere we went they were kind and welcoming. The bar scene was a lot more relaxed than Chicago, which can be nice at times. As for transportation, it was easy to call for a cab, but we did not see any other methods to get from the bar/stadium to our hotel. The shuttle service from the bar to the ballpark saved this category. Walking was easy to do downtown, but, again, we didn't see any other way to get around.
We still had a lot of fun on this trip, and we thought the city was a great place to spend a couple of days.
| Rank | Stadium | Rating |
| 1. | Kauffman Stadium | 8.4 |
| 2. | U.S. Cellular | 8.3 |
| 3. | Wrigley Field | 8.3 |
| 4. | Miller Park | 7.2 |
| 5. | Coors Field | 7.1 |
On deck
Be sure to check back soon as we will be updating the blog to include the final leg of our trip, Target Field in Minneapolis. As always, please feel free to hit us up with suggestions on things to do at any trip we are going on. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, @MLBjourneymen, and check out our Instagram account, mlbjourneymen.
"These old ballparks are like cathedrals in America. We don't have big old Gothic cathedrals like they do in Europe, but we got baseball parks."
— Jimmy Buffet
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