Ultimate Baseball
Road Trip Blog

Our Southwest and Sunbelt Tours took us next to Arlington, Texas, home of Globe Life Ballpark and the Texas Rangers. Rangers Ballpark is known for the unique view of the offices in the outfield, where blending work and fun would be easy to do 81 days out of the year! (Come to think of it...why aren't our offices there???)

You've seen lots of pictures of ballparks, even Rangers Ballpark. But have you seen bacon on a stick? I didn't think so... Well, now you have. I didn't know that could be done! If you're a meat lover, there are lots of great food selections at this stadium.

Looks like the seats in the lower levels are named by the season ticket holders (?). Reminded me of those terrible four-person "cells" or "cubicles" at Shea Stadium that were named and had metal rails around

them. However the names at this stadium were right on the seats themselves. Here's a shot of my seat. Seems like someone's a fan of Talledega Nights? I expected the seats on either side to be Walker and Texas Ranger...

We really enjoyed the game. It was close the whole night and the fans were really engaged. To top it off, we saw the Rangers put up a couple of runs in the bottom of the night, including a two-out, walk-off hit off of Fernando Rodney. (MLB Game Summary)

More about this combination of baseball tours to come!

Two new 2014 tour itineraries give you the opportunity to enjoy early season baseball and bask in the Spring sunshine of the Sunbelt and Southwest.

Our Southwest Tour will start in Phoenix with stops in Arlington and Houston, TX, and then end with a game at Coors Field in Denver. 4 Nights and 4 Ballparks while staying in the finest hotels, sitting in lower level seats, and enjoying the Big League Player Experience. If you would like all the info, click the link below.

The Sunbelt Tour is a 6-night tour that will catch games in Arlington, Houston, Miami, Tampa, and Atlanta. If you haven't been to Turner Field yet, here's your chance to see it before the Braves move to their new stadium in a few years. All the Big League Tours exclusive features are included, along with a lifetime of memories. Here's the link to the web page.

Don't forget- book by Dec. 15th and get 5% off your total tour price. Just use discount code EARLY when booking your tour.

Please call or email with any questions. I hope you will join us in 2014.

 

 

I headed to the East Coast for my first Big League Tours adventure, flying solo! Although I could have spent days enjoying the city, it was down to business when the wheels hit the ground at Boston Logan.  enway will always hold a special place in my heart since it was the first Major League Baseball game I ever attended. I was glad to be back and start sharing what I knew about the stadium with our guests!

After meeting BLT Host and permanent Boston resident, Mike G. for some secrets of Fenway and a little confidence boost, it was time to hit the hotel and meet my guinea pigs!  I’m thrilled to say that my first ever tour group couldn’t have been more fantastic. Within the first five minutes, the Australian’s had the whole group rolling with laughter while comparing their accents to the Texans on the trip.

We quickly learned that we’d be helping each other a lot over the next week as most of the group learned how to ride a metro system! Once we made it to Fenway the group was off exploring the stadium and checking out one of the best gift stores in MLB.  Secret #1 that I discovered, the Bleacher Bar is a must! Enjoy a cheap (for a sporting event) beer while watching batting practice from the outfield!

Secret #2 of the trip, be selective when you try to escape the heat in the Yankee Stadium gift shop, they aren’t all air-conditioned! I’m not sure what he was doing, but the weather god wasn’t looking down on us in New York. With temperatures in the 100’s on Wednesdays and 60’s on Friday at Citi Field, I thought I was back in Indiana’s crazy weather.

The heat and rain couldn’t keep our die-hard fans away, especially the Lantz’s who had seen every stadium in the country prior to the addition of six more. With a tour of Yankee Stadium and private meet and greet with 1969 World Series Champion, Art Shamsky, they were thrilled to see more than just a game.

Outside of the scheduled events, our group became very close and spent most of our free day exploring New York City together. With a trip to Lombardi’s Pizza, the first coal oven pizza place in the United States, and then the World Trade Center Memorial, the off time was definitely used for more than testing the pillows in the hotel room. 

When I joined the Big League Tours crew in May, I kept wondering if I’d get the chance to join the group on the road or if Glenn and Doug would keep me locked up staring at a computer for eight hours every day. Luckily, a few weeks in, they finally decided they liked me enough to assist Martha Ellen for part of the Midwest Tour. I’m an Indiana girl but I’ve gained a few friends throughout the past four years of college so I was thrilled for a little work and a little play in the Windy City.

Being a tour guide may be classified as work, but let’s be serious, is attending baseball games and staying in luxury hotels really a job? Anyway, at the beginning of my adventure I felt like others thought I was just the daughter of someone on the tour instead of the person leading the tour! I guess that’s what happens when you’re fresh out of college?

Back to baseball…  I’ll admit it, I’m pretty much a newbie to the whole baseball world and Wrigley Field was only my second MLB stadium so I was thrilled to see that Wrigleyville had the same atmosphere as the area around Fenway Park. Lots of baseball loving, beer drinking fans that are sure to enhance your experience!

For me, the atmosphere makes your experience and both Wrigley, Miller Park and US Cellular all managed to impress me. From the people at Wrigley, to the craft beers and spending the day with Ron Kittle at Miller Park in addition to the fireworks at US Cellular, they all provided me with great memories of my first trip with Big League Tours.  

Of course there’s more to it than just the baseball, the people travelling with us were one of a kind and by the end of the trip I felt like I’d gained a second family. One of the best memories was celebrating an 87^th birthday with Walt, our favorite grandpa that everyone wanted to steal by the end of our trip. The more the merrier was definitely a true statement with the group of 20 that joined us. Check back in October for our 2013 Baseball Tours schedule to see when we'll be hosting the Midwest Tour again!

Thanks every for making my first trip a true success!

Kayla

Can I brag on my home town just a little? We've been hearing about the 2012 Super Bowl in Indy for quite a few years. But it's finally here and it has been absolutely amazing!

Indianapolis is known for hosting events and doing so very well. After all, this is a favored spot for the NCAA mens and womens basketball tournaments - whether opening rounds or the Final Four. The Big Ten Conference has held both basketball and football championships here. In addition, the city is home to or has hosted world renowned sporting events (Indy 500, Brickyard 400, PanAm games, and Olympic qualifications, to name a few), conferences and conventions and handles them all with ease.

But nothing in the city has compared to what they've done for the Super Bowl. Several square blocks have been closed to auto traffic to create the Super Bowl Village. Stages have been setup along the streets. Restaurants have extended their seating onto the sidewalks. Vendors are all over the city. And the activity is amazing.

Here are a couple of photos from downtown. The first is the image of the Lombardi Trophy on the side of the brand new JW Marriott hotel. The second was taken while walking around the Super Bowl Village.

The city and visitors have been blessed with fantastic weather this week. It's been in the high-50's most days making it very comfortable to be out and walk around. Hopefully things will continue to hold through this weekend so that the world will see Indy at its finest.

Congrats to the City, the Super Bowl Committee, and the thousands of volunteers who have made this all happen!

USA Today recently printed an article, "How to Plan Your First Road Trip." The author provides nine pointers that would be a good idea for you to incorporate if you're taking family tours or sports vacations of any kind. Here's are the highlights:

• Step 1 - Purchase roadside service insurance.
• Step 2 - 
Bring your car in for a once-over.
• Step 3
 - Keep a small kit of safety supplies with you.
• Step 4
 - Buy a paper map.
• Step 5
 - Make a list of places you want to see and prepare a realistic time line.
• Step 6
 - Plan overnight stays.
• Step 7 - 
Record a hefty playlist for your MP3 player.
• Step 8
 - Keep a small cooler stocked with beverages and a couple of snacks.
• Step 9 - 
Allow time for the unexpected.

This looks like a great list if you have time to do this on your own and you're interested in looking up all the details for your baseball road trips. But what occurs to me is that we've already done all this work for you at Big League Tours when you purchase one of our baseball vacation packages. That's one of the things our clients tell us they love the most - the fact that they can show up for the tour and everything is taken care of for them.

Baseball on the Bay (includes Seattle)

Like several of our tours this season, this baseball vacation package was created based on the requests of our fans.

Baseball on the Bay, June 29-July 3
We're expecting beautiful weather and exciting baseball on this late June/early July tour to the Bay area. First, though, we'll start in Seattle to catch the Red Sox as they take on the Mariners. From there, we'll jet to San Francisco and check into one of the finest hotels in downtown. That evening you'll be treated to a San Francisco food tour courtesy of BLT.

On Sunday, it's back to baseball and our MLB player experience. There will be plenty of time to explore the city on your own after the 1:05pm game. And then, on Monday, you'll have more time to venture out before we make the short trip to Oakland to see the A's take on the Red Sox. If the schedule allows, we will also add behind the scenes tours of the stadiums.

Featured Tour Special- Book by the end of the day on Jan. 14 and receive $200 off per room booked. *
Use coupon code 200BAY when booking your tour.
CLICK HERE to reserve your spot. 

*some restrictions apply/not valid with any other offer


We're excited to present this baseball tour for the first time. Below are the links to the tour page, brochure request and stadiums. We hope you will join us.

Baseball on the Bay Tour Page

Baseball on the Bay Tour Brochure Request

AT&T Ballpark

The Oakland Coliseum
 
Safeco Field

Looking Forward to 2012! (And New Baseball Tours!!)

Here's wishing a Happy New Year to all the baseball and travel fans we have have come to know over the last six baseball seasons. It's been so much fun combining two things that I love so much and offering them to you. It has been a privilege to serve each one of you!

As we head into our seventh season of offering baseball tours, we just want to say how grateful we are for the past six years and how much we're looking forward to a fantastic 2012. We invite you to connect with us on the way!

Have a great year and we'll see you at the ballpark!!

April 5, 2011 - Don't you love to head out on vacation? You get time to explore a new destination, take in new sites, and enjoy the company of your friends and family without all the pressures of being at home or work. That's especially true when you allow someone else to handle all of the details for you when you purchase a baseball vacation package!

You can rest assured that our baseball road trip planners will assemble a vacation for you that won't just be a trip, it will be an experience! We'll make sure you stay in great hotels, sit in great seats, take behind the scenes baseball stadium tours, and get up close and personal to the game we all love so much.

The baseball season has arrived and our tour vacations are filling up - so don't wait too long to sign up for the premier sports travel package that you've always wanted!

January 28, 2011 - Pitchers and catchers can report to Spring Training in a little over two weeks which means that it won't be long until we have Major League Baseball! That also means that it's almost time for MLB road trips!

In December we announced a package that we're offering in partnership with the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund. It's a weekend in Chicago to see the Reds play the Cubs for three games at Wrigley Field. Baseball fans will enjoy the series at Wrigley from great, lower-level seats as well as great hotel accommodations in Chicago, meet & greets with an MLB player, transportation to the stadiums, and a Big League Tours host on the tour.

We'll be out promoting the baseball tour this weekend at a few of the stops for the Reds Caravan. We'll also have information about all of our baseball vacation packages. So whether you're thinking of taking family tours or group travel tours, stop by and chat with us about the 2011 baseball season and see which of our tour vacations are for you.