There are few better ways to spend a summer night than at the ballpark, enjoying the sights and sounds of a riveting baseball game. We’re fortunate in the Midwest to have a number of opportunities for baseball within driving distance, including five minor league teams in Iowa alone. As a fun weekend outing, I planned a three-night trip to Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, which featured back-to-back evenings of baseball, fireworks, and fun.
Thursday, July 17
Our first official stop on our weekend getaway was at the Tanger Outlet Mall near Williamsburg. While Amanda lamented the recent closure of The Children’s Place outlet, she still was able to snag some good deals at the Carter and Oshkosh stores. My main focus on the stop was keeping the kids entertained, but via numerous iMessages to Amanda, I managed to pick out two acceptable future pairs of shoes for Emmie at the Nike Factory Store.
Noah and Emmie pushed the stroller (and shoes) at the outlet mall.
We had dinner at Blackstone, an intriguing New American dining spot not far from I-80 on the extreme eastern side of Iowa City. We started our meal with saganaki, an appetizer commonly known as “flaming cheese.” For the table-side presentation, a slice of Kasseri cheese was topped with brandy then lit on fire before being served. Noah seemed to enjoy the spectacle, but Emmie was momentarily startled. She recovered quickly though, and we all enjoyed the cheese and accompanying bread.
Both Amanda and I ordered from their burger menu; she and Emmie split the blue cheeseburger with onion straws, while I tried the “Big Kahuna,” topped with mango pico, pepper jack, crispy shrimp, and a honey chipotle sauce. Both burgers, plus the accompanying fries and house-made chips, were excellent, and we’ve definitely added Blackstone to our list of favorite eastern Iowa restaurants.
Friday, July 18
While the kids both slept through the night at our Davenport hotel, the late arrival didn’t keep them sleeping late into the morning. By 7:15, Amanda and I were hearing chatter in the suite’s living room area. They didn’t know we were awake to document a couple of entertaining and sweet conversations, including this one:
Noah: Say “salt.”
Emmie: “Sal.”
Noah: Say “pepper.”
Emmie: “Pep-pah.”
Noah: Good job! (Claps) When Mommy and Daddy wake up, I will tell them you are saying new words!
In effort to let Amanda sleep in a bit, the kids and I hopped in the car to get breakfast at the nearby standalone Chick-fil-A. It’s always a treat to eat chicken for breakfast, and there’s no tastier fast food place for chicken than Chick-fil-A. After breakfast, Noah briefly explored the restaurant’s play area before a quick stop at the Schnucks supermarket in Bettendorf.
Noah smiled with his chicken minis.
Emmie gives a cheesy smile with her chicken nugget.
By 10:30, we had reached the Northpark Mall in Davenport, where Amanda retreated to The Children’s Place while Noah, Emmie, and I walked a few stores down to Yankee Candle. Over the course of our visit, we managed to smell the majority of the scents, from Apple Cider to Berrylicious to Chocolate Layer Cake to Clean Cotton.
Emmie was stylish in sunglasses in The Children’s Place.
Smelling candles may Noah’s favorite mall-based activity.
Emmie took her turn at pushing the (empty) stroller.
Following lunch at the mall’s food court, I dropped Amanda and Noah off at Rave Cinemas in Davenport to watch the new Planes: Fire and Rescue movie. In the meantime, Emmie and I visited Whitey’s, which was recently highlighted in Condé Nast Traveler as one of the world’s top ice cream shops. We quickly handled scoops of Black Cherry and Chocolate Fudge Brownie, then went inside to order a third scoop; this time choosing Moose Tracks. Weather was perfect for enjoying the ice cream on one of the quaint, red benches outside the shop.
Emmie (sort of) posed for a photo outside Whitey’s.
Emmie wanted to go back in the store for a fourth scoop!
After regrouping with Amanda and Noah, we took Amanda to her afternoon massage and pedicure at Davenport’s downtown Hotel Blackhawk Spa. Noah, Emmie, and I traveled across the Mississippi for the first time on the trip to visit the Niabi Zoo in Coal Valley, Illinois. The combination of Noah clinging to the stroller, Emmie wanting to run everywhere, and a relatively lackluster selection of animals made for a relatively forgettable visit. On a high note, the carousel and bird-feeding activities were fun, and the price was right.
Once we were parked outside Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Amanda escorted Emmie and Noah through the barnyard trailer setup outside the station while I retrieved our will-call tickets. The advanced online ticket order proved worthwhile, as reserved tickets were entirely sold out by the time we arrived, with the 7,200+ attendees counting as the stadium’s fifth-biggest-crowd of all time.
Amanda and Noah smiled for a photo at the beginning of the game.
The game progressed quickly, largely due to the offensive struggles of the River Bandits, who fell 7-0 to Fort Wayne. A newly-constructed ferris wheel behind left field kept Amanda and Noah entertained for a stretch of the game, while we shared a brat, corn dog, French fries, and Dippin’ Dots with the kids at various points throughout the evening. Perhaps most notably among our food consumption, Noah ate nearly an entire 1/3-pound cheeseburger.
Emmie loved the mini helmet once filled with Dippin’ Dots.
An interesting situation presented itself in the final innings of the game when Emmie’s diaper needed changed, but we were out of extras in both the diaper bag and car. Instead of running to the car to find the nearest diaper retailer, following Amanda’s suggestion, I walked two sections over in search of a diaper from a random family with a baby. The plan worked, and we were able to get Emmie changed before the end of the game and ensuing fireworks.
The new ferris wheel made for a nice photo backdrop.
Much like the flaming cheese scene from the night before, Noah loved the fireworks while Emmie was skeptical. She cuddled close to Mommy for the duration of the pyrotechnics display, which was similar in length and quality to what we had seen the previous year at the Cedar Rapids Kernels game.
A family photo following the post game fireworks.
Saturday, July 19
The kids slept later this morning, but we were still able to overhear a short but entertaining exchange between Noah and Emmie:
Emmie: “Da-da.”
Noah: (Exasperated) How many times do I have to tell you this? Mommy and Daddy are sleeping!
After leaving the hotel, we made the short drive back to downtown Davenport to try a bakery whose cupcakes were raved about by the Hotel Blackhawk spa staff during Amanda’s Friday pedicure. While Oh So Sweet by Tiphanie featured a sweet storefront and interior, we were mildly disappointed by the baked goods we sampled. The maple bacon cupcake’s solid frosting effort was overshadowed by the dry cake, and our cinnamon rolls were okay but paled in comparison to the gold standard set by Grandma Mac’s recipe.
After an uneventful two-hour drive, we sought out lunch at Los Portales in downtown Rockford, Illinois, a Mexican restaurant which had received high marks in online reviews. Upon arrival, a rather uninspiring set of pickled vegetables was brought to our table. We ordered chips and salsa to tide us over, but the store-bought thick tortilla chips overshadowed a decent salsa. Our entrees — a basic beef burrito and steak quesadilla — were okay but not memorable. Noah may have been the most positive about his meal, eating most of his order of scrambled eggs (“huevos”) and bacon (“tocino”).
The next two hours were spent at the very nice Discovery Center Museum, located just a few minutes from our restaurant in Rockford. We spent most of our time in the section of the museum aimed at children six and younger, and Noah and Emmie loved being able to run around and play with everything. Highlights included Noah showcasing his pizza-making abilities at the Papa John’s-branded pizza station and Emmie’s fascination with the mini indoor wooden play structure and slide.
Noah proudly took his pizza out of the oven.
Noah brought pizza to Emmie and I at the nearby table.
Noah sporting the mailman bag and hat by the mailbox.
Amanda and I took a selfie while the kids were playing with wooden blocks.
Shortly after 5:00, we crossed into Wisconsin, marking Emmie’s fourth state visited and Noah’s first time in the state since a brief jaunt across the border in September 2011. We had an excellent dinner in downtown Beloit, at the recommended Merrill & Houston’s Steak Joint. The steak shined, with both of our filets cooked perfectly; sides and appetizers were solid, as was service, though we were hurried near the end as Emmie had grown tired of the high chair.
Great food in a great building.
We momentarily jaunted back into Illinois, where Emmie and I shared a hot fudge sundae with mint brownie ice cream at Dairyhäus in Rockton. Housed inside a picturesque stone building, the homemade ice cream would have been even better if our schedule had allowed more separation between dinner and dessert.
Emmie wanted every bite of ice cream.
Our second night of baseball was at Beloit’s Pohlman Stadium, home of the single-A Snappers, the affiliate of our beloved Oakland A’s. While less than 30 years old, the venue felt like a total throwback after enjoying the kid-friendly atmosphere and amenities the night before at Modern Woodmen Park. It was nice to see the Snappers get the win, we spent much of the game shuttling the kids around the concourse and hoping they didn’t stumble onto the open walkway in front of our seats.
This modest sign welcomed visitors to Pohlman Field in Beloit.
Noah posed in front of the field at the Beloit Snappers game.
The fireworks display at the end was enjoyable, and after a very short drive, we were settled in our Beloit hotel for the night at a decent time.
Amazingly, Emmie managed to sleep during the fireworks.
Sunday, July 20
After sampling a lackluster hotel breakfast, we drove a few minutes to Bushel & Peck’s, an eclectic market-slash-restaurant which featured a variety of goods from pickles to jams and a tempting brunch menu. Amanda ordered the biscuits and gravy, while I selected one of the weekend specials, the pancakes with homemade strawberry syrup. Very good but not great.
We opted to take the backroads through Wisconsin to provide new scenery and allow for a midday stop in Dubuque. Before arriving in the Iowa river city, we spent a few minutes at an antique store and cheese shop in the charming Shullsburg, Wisconsin. We picked up a bag of cheese curds from the well-known Shullsburg Cheese Store. Though they weren’t as fresh or squeaky as their Kalona equivalent, we managed to eat most of the bag during our ensuing drive.
The cheese shop was one of several quaint downtown buildings.
Our time in Dubuque started downtown with the Fenelon Place Elevator. Heralded as the world’s “shortest, steepest scenic railway,” the rickety cars take passengers up and down connecting a residential neighborhood to the downtown business district. As expected, it yielded a few scenic views of the city and adjacent Mississippi River. It was also fun to see the postcard from the inclined railway connecting Montecatini Terme to Montecatini Alto, the site of our engagement over 9 years ago.
Reminiscing about our Italian engagement and funicular ride.
Amanda and Emmie riding down the Fenelon Place Elevator.
We then navigated a few blocks east to the Port of Dubuque, home of the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. The aquarium portion of the large museum campus was fairly disappointing, but both Noah and Emmie enjoyed seeing a handful of sea creatures, and spending some time out of the car. With older children, and more time, I could see the facility warranting a half-day experience between the outdoor and indoor exhibits.
After a fast food stop at Arby’s, and subsequent stop at McDonald’s to procure a hamburger for Noah, we were en route back to Ankeny. We managed to drive straight through without a stop and were home and unpacking a shade before 5:30.