Note: \u00a0To get the chronological “feel” of the Ballpark tours trek, scroll down and being the with initial post in this series. \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The final days of the 2012 BPT trek took our band of about 40 baseball fanatics to:<\/strong><\/p>\n

– Cincinnati<\/strong><\/span> … Where we saw our Twins slip by the Reds 5-4, despite a pair of Reds\u2019 2-run homers.<\/p>\n

– Chicago<\/span><\/strong> … Where we witnessed a see-saw battle as the White Sox topped the visiting Brewers 8-6.<\/p>\n

– Monroe, Wisconsin<\/span><\/strong> \u2026 Where we toured (and sampled the wares of) the Minhas Craft Brewery,<\/p>\n

A few highlights of the final days\/hours:<\/p>\n

At our Friday<\/strong> <\/span>game, Cincinnati was honoring the \u201cBig Red Machine\u201d of the \u201870s and we got to see post game interviews with George Foster, Dave Concepcion, Gary Nolan, Dan Driessen and Cesar Geronimo. Foster was particularly entertaining, as he reflected on his 1977 MVP season when he led the NL with 52 home runs, 149 RBI, 124 runs scored and posted a .320 batting average.\u00a0 According to Foster, he could have plated a few more RBI if Dave Concepcion hadn\u2019t \u201chelp up at third\u201d so often.<\/p>\n

The post-game interviews were followed by a fantastic fireworks show (the best most of us had seen at a ball park, or any other venue). \u00a0\u00a0Other notables:\u00a0 The Smokey Red Dogs made for great baseball fare; even the vendors in the stands featured steamed hot dog buns; the Twins\u2019 young Ben Revere went 4 for 4 with a pair of stolen bases; and the Reds\u2019 veteran Scott Rolen went 3 for 4 with a home run and a pair of RBI.\u00a0 \u00a0A moment to \u201crant\u201d about.\u00a0 In the fifth inning of a 4-3 game, Reds\u2019 fans in centerfield tried to start \u201cthe wave,\u201d a fortunately fruitless endeavor that they repeated in the sixth inning of a then 5-4 game.\u00a0 BBRT remains steadfastly anti-wave, especially in a tight contest.<\/p>\n

In Chicago, during Saturday<\/strong>\u2019s<\/span> final tour contest, we saw a combined 25 hits, 6 walks, 2 hit batsmen, 1 fielding error, 1 passed ball, 10 pitchers and 7 stolen bases in a less then cleanly played White Sox win.\u00a0 On the plus side, we did witness two very well executed sacrifice bunts.<\/p>\n

We also enjoyed another fireworks display \u2013 not up to Cincy\u2019s standards, but still very good, well-timed to great music. \u00a0 Among the food highlights were corn \u201coff the cob\u201d (I had mine with butter, salt and shredded mozzarella); loaded baked potatoes; and a variety of sausages (all available with grilled pepper and onions.)\u00a0 On the beverage side, mango margaritas received some high praise. It was a beautiful night (some respite from the 90-degree heat) and, as usual, we had good seats (upper deck box behind home plate).\u00a0 One of our group caught a T-Shirt in the between innings give-away and (as is BPT custom) quickly \u201cgave it to a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s<\/span><\/strong> dash for home included a side trip off the main highway \u2013 to the small town of Monroe, Wisconsin, where we toured the Minhas Craft Brewery.\u00a0 Great tour and great tasting \u2013 including the popular \u201cLazy Mutt\u201d Brew and the tasty Huber Bock and Boxer Lager.\u00a0 The stop in Monroe also included a visit to the Haydock Museum of Beer Memorabilia and time for lunch at one of the restaurants on the town square. I enjoyed a great burger with spicy garlic olives, Swiss cheese and horseradish mayo.\u00a0 Of note, Minhas lays claim to being the oldest brewery in the Midwest (operating since 1845), now owned by the world\u2019s youngest brewery owners (Ravinder and Manjit Minhas.)\u00a0 We all received a Minhas \u201cDamn Good Beer\u201d glass for the tasting \u2013 with numerous refills available, as well as a five-pack (four beers and one root beer) of samples to take with us.\u00a0 By the time we rolled out of Monroe, we had met and mingled with a host of locals \u2013 and several in our group were talking about coming back for Monroe\u2019s Cheese Fest.<\/p>\n

So, there you have it \u2013 in 9 days, a total of 205 \u00bd hours, my personal tally (which is representative of the group) included:<\/p>\n

– 8 ball games<\/strong> <\/span>\u2026 5 major league, 3 minor league – in 5 cities in 4 states.<\/p>\n

– 5 museums<\/strong><\/span> \u2026 \u00a0History, Science, Art, Bat Manufacturing, Beer Memorabilia<\/p>\n

– 1 pregame tailgate party<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

– 3 fireworks display<\/strong><\/span>s<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

– \u00a0A host of freebie<\/span>s<\/span><\/strong> \u2026 A tour T-shirt; a Ball Park Tours 30^{th<\/sup> Anniversary windbreaker; a Roberto Clemente jersey; a Louisville Slugger mini-bat; a magnetic, baseball-oriented photo frame; a MLB.net mini backpack; a Minhas beer glass; a sampler five-pack (four beers and a root beer).<\/p>\n}

To wrap up BPT’s 30th Anniversary Tour, I had a great time with a lot of great people (old friends and new) who share a passion for the national past time. \u00a0 How much fun are these tours? \u00a0At our Chicago hotel, a good share of the group was gathered in the bar laughing at tales of events from this trip (and a host of trips past), when the manager came over to our group. \u00a0Our first thought was that he was going to ask us to “keep it down” a bit. \u00a0Instead, he just wanted to comment on how great is was to see a group having such a good time in the lounge\/bar. \u00a0 That\u2019s why Ballpark Tours is my choice for the premier baseball tour operation.<\/p>\n