10. Kansas City, MO --- 3 great sporting venues are in or close to KC. Any baseball enthusiast should find their way to Kaufman stadium for a game or two. Baseball fans would also be interested to know the Negro League Hall of Fame is located in downtown KC. Arrowhead Stadium provides one of the rowdiest and exciting football environments outside(for tailgate) and inside. 40 minutes west of KC is Lawerence, KS, home of Phogg Allen Field House. College basketball fans, this is your Yankee Stadium. YOU NEED TO SEE A GAME HERE...While the bar scene is lacking for a big city, make your way to Arthur Bryants BBQ in downtown KC. Get the brisquette. All orders at AB's comes with Wonder bread. Ask for extra bread, as the servings are HUGE. At night, live blues are playing here...and yes, they sell beer. KC also has a Harrah's Casino on the water...It's crazy busy at night but wonderfully calm during the morning and early afternoon.
9. Frankenmuth, MI - Frankenmuth makes the list because I used to live there and I'm ridiculously biased. Many would argue, however, that Frankenmuth makes the list on it's own merit. The town is known as "Little Bavaria." Everything is German. Come to the Muth during the summer time when they are having one of their MANY beer related festivals. There's not much to do here if there is no festival going on, and even then, the only thing to do is drink...So if you like Bratwurst, German Beer, and Polkas...Check out the muth! http://www.frankenmuthfestivals.com/
8. Indianapolis, IN - Catch a Colts game and see Peyton Manning's laser-rocket arm live at one of the nicest football venues you will ever find. Indy also has a great NBA venue in Conseco Field House. While Indy has all the amenities of a big city, you dont feel as small in this town as you might in a Chicago or New York. No cab ride will cost more than 10 dollars in the city. Downtown Indy is littered with great restaurants and fun bars. Come during a big sporting event i.e. Indy 500, Final 4, Big Ten Tournament, and they rename the streets after the event participants and assign bars and restaurants to each team playing. In the mood for a great steak? Check out St. Elmo's. Brent Musberger can not go an entire broadcast in Indy without mentioning the wonderful food @ St. Elmo's.
7. Milwaukee, WI - One of the best baseball venues out there, Miller Park offers great seats in every section of the park, huge, fresh glasses of beer, and the world famous sausage races (I was fortunate to be in attendance the night Chorizo made his grand debut in the races). Downtown area has numerous bars and restaurants. My personal favorite is Have a Nice Day Cafe, where you can purchase a fishbowl filled with a "jungle juice" type drink. Also check out SpyBar, a bar that might have been created by the spawn of James Bond and Maxwell Smart(gadgets and trapdoors galore!). At the end of your night, find your way to the Dueling Piano bar...always a fun, live music environment. Make sure you check out the Miller Brewery while in MIL. The tour takes you through their giant giant fridge, which is roughly 3 football fields size and filled with cases of cold Miller beer. The hospitality room at the end gives you 4 pints of 4 different types of Miller Beer, well worth the 5 buck admission.
6. Memphis, TN - Live music, public intoxication, and BBQ...Memphis has it all. Beale St, a road in the mold of Bourbon St or the Vegas Strip, is closed to traffic, and open for drunks. Take your drink from one establishment to another in a "Go" cup without fear of getting into trouble. BB King has a place on Beale and he has excellent Ribs. But when talking about Memphis ribs, there is one place to go. Make sure you get to Rendezvous, the best dry rub BBQ you will ever have. During the day, go check out Graceland, home of the King...
5. Nashville, TN - NFL football and NHL hockey can be found in this gem of the south. D-1 football(sort of) and basketball can be found a couple miles from downtown on the campus of Vanderbilt University. Known for it's music rich history, Nashville does NOT disappoint. Any bar on the main drag will have a live band playing nightly. Make your way to the Bluebird cafe. This place is known for the famous person pop in. The only time I have been there, Alaynna Miles, fresh off her #1 hit "Black Velvet" appeared and played a set. Even if you are not a country music fan, you will appreciate the lively atmosphere. Great example for you...the last time I was there, BonJovi was set to play on a Wednesday, however, they arrived the weekend before to enjoy the local "dive bar music" scene. Nashville is an awesome weekend trip!
4. Toronto, ON - Get your passports out and head north to the New York of the Great White North eh! Catch a Leafs game(NHL), or head to the Rogers Centre and watch the BlueJays play baseball. Take advantage of our neighbors to the north and get yourself a Cuban Cigar. The city is lousy with amazing restaurants, bars, and clubs. Beer drinkers, take a tour of the Labbatt factory and tell someone to take off eh...there literally is too much to do in this city to list in 1 paragraph.
3. Chicago, IL - My home base road trip city...Chi-town has it all. Music, food, drink, sports, theatre, and touristy crap. You can take a bus around the city and tour old gangster (Dillenger,Capone) haunts. You can also rent a trolley to take you around the city..not cool enough for ya? you can drink on the trolley! I thought you might like that...If you are local I would recommend a Sox game because the food, drink, and overall viewing experience is great. If you are from out of town, hop on the Red Line El-Train and go to Wrigley. It's a "gotta do it once" type event, despite the fact that the bathroom lines wrap around the concourse, the food is awful, and the beer is stale. What Wrigley lacks in accomodations, it makes up with ambiance. At some point while at Wrigley, you will forget you are at a baseball game and think you are at a giant beer garden...it truly is alway a party on the north side. I would also highly recommend checking out Joe's Bar on Weed Street. It's an amazingly awesome bar that always has great live music. Buddy Guy's legends on Wabash is the best place to grab a bite and a beer and listen to classic Delta Blues.
2. Kentucky Derby - Big hats and Mint Juleps...Need I say anything more? For the simular price of a baseball ticket, you can watch the most exciting 2 minutes in all of sports live. The race is on Saturday, and not more than 8 hours away from most midwestern towns. I recommend arriving in Louisville, KY Thursday night. Get up Friday and hit the little white ball around for 18 or 36, check out the town, and keep it low key so you are good to go Saturday. The actual race is not until late Saturday afternoon, but tailgating festivities begin early. There are several other horse races early on during the day for your gambling pleasures. Assuming there is not a clear cut favorite to win, put a sawbuck or five on the best named horse. Keep an eye open for a Seinfeld named horse i.e. "Hello-Newman, Fusili-Jerry, Spare-A-Square." Last but not least, Do it RV style...Weekend rental is about 80 bucks a person. This obviously, is a LOT cheaper than hotel rates. Keep several coolers and a grill on board for your dining and drinking pleasures. Overall, a lot of bang for a minimal buck...http://www.cruiseamerica.com/
1. New Orleans - A bit further than all the other listed trips, but the extra windshield time is absolutely worth it. Eat Begniets and have a cafe ole' at Cafe Dumonde for breakfast. Grab a little jambalaya and wash it down with a Hurricane at Pat O'Briens for lunch. Find yourself some Crawfish for dinner...pretty much anyplace in the French Quarter will have them if they are in season. Try Gator bites while you are in town just to say you have tried them. Make sure you drink local while in town. Ask your bartender for Abita Restoration Ale. Not only is it local, they donate a portion of every sale to city Reconstruction. Obviously, the place to be in New Orleans is the French Quarter. Come nightfall, cars are not allowed anywhere on the quarter's streets. Worried about safety? I wasnt. Every street corner had 2 cops and 1 cop horse. Truth be told, I felt safter in the French Quarter than I did in most other big cities. You can not find better jazz/blues than in New Orleans, and you can not find a better atmosphere than the French Quarter.
i dislike this post for one reason, and one reason only..and i think you know exactly why, hahaha.
ReplyDeletealso, new orleans scares me. but thats only because of the criminal minds episode where there is a serial killer there. luckily she was a woman :)