The 2025 season has been a major rebuilding year as was expected in the offseason. So this year's trip to Pittsburgh did not have high expectations for team success. We left on a Thursday around noon, the first trip in Dad's new truck, and the ride was surprisingly nice. The truck is much more spacious and having only Mike, Dad, Brendan, and myself, we had much more room. The only problem was that the truck didn't have a back cover yet. I figured out how to put a tarp down and grabbed a bunch of bungee cords, and that actually worked and got us to the campground. We arrived late, around 1am Friday morning. Rain was expected throughout the weekend but it really wasn't heavy and never lasted too long. We made it to the park without much issue Friday, and I think we all quickly realized this was one of the better parks we had been to. Mike and I had made it there a few years ago for a short trip, but having Brendan and Dad see it together completed the experience. This was the first series coming out of the all star break and the Sox shocked us, looking fresh and took the first game convincingly. Robert had an amazing game after a terrible first half of the season, rookie Colson Montgomery had a nice 2 hit day, and Jonathon Cannon pitched great and the Sox cruised to an easy 10-1 win. The second game was much more back and forth, but the Sox offense was on fire again, the lineup contributing down the line and the Sox won 10-4. We were now talking about a potential sweep, by the second worst team in the league..ON THE ROAD. Game 3 ended up working out with the rain staying away, when we expected one or maybe even two games to be totally rained out before the trip. This was Mac Miller bobblehead day and Mike made sure to get in line early, like 3 hours early. Dad and I were able to sneak in with Mike later closer to game time and ended up getting bobbleheads as well. Again the Sox bats were alive and Pittsburgh's were not. The Sox took the sweep with a 7-2 win. Unbelievable. They were on their way to being the hottest team in the first two weeks after the all star break. The Pirates scored 7 runs total and we never saw their home run celebration or fireworks. Overall, the campground was decent, a swimming pool we took advantage of on Saturday, the park was amazing, and the fireworks show Friday was fantastic. A great trip, unexpectedly boosting our overall tip record.

Another trip to Milwaukee and the Sox second home in 2024. We have been really enjoying the shorter distance trips that come with more Sox fans and bigger tailgates. The campground was solid, we had a nice big corner spot and a good fire pit to observe passersby. This 2 game trip had some rain during the tailgate on day 1 and that foreshadowed the play for the Sox this trip. The stadium is always a nice looking place with a cool backdrop of the roof and enclosure. Game 1 opened up looking good, Sox battling and Garrett Crochet pitching fantastic. We couldn't hold on, the relief pitchers giving it up and Kopech taking the loss in 10 innings, 4-3. Before game 2 we had a lot of fun. Thanks to sunshine this time, we were able to field some balls in the parking lot with dad hitting to us like the old days at west lawn. Game 2 started good, with a 2-0 lead but that did not last, and came back in part due to rookie Jackson Chourio hitting a 3-run homer. Milwaukee took game 1, 6-3. The Sox blew leads in both of these games and this wes pretty much the story of this historic season. The Sox ended up trading Crochet and Kopech, among others, and ended up with the worst record in baseball history. The lineups in these games really tell the story with names like Julks, Remillard, Fletcher, Colas. The Sox finished the season 41-121. We can only hope the future is bright, but this roster and farm system spells out misery for at least the next 3 years. After the Sunday game we stopped over by Dan and Beth's but only Dan and Madeline were home. We hung out, checked out Dan's garden, tried some of his homegrown stuff and had some drinks before heading home.

Holy crap was this trip hot and sticky. The age of the truck, and us, along with the AC not being fully functional made this a tough ride throughout. The Sox got destroyed in the first game, surprised with a win in the second game, that we didn't go to, and surprised even more with a win in game 3. Atlanta started the series with the most wins in baseball. The area around the park was amazing and we met with Ladle after the second game. We had a large traffic jam on the way home that lasted 2 hours as we were racing home for work the next day. Brendan flew home so me, Mark, and Mike used the traffic jam to throw the ball around a bit on the highway between cars.

This might count as more of an offical trip since we did camp. Since this was such a short trip, we had lots of people from Chicago going to the game and even some driving back that night. The parking lots offered a great atmoshpere with lots of Sox fans and we had a huge tailgate. We had a late night with the crew after the first game and I decided we need to do this trip every year it is an option, even separate from the regular trip.

This might not technically count for the trip list (especially since we did not camp), although I did bring a cutout of Dad, leftover from the covid season. I remember driving there thinking I had covid because I was suddenly very tired and did not get much sleep. I felt terrible the first day as we arrived very early but I don't believe I even took a nap before we headed out to the town. We wandered around and we all quickly realized Pittsburgh is actually not a very big city.

Highlights of this trip were the extra inning win with pitchers in left field throwing out Sox runner at home and outfielders pitching multiple innings vs the Sox. The comcast zone for after the game adventures was great, especially the Silent Disco bar. Jose and Brendan did some city adventures checking out historical sites.

This acted as a filler year as we did not have many great options for new parks, but at least we kept the trips alive. We invented a baseball golfing game in the campground and had fun doing that.I don't recall many specific things about this trip. The trip was from August 23-26, a 4 game series.

Another great trip and times out in the city. Toronto offer plenty to do after the games and we made the most of it. This was a packed trip as the guys wanted to take Mark's spot and not miss out on the first international trip.

This was the trip where we youngins started going out in the cities after the games to experience the drinking and nightlife. We started off with a good one here, and plenty of stories. Need to take more time to add more info and depth as well as get game dates, stats and records.

One of the trips with the most random bonus member, Uncle Tom! His catch phrases were a hit on this trip. "Take it eeeassy." We did a little adventuring on this trip, visiting the Cheers bar along with a few other stops while walking around. I will have to add more here but my enengy is running low. I also have to check game dates and records. Extra text to test the image and make sure it looks okay with the vertical pic. This is the first vertical pic and I'll will have to gather more pics to look for a better one and add the rest to flickr, which I cannot believe is still going and pics still work. Dad says we skipped the last game because I had to work, so we left early. He also missed one game due to parking frustrations.

This was a very entertaining trip, right from the start. As soon as we found our spot at the campground and hopped out of the car, Mark had a surge of energy and decided to test his athletic abilities and jump over a picknic table. As he ran up to it and began sizing it up, he realized his excitment may have pumped up his confidence a bit too much. As he realized this, he slammed on the breaks, but it was too late. Since it was early morning, the grass was still wet with condensation, and thus, Morning Dew had struck. Not even 5 minutes into the trip Mark had suffered a long, bloody scratch across his shin and lower leg. Worry not, this would not stop Mark from getting into trouble this weekend. We had another eventful float down the river and got creative with Gatorade bottles this weekend. More to come with team records and stats for the games.

This is where the legend of the Ladle all began. I personally did not attend this trip, one of the very few I missed. I believe I had just started my job at Arrow Gear and was possibly on probation (first 3 months) or did not have any vacation yet. A few notable things about this trip were the Apple River adventures, the discovery of it for everyone but Dad, and the loud nights they tried to sleep. After the trip I looked up and found that Summerset festival was very close by and that was the music the guys were hearing all weekend. Soon we would be on the river while we attended the festival a few years later. The guys hyped up this trip so much to me that I decided we had to do the same location again the next year since I missed the first round. I will have to look up the game dates and stats to grab interesting records and pitching matchups during this trip. I also need to grab a picture from this year. The trip was from August 15 - 18, a 4 game series.

After such a long trip to Colorado, this seemed like a short ride, and we actually camped in Illinois. This was the first time we had the same crew as the year before, but it was just as exciting as ever. This campground was the most simple we have been to, however it had a pool, and we made the best of it. This trip was unique because we were visiting the reigning champions, and you could tell. They had a packed park each game, even though it seemed like nothing but factories surrounded the city. We entered the trip 33-27 on June 11. Quintana had a great start in game 1 and we won the first game. Peavy lost in a 1-0 game after that, and Gavin Floyd got rocked and took the loss in game 3, but Adam Dunn reached 50 R.B.I. during game 63. During the series we had the chance to experience different parts of the park, as long as we bought 1st level tickets. Throughout this trip we also saw the Arch and traveled a little through downtown St Louis, which seemed very small. We came away from this trip with no souvenir balls for the first time in a while, but Tommy got a few autographs. All together it was a fun trip and a great tradition to revisit.

This was the longest trip we took, from the afternoon of June 26th to the early morning of July 3rd. This also was the longest drive, only rivaled by Texas's marathon. I don't know about everyone, but I was one that didn't expect to see 100 degree days in Denver. Cherry Creek State Park was the most challenging campground, always busy, so much so that we had to settle for a basic site with only water. We spent a lot a time at the campground at the "TC" charging phones and checking the fantasy baseball league, as it was in the peak of the year. We also went down to the lake a few days. It had a huge sand beach with Lake Michigan-like cold water. In the background of the lake were mountains in the distance, so it painted a great picture. The baseball games were on June 28th, 29th, and 30th. We lost the first game, but came back and won the next two. It was very interesting to see how much the Colorado people respected Mark Buehrle, and how they said when you get a chance vs him, you have to cash in. It really gave us a nice look at how opposing teams and fans see our ace. Chicken nachos was the special in Colorado that we all had to try. The only ball we caught was one by Mike during BP on the last day when a hitter sliced a foul ball to one hop into the left field seats.

This was the most unique trip for us so far. This was the first time we went to two different ball parks in one trip. We started off by heading up to Michigan and getting a short night sleep there. We departed from there around 7 a.m. and headed out to Comerica Park in Detroit, where we met the famous "Eat 'em up Tigers" man. We caught the game that day, which the Sox won, then immediately after took off to Baltimore to begin the larger portion of the 16 hour drive. This was one of the more interesting drives, going through the mountains, under mile long tunnels, and sleeping at a rest stop that seemed to be a few hundred feet higher than the roads. Waking up the next day we took a gas break in a town that had an incredible look and feel. You could almost feel from the air that you were up in the mountains, or you could easily look around and see the large rocky formations. Baltimore is where the "Ice cold water" man was discovered.
We saw games on the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th of August. Starting the trip the Sox were 61-46 and in first. This time I grabbed another BP ball but this was a bit more interesting. Off the bat it was a towering fly ball that fell just a few feet short of the right field wall and just as I was anticipating, it hopped right over and I stretched up to snatch it. In the first inning of the last game I was sitting off on my own a few sections away from everyone else and Omar hit a foul ball over behind third base heading towards the upper deck, and it bounced off the edge of the next deck and I followed it all the way, bouncing down and into my glove reaching over the row behind me. That was my first foul ball I ever caught. Now, for the campground, we had a nice pool, even though everyone seemed to look at us a bit strange. Besides the pool, there was a dirt patch with a basketball rim, there was a small pond behind the pool, some goats, and the shuffleboard court that we got sunburnt on. It was a really fun and hilarious trip with a heck of a lot of traveling. Not our most successful trip, we won the game in Detroit but then lost 3 of 4 in Baltimore, but it was still realy fun as always.

This trip was the shortest of the camping trips, as well as one of the shortest drives. We simply hopped on I-55 and I-90 and without much to see (besides DontBeThatGuy.com) and we quickly arrived. The games were from June 12-14 so this was one of our earliest trips in the season. The Sox entered the series at 28-33, 6 1/2 games back and the Brewers were in first at 33-27. For each game we bought tickets from people outside the park rather then at the window. We had some really good deals, and one guy even gave us his passes to the upperdeck Club area where they had a bar and restaurant. Being able to go up there was an interesting and unique experience, and the first time I watched a game in air conditioning behind glass. At the first game I picked up another batting practice ball and later got it signed by Gavin Floyd. We lost the first but won the next two. Now this Jellystone campground seemed to be voted the best we have been to. This place really did have everthing, from a basketball court to a free mini golf course, oh and a huge pool with water balloon launchers, and a outdoor movie theatre. This campground exerience was also one of the more intersting with making . . friends . . and branch poppin'.

Texas was one of the small trips, in number of people, not miles. This was our first really long trip, nearing 1000 miles and 15 hours of travel. This was a marathon, and we have proff on the back side of the side mirrors of the truck. Everything is bigger in Texas, including the bugs that ended up flattened on those mirrors. The campground there was nice, mostly because the lake, which was extremely necessary. The heat was incredible. It was over 100 everyday and I don't think I've ever been more tan in my life. That heat can really make people act crazy (video of dad). So the Sox had a good year this time, even more importantly we were in first in mid July. The games were from July 11th to the 13th and it was so hot that they gave out umbrellas at the game. Even with them we went through a full out sweat the entire game just sitting. We lost the first, won the second, then lost the third game 12-11. Even though we lost the series, we remained in first in the AL Central with a 54-41 record.

We continued going earlier in the season with another June trip. This year it was 3 rainy days in Kansas City. From June 29th to July 1st we stayed there and saw 3 Sox games. There was not much to the campground and it was even less possible to explore with the bad weather. The camp layout was pretty interesting because it had levels. We were in the middle with the bathrooms up one large grass step, and there was another level down on the other side of us. One positive aspect of the campground was the metal shelter across the road from our tent, in an empty grass space that was the median of the gravel roads. This was where we spent most of our time, sitting talking, cooking, and throwing the ball around. Without that area taht we took over, it would have been one boring trip inside the tent. This was a rough year for the Sox, we entered the series 33-42, just two games in front of the last place Royals. At this point we were already 12 games back of first, and the first game didn't help, we lost 8-1. There were a few interesting things about this game, however, Andy Gonzalez was our number two hitter in center, and Zack Greinke got a 2 2/3 inning save... in an 8-1 game. Game two we had a different center fielder, Luis Terrero, and the Sox won 3-1. Game 3 we again won 3-1, so at least we stayed out of the cellar. A positive series in a negative year, but what can you expect when your outfield platoon consists of Luis Terrero, Andy Gonzalez, Rob Mackowiak, and Scott Podsednik.

After an extended break from the Sox trips, we got back on the road. The June after the Sox became World Champions, we took the trip to Cincinnati(and Florance, Yall!). The campground here was the most strange of all our experiences. We had our campsite on the top of a hill and the only place we could put our tent was a bit lower down the hill. We had to hike our gear up the hill and set up on an angle. It was especially interesting at night trying to sleep, and waking up with Mark and I finding ourselves at the bottom of the tent, having slid down throughout the night. There was nothing much to do at this campground, besides try to stay level, they had a pool but it was closed down. The first game was June 16th and the Sox were 41-25 1 1/2 games back of first, and the Reds were 37-29, 3 1/2 games back. The Sox swept the series and we felt so confident all series, but maybe that was just because we were the Champs. I also particularly remember the fans were exceptionally nice, and the radio shows were talking about how rude the visiting Chicago fans were. An interesting note that I remember is that we parked in Kentucky and walked over a bridge to go to the game in Cincinnati.

Maybe you're thinking "Hey, you forgot something", but unfortunately we did not make a trip in 2002, and just narrowly got one in this year! Throughout the summer we were talking about going, but for some now-forgotten reason, Mike did not want to go. So Dad planned a one day trip where we leave from Michigan and watch a game at Comerica Park. This was one of the more fancy parks, especially the entrance with the tiger statues. This trip was so late, I don't even know if it was still considered summer, August 31, 2003! Although Mike did not come, this was still one of the more memorable trips. This the Alomar brothers both played for us and Esteban Loaiza (ya remember him) got his 18th Win. He shut down the Tigers 6-1 and the Sox record went to 73-64 - 1st place! The Tigers had a miserable time, moving to 34-101, a laughable 38 games back of the Sox. This was a nice looking team, with C Lee, Big Hurt, Mags, Carl Everett, and PK in the middle of the lineup. Again, I caught a ball, but two this time, one during the game thrown over the Sox dugout, and one at the end of the game at th esame spot by, who I believe to be Carl Everett. To end the day we had another great memory, Mark and I ran the bases along with hundreds of other kids and we got a picture on the field. I still remember talking about how close to Toranto we were while driving...maybe one day.

For the third straight July we went out to see the Sox on the road. This was one of the more memorable and scary drives, with storms all around us and rain so thick we could only follow the road by the hint of rear truck lights in the distance. Again we missed out on a normal series, but seeing the one game was still fun. We got to see the legendary Jacob's Field and the giant wall in left field. During batting practice I was hanging out around the left field foul pole and Aaron Rowand hit a cutting liner into foul territory and then a man, who I seemed to think was a Sox coach, threw me the ball to preserve the streak even in a one game road trip for us. The Sox ended up winning the game and moving to .500 at 50-50, which meant we were 9 games back and we knocked the Indians down to 58-42, who sat just 1 game back of first. An interesting note, 4 of the Indians that started would be future White Sox. Batting 1st - Keny Lofton, 2nd - Omar Vizquel, 3rd - Roberto Alomar, and 5th - Jim Thome. The campground was nothing special and actually had so much rain that we missed going to a game.

This was the first official camping trip, July 20th to July 22nd, 2000. We stayed at a campground near the Apple River and stayed for the entire series vs the Twins. The Sox started the series in first with a 59-34 record, and the Twins sat 19 1/2 games back with a 41-55 mark. The Sox split the 2 game series and Mark Buehrle picked up his first career win in his first career start. During the second game, Frank Thomas came up and poped foul straight back into the upper deck and Mike reached over and snatched the ball. The campground was interesting because we were right on the end of the river and were swimming in at often. The was a particular part of the river I remember, where a picnic table somehow made its way into the river and we took a picture on it. We took the tube ride on the river and went through the rapids, which was fun but the river was a bit low so Dad said it wasn't as good as it usually was. Hopefully we will return soon to do it again...maybe very soon.

This was the trip that started the tradition. The trip was only a one day adventure on July 20, 1999, catching a Sox game, visiting the Zoo in Milwaukee, then heading home. This was special, however, because we had the opportunity to see County Stadium before it was torn down. Dad, as always, was trying to conversate with the players, and this time he actually got a response. Keith Foulke spent a few minutes talking about pitching with Dad, and signed the mini Hank Aaron bats the stadium gave out that day. That was not the only thing we came back with, Mike Caruso tossed me a ball as the sox were heading back to the dug out to get ready to start the game, and of course my Dad jummped in front of me to grab it and start our streak of souvenirs. As for the Sox, they lost the game and sat at 44-47, in second place, but 13 games back. The Brewers made it to 46-46 and were 9 games back or first in the NL Central. Mike Sirotka started and got a ND for the Sox and Bob Wickman shut it down to get his 20th save for the Brew Crew.