Kernels Mark Finale of Four-Day, Four-Team Trip

As I have previously posted (and will post the links to the others afterward) I was on a four-day, four-team trip through Iowa for Minor league baseball.  The first of four was the Clinton Lumberkings, followed by the Iowa Cubs, then the Quad Cities River Bandits and the finale was the Cedar Rapids Kernels (and yes, I realize the Burlington Bees were not on here. They were on the road during this trip.) The final trip sent me to a ball park in a pretty residential neighborhood near a high school football field.  The ball park itself feels like a bowl setting which is pretty neat.
  So the main thing to note with Cedar Rapids' ball park is it is located mainly in a residential area, similar to that of Beloit.  Not a bad thing by any means, as that used to be the case with many ball parks and it is kind of a neat thing.  It's not too far from anything in Cedar Rapids. So people should have an easy go of it to the ball park on a good day. For this game, it was pretty warm, and an afternoon start time made it a pretty interesting day at the ball park.  

Perfect Game Field

  One thing I would definitely recommend for people to go to a Kernels game is to check out their fan shop, as it also doubles as a Cedar Rapids Baseball Hall of Fame.  This feature shows past and present stars of baseball and those whom have their Cedar Rapids jerseys retired as well.  I think it is a pretty neat thing for fans to see as you walk around the ball park.  The park has a wide variety of food, drinks and areas to sit and converse.  There isn't anything that is standing out with the ball park, but it is something that is nice to have.  There aren't the frills or huge promotions and that is sometimes a nice thing.  I think the Kernels staff are professional and do everything well for the fans.
  The game itself was a quick 2 hour, 20 minute pitchers duel that ended with a 2-1 Kernels win over the Peoria Chiefs.  The amount of people there was 1,801. The people that were there knew their baseball so they have a loyal fan base.  It was pretty cool to see the party deck area in left field.  All in all, I think the game was quick, which fans like as well as young fans.  There was plenty to do pre-game and post-game for families and individuals. I believe the Kernels have a lot to be proud of going forward into the future.
 With that, I made the return journey home from Cedar Rapids.  I very much enjoyed my time in Clinton, Des Moines, Davenport and Cedar Rapids.  I also enjoyed my time in Coralville where I spent time at the mall and on the hiking trails when I wasn't out and about.  I wouldn't trade this trip for anything and I was so happy to have gone.  I would definitely recommend a trip to any of these ball parks just for a day off of worrying about anything!

As promised, the links for the other three stories below:
  http://davidswideworldofblogging.blogspot.com/2017/09/modern-woodmen-park-is-best.html
http://davidswideworldofblogging.blogspot.com/2017/09/des-moines-cubs-make-amazing-memories.html
http://davidswideworldofblogging.blogspot.com/2017/09/lumberkings-bring-throwback-to-baseball.html

Modern Woodmen Park is the Best

Day three of my four day Iowa trip took me to the ball park I had most wanted to visit for the past year.  Modern Woodmen Park is nestled right along the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa.  Davenport itself is a pretty neat city off the interstates and highways that lead up to it.  But the ball park was the one I was most looking forward to in all of the ball parks I went to over the four day trip.
   As I was driving into Davenport I saw the world's largest truck stop, Iowa 80.  After the game I had a chance to visit there and this place is massive.  It has so many fast food places, a sit down restaurant, bathrooms, stores, essentially a lot of everything rolled up into this big plot of land.  I was actually awestruck by how clean everything is as the staff there do a very good job of maintaining this very large truck stop.  If I were to recommend anywhere to just stop at and get stuff to eat or drink, definitely go here and you will not be disappointed in the slightest.

Modern Woodmen Park from the Ferris wheel

  Now, to the ball park and the game.  With it being July 8, the Quad Cities River Bandits were taking on the Clinton Lumberkings (as you recall, the first team I visited on this four-day, four-team trip.) The parking for the River Bandits is very, very cheap at two dollars.  I was very impressed by this as they are one of the more popular Midwest League teams so I thought that would carry over to parking but it did not do so.  The walk up to the park was minimal, but it had so much energy and to see the Rock Island Centennial Bridge with the stadium nearby was so incredible.  I could only imagine what the stadium inside would be like.

  Inside the stadium of Modern Woodmen Park is absolutely fantastic.  The amount of choices are immense for food and drinks.  The fan shop is very well done, with a lot of merchandise everywhere to be had.  They have a video game room.  They also have a party deck and kids area in right field.  In left field however, there is a mini-amusement park with a gigantic Ferris wheel.  I got the chance to ride this and you can see everything at the top of it.  They even announced during the game that they are looking to get a mini-golf course built up for the 2018 season.  So in terms of being kid-friendly and family-friendly, no park comes close that I have visited than Modern Woodmen Park.  

  The game itself was dominated by the Lumberkings, as they won 7-5.  They got out of the gate in a hurry and stayed there.  Upon that game, Quad Cities ended up winning the Midwest League championship.  But my entire time at the ball park was one that I will never, ever forget.  Seeing the lights off the Centennial Bridge and all the pictures I have that have the Mississippi River in the background make this ball park so unique and special.  The fact the River Bandits keep progressing with the ball park is top notch.  I would definitely recommend anyone in the nearby area to see this ball park and just sight see around it.  You will never be disappointed in this ball park.

Des Moines, Cubs Make Amazing Memories

On day two of my four day trip I headed out to the biggest city in the state of Iowa, Des Moines.  The reasons I spent the whole day there were numerous.  First I went to a game store to check out their vast amount of video games.  Second I went to the Blank Park Zoo to check that out.  Then I went to Gray's Lake Park and absolutely enjoyed my time there.  Then the last part of the day I went to the Iowa Cubs game at Principal Park.
To start the day, I went to a local video game store that had an amazing selection of video games.  They would range from NES to PS4, so you could find some of the best video games for that console.  After that I went to the zoo, which for the Blank Park Zoo, is both big and small.  To me it is big because it has a wide variety of animals, but small in which you have a small area that is easy to negotiate around.  It has a lot of exhibits and it is really neat to learn about the different types of creatures that are at the zoo.

Blank Park Zoo

After the time at the zoo and time for lunch, I decided to drive around Des Moines for a little while and found myself at a park called Gray's Lake Park.  To describe it in words, it is absolutely such a wonderful park.  It has all you can think of.  It has trees to lean on and relax, it has sand at one end, it has boats you can rent and walking/biking trails.  The park is absolutely glorious and such a gem in Des Moines.  Along with the game, this park would be one of the main reasons I come back to the city of Des Moines.
Now to the game, as the Iowa Cubs took on the Omaha Storm Chasers (yes everyone, that name is real and yes it is really awesome.)  The Cubs are immensely popular in the State of Iowa, as the Chicago Cubs dominate the news but the Iowa Cubs are a huge part of Des Moines.  Upon entering Principal Park, I got my parking spot and got the ticket from the on-call ticket window.  I was very impressed by the professionalism of every worker there.  While I viewed the park, I saw a lot of options of food and drinks.  For someone who had never gone to a Triple-A game prior to this one, I was very impressed with the I-Cubs way of handling business.  One of the cooler features they had was an ice cream helmet that had blue and white ice cream.  I thought that was brilliant.  The fan store has a lot to offer as well for merchandise.

Principal Park

To the game itself, it was quite fun.  The Cubs put up 6 runs in the 2nd and then held on for a 7-5 victory.  The energy in the crowd was very noticeable, as fans cheered when they needed to and got nervous when Omaha put up a 4-run 7th inning to make it 7-5.  However that was all they could muster after that.  Plenty of the crowd stayed for the fireworks show after.  The entertainment was fun for the kids and families, which makes Principal Park a very fun ball park to be at for families as well.  The only thing I didn't get was a T-Shirt, which went off my hand and into the person's sitting next to me (seems like many a segue into life right?)  But in all I had a lot of fun at the I-Cubs game.  I thought they were really amazing, the park is absolutely fantastic.  The city of Des Moines and the Iowa Cubs should be very proud of themselves for how terrific they are.

Lumberkings Bring Throwback to Baseball

Baseball is America's favorite past time and while some of the times have changed, baseball in many ways is still the same game as it was when it first started.  That also is the start of my next story, which envelopes a trip to Iowa for minor league baseball.  That first stop on the four team, four day trip was to the city of Clinton, Iowa and the Clinton Lumberkings.  The trip to Clinton took me from Wisconsin to checking in my hotel, then going to Clinton on a very warm July day.
The reason I say they bring the throwback in regards to Clinton is two fold.  It is a deeply blue collar town with the aura, as well as smell, of a Purina pet food plant in most parts of the city.  The second part is for the ball park, which is called Ashford University Field. It dates back to 1937.  For all you history buffs out there, that's two years prior to the second World War.  It has been fixed up over the years, but it still has that old school feel to it similar to that of Pohlman Field in Beloit.  On this steamy night in July, I made my way up to the ticket booth, got my seat and got to seeing the game and roaming around this field.  

Ashford University Field

The Lumberkings are part of the Seattle Mariners farm system.  The ball park as I said is dated, but the field is in very well kept shape.  The seats are about what one would expect from a single-A ball park, which is nothing outstanding but they do the job.  On this night, there were 879 fans at the ball park.  A good amount were in the left field deck area, a staple at Ashford University Field.  I thought that was one great feature, but also the fan shop the Lumberkings have is very neat and orderly.  For amenities, the food is good for the cheap cost of it.  Most fans will take notice that they have RC/Dr. Pepper products, not the usual Coke or Pepsi products.  I don't mind this at all because it means there is difference for once and not the usual.  So if you like cheap food and drinks, with later inning promotions that sell food cheaper then you should head to a Lumberkings game.  Oh, and parking is free so you wouldn't have to pay 10-20 dollars like the major league teams do!
The on-field product is quite what you would expect of a single-A team.  Very young, raw, will make mistakes and have some guys that make you look in awe that one day they'll be in the major leagues.  On the night I went, the Lumberkings dueled with the Burlington Bees.  This game featured a lot of those young guys making mistakes (7 errors between the two teams) but also very timely hitting and two starting pitchers who really stole the show before departing to the bullpens.  In all, the pitching combined for the two teams amounted to 19 strikeouts in the game, which went 12 innings.  The Lumberkings ended up winning this one 6-5, but in all the game was fun to be at.
All in all, I enjoyed the time in Clinton.  It is a very down to earth city and a down to earth old school ball park and team.  If you ever find yourself looking to go to a game, I don't think you'll be disappointed.  Just sit back and watch the will-be stars of the future.  Especially at a ball park that has seen a lot of events over the course of history.