Day 3: Major League Baseball Trip

DATE: Tuesday, September 3, 2013. Day 3.
LOCATION: Chicago to Covington, Kentucky - right across the Ohio River from    Cincinnati Red's GREAT AMERICAN BALL PARK.

I arose at 6:30 AM and took a short walk along Chicago's Lake Shore Drive. We had breakfast at the Majestic Hotel and left for Cincinnati around 8AM. We stopped a little south of Indianapolis and had something to eat at Wendy's. At 3:05 PM we arrived at the Embassy Suites in Covington, Kentucky - it is a huge and beautiful hotel. At 4:30 PM we had snacks and a couple of beers at the Embassy Suites - they always have free food and drinks from 4 - 7 PM.

About 6 PM we crossed over the Ohio River by walking across the rather long Covington-Cincinnati Bridge. We got to the ball park about 6:30 and checked out the many posters and statues of great Red players from the past. The game was a close one with the Red's beating the Cardinals 1-0. I talked to one of the ushers on duty. He was an African-American who worked all the Red games - except for Sundays. I asked him what his hours were - he said they had to be at the stadium 1 1/2 hours before game time and were guaranteed at least five hours, regardless of the length of the game. They got paid by the hour, but he didn't say how much. The stadium price for a 16 ounce draft was $8.25.

The NFL Bengal Paul Brown Stadium is about 200 yards west of the Red's park. I asked the usher if he worked the Bengal games on Sundays. He said, "No way, the Bengal fans tailgate for hours before the game and come into the stadium drunk. And I don't want to deal with those drunk people. They're too drunk for me to handle."

After the game we ate at an outdoor bar/grill called "Jefferson Social." Our server was a young gal named Lauren from Covington. She was a fun gal and had a perfect personality for being a server. She told us it was "Taco Tuesday" so we could get small tacos for $2.00 each and 16 ounce drafts for only $3.50. (That's $5.00 less than in the stadium).  So all three of us indulged in 3-4 tacos a piece and 16 ounce drafts.

We had to walk back to the Embassy Suites by crossing the bridge again - it seemed a lot longer going back. John and I were walking together and paid no attention when we were over and we just kept walking. Brad had to holler at us as he was wondering where in the hell we were going. I guess, the attention spans of a 70 and 72 year old aren't what they used to be.

I decided to rank the stadiums from A to F based on the following criteria.

1. plenty of and easy access to restrooms
2.wider and deep steps to make it easier for older folks to walk up and down.
3.railings for older folks to hang on to in order to steady their balance.
4.friendly and helpful employees.
5.price of beer.

Miller Park in Milwaukee got the following grades.
1 = A+  2. = C  3. = 4. A+   5.  B

Wrigley Field grades.
1. D   2. C   3. C   4. A   5. B

Great American Park in Cincinnati.
1. A   2. A   3. A+   4. A-   5. B