If you were to ask me what my favorite sport was, it would not be baseball. In fact, it’s probably at the bottom of my list of sports. As a kid, I never got into it. I was big into football and wrestling. I did play basketball a bit in elementary school.
As for watching baseball, I never really did that either. My first Brewers game was in 2024. I also went to a Wausau Woodchucks game or two and a Madison Mallards game for a college alumni event. I can tell you I was at those games more to party than to watch baseball.
Our church planned an outing to a Mallards game. We went there as a family and found our seats.
One of the first things we did was get food. They had a self-service stand.
Somehow it still asked for a tip.
I got a brat and a burger and balanced eating them while the kids also ate.
Littler Dude was having a great time with all the sights and sounds of the game. Little Dude, not so much. Thankfully, there were a lot of games out front he could play. I took him there, and that’s where we spent most of the game.
We literally made it back to the seats right when the game was ending.
The next day, on Sunday, we went to church, and then I took Little Dude to swim lessons. After swim lessons, we headed to Freeport, Illinois. I think Freeport is a nice town and there’s Little Cubs Field.
Little Dude was excited about baseball. We headed to Five Below and picked up a bat, ball, and tee.
Some people were playing in Little Cubs Field itself. Besides, all four of the baseball diamonds were empty. That allowed Little Dude to practice hitting.
He was also able to play on the playground. That whole park is super nice. In addition to Little Cubs Field and four baseball diamonds, there are two additional playgrounds. It’s a really top-notch place for kids to play!
Little Dude made some friends, and they played for a while. The parents were also super attentive to their kids. It created a nice environment where all the kids could play nicely with each other.
Eventually, all the kids left. Little Cubs Field was also now free to play in. Little Dude had a great time hitting more balls.
Eventually, some other kids came to practice. They asked if we were done playing. I said we were wrapping it up and they could go ahead. They actually invited Little Dude to play with them.
He was a bit too young and didn’t understand the rules, so I thanked them but declined. When we were leaving, the parent who brought the kids stopped us. She was basically asking if the kids chased us off.
I said it was the opposite. They had kindly offered to allow Little Dude to play with them. She then said, "That’s good. We like to make sure we share here and include everyone." I was super impressed with how friendly all the parents were.
We left and then grabbed supper at Beef-a-Roo. If you’ve never had Beef-a-Roo, it’s like an Arby’s and a Culver’s combined.
I always love eating there. Little Dude got some chicken and a fruit cup.
I got a pork tenderloin sandwich and some loaded fries.
Besides the food, Little Dude loves watching the dogs play at the dog park next door.
After eating, we hit the road. We were soon back in Wisconsin.
I honestly love going to Freeport. It’s an hour’s drive from Belleville. They have great places to both play and eat. Everyone is super friendly. It’s just a nice town in general. It’s cool that, despite not being a big fan of baseball, this whole weekend was dominated by it. First, the Mallards game. Then, finally, going to the nice town of Freeport.