tourism Tag

The last 108 years or so has been torturous for Chicago Cubs fans. Then, on Saturday, October 22, 2016, a day that shall live on in the memories of modern day Cubs fans forever, the Chicago Cubs won the NLCS and earned their first trip to the World Series since 1945!

The scene here in the city has been electric. Wrigleyville was packed with an estimated 300,000 on Saturday night. The bars were over-flowing, many charging much more than their normal cover charges for a game day. Fireworks were exploding in all the cities neighborhoods well into the night after the Cubs clinched.

At night, the Chicago skyline is dotted with Cubby Blue on most of the major skyscrapers. The Art Institute has donned Cubs caps on their world famous lion statues at their entrance. Cubs jersey's and W flags are present everywhere. Both Northsiders and Southsiders have joined in a sort of peaceful unity in honor the Chicago Cubs being in the World Series.

On my way to work this morning, I passed the Metra station

Rolling hills, beautiful scenery, and equine history await when you choose to stay in Lexington, Kentucky during the most popular horse racing week in the United States. Staying in Lexington has become one of our most popular tours and for good reason. Travelers can enjoy a laid back atmosphere, away from the hustle of downtown Louisville during Derby Week and instead relax during the evenings over looking the rolling hills of the legendary Blue Grass Country.

How to plan your trip:

Consider staying three or four nights in Lexington to fully experience everything the area has to offer during Derby Week. Our Lexington Kentucky Derby Packageincludes lodging at the Embassy Suites Lexington, located close to area highlights including area horse farms, bourbon distilleries, and downtown Lexington.

Lexington - Kentucky Derby Tour Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive in Lexington. It's easy to fly into Blue Grass Airport (LEX). In the evening, relax at the hotel or take a quick cab ride to downtown Lexington

I want to express my gratitude to all our guests who have entrusted my team with planning their sports travel adventures over the years.

In this blog I'm sharing many of our memories (in no particular order) as we celebrate this business milestone. I invite all our past guests to share your special Sports Traveler trip memories and experiences by posting below, on Twitter using #SportsTraveler15 or on our Facebook page.

Here’s to another 15+ years!

Cheers!
Anbritt

#1: 2003 Eagles at Dolphins. The tour was successful for our guests, but what many people don’t know is what happened during our opening night reception. I choose a large dock for our groups evening meal overlooking the intercostal waterway. At some point during the event, one of our guests fell or jumped off the dock and onto the deck of one of the super yachts parked below. He was found alive by the crew, remarkably uninjured, and eating a pork chop in the galley. They returned him to us and I somehow convinced the captain of the boat to not call the police. The rest of the weekend went great, but to this day I have never done any of our receptions on a dock!

#2: Cubs Fan Tours 2002-2007. My family raised me a Cubs fan and in the mid-2000's I started a second company to focus on travel to Chicago to see Wrigley Field. We still offer similar Cubs tours every year at Sports Traveler and I’ll always be a Cubs fan no matter what my southsider friends say.

#3: Sports Traveler Chicago - Book Launch. Lydia Rypcinski and I wrote this book together and it won best non-fiction awards both in Illinois and National competitions! Our book launch party is still remembered fondly by those who attended. It was at Harry Caray’s, featured several sports mascots, and our guest of honor was the now late Minnie Minoso.

#4: STR: Sports Traveler Radio. For some reason in the early days all the college kids from my university’s radio station ended up working for my company. We launched our own podcast and had opinions about sports travel for 6+ awesome years on iTunes.

#5: Cowboys vs Redskins 2014. Our first marriage proposal! We were standing on the field at AT&T Stadium when he got down on his knee and she said yes! So sweet.

Before we get into the heart of this month’s travel blog I feel it would be best to introduce myself to you all. My name is Jake Alleruzzo, the newest addition to the Sports Traveler staff. I myself have a very deep passion for sports travel and thought writing our latest blog entry would be a great way to share my experiences with you fellow sports travelers.

About a month ago I took a trip to Missouri to a beautiful region called Lake of the Ozarks, located just a few miles south of Kansas City. Being in the far western edge of Missouri is quite a unique experience, considering the mixed fandom between Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals fans. While we were in the western tip of Missouri I could have sworn I was in the heart of Kansas City as I drove through town and saw Royals flags hanging about. This goes to show you that you never know what kind of fans you can find as you travel through any given town.

Now going through this town you would figure there is not much to do besides

I now follow a horse on Twitter and Facebook. But this isn’t just any horse, he is the great Little Silver Charm. I met him for the first time on the farm where he is spending his “retirement years”, Old Friends, an equine retirement center home located in Georgetown, Kentucky, just outside of Lexington.

Old Friends is home to many past Derby winners and race horses, but the real star is Little Silver Charm or 'Charmie' as he's known to his thousands of followers and fans (follow him on Twitter or his Facebook page). He was a rescue show pony who today considers himself an entertainer.

He’s a blonde, loves kids, carrots, and plays soccer in YouTube videos.  He often talks about his crush, a horse named Zenyatta, and he seems to enjoy posing for quite a few pictures that are auctioned off to benefit Old Friends. He even has his own miniature replica toy available on Ebay.

I recently traveled to Ireland and Northern Ireland to see exactly where I come from. I ended up in the little coastal town in Northern Ireland called Annalong located an hour north of Dublin, right at the base of the Mourne Mountains. 

I walked the shores of the Irish Sea on a gravel-like sand, visited the church where my great-grandfather worshipped, and hiked The Kingdom of Mourne, a place my cousin described as the ‘Center of the Universe’. Here you can see the mountains, the sea, and the green earth all in one glance. Incredible.

I can’t believe it’s time to start talking about planning trips to the 2012 Summer Olympics. Wasn’t it just 2010 and we were talking about Vancouver and what type of winter boots to pack when I go watch bobsleigh? Now, suddenly we are one year away from the London Olympics! 365 days!!! Ok people, remain calm, I repeat remain calm.

I have assisted over 700 travelers in the past 5 Olympics in planning their trip to the Olympics Games. I’m not saying I’m an expert, but I will say I feel I have heard from nearly every type of Olympic sports fan possible – from the Biathlon fan from Istanbul to the Fencing fan from Finland. The one thing I am certain of: that no matter the destination or distance, Olympics sports fans are willing to cross oceans and trek up mountains every 2 years to see the sports they are passionate for.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are set to travel to Dublin, Ireland for a September 1, 2012 game versus the Navy Midshipmen. This will be the first time that Notre Dame will be making this trip to the Emerald Island. Sports Traveler has set up two new Notre Dame Fan trips to help fans get there. Our first two trips sold out in less than 3 months before the summer began. Due to the unbelievable demand, we have been able to secure additional hotel rooms and tickets to this once in a lifetime event.

Below are the itineraries that are now confirmed for Wave 3 and 4 of this historic trip!

Taking your clients or top sales associates to The Masters Golf Tournament will not only impress them but also help build relationships that could last the lifetime of your business. But beginning to plan a trip to the most famous golf tournament in the world can also be intimidating. I've been planning corporate outings to the Masters for the past 11 years for clients from all across the globe.

The NFL lockout is a hot topic in the sports world this summer, but the impact of the lockout can potentially spread much further than the NFL. Current rumors predict that the lockout could be coming to an end by July 15.  If these rumors hold true than there will be practically no harm done to the League. Player development might be hindered but if the entire 16 game season lives on then everyone is happy. However, if the lockout continues into August