Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

For anyone who is a fan of baseball - or sports in general - a visit the Friendly Confines known as Wrigley Field should definitely land high on the bucket list. One of the oldest major league ballparks in the county - second only to Fenway Park in Boston - Wrigley Field opened in 1914. Until the Cubs finally won the World Series in 2016, the ball park had not been the home of a championship team.

Being a life-long die hard, I know I am biased, but there's just this wonderful old-school charm about Wrigley Field that you don't quite get in other ballparks. It's what makes it overall such a fun experience - the hand-operated scoreboard, the ivy on the bricks, the jazz band that makes it's way through the stands, the very mature employees who stand guard at each section checking tickets. There's been a lot of modernization in the past two or three years - the additional of big screens in the outfield, the addition of metal detectors, the move of the bullpen off the field and indoors. There was also the big investment in the Park at Wrigley, which was added last year and the newly-opened Hotel Zachary -- and of course, investments in big contacts and acquisition of big names that finally led them to that title that we'd all been waiting for for so, so long. 

But aside from the renovations and the title, it's just a darn fun place to spend an afternoon -- I'm still an old-fashioned day game gal who attended her first game back before they added lights in 1988. My sister is a season ticket holder and for most games I attend I'm parked in that same upper deck seat under the canopy where I don't need to wear sunblock and I don't get wet if it starts to rain. There's not too many other places I'd rather be on a late spring or summer or early fall day. So, put on your Cubbie blue, grab some peanuts and get out to the old ball game - it's one you'll never forget.