2018-2019 Road Trips

[crasherino]

Trying to start an annual tradition with my boys with taking a road trip every year to an away game. It looks like the options are Detroit on December 8th or St. Louis on January 5th.

Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions on what to do in either city? There's the arch in St. Louis, obviously and we can do copious amounts of heroin in Detroit, but not sure where to stay, what else to do, where to eat in either of those cities. Is there an easy way to figure out where the team stays when on the road? Might as well try and stay where the team stays while your there.

Any other suggestions as far as road trips in general would be appreciated. Would also love to hear about any other road trips planned this season.

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[MJF]

Pick two other cities.

At least in St Louis there is the Gateway Arch which is fun. Ballpark Village, across the street from Busch Stadium is a fun gathering spot and what I hope scott Malkin tries to replicate at Belmont Park. And Pappy’s Smokehouse for ribs is a must.

 

[Bones45]

Trying to start an annual tradition with my boys with taking a road trip every year to an away game. It looks like the options are Detroit on December 8th or St. Louis on January 5th.

Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions on what to do in either city? There's the arch in St. Louis, obviously and we can do copious amounts of heroin in Detroit, but not sure where to stay, what else to do, where to eat in either of those cities. Is there an easy way to figure out where the team stays when on the road? Might as well try and stay where the team stays while your there.

Any other suggestions as far as road trips in general would be appreciated. Would also love to hear about any other road trips planned this season.

I thought of both St.Lou and Detroit each year as I plan my trip -- and quickly pass over them. No desire to see either city.

I've been to many --- Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, Colorado, Chicago, Raleigh, Florida, Wash, Philly, Vegas. Off to San Jose/San Fran, next week for the game on the 20th.

My trips need to have a positive score under a several criteria -- Do I want to see the city? Good hockey city? Is it walkable? Do they have legal cannabis? Are the Isles playing there in the Fall or Spring? (Hard no on both of your selections for me). My trip to Vancouver was exactly a year ago -- the one trip where I didn't see the local team play the Isles -- caught their home opener instead. Rocked the Isles jersey regardless.

Montreal and Toronto lead the pack -- Vancouver and Denver a close second. Vegas is always fun. San Jose/San Fran Im sure will be much different as hockey isnt quite the passion as up North! I thought that Vancouver was expensive,, and it is,, until I looked at hotels in San Fran.. wow.

 

[Skip To My Lou]

Never been to St. Louis. I went to Detroit to see a game in their last season at the Joe. It's a fine city. The downtown area isn't as bad as people say it is, I walked around at night and felt safe.

I went to see the Henry Ford Museum which I actually really liked (if you're into that stuff).

I know there's a Red Wings bar called the Hockeytown Cafe, or if you're looking for something more quieter, there is a cool bar that is in the vicinity of the old Tigers Stadium (my memory is blanking out on the name of it though).

Windsor, Ontario is right across the river, so bring your passport if you're interested in checking that out.

For hotels, I stayed in a Springhill Suites outside of the downtown area, but there is a nice Marriott inside the Renaissance Center. It's actually very beautiful. Right on the water and overlooks downtown.

That's all I did as I only stayed there one night. Hope this helps!

 

[And You Feel Shame]

How old are your boys?

In St. Louis is the City Museum which is a pretty amazing place... less of a museum and more of a massive sculptural playground that even adults can enjoy.

 

[Quickdraw2828]

Two odd cities to pick, I'm guessing you picked them because of the dates. I've been to both and I'd pick Detroit over St. Louis, but I'd go elsewhere. The people of St. Louis were very friendly, but the downtown seemed really dead in the evening. I saw a Bruce Springsteen show in St Louis (and the fans inside made sure I was "silly" for the whole show) but when I walked back to my hotel after the show I couldn't find a place to by advil - and I stayed by the Arch. Everything seemed closed up for the weekend. You could probably be fairly entertained in Detroit for a day and a half with decent food and a good hockey atmosphere, but it is Detroit afterall.

This Saturday's game would have been fun. A friend of mine was amazed at the fun he had at a Predators game.

Montreal games rock..safe to walk around arena and Old Montreal..Poutine and Montreal meat sandwiches... Reasonable Hotels. Expensive game tix though.

 

[crasherino]

Two odd cities to pick, I'm guessing you picked them because of the dates. I've been to both and I'd pick Detroit over St. Louis, but I'd go elsewhere. The people of St. Louis were very friendly, but the downtown seemed really dead in the evening. I saw a Bruce Springsteen show in St Louis (and the fans inside made sure I was "silly" for the whole show) but when I walked back to my hotel after the show I couldn't find a place to by advil - and I stayed by the Arch. Everything seemed closed up for the weekend. You could probably be fairly entertained in Detroit for a day and a half with decent food and a good hockey atmosphere, but it is Detroit afterall.

This Saturday's game would have been fun. A friend of mine was amazed at the fun he had at a Predators game.

Montreal games rock..safe to walk around arena and Old Montreal..Poutine and Montreal meat sandwiches... Reasonable Hotels. Expensive game tix though.

My boys are 8 and 11. This weekend would have really been ideal (I've never been to Nashville) but the Fall through mid November is taken up with sports. Their winter schedule is a bit more flexible and I'm aiming towards a weekend if at all possible.

I figured St. Louis would be a decent option but the downtown being dead doesn't sound promising. Figure both those cities should have some decent hockey enthusiasm at least. Detroit is Hockey Town USA after all! And they do have that square pizza that's invaded Brooklyn now.

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

My boys are 8 and 11. This weekend would have really been ideal (I've never been to Nashville) but the Fall through mid November is taken up with sports. Their winter schedule is a bit more flexible and I'm aiming towards a weekend if at all possible.

I figured St. Louis would be a decent option but the downtown being dead doesn't sound promising. Figure both those cities should have some decent hockey enthusiasm at least. Detroit is Hockey Town USA after all! And they do have that square pizza that's invaded Brooklyn now.

Nashville might be better when they're older (drinking age), as the Bridgestone is at the top of Broadway which is 90% bars. They would more likely appreciate the live music scene by that time as well.

Not telling you not to go, but just something to think about.

 

[nycole]

I went to Detroit this summer, great ballpark. The downtown area is great. Safe at night after a game. Hockeytown had a nice atmosphere, though the food and service left a lot to be desired.

 

[Chardo]

My boys are 8 and 11. This weekend would have really been ideal (I've never been to Nashville) but the Fall through mid November is taken up with sports. Their winter schedule is a bit more flexible and I'm aiming towards a weekend if at all possible.

I figured St. Louis would be a decent option but the downtown being dead doesn't sound promising. Figure both those cities should have some decent hockey enthusiasm at least. Detroit is Hockey Town USA after all! And they do have that square pizza that's invaded Brooklyn now.

Since my son moved there, I've been to Isles at STL the past 2 years, and will be there again in January. They are definitely enthusiastic about hockey, being it's their only winter sport. Lots of fans go to restaurants and bars before the game in and near downtown, then take free trolley or bus rides to and from the game. Nice party atmosphere, no parking or traffic hassles.

As for things to do, STL has a great zoo, free, inside the second largest urban park in the country (after Central Park). January might be cold for a zoo visit, but it's an option. There's also the Budweiser brewery tour, including the Clydesdales. Kids can't have the free samples but the tour might be interesting.

 

[Chardo]

Anyone going to Nashville this weekend?

 

[QuadDeuces]

I'll be doing Colorado and Vegas in December with some days on the slopes in between. Anyone else doing either one of those?

 

[Benedict Kovalchuk]

Definitely going to be at the Isles/Canucks game in Vancouver on Feb 29th next year. Anyone else?

 

[sabremike]

Columbus is very underrated. Nice downtown area and easily the nicest arena of any kind I've ever been in. Philly would also be recommended because the arena is nice, you have a restaurant complex right there (although I'd advise going to Tony Luke's on nearby Oregon Avenue for awesome cheesesteaks) and tons to do in the city.

 

[BrockLobster]

Ive been to many cities. Never been to either of those though.

I am doing toronto this year dec 29. I was amazed to see how expensive their tix are. Makes MSG look reasonable.

 

[Skip To My Lou]

Columbus is very underrated. Nice downtown area and easily the nicest arena of any kind I've ever been in. Philly would also be recommended because the arena is nice, you have a restaurant complex right there (although I'd advise going to Tony Luke's on nearby Oregon Avenue for awesome cheesesteaks) and tons to do in the city.

I haven't seen a Jackets game, but I've been to Columbus and was pleasantly surprised with how nice the surrounding area is.

 

[crasherino]

Since my son moved there, I've been to Isles at STL the past 2 years, and will be there again in January. They are definitely enthusiastic about hockey, being it's their only winter sport. Lots of fans go to restaurants and bars before the game in and near downtown, then take free trolley or bus rides to and from the game. Nice party atmosphere, no parking or traffic hassles.

As for things to do, STL has a great zoo, free, inside the second largest urban park in the country (after Central Park). January might be cold for a zoo visit, but it's an option. There's also the Budweiser brewery tour, including the Clydesdales. Kids can't have the free samples but the tour might be interesting.

Thanks Chard. I think I'm gonna do that STL game. There's hotels right around the arena, cheap enough flights.....can even fly in on Saturday morning, bang out the Arch, get some bbq pre-game and fly back on Sunday. Pretty easy in and out.

We're also gonna do a Caps game, Panthers game and maybe a Flyers game but those we've done before.

If anyone is thinking of doing a Caps trip, last year we got a block of tickets - low-ish row in the Upper deck - that came with all you can eat and drink from a certain lounge area. Food wasn't necessarily high end, but was pretty good. And you had a few options for beer - Bud Light and one or two other "craftier" beers (can't remember which). If they're offering that package again, its a pretty good deal.

 

[Volek25]

I just moved to St. Louis about a month and a half ago. So far, I've enjoyed it, of course a huge change from living in NYC the past 8 years. I just went to my first Blues game on Sat night against the Hawks and it was a really nice arena, good energy and really good sight lines. I'll be going to the Jan 5th Isles/Blues game so you should definitely go with your boys as well.

As others said, STL is pretty cool city. The downtown area is nice, especially around Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village, there's a cool arcade type bar around there called Start Bar that although a bar, has a bunch of games and stuff if your boys are into that...There's a lot of museums and apparently the Zoo out here is pretty nice spot to visit. Forest Park is a huge park that's apparently bigger than Central Park and everyone always says to check it out. Of course, I haven't seen any of this stuff except for the downtown area and Busch Stadium, Ballpark Village, etc, but I plan on trying to be a little touristy with my girl and check out these spots at some point. Haven't even been to the Arch yet, but at least drove by a few times.

Definitely get to a Blues game, that's a must if your visiting. The Central West End area is nice and another thing you can check out is the Anheuser-Busch brewery and do a walking tour around the grounds. Think there's lots to do, just plan ahead as always and you'll find some stuff...enjoy and hopefully see ya at the Isles game out here and some fellow Blue/Orange!

 

[crasherino]

Just circling back here as we are headed out to St. Louis this weekend. Some good advice in this thread - thanks to all for providing.

We are staying right by Busch stadium and have a tour of the stadium planned. And people have been absolutely raving about the City Museum which is supposedly amazing, so we're going to hit that too. And I've been told that Pappy's BBQ is the way to go for St. Louis BBQ, so definitely going to hit that. Of course, we can't go up the arch now because of the government shutdown, but I guess we can always swing by.

Only thing I haven't gotten is tickets. Looks to be a good amount of tickets still available - both from the team and on the secondary market. I'm fine with waiting til the last minute to buy tickets....usually, but if anyone has any good info about the arena, whether ticket prices drop, etc., would love to hear it. The Blues really sucking will probably help my cause. Funny - its usually my own team that makes my ticket purchases cheaper.

 

[MJF]

Just circling back here as we are headed out to St. Louis this weekend. Some good advice in this thread - thanks to all for providing.

We are staying right by Busch stadium and have a tour of the stadium planned. And people have been absolutely raving about the City Museum which is supposedly amazing, so we're going to hit that too. And I've been told that Pappy's BBQ is the way to go for St. Louis BBQ, so definitely going to hit that. Of course, we can't go up the arch now because of the government shutdown, but I guess we can always swing by.

Only thing I haven't gotten is tickets. Looks to be a good amount of tickets still available - both from the team and on the secondary market. I'm fine with waiting til the last minute to buy tickets....usually, but if anyone has any good info about the arena, whether ticket prices drop, etc., would love to hear it. The Blues really sucking will probably help my cause. Funny - its usually my own team that makes my ticket purchases cheaper.

Mmmmmm Pappys.

Get to Pappys early. When they run out of ribs and brisket that's it for the day. I was there during baseball season few years ago, got to Pappy's at 11AM and there was already a 20 minute wait for a table.