Notre Dame + Field of Dreams trip this weekend (1 Viewer)

So my dad turned 70 in June, and despite being the Irish-est guy ever, he has never been to a game in South Bend. So his gift is that the family is all heading out tomorrow morning for the weekend. Gonna be spending lots of time watching his Mets in sports bars during football downtime, and obviously all day Saturday we'll do the campus thing (marching band walkout, bagpipe concert, etc).

Are there any game day things that anyone would recommend above others? Anything in and around South Bend aside from the football stadium and ND campus?

On Sunday morning, he thinks we're heading out to Chicago before heading home. In reality, we're going right past Chicago and heading to Iowa to the Field of Dreams movie site. He had been there about a decade ago with my brothers but I couldn't make it, and he always said he wishes I could have been there. So last question, anything between South Bend IN and Dyersville Iowa that would be cool for me and my brothers and the women folk, plus 67 year old mom and 70 year old dad (i.e., not looking for kid stuff). Thanks!

ETA: Mom's health isn't the greatest. Nothing serious, but tough for her to really do a whole lotta walking. Cool sights are better than physical activities, if that helps narrow down the options.

No ideas for you but sounds like a good trip. Have fun!

Swing 51 said:

No ideas for you but sounds like a good trip. Have fun!

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Sounds cool.

I was going to say to check out the College Football Hall of Fame, but apparently they moved that to Atlanta for some awful reason.

Other recommendation is one of the fine gentlemen's clubs in Davenport, IA. Put the parents to sleep, put some glitter on your ####, and visit a hole different field of dreams.

College Football Hall of Fame is there

Edit: oops.

Norte Dame has a hockey game on Friday Night. Nothing that amazing but easily one of the nicest college hockey arenas you'll see.

http://media.baselineresearch.com/images/166494/166494_full.jpg

No other reason to post this other than my own amusement, but the trip was complete chaos and totally amazing. Started off on the wrong foot when my brother and his girlfriend missed their train out to South Bend on Thursday. Basically, Greyhound and its family is a ####. Of course they could have just sprung for the few extra dollars to take a train or fly so it's partly on them, but bunch of ridiculousness. So instead of getting there at like 10 Friday morning, they finally arrive around midnight after driving for 15 hours.

Friday we did the pep rally on campus. Wasn't really that amazing or anything, but was cool just being on campus for the first time. Saturday we did EVERYTHING. For anyone going in the future, the entire Saturday morning lineup is greatness. Breakfast at Legends, bagpipes in front of the main building, glee club in front of TD Jesus, player walkout, trumpets under the dome...all of it was awesome. After the trumpets, I gave everyone their tickets and we walked over to the stadium. My parents and my wife and I are all inside, and I'm wondering what's taking the rest of them so long. I look out and my one brother is rifling through his stuff looking real nervous. I assumed he lost a camera or a piece of equipment or something, which would suck as he's a photographer. Oh no, it's much worse than that. He lost his ticket. Sprints back out into the street to look for it, losing his mind, meanwhile I'm inside cursing him up and down and wondering how it's possible that he's that much of an idiot.

He comes over to the entrance, which is just a series of gaps with ushers at each one (no turnstiles). He's freaking out, because the game is starting in 20 minutes and nobody is selling any tickets. I had visions of him like Rudy outside the stadium, feverishly trying to buy on off an old lady and striking out. Finally, the usher in front of me steps out of his row and walks around the side of the pillar to get something. I gave my bro a quick look, threw a $100 bill on the ground inside the stadium, and he ducked underneath the chains to pick it up. As he stands up with the money, the other usher turned around to see him go underneath. I gave a quick "Oh man thanks!" before looking at the usher and saying "Almost lost a hundred bucks!". He turned back around, and we high-tailed it to the stairs. I figure a couple extra Hail Mary's and Our Father's this week should make up for it.

Field of Dreams was awesome, no chaos really but I would definitely recommend getting there for anyone who's a fan of the movie. I got chills multiple times, and having a catch with my dad on the field is something I'll never forget.