Travel to Rockford, IL where you overnight at a local hotel.   Tonight’s dinner is a great time at the Machine Shed Restaurant, dedicated to the American Farmer.  Enjoy a wonderful home cooked meal in a farm-fun atmosphere that includes homemade pie! (D)

Today, enjoy a ‘Day at the Movies.’  Start at the Midway Museum and the Rockford Peaches.  World War II touched every part of life in the United States.  This included baseball – the “national pastime.”  To keep people interested in the game while many of its best players were in the army, chewing gum businessman and Chicago Cubs’ owner Philip K. Wrigley started a professional women’s baseball league.  The “All-American Girls Professional Baseball League” (or AAGPBL) lasted from 1943 until 1954.

The Rockford Peaches team was one of the first four teams in the league.  At its peak in 1948, the league had 10 teams across the Midwest.  The Peaches was one of the league’s best teams, winning the championship 4 times.  They played in Rockford for all 12 years of the league’s existence.

The exhibit The Girls of Summer: The Rockford Peaches of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League tells the story of the Peaches and their place in the League.  The Rockford Peaches are immortalized in the movie “A League of Their Own.”

The Rockford Midway Museum has many other exhibits as well including a Victorian Village, Heritage Garden and since Rockford is the official “Home of the Sock Monkey” you will learn about this popular folk-art toy.

This afternoon travel to Dyersville, Iowa and the movie site of ‘The Field of Dreams.’  At the century-old family farm with its quaint, and oh so recognizable house, baseball still ranks as a favorite pastime for all ages.  ‘The Field of Dreams’, released in 1989, is a movie that has inspired millions and was an Academy Award nominee for “Best Picture of the Year.”  Welcome to this home, this farm, this baseball field, this little piece of heaven on earth.  Welcome to this place where reality mixes with fantasy and dreams can come true.

You will be greeted by one of the legendary Ghost Players as they give a 30-minute tour of the Field of Dreams Movie Site while you enjoy the best seat in the house: the original set of bleachers along the first baseline!  You will also have time to walk around the magical baseball field that inspired the movie. 

End the day in nearby Dubuque, IA for the night.  Dinner is on your own this evening. (B)

This morning travel to Chicago, IL arriving at lunchtime.  Your afternoon highlight is The Chicago Sports Museum which uniquely combines Chicago sports memorabilia and an impressive collection of game-used treasures and other artifacts.  This 23,000-square-foot space celebrates all of Chicago’s major sports teams and has high-tech interactive experiences-including skill challenges and simulated experiences.  Remember Bears great William “Refrigerator” Perry?  Try on a replica of his Super Bowl ring, the largest one ever crafted.

It’s only fitting that the center of the museum be dedicated to the greatest fans in the world – Chicago sports fans!  Step into the replica broadcast booth straight out of the Friendly Confines and take a chance at impersonating the greatest Chicago baseball fan who ever lived: Harry Caray.  You can even send home a video of your skills!  Then check into your suburban Chicago hotel for a two-night stay.

Tonight, see the Chicago Cubs play at Wrigley Field.  One of the most storied teams in the MLB, if not all of sports, the Chicago Cubs have called the friendly confines of Wrigley Field home since 1916.  Come for a game, for the crowd, or for the history of being in a historic ballpark.  Get settled in your seat and dinner of course is on your own at the ball park.  Chicago Dog anyone? (B)

(Chicago Cubs tickets are nonrefundable once purchased. Please let us know when you are ready to purchase.  If tickets are purchased too close to game day the seats may be split up and the group may not be seated together.)

After breakfast, meet your guide for a City Tour and see some of the sites related to the Blues Brothers movie.  Some of the film related sites you will see are: Elwood’s Apartment, Soul Food Cafe, James Brown Church scene location, Daly Plaza and more!

Then you have free time at Navy Pier, a 3,300-foot-long pier on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan.  You will have time for lunch on your own and a chance to explore the pier’s attractions.

Followed by time this afternoon on North Michigan Ave, known as the “The Magnificent Mile.”  This is one of the most iconic shopping areas in the world.  This cosmopolitan, history-packed strip on downtown Michigan Avenue leads you from department stores to luxury boutiques to brand name retail chains – all within a scenic stroll of each other.

Tonight, enjoy dinner at Harry Caray’s Restaurant.  This Legendary Chicago Steakhouse pays tribute to the beloved Chicago Cubs sportscaster for whom the restaurant is named.

**Nitti’s Supper Club Option** Groups looking for a little extra, can head to the second floor of Harry Caray’s for Nitti’s Supper Club.  Long before 33 W. Kinzie was one of Chicago’s most famous steakhouses, it was home to the notorious enforcer of the Al Capone gang, Frank Nitti.  Nitti ran the Chicago Mob after Capone went to jail.  Relics from his life of crime, including a safe and a phone book with alderman’s phone numbers, were discovered in the walls of the building.

As an homage to the building’s storied past, a speakeasy was reconstructed on the second floor.  Guests gain entry by pushing a hidden button on a bookcase and are immersed in vintage décor which transports them back to the 1920’s.  Once in the Speakeasy, they will be served special prohibition-era cocktails through a secret opening hidden in the wall.

Here you enjoy a show filled with laughs, gangsters, audience interaction and toe-tapping musical productions.  Nitti’s Supper Club and Speakeasy incorporates real characters from Nitti’s life of crime who would have walked through the doors of 33 West Kinzie.  Join them on a trip back in time to the raucous world of gangland Chicago. (B,D)

After breakfast at the hotel, you load up and check out and head to Wrigley Field!  Get a behind-the-scenes look at the legendary home of the Chicago Cubs with Wrigley Field Tours.  Built in 1914, this must-see Chicago attraction houses more than 100 years of history.

Following the tour, depart for home! (B)