Going to a ball game can be fun for the whole family.  I love major league ball, but add up even the fair upper deck seats are $30 each.  That’s without beer or hotdogs, or even peanuts and cracker jacks or parking ($30).  Estimated cost for a family of four to attend a Cubs game is somewhere around $305; my family is way bigger than four.

This year I got a chance to visit the Kane County Cougars.  Go Cougars!  The A-Team affiliate of the Cubs.  Soooo much fun.  $10 a ticket  ($5 for seniors) and $1.00 for hotdogs, beer and soft drinks up through the seventh inning.  Eight grandchildren and five adults and change in our pockets.

Parking at $5.00 is a bit of a walk, but hey, Loved-One and I are trying to get in 10,000 steps a day and 10 flights of stairs as part of our Mediterranean lifestyle changes.  Okay, okay, we have temporary handicap parking, also $5.00, because of Duckie’s osteomyelitis surgery.  She had prime seating.   A couple of the parents were happy to stay in the peaceful handicapped companion seating, but got booted out as we each had a turn at keeping Duckie company.  We bounced up and back to our bleacher (with backs) seating to keep her company.   That said, even the lawn seating looked like a fun time for the kids.  (Who doesn’t love rolling down a hill?)

The best part?  Cougars won!

Or was it the celebratory fireworks after the win? 

Was it running the bases after the game?

Or was it filling up with all the hotdog a kid can hold?

Me?  Take me out to the ball game with family and I’m happy as a fan can be.  I limited myself to one beer and 1 ½ hotdogs. (Mediterranean lifestyle is low on the processed meat. – I got my 10,000 steps in, more than 10 flights of stairs, and enjoyed family fun.  All part of the lifestyle.)

Have you ever been to a Minor League ballpark? What’s your idea of a fun outing with family or friends? I’m especially interested in the kind of fun that can be enjoyed by all ages and keeps the cost reasonable.