10 things--chicago (+ wrigley field)

I don't want you to think that Chicago was all bad. It really wasn't. It was my first time there outside of the airport. I would definitely like to visit again.

1. Getting picked up and dropped off at the airport. Yea!


2. A late dinner outside of a little bar on Thursday night.


3. The absolutely fantastic B&B. It's a great brownstone in a nice neighborhood. On the inside it's very sleek and IKEA. In addition to the rooms, there was a nice living room area and a kitchen that was open to everyone. You didn't have folks doting on you...groceries just magically appeared in the kitchen and you could help yourself. You could even cook if you wanted to.


4. It was also nice chatting with some of the folks who were staying in the B&B--including rhythm gymnasts and Canadians.


5. Really good thunderstorms. And actually being inside during a few of them. Ahhh, cuddling.


6. I kind of like figuring out the mass transit systems in different cities. This stuff stressed me out a lot more the first few times I had to do it but now it's kind of fun.


7. Interesting mass transit experiences: Seeing a middle aged man on the subway carrying, among other things, two batons. Like the kind I twirled in high school. Oh, why didn't I ask him why he was carrying them? Also? Random live music on one of the platforms.


8. The oh-so-good food that was available (I'll try not to dwell on the fact that my digestive system wouldn't let me eat all that I wanted to.)


9. Hanging with the future in-laws. Seeing the FSIL's milestone. Hearing lots of stories about little Fiance and FSIL. Awww...


10. Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. I love seeing it. Oak Park is the area in which he lived while in Chicago with his wife and family. He built several houses for families and they are still occupied. I mean, really. "Hi, I live in a house built by Frank Lloyd Wright." Crazy. He ended up taking a mistress from one of those houses and they seemed to have an interesting life together for many years until hers ended tragically. Read "Loving Frank." It's technically fiction but is pieced together from what facts are known. Don't say I didn't warn you about the ending. But, really, this is the kind of history I love. The kind you can stand in front of and touch. Kind of like...


11. Wrigley Field. (I know, a #11!)

+++++

Wrigley Field. It's kind of a big one (as in important, historical).

Oh, my. Well, you've already heard that it was a bit of a struggle to even make it through all the storms and flooding to get there. And that our jeans and shoes and socks were soaked. And that it wasn't raining AT ALL once we arrived.

We still had about an hour of rain delay before the game actually started. The Fiance scored a Cubs cap (while I wore his Astros one). And then we got some snacks. He got Buffalo fries--fries with blue cheese crumbles and wing sauce. YUM. And I got a dog with cheese and grilled onions. Man, those onions were good; the whole place smelled like them when you walked in. Before we left, we also got a helmet ice cream for the road. It was quite refreshing as the day had warmed up nicely. And now I have multiple tiny helmets from various stadiums.

Our seats were pretty high near-ish the foul pole on the 1st base line. Hey, tickets are harder to come by there. But we had a good view and weren't crowded with folks. It was funny how most of the fans must have waited out the rain delay in the nearby bars. Once the game was on, the place filled up quickly.

And I have to confess, due to our brief stay in Chicago and that I was shockingly sunburned about 5 seconds after the sun came out and that we were dressed for the previously cooler weather, we left at the 7th inning stretch. The Cubs were down by 6. They came back to beat the Indians by 1 in the 10th. Oh, well. It was nice to see the ivy and all the adjacent rooftop game-watching places.