I’m out of order!

I’m going back over a week, to our Chicago weekend. I’m sorry I’m so behind, but there were quite a few pictures to download, and we’ve had enough going on that I haven’t made the time to get to them.

We met in the lobby around 11:30, and headed out to Wrigleyville. The hotel was within easy walking distance of Wrigley Field, and it was a beautiful day! We kept an eye out for a place to grab a bite to eat before the game, and ended up at a place called F. O’Mahoney’s, a little Irish pub near the ballpark. Along with our food, we had a couple of beverages, and after the previous night at Buddy Guy’s, a pitcher of mimosas tasted mighty good! Gotta get that Vitamin C, you know.

Then it was off to the ballpark. Everyone seemed to be in a great mood, because it was such a nice day, and we were heading to THE greatest ballpark in the country! (I haven’t been to Fenway, but Ken has, and says Wrigley is better...prettier and more charming, or words to that effect. I think it’s the ivy-covered walls.) Our seats were fantastic, behind the Cubs bullpen and just four rows up. We proceeded to watch the Cubs lose 4-0, but you know, we really weren’t expecting much. We’re Cubs fans, after all. And I say that with great love and affection for the Cubs. It’s our lot in life to see them tank year after year, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love them or don’t have a great time at Wrigley. We were hoping that Notre Dame alum Jeff Samardzija (he played both baseball and football at ND and chose baseball for his pro career) would be pitching, but no such luck. We got Travis Wood instead, and he’s one of their better pitchers, along with Samardzija.

Speaking of Notre Dame, the guy who sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in the 7th inning stretch was Digger Phelps, former basketball coach for the Irish and current analyst for ESPN. He did a great job, and it was fun to be there and sing along and root for the Cubbies!

We really enjoyed our day, and one of the fun parts was the usher who was covering our area, Jim. The guy was super cool, taking care of problems and putting out fires, and just generally a nice guy. Ken asked if I could come down to the wall and take a few pictures, and Jim said no problem, as long as I don’t try to chat up the players, and do it between innings. I got a nice picture of the bullpen and the field because Jim let me down there!

After the game, we started making our way back to the hotel, and stopped in at a place called Rock’s Lakeview for dinner and beverages. Noisy as hell, but the food was decent, and it was fun to enjoy the open windows and the party atmosphere of Wrigleyville on game day.

Then we went back to the hotel and crashed, because Happy Fun Party Time™ wasn’t going to be happening two nights in a row!

That was our day at Wrigley Field. At least one more Chicago post, about our visit to the Art Institute on Sunday, and I hope to get that done this week, but no promises...lots going on this week!