Chicago holds a special place in Robbie's and my hearts. It is the first trip we took together as a couple, and we have been back 4 times since! Each time we go, we always do something different, and this time was no exception. When we were looking at the baseball schedule recently, we noticed that the Brewers were playing the Cubs on Labor Day in Wrigley, and the White Sox were at US Cellular Field over the weekend. So, we put together our trip in a few weeks, and we were set to go! We also invited one of my longtime friends, Erin, who is also an avid Brewer fan as well. She drove down from Minnesota to meet us there for the weekend.
Our flight left for Chicago on Saturday morning, and as we were getting ready to go, the sun was ready to come up as well. We had a little time to watch the beautiful sunrise before heading to the airport.
We flew to Chicago on our favorite airline, Southwest. Considering they allow 2 bags to fly free, Robbie has one suitcase just for his 20lb. pillow! We had a non-stop flight into Chicago Midway, and as we were descending from the east, we had a great view of downtown!! Our hotel was conveniently located at the Midway Hotel Center; we chose that location because they had bigger rooms, and they had a shuttle to/from the airport, which allowed us to get right on the "L" and head downtown. We got to our hotel about an hour before Erin did, so we ordered Giordano's right away, and it got to our room right as Erin arrived! Giordano's is our favorite Chicago-style pizza place, and there was a location just 2 blocks away from our hotel! It was a welcoming sight!
We got to US Cellular Field in the top of the 3rd inning, which normally isn't like us. But, being we arrived into Chicago just hours before, we wanted to take it easy. Neither of the teams were imperative for us to see, so we just took our time getting there. We got to our seats around sunset, and we had a gorgeous one to watch! It was actually the reflections on the clouds, but sometimes those are the best! The White Sox were playing the Tigers, and the Tigers ended up winning by the score of 8-4. One more ballpark checked off our list.... YES!!!
When the White Sox got their new stadium, US Cellular Field, they took a cool Pinwheel feature from their old park, Comiskey. They had several pinwheels on top of their scoreboard at Comiskey, and I was very happy to see them at US Cellular as well!
Sunday was our day for sightseeing. Erin hasn't really been to Chicago other than to see ballgames, so we played tourist for the day as well. We slept in on Sunday morning, and then it was into the city for us. Our first stop was the Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower. Unfortunately, the service elevator wasn't working, so we couldn't go to the top. We were all sad about it because Erin had never been to the top before, and we both wanted to go onto the skydeck, where you can see directly down to the street.
After Buckingham Fountain, we made our way through the gardens to Milennium Park and the Bean. We didn't spend much time there because it was a tad hot, and they were having a jazz festival in that Park, so there were a lot of people around.
We found some much needed shade not too far away, and just sat and watched life happen. That is one of my favorite things to do in any city!
After our reprieve, we decided to call it a day and head back to our hotel. We actually had a little fun back in our hotel. Erin had bought a souvenir bat and stuffed ball at the White Sox game, so we each took turns batting, pitching and catching...in our hotel room. Luckily we had a corner room right next to the lobby, so I'm 99.9% sure we weren't disturbing anyone when the balls would go flying off the bat!!
Monday, Labor Day, was the big Cubs/Brewers game at Wrigley Field. I had been watching the weather all week, and on Monday in Chicago, they were predicting an 80% chance of thunderstorms. We really did not want this game to be delayed or cancelled. It is, in fact, what we all came to Chicago for in the first place. In addition, Erin was going to be heading back to Minnesota right after the game, and she had a 6 hour drive ahead of her after the game. It was raining early that morning, but as the gates were opening and the crowds were filing in, the clouds broke, and it turned out to be a pretty great day. We pre-ordered tickets specifically to sit under an overhang, but that was to be protected from the sun. And that definitely came in handy after the storms passed.
Wrigleyville is such a cool place, surrounding Wrigley Field. Wrigley is placed smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood, and it has an "L" stop right outside the stadium! Also, on a suggestion from an usher, I went up to the Jack Daniels rooftop bar, and I was greeted with sweeping views of Wrigleyville, and the skyline was even peeking through. One of the best views in Wrigley, hands down!
At the beginning of play, the Brewers were tied for first in the division with the Cardinals, and were in danger of dropping out of first place for the first time since April 5th! The Brewers were in the middle of a terrible slump to start play, and we were also in danger of topping our longest losing streak of the season, which was 5. A lot was on the line in this game, especially for me, as I have been a huuuge follower of the Brewers this season!
The closest the Brewers ever got the score to was within one. The Brewers's Khris Davis hit a 2-run homer out of Wrigley and onto Waveland Ave! It was quite a shot, but it was the only shot that the Brewers had. They ended up losing to a score of 4-2. And that meant that we lost control of the division, as well as continued our longest losing streak, which was now at 6. It hurt my heart, with all the work it took to maintain first place for essentially 5 months in a row, and then to see it crumble in the heat of the pennant race. I still have faith, though, in the final month of the season! Don't let me down, Crew!
After the game, Erin left for Minnesota right away, and we had the rest of the night to ourselves. On our way back to our hotel and as we were changing trains, there were some great photo opportunities of the city! We also made another journey to Giordano's, and that was a great way to end our trip! It was, in fact, how we started it, too!
"People don't take trips...trips take people." -John Steinbeck
