Well, Friday the 8th started off quite slowly. After sleeping in as late as we possibly could at our booked accommodation in Oak Park Wisconsin, we came back to the room, finished our blogging and everyone cleaned up. We ended up getting on the road at 5 'til noon heading south. We drove 1 hour until the Chicago metro area was really upon us.
We first visited the Chicago Temple. Just like last summer in Dallas, they were busy working on it's exterior, so we were able to use the Port-a-Johns as a potty break. The temple is located in suburbia among nice neighborhoods. Because we forgot to check on it earlier, we ended up going west and then east on Lake Road for 12 miles from the 94 to get to and from it. In the end, we enjoyed seeing the area a little closer up as we got to see schools, parks and shopping centers, too.
Getting down to Wrigley Field ended up taking a full hour from there, as we worked our way slowly east towards Lake Michigan and the eastern edge of Chicago - which is where Wrigley is located. These were the oldest parts of the city, with towering trees, ancient architecture and lots of close residences with multiple floors. Noticeable things we saw were the old transit authority tracks above the city (which also runs just east of the field), a West African cafe on Broadway St, and a group of Muslim American adults and children leaving a school or some social function just northeast of Wrigley field as we walked into the game. Nathan had lots of flashbacks to West Africa and loved it.
Although Solinda was very concerned about getting to the game on time, we did arrive about 30 minutes early to the game. Subway lunch was the order of the day. Tim and Sam chose seats in the outfield anywhere we wanted (that is how the outfield is during regular season). They chose the top row in dead center just below the scoreboard where we could see balls and strikes, enjoy a cool breeze at our backs, sit in the shade, and see the entire park, both streets on the left and right field sides, and the skylines of high rises all around. We loved looking at all the rooftop seats, fans and accommodations on the buildings out of the park and across Sheffield and the other avenue. There were 3 fire sirens from the station just outside the stadium during the game. Sam and Sariah liked the area to play in against the fence overlooking the city. Although the actual park is small, it was neat to sit in seats other people have for the past 5 and 6 generations over the last 100 years (this year is its 100th anniversary). The bathrooms were only on the bottom level, but on the flip side, it was very quick (less than 2 minutes to the street) and easy getting in and out of the stadium!
The actual game and weather were about perfect! The Rays won in 10 innings 4-3. The Rays scored in the 7th, 8th, and 10th innings, while the Cubs countered with a run in the bottom of the 9th to send it to extra innings. We saw one home run by Desmond Jennings and 2 base runners picked off and thrown out on the back end of a double steal at second base, which are not common plays. Timothy has Wrigley Field as his favorite park so far out of the first 14 we have visited due to the nostalgia and uniqueness of the venue.
Getting to our Quality Inn in Merrillville, Indiana took over an hour and a half but we are glad we changed our accommodations from Schiller Park to here 2 days ago as we would have been going in the wrong direction after the game. We battled business district traffic, close stoplights and small crowded streets for over 15 minutes until we got out to the edge of Lake Michigan. After going north on Lakeshore Drive (the 41) to scout out how to get to Lincoln Park Zoo, Nathan was very glad to stumble upon the Eisenhower Expressway to get us out of the congestion of downtown and the lakefront expeditiously. Sariah was not feeling well, so we found a Shell gas station just into the South Side of Chicago with a security guard posted for everyone to empty out and stretch. Just south of that we saw U.S. Cellular Field along the 94 which is the home of the White Sox - who we will watch play over a week from now on our way back through town.
We paid 2 tolls on the north side of the city and 3 tolls on the outskirts of the south. The last one was just in Indiana, where we are staying. Glad to be here though, as it is clear sailing towards Indianapolis and Cincinatti today! Cheers!
We first visited the Chicago Temple. Just like last summer in Dallas, they were busy working on it's exterior, so we were able to use the Port-a-Johns as a potty break. The temple is located in suburbia among nice neighborhoods. Because we forgot to check on it earlier, we ended up going west and then east on Lake Road for 12 miles from the 94 to get to and from it. In the end, we enjoyed seeing the area a little closer up as we got to see schools, parks and shopping centers, too.
Getting down to Wrigley Field ended up taking a full hour from there, as we worked our way slowly east towards Lake Michigan and the eastern edge of Chicago - which is where Wrigley is located. These were the oldest parts of the city, with towering trees, ancient architecture and lots of close residences with multiple floors. Noticeable things we saw were the old transit authority tracks above the city (which also runs just east of the field), a West African cafe on Broadway St, and a group of Muslim American adults and children leaving a school or some social function just northeast of Wrigley field as we walked into the game. Nathan had lots of flashbacks to West Africa and loved it.
Although Solinda was very concerned about getting to the game on time, we did arrive about 30 minutes early to the game. Subway lunch was the order of the day. Tim and Sam chose seats in the outfield anywhere we wanted (that is how the outfield is during regular season). They chose the top row in dead center just below the scoreboard where we could see balls and strikes, enjoy a cool breeze at our backs, sit in the shade, and see the entire park, both streets on the left and right field sides, and the skylines of high rises all around. We loved looking at all the rooftop seats, fans and accommodations on the buildings out of the park and across Sheffield and the other avenue. There were 3 fire sirens from the station just outside the stadium during the game. Sam and Sariah liked the area to play in against the fence overlooking the city. Although the actual park is small, it was neat to sit in seats other people have for the past 5 and 6 generations over the last 100 years (this year is its 100th anniversary). The bathrooms were only on the bottom level, but on the flip side, it was very quick (less than 2 minutes to the street) and easy getting in and out of the stadium!
The actual game and weather were about perfect! The Rays won in 10 innings 4-3. The Rays scored in the 7th, 8th, and 10th innings, while the Cubs countered with a run in the bottom of the 9th to send it to extra innings. We saw one home run by Desmond Jennings and 2 base runners picked off and thrown out on the back end of a double steal at second base, which are not common plays. Timothy has Wrigley Field as his favorite park so far out of the first 14 we have visited due to the nostalgia and uniqueness of the venue.
Getting to our Quality Inn in Merrillville, Indiana took over an hour and a half but we are glad we changed our accommodations from Schiller Park to here 2 days ago as we would have been going in the wrong direction after the game. We battled business district traffic, close stoplights and small crowded streets for over 15 minutes until we got out to the edge of Lake Michigan. After going north on Lakeshore Drive (the 41) to scout out how to get to Lincoln Park Zoo, Nathan was very glad to stumble upon the Eisenhower Expressway to get us out of the congestion of downtown and the lakefront expeditiously. Sariah was not feeling well, so we found a Shell gas station just into the South Side of Chicago with a security guard posted for everyone to empty out and stretch. Just south of that we saw U.S. Cellular Field along the 94 which is the home of the White Sox - who we will watch play over a week from now on our way back through town.
We paid 2 tolls on the north side of the city and 3 tolls on the outskirts of the south. The last one was just in Indiana, where we are staying. Glad to be here though, as it is clear sailing towards Indianapolis and Cincinatti today! Cheers!
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