Chicago CubsThe mug is from one of the shops in Wrigleyville, that neighborhood in Chicago that surrounds Wrigley Field. I “collect” out of town ball parks, so I have been to a lot of stadiums all over the country. Still, even being a Reds, Braves and Tigers fan before any of the other teams, Wrigley is one of the parks of which I am most fond!
The first of many times I’ve been to Wrigley was in 1995. It was a baseball and art adventure with my mom, John, Heather, Rich and Tom, a friend that worked with Rich, Heather and me. We went to the station in Dearborn, Michigan, on Saturday morning and took Amtrak to Chicago.
We were split down the middle all the way! The Saturday afternoon game was the Braves and Cubs. John, Rich and I were going to tomahawk chop at Mom, Heather and Tom in Cubbies blue. It was a fun rivalry all weekend long. The Braves won game, which opened the door for some great antics later.
We had dinner at Ed Debevics, where the waitress “tripped” and flipped a full tray of (empty) water cups on our table and instigated the applause for John as he returned from the men’s room. Tom brought his video camera, so I even have a few snippets of video from the weekend. That video became even more meaningful to me after Mom’s passing.
Saturday night, we went to the observation deck at the Sears Tower and got to see the fireworks display at Navy Pier from above. That was SO cool to see!
We stayed at the Palmer House Hilton, in downtown Chicago. Still pumped up from the day, we played a board game back at the room and Tom, while recovering from the Cubbies loss, started insisting that they were supposed to have a mini bar and Ryan Klesko (my favorite Brave at the time) was a thief because he came to our hotel and stole the mini bar. We laughed as we walked through the halls, Tom boisterously insisting that “Ryan Klesko stole my mini bar!” It was a bit more sheepish Tom the next morning when we discovered that we were staying in the same hotel the Braves were!
Our group remained divided on Sunday. If baseball is a true art, than the Cubs are the impressionists, while the Braves are the Italian masters! Mom, Heather and Tom went to the Monet exhibit at the Art Museum on Sunday. The other three of us, the Braves fans, toured the rest of the museum and spent some time in the Renaissance wing with DaVinci and company.
It was a great weekend with many fond memories. It was also the first of many trips to the sacred grounds at Wrigley.
1 comment:
What a great story. What a wonderful relationship you have had with your family. It's what makes your stories so wonderful. I love the fact that you have been able to travel around so much too. It makes for such wonderful memories.
We still have lots of rain coming down, and the cellar is flooding again. I should have bought a couple of rowboats!!! Some towns, the roads are under water. Some of our roads are getting that way too. I wonder if there is a "Stop Raining" dance? I should like to learn it really soon.
Stay dry my friend. Hugs, Edna B.
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