Jamie and I hadn't been outside of Texas since 2019.
When COVID hit, we went into lockdown the same day as everyone else in March of 2020, but took a lot longer to step away from safety protocols. Add in that my employment has been... a ride since COVID hit, and circumstances have made it difficult to think ahead or plan a vacation.
We took some local AirBNB trips and we went to San Antonio, but we hadn't really gone anywhere in years.
But on June 13th we flew out mid-day, and returned early in the evening of June 17th. A short trip, but travelling for us is an ordeal. Jamie has to schedule dialysis at a local clinic, and we don't tend to have long days of just moving around.
For a first trip out of town in a while, we chose something we knew, and something I was desperate to do - get back to Chicago and take in a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. And a good year for it! Cubs are several games at the top of the the National League Central right now, with Pete Crow-Armstrong a superstar in the making, and Seiya Suzuki also on a hitting streak. We have a third baseman in Matt Shaw, and our defense is sometimes better than our relatively solid offense.
Friday
Friday all we did was fly in, check in to our hotel, and then go to Miller's Pub for a late dinner. We stayed at the historic Palmer House, a hotel originally founded in the 19th century, but which has stood with much of the current building since the 1920's.
The hallway was lined with portraits of entertainers who had played the Empire Ballroom over the years, so each walk I was greeted by Abbe Lane, Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, Glen Ford, Bob Newhart, and two separate portraits of Dorothy Dandridge, as well as plenty of other familiar faces. I knew to turn into the hall toward Phyllis Diller and Jane Russell was right outside our door.
Pics from our window:
In the lobby:
Saturday
Saturday we rose on time, knowing we had a 1:20 first pitch at Wrigley, but it was the day of the No Kings march in Chicago right near our hotel and it had been a minute since I grabbed the Red Line from the Palmer House, so I was unsure where the station was. Or, indeed, if the station I remembered was open at the moment.
Google Maps said "it's a 20 minute walk" which I did not remember, but was on the street and didn't have time to argue - and who cares about an extra 20 minutes? But no matter how fast we walked, it was still 20 minutes away. And then not where the map said it was. Anyway - we did find a train, we did board it and we were seated by the second pitch. But my hope to hit some shops pre-game did not pan out.
It wasn't a barn burner of a game, but Cubs won 2-1 over the Pirates, with Dansby Swanson hitting a gorgeous homer. Oddly, my guy Seiya Suzuki struck out 4 times, and Pete Crow-Armstrong not making much offensive impact. But the roster was great and the defense kept the Pirates at bay!
I love Wrigley Field. Like, I'd rather be there than on a beach with a cocktail. Gimme a wind coming in off the lake and someone to sell me a couple of hot dogs while the Cubs hit one into the bleachers, and I'm a happy kid.
Wrigley is the core of its neighborhood on the Northside of Chicago, aptly named Wrigleyville, and the city has grown around it in a way that's hard to replicate when your team owners think they need to build a new stadium every 25 years. How many other ballparks have bleachers on the roofs of the former apartment buildings across the street? Or bars that have been serving loyal fans for decades on end?
In my "I wouldn't say if I won the lottery, but there would be signs" meme day dreaming, we'd have a place we'd have in Wrigleyville for when we'd come in for homestands.
We went into the team store following the game and picked up t-shirts for the niece and nephew, neither of whom care about the Cubs, but they'll take those shirts and like them, darn it. Then grabbed a cocktail at the Cubs bar to try to let the masses herding onto the train back thin out. It didn't work. Our ride back was packed tight, but we did get off directly behind the hotel.
What happened with Google Maps when we left? I cannot say. Maybe the station was closed then. I will never know. But we got our steps in.
After resting up, we went to The Italian Village/ The Village near the hotel. It's an old-school Italian eatery. I got a chicken dish they said was a house specialty, and their house Manhattan. Jamie got some terrific ravioli. Terrific meal. Great company.
After, we went to the lobby bar at the Palmer House and wound up talking with a couple from St. Louis who were more than kind,, before I realized I was going to talk their ear off and we let them have their date night.
Sunday
We did the Wendella architecture cruise of the river. The short version, because I know how my brain works. I am not retaining 90 minutes of new info on an unfamiliar topic, but 45 minutes? Maybe!
Living in the south, people from other places always say "everything you have is new!" which is true. Austin's skyline has changed drastically since 2005. But all of the buildings are just glass and steel with some ornamentation or general goofiness. There's little in the way of variation in what people are building, and there's nothing worth looking at from street level. Ie: Austin's skyline is super boring now.
Chicago had a massive role in the development of the concept of the skyscraper, and so, more like the East Coast than much of the rest of the midwest, you do have buildings from every decade and architectural movement from 100 years as you float down the Chicago River.
We saw buildings I'd only ever seen on YouTube and got a new appreciation for things I had seen.
After, we went and walked the Magnificent Mile, which - as it turns out - is just a bunch of stores I can't afford and rich people walking around who can afford them. It was wholly not my bag.
And... walking back is when I realized I was getting sick.
I just felt off in a way that didn't make sense. We hadn't walked that far to the boat tour. And we hadn't walked that far coming back, but I just wanted to lay down.
Jamie took mercy and instead of going to Grant Park, we headed to the hotel and I fell asleep for hours.
This helped. I woke up thinking whatever it was had passed.
We went and got Deep Dish pizza at Lou Malnati's on State Street. And, to be honest, it was some of the finest pizza I've ever had. I like all types of pizza and try not to be weird about styles*, but I will go to the mat for this pie. Perfect crust. No notes. Will eat again.
Monday
We rose at 4:00-something AM as Jamie had a dialysis appointment in the 5:00 AM hour.
We took a Lyft over to the clinic where I dropped her off. Chicago was empty in those odd hours, and it was a bit of a surreal drive. I rode back to the hotel with a young man also named Ryan, and compared notes on cities. That kid was great.
But when I came back to the room, the cold kicked in. I felt horrible. I couldn't sleep, I just felt terrible.
I don't really remember much other than Jamie coming back and I eventually fetched myself breakfast.
In the afternoon I felt well enough that I could let Jamie rest and I went to a nearby comic shop, Graham Cracker Comics, where I found a 1972 Supergirl #1 and Superboy #64. I also found the alternate cover for Wonder Woman #19, where Diana's dressed for some hoops.
Between Jamie's dialysis and my cold, we didn't do much, but in the afternoon we made it out to Centennial Park and the Cloud Gate sculpture, better known as The Bean.
A refreshing lemonade later, and I was feeling better.
We had reservations at a restaurant, but we walked in and it was pretty clear they were not paying any attention to the front door and were swamped in the dining room, so we just went back to Miller's Pub, watched the Pacers lose to the Thunder and did some people watching.
Tuesday
I was clearly really sick. Whatever my body had done to fake being okay for the past few days, it was complaining now. But we flew out at 3:00.
So I spent the morning wanting to lay down instead of repacking, and yet... repack I had to do.
In a very good moment, our Lyft to the airport had just learned new lanes were open on the freeway and we hurled to O'Hare as speedy as could be (while rocking out to Julio Iglesias).
Fortunately, we'd received an offer from American to upgrade to First Class for a low price before we even left, and as it was our first trip in so long, I went ahead and did it. And, boy, was that the right choice.
Our flight went smooth as can be, and I was very grateful for my big chair.
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| ...and free cocktails |
*I once had a sausage pizza in Wisconsin where the whole middle layer was a giants sausage disc, and I can report: I hated that.
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