CRUMBLIN’ DOWN
During a few of our Mr. Toad’s Wild Cab Rides and walking the city from fun spot to fun spot I captured these images.
Walking from the Palmer House Hilton to the LaQuinta to
meet up with everyone Saturday morning
Walking from the LaQuinta to the French Market
Taken from inside the cab while on Mr. Toad’s Wild Cab Ride
At Navy Pier
From Navy Pier to the Palmer House HIlton
HURT SO GOOD
Needless to say after a night of boozing with the gang Susan and I had our hearts (and bellies) craving some real Chicago Pizza! Giordano’s was closest to our hotel so we headed out to get there right as they open. It was worth the wait!! My mouth is still watering.
My original plan was to go to both Gino’s East and Giordano’s and do a pizza taste test to compare them but there just wasn’t enough time. So, looks like we will all have to plan another trip so I can do the Pizza Challenge.
It was just us two for the day so we decided to check out the Michigan Ave. Shopping. But…yeah…I had to stop off for a cold beer at Streeter’s.
The doorman was a cutie.
Is this recycling?
Beer pong rules.
CHECK IT OUT
As you can tell from the above photos our ultimate goal was to visit Wrigley Field for a Cubs game. I was all Natted up to show my support of my favorite team (Go Nationals!). No one gave me a hard time which was nice.
At the Cubby Bear Bar before the game.
Pizza and Hotdogs yes, but is Chicago famous for Mac n’ Cheese? Love this town!
Had to get the iconic photo.
Wrigley was all I’d hoped for and more. I don’t know how to describe it but it felt small when I first walked along the lower level promenade. I know it holds 41k+ but I swear it felt very warm, classic and special. I can’t believe this was my first ever visit knowing how long I’ve been a baseball fan.
Before we got settled in our seats we happened upon some awesome live music and, well, a few Old Style Beers.
And then there was the food! And such great fans. I’ve always heard that Cubs games are sometimes more about the fans than the actual game. I’m pretty sure I agree!!
Why, yes! I’ll have my nachos in a hat.
This little guy had a mohawk, and then painted Cubs on his head.
As we were doing our walkabout we headed towards center field. But, you can’t get there from here. You have to have a ticket to get out there else the guard says everyone and their mother would go out there to party. I said, “Well, that isn’t the end of the world. So…can I get out there?” The answer was no but I snuck a picture from as close as I could get to the field.
At the bottom of the 8th it was tied 6-6. A single scored Beltran, then Molina yanked a dinger and the game finished Cards 10 and Cubs 6. The news announcers were all kinds of excited about all of the hits (31 total) and runs. No better way to spend a Sunday evening!
While Susan and I were walking around downtown Chicago we came up a protest in response to the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman trial verdict that was announced July 13th around 10pm. Here are some of the shots of the very peaceful and VERY powerful march.
SMALL TOWN
Oh yeah, we did it. We totally planned a day of stereo-typical touristy stuff. For lunch we went to the French Market. At first I wasn’t too keen on the idea because I wanted Chicago Pizza for every meal but because there are so many choices we all got something we liked. And gelato for dessert! Then we headed off to Navy Pier for the Jet Boat Ride. We were going to go all out and do the Extreme Thrill Ride but heard that we would get soaked and didn’t really care for that. We opted for the Speedboat Lake Tour and it was fun! We were so hot waiting in line to board the boat that when the captain went full-throttle we had never been happier – the cool breeze was more than welcome.
Kevin, Regan and Susan after Mr. Toad’s Wild Cab Ride.
The guy that Kevin is looking at totally walked right in front of our group posing for a photo. We got a kick out of his response.
Griswold Chicago Family Vacation
One part of the trip that we all commented on was the music that played during the trip. They had tunes pumping really loud and it really made the ride more of an experience. What a nice way to cool off. Between the boat ride and walking everywhere we had used most of the day and needed to head back to get showered up and ready for a fancy dinner at a very local joint.
But first…we met at Richard’s Bar next door to the restaurant. What a cool dive bar! I hope everyone knows calling a bar a dive bar is a compliment.
We popped over to La Scarola and I couldn’t have been more excited! THIS was exactly what I was wanting to do in Chicago – go to a REAL Italian restaurant! To me it was not decorated with all the bells and whistles but had a very authentic atmosphere. Very homey. I felt like it was a “family” place that doesn’t even have to advertise because the food speaks for itself. And it did!
We loaded up our table with wine and appetizers – we just sort of picked 5 or 6 dishes and shared them. Same for the entrees. Food was everywhere! Dishes covered the entire table and we had no problem mowing our way through it. Meatballs, Chicken Parm, Sausage and Peppers, Pasta, all the traditional dishes. It was just amazing. Kevin made sure to tell the waiter that “the gravy is good tonight!” The waiter loved it. We got such good service that I felt like we had our very own staff of 3 hovering around us to make sure we all had full glasses and plates. To top off the perfect dinner two desserts came (topped with candles) to celebrate Michael’s and Kevin’s 40th Birthdays. We got the whole back room to sing happy birthday with smiles all around. Such a perfect dinner with best friends!!
CHERRY BOMB
Bart, Regan, Jenny, Mike
Kevin, Dana, Amy, Brian, Bart
Being from Kentucky, everyone knows we love our Bourbon. Bart had planned ahead and took us to The Bluebird in Bucktown. Great place where Michael and the guys knew their way around the bourbon menu. Drinks were flowing and chatter filled the room. We still had a little left in us so we went for nightcaps at The Blueline Club Car Bar. Somehow or other (thanks Bart) we ended up with a jalapeño mojito? Or Martini? Something with jalapeños in it. Anyway it was certainly the topic of conversation as we passed it around to taste. It was really cool to sit and relax and watch the guys reminisce. They have been friends for such a long time that it was very, very special for them to all be together again. And I am so glad that I’ve become friends with my little brother’s crew. Such a great group of smart, funny, thoughtful, and classy guys. Oh, the wives are great, too – haha!
Sibling Weekend
Jenny, Mike, Dana
Mike, Bart, Brian, Kevin
Happy 40th Birthday!!
AUTHORITY SONG
Heading to Chi-Town for my Brother’s 40th Birthday
Susan and I started the day in First Class on Delta where she ran into a longtime friend from Atlanta. Fred Hart was her ex-boyfriend’s (Stuart) best friend. They spent a good amount of the flight catching up and then…Fred asked us if we like Vodka. Strange question to be asked at 9am but in all honesty I had already enjoyed a vodka and orange juice with my breakfast. We answered yes and the next thing you know he is filling up a bag with 6 mini bottles of Skyy vodka, a bottle of white wine, and cans of Fresca and CranApple. We couldn’t wait to set up our mini bar in our hotel room.
Susan and Fred Hart
We had a short layover in Cincinnati where I introduced Susan to Gold Star Chili. If you don’t know anything about Cincinnati Style Chili then you are missing out. It has a unique hint of cinnamon flavor and there are no beans in the chili. It is served over spaghetti and then topped with finely grated cheddar cheese, also called a 3-way. If you want to amp it up then you can add onions to make it a 4-way and then add beans to make it a 5-way. Needless to say Susan loved her first experience with Cincinnati Chili and said next time she’ll make it a 4-way!
During our lunch we were advised by the Pilot that we were going to be delayed a bit due to a small mechanical problem. He was about the nicest Delta employee I’ve ever met. After he made the announcement he walked around to everyone in the waiting area and asked if we had any questions. He made some small talk with Susan and I because he noticed we had just housed a 3-way. He said it is his favorite meal and he was glad we didn’t get beans on our chili for “obvious” reasons. Soon enough we were on our way to O’Hare with full bellies.
When we arrived we expected to gather our gate-checked bags from the workers with the headphones on and knee & elbow pads. But to our surprise it was the Pilot right there handing out bags to the passengers. He was still making small talk with us and wanted to be sure everyone enjoyed the flight. He apologized again for the delay and was smiling the entire time. I was sure to fill out the passenger survey that Delta sends and raved about the Pilot and the excellent service from the other crew members.
R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.
Taste of Chicago: Robert Plant in Concert
After Susan and I got settled at the Palmer House Hilton we headed over to Bart & Regan’s ultra-cool apartment. They are truly living the city life – they have no car, they rent out the parking space that comes with their apartment, and they have floor to ceiling windows in their corner unit on the 10th floor. Such a neat place! We had some happy hour beers and then popped a bottle of bubbly to officially toast Michael’s 4th birthday. That was just enough to get us ready for the walk to the Taste of Chicago.
Jenny, Michael, Me and Susan
Side story: Brian, Amy and Kevin were driving up together from Louisville/Indiana. Along the way they decided to text and say that they’ve broken down and had to get the car towed. Shenanigans ensued. And so did <ahem> Jack & Diane.
Bart & Regan have obviously done Taste before. They knew exactly what to bring – blankets, snacks, sunscreen…and…booze! Bart spent the evening before filling up small ziplock bags with vodka, taking out some of the snacks in the boxes/bags, inserting the vodka baggies, then covering up the stash with more snacks. Regan had soaked some watermelon and cantaloupe in vodka overnight and that made a nice fruit salad. We found a nice space center stage but back away from the crowd by the beer tent, the ticket stations and the food trucks. Perfect spot to enjoy the Robert Plant concert!! I was thrilled to hear him play “Whole Lotta Love” because I’ve not seen Led Zepplin in concert before. Even at the age of 64 the man’s still got pipes.
View of the stage from our “camp”.
Before I forget let me name the members of this traveling party:
Jenny & Michael Morris
Regan & Bart Chinn
Amy & Brian Burnette
Kevin Sciantarelli
Susan Provost
Yours Truly
No need for cupholders when you have shoes!
Kevin, Bart, Brian, Mike
This happened.
And this did, too.
After the show we headed back to Regan & Bart’s to drop of the picnic supplies and go find a place to grab a late night snack. Bar Louie it was! We walked there and quickly were seated and got drinks. The crowd started to tire so we all decided to wrap it up for the night knowing that we had a big day tomorrow. Note: it was already 11pm or after so it isn’t like we faded out at 8pm. And we had all gotten up at the crack of dawn to catch flights. Just wanted to get that in there so everyone would know we weren’t wimps.
K. Dana Morris 