DATE: Monday. September 2, 2013. Day 2
LOCATION: Majestic Hotel in Chicago.
I had a pretty good night of sleep considering it was the first time I had slept with my son in probably 40 - 45 years. (He is 52 now.) John and Brad were still sleeping so I put on my walking clothes, did my doctor ordered physical therapy (for the bursitis in my right hip), did a few yoga stretches and took off for Wrigley Field. It was less than a mile and I easily found my way. I scouted out the Captain Morgan Bar and Grill located outside but connected to the left field corner of Wrigley. I checked out some of the bronze statues of former Cub greats. Believe it or not there really are some. The most famous of course is Ernie, (Let's play two), Banks. Some others were Billy (Sweet Swinging) Williams and Gabby Hartnet plus many others.
Heading back to the Majestic Hotel I got lost. I walked by a laundromat. I was grateful that there was a lady sitting outside waiting for her clothes to dry and talking on her cell phone. She looked at me and I told her I needed help, I'm lost. I told her I wanted to get back to the Majestic Hotel - but she didn't know where it was either. So she called the Majestic for me and told the guy on duty where we were. He gave her directions and away I went. But not before thanking her and wishing her a good day.
John and Brad were all showered and ready to go when I returned. I took a quick shower and we all had breakfast at the hotel - it was a full breakfast. At 10:15, the three of us walked up to Wrigley - we sat outside at the Captain Morgan Bar and Grill on Addison Street. Our server was a cute young gal named Amber - she had a bubbly personality and had kind of a pudgy bottom. She said she wasn't going to spend the winter in Chicago - too cold - she was going to Houston, Texas to spend the winter with her boyfriend. We got 20 ounce Bud Light draws for $8.00 - not a bad price.
The game was at 1 PM - Cubs lost to the Marlins by a score of 4-3.
After the game we met one of Brad's former colleagues at the captain Morgan Bar. . His name is Jesse Rowell - his wife is Liz and their two kids are Nolan, age 5, and Eli, age 1. Eli kept us entertained by finding things to eat off the concrete. Liz and the kids had to leave so Jesse took us down the street to the famous Murphy's Bar which is located on Waveland and Sheffield and right across the street from the famous Harry Caray statue. Murphy's is also right next to the rooftop seating we see on TV when watching the Cubs.
When I first met Jesse at Captain Morgan's he kind of disgustedly looked at the cap I was wearing. I was wearing my Orange Bowl cap from 2010 when we beat Georgia Tech. So why did he look rather disgusted - because he graduated from Georgia Tech and had watched the game. He did not have good memories of that game - he told me so.
For supper we went to a Mexican Restaurant. Our server was Javanna, an immigrant from Croatia. She spoke perfect English and had a great personality. She was an accomplished piano player and wanted to have a career in the music field.
We saw ten MLB stadiums and obviously Wrigley is the oldest and the least fan friendly. It was built around 1914 so that explains a lot. There was no Americans With Disabilities Act at that time. The concourses are narrow and hard to maneuver. Also the toilet situation is not the most accommodating compared to the other nine. They finally have made some improvements with potties on the upper deck. We used to have to walk down ramps to the first floor in order to take a pee (and nearly pee in your pants on the way.) That's why, when I used to go to Cub games 10-15 years ago, I would never drink a beer at Wrigley because I was afraid I wouldn't make it in time.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Friday, September 27, 2013
Day 1: Major League Baseball Trip
Today is Friday, September 27, 2013. This is my first POST since August 30. I've taken a month off and will begin today with the story of our baseball trip from September 1 to September 17, 2013.
Day 1: With brother John's KIA packed to the hilt the three of us took off from Anamosa at 8:07 on Sunday, the 1st of September, 2013. We arrived at Miller Park in Milwaukee at 11:45 AM. We tailgated a little and saw our first game - The LA Angels beat the Brewers by a score of 5 to 3. We thought the parking fee of $18.00 was a little high. After the game we took off for Chicago arriving at the Majestic Hotel in Chicago at 7:10 PM. The Majestic is less than a mile from Wrigley Field. We unloaded and got to our room with two queen size beds. Brad got instructions on where to park the car, came back to the room and we were all hungry so we found the ROCKS Bar and Grill - it was less than a half mile from the hotel. When we got back to the hotel we met four guys in their fifties who were on a baseball trip also (but not as long as ours). We found out they were from Lyon County, Iowa and had seen the Cubs play that afternoon. We had a good visit with them because Iowans are always easy to talk to.
Then four guys from Des Moines (they were in their early twenties) came out of the hotel and all seven of us engaged them in conversation. They were going barhopping again, just as they had done the night before. They probably shouldn't have because of what they told us had happened to them the night before when they were at a bar. One guy had bruises around his eyes and forehead and another had bruises around his wrists from being handcuffed. Anyway, this is what they said happened. These four guys from Des Moines were in a bar and were trying to hustle some Chicago girls. The local Chicago boys did not want to see their chicks hustled by some guys from Iowa, So some of the locals attacked the Iowa guys and a fight ensued - the bartender called the cops. The cops came and had one of the Iowa guys on the floor, handcuffed him and took him to jail. The other three Iowa guys asked the cops to watch the bar's video of the fight to see what really happened. The video convinced the cops that the Des Moines guys didn't really do anything wrong - so they let him the one guy out of jail.
Then this one guy tried to explain to us the whole scenario of the night before.
He said: "Theoretically, it wasn't a real arrest."
"Theoretically, we weren't in a fight."
"Theoretically, we didn't do anything to deserve to be attacked"
"Theoretically, he didn't go to jail."
He used the word "theoretically about 5-6 times. I guess he liked that word or had just learned it.
Brad, John and I laughed about "Mr. Theoretically" the rest of the trip.
We went to bed about midnight. Brad and I slept together - it was different to say the least. But we got used to it after a couple of nights.
Day 1: With brother John's KIA packed to the hilt the three of us took off from Anamosa at 8:07 on Sunday, the 1st of September, 2013. We arrived at Miller Park in Milwaukee at 11:45 AM. We tailgated a little and saw our first game - The LA Angels beat the Brewers by a score of 5 to 3. We thought the parking fee of $18.00 was a little high. After the game we took off for Chicago arriving at the Majestic Hotel in Chicago at 7:10 PM. The Majestic is less than a mile from Wrigley Field. We unloaded and got to our room with two queen size beds. Brad got instructions on where to park the car, came back to the room and we were all hungry so we found the ROCKS Bar and Grill - it was less than a half mile from the hotel. When we got back to the hotel we met four guys in their fifties who were on a baseball trip also (but not as long as ours). We found out they were from Lyon County, Iowa and had seen the Cubs play that afternoon. We had a good visit with them because Iowans are always easy to talk to.
Then four guys from Des Moines (they were in their early twenties) came out of the hotel and all seven of us engaged them in conversation. They were going barhopping again, just as they had done the night before. They probably shouldn't have because of what they told us had happened to them the night before when they were at a bar. One guy had bruises around his eyes and forehead and another had bruises around his wrists from being handcuffed. Anyway, this is what they said happened. These four guys from Des Moines were in a bar and were trying to hustle some Chicago girls. The local Chicago boys did not want to see their chicks hustled by some guys from Iowa, So some of the locals attacked the Iowa guys and a fight ensued - the bartender called the cops. The cops came and had one of the Iowa guys on the floor, handcuffed him and took him to jail. The other three Iowa guys asked the cops to watch the bar's video of the fight to see what really happened. The video convinced the cops that the Des Moines guys didn't really do anything wrong - so they let him the one guy out of jail.
Then this one guy tried to explain to us the whole scenario of the night before.
He said: "Theoretically, it wasn't a real arrest."
"Theoretically, we weren't in a fight."
"Theoretically, we didn't do anything to deserve to be attacked"
"Theoretically, he didn't go to jail."
He used the word "theoretically about 5-6 times. I guess he liked that word or had just learned it.
Brad, John and I laughed about "Mr. Theoretically" the rest of the trip.
We went to bed about midnight. Brad and I slept together - it was different to say the least. But we got used to it after a couple of nights.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
