A trip to the “Windy City” was just what the doctor ordered, and when it was over all we could say looking back was that it was ‘100% pure awesome’!
After three consecutive Guys Weekend events in Tennessee, Alabama and Alabama it was time to spread our wings and aim for a little more culture. We were all raised in the South and most of us still call it home, but it was a nice change to travel a little further away from familiar surroundings.
The trip began with a real treat; tickets to see the Houston Astros vs. the Chicago Cubs in the friendly confines of one of the greatest American ballparks ever … Wrigley Field (we are all still very grateful to Mark for procuring the tickets). However this was not just another baseball game. This one was a gem featuring two 300-game winning pitchers opposing one another …. Roger Clemens (342) for the Astros and Greg Maddux (325) for the Cubs. The home town Cubs suffered the loss 4-2 to the Astros, but the beer was still cold, the crowd was still buzzing, and the experience was still one that will always be remembered with great fondness. (Also worth noting: Craig Biggio – now a member of the 3,000 hit club and a likely Hall of Fame inductee – hit a home run in this game).
----> Wrigley Field ... literally!
Other highlights from the trip included strolling through the city streets and taking in all of the sites .... Navy Pier, the Sears Tower, the famous Water Tower, the art disctrict, Lake Michigan, and many others......
.... and one night of the trip we visited a local improv comedy club (thanks to Mark's connections) and the show was fantastic -- well worth the ride uptown on the "L". And there were countless hours spent at the poker table as usual, a staple entertainment option that never seems to loose any appeal. And of course, multiple opportunities were seized to feast on some Chicago deep-dish pizza.
"Waiting for the pizza feast" ... hey, what is that topless lady holding?
"Reflections" -- Now add some of your own"
3 comments:
A few of my random memories:
* We had another Wednesday arrival for the majority of the group: the Joes, Amorak, and I stayed in a Marriott Renaissance Wednesday night using some of my points. A little tight, but not bad for one night. We played a little poker after the ball game--perhaps a Hold 'Em tourney?
* We left too late for the game to take advantage of the train. After waiting with the masses on the platform for a good 20-30 minutes unable to get on any of the packed trains that came by, we hot-footed it up to street-level nad got a cab. I think we arrived at the game before the game started, but not by much.
* I almost got my ass kicked by holding our extra ticket up while lingering a little too long in front of the main "ticket resale" area. When I realized my mistake, I offered to sell my ticket to them, and I was told to "move on" in a colorful way. Clearly, I am no good at scalping tickets.
* Our main lodging (the Seneca) was billed to be a little more "modern" than it turned out to be. I think I expected something nicer, though I'm sure in 1975 it was the height of sophistication and luxury. As it was, I believe we brought the median age of guests down to the high 50's (blue-hair alert!).
* We had problems yet-again with air conditioning. No AC the first night, and I believe that got us changed to a new room for the second and subsequent nights (or did we spend two nights in the first room?). We had a full kitchen (though it was pretty small).
* I made several connections with some of my old ComedySportz buddies on this trip. My friend Rich got us a discount on tix; Claire was in town for a workshop at Second City; I ran into Tim on the street around the time I met Amorak ("Mark Orr, OMIGOD!").
More later....
By the way, does the fact that Joe R refers to the "Two Feet" subtitle above officially mean that "100% Pure Awesome" is overrruled? The Joe-Joe-Amorak voting bloc would seem to have me outvoted even if I got Christopher pulled into my allinace, unless I can find that damn Hidden Immunity Idol.
No, the title of GW12 is not locked in stone and I meant to address that in the original post (but forgot). I am happy to go back and edit the title ... or any other content .... as necessary. I just picked one of the three options for the original post so that the tile wouldn't be super long.
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