Lake Michigan: Days 1 - 3

On Saturday, I made the trip across Michigan and through Indiana to the north side of Chicago. Although the Cubs were playing an afternoon game, I quickly picked up my friend Chris and we drove to Milwaukee to watch the Brewers play the Phillies in a night game. I blogged about this game in a previous post. We then drove back and were able to find a free parking spot where I could park for multiple days only about 5 blocks from his apartment and Wrigley Field. On of Chris' former college roommates was in town so the three of us walked down the street to one of the many Wriggleyville bars.

The next morning, I didn't have to travel too far to get to the Cubs game; Chris lives literally across the street from Wrigley Field. In fact, his building is one of few in the neighborhood that has seats on the roof and charges people to watch the game from there. I stood outside his apartment in hopes that a player would hit a ball out of the stadium onto the street. A few balls were hit onto the street but not near me and they were quickly snatched up. I then met up with two friends from high school I had not seen in a while, Alex and Gabe. We then walked around the stadium and watch the game. My Cubs game experience is coming soon in a blog post. After the game we went to a bar with good thin crust pizza that Gabe had heard about but hadn't tried yet. The pizza was of Neapolitan style and very good. After a quick break back a Chris' apartment, I accompanied him to a local rib festival. I only had a couple of bones since the pizza was filling but the ribs were excellent.

On Monday, I was on my own during the day because all my friend had to work. I took the 'L' down and walked a lot of the Magnificent Mile and Navy Pier. I have done the Magnificent Mile a few times before but it is cool to walk from skyscraper to skyscraper. I ate lunch at the original Billy Goat Tavern under the bridge next to the Tribune Tower. Of course I got the 'double cheez'. I was originally planning on going to the Museum of Science and Industry in the afternoon. However, en route to the 'L' station I decide to walk along the Chicago River, around the marina, and towards Millennium Park. I was nice to walk around this area because when I was in Chicago for the Big Ten Tournament in March everything was absurdly crowded thanks to St. Patrick's Day. I then took the 'L' to the University of Chicago and walked through their campus on my way to the Museum of Science and Industry. Once I got to the museum, I didn't have feel I had enough time to make the admission fee worth the cost. Additionally, I didn't know how long it would take me to get to US Cellular Field, home of the White Sox. I ended up getting a free tour of the Burlington Zephyr, the first streamlined diesel locomotives. That was interesting and I felt I got a miniature taste of the museum without having to buy a ticket. After the tour, I headed back up to US Cellular where I met up with my friend Miso. Miso now works in Champaign, IL but was able to work from Chicago and come with me to the game.  I will write about this game in its own blog post. After the game, Miso was gracious enough to drive me back to Chris' apartment to complete my long day.