Take Me Out to... Wrigley Field

There's a reason Chicago's Wrigley Field is one of the Seven Wonders of Illinois. It's a baseball lover's paradise. So, I guess I'm wondering why it's taken us so long to include it in our stadium tour?


After completely missing it during our first summer in Chicago, this year we made sure to make it a priority. I'm not quite sure how we got so lucky, but we saw three games at Wrigley in one week!

As lifelong baseball fans, we were pretty giddy to get inside such a historic park - and maybe boo the Cubs.


Wrigley is one of just two major league ball parks that still has a manual scoreboard. It's pretty epic. But as awesome as it looks, I've got to be honest with you. I had a little bit of trouble, at first, getting used to it. In no time though I started to really like it. It was nice not being bombarded with commercials, replays and more commercials. I found myself much more into the game!

{I really need to learn Photoshop so I can remove shadows. Sorry, sweetie}
I'm sure you're aware that there's a lot of drama regarding new video scoreboards and all the renovations bound to be made by next year. I have to admit, I really liked the low tech feel of Wrigley. Well, until it was time to leave. Then I got a little creeped out trying to exit those teeny corridors with 40,000 fans. It was a kinda close for comfort. But we survived and it certainly won't keep me from going back again.


The first of our three games was against the Angels. Albert Pujols and his boys stomped the Cubs. All the home runs gave me a chance to witness a Wrigley tradition. The fans throw opponent home run balls back onto the field. It's pretty funny. I've said it before, Chicago baseball fans are unmerciful. It's great to watch.


Our second and third games were part of a Cubs/Cardinals series. They were horrifying. The Cardinals were trounced. It was embarrassing. That's all I have to say about that.

Despite the losses, our visits to Wrigley were pretty fantastic. It definitely lives up to the hype and I'm glad I got to experience it before it gets renovated.

How Wrigley Measures Up:

Hot Dog: We obviously got Chicago dogs - except they didn't have the pickle spears! WHAT?!?

Nachos: We opted for plain chips and cheese and put most of our effort into The Northside Twist and mini cubs helmets full of soft serve ice cream.

Most Obvious Sponsor Presence: Toyota and Budweiser

Unique to Wrigley: What is most unique to Wrigley is soon going to change. Its lack of a jumbo screen is refreshing and charming. Spectators are given the opportunity to actually watch the game on the field! It was really, really nice not to feel inundated with ads.

So what do you think about the anticipated renovations to Wrigley? 

Welcome addition or blasphemy?

Take Me Out to ... The Cell

Nothing says summertime like an afternoon at the ballpark. Since we're Chicago south-siders now, last weekend we decided to cheer on the White Sox and continue our stadium tour.


The White Sox play at U.S. Cellular field which, it turns out, is just a 15ish minute bus ride from our place in the South Loop. We headed to the park early to make sure we had plenty of time to get some Sox gear before we made the trek up to our seats.


As always, what we ate during the game was just as important as what happened on the field. I can report that both resulted in happy endings. Hot dogs, Nachos and a special U.S. Cellular treat, corn off the cob, were on the menu and the Sox won. We had literally nothing to complain about.


But during the fourth inning something happened for which I had no frame of reference. One of the Sox players, Adam Dunn, came up to bat and the entire crowd started to boo. I was completely confused. Why were they booing their own player? And it didn't stop there. The 4 tween boys in front of us started to heckle him. Like, SERIOUSLY heckle him. They were unmerciful. They were unrelenting. They were hysterical.

Now, I was born and raised in Cardinal nation. We are loyal fans. We love our boys of summer (Unless they ditch us for LA - Just ask Pujols). I have never seen a home crowd boo or taunt their own player. In fact, Cardinals fans rarely boo opposing players! At first, I was mortified. But then I couldn't help laughing.

Chicago is a tough town. Apparently Dunn hadn't been producing and so the fans made it known that they were disappointed. Loudly. As a side note, Dunn hit 2 home runs on Wednesday, so maybe the tough love worked. Regardless it was an eye opening and entertaining experience.

How The Cell Measures Up: 

Hot Dog: Obviously, the Comiskey Dogs (Just Chicago Dogs by another name) were fantastic.

Nachos: Pulled pork Nachos were okay. Is it strange to say we were hoping for neon yellow cheese sauce and were disappointed with the sprinkle cheese that we got instead?

Most Obvious Sponsor Presence: U.S. Cellular, Miller Lite and Pepsi

Unique to The Cell: We bought seats in the upper deck and weren't even allowed to VISIT or check out the stadium at field level! They definitely kept us, the unwashed peons, separated from the fancy folks.

Do you have any plans to catch a ballgame this summer?

 

Mmm Mmm Monday: Dinger Dogs

We also got a chance to catch a Twins game while we were on our road trip to Minneapolis.

I bet you couldn't guess that an important part of our ball park experience is dinner.


At Target Field we got Dinger Dogs. Dinger Dogs aren't your average hot dogs. They're foot long hot dogs!


We also stuffed ourselves with Nachos.  In case it's tough to see (disposable camera problems) that is an adult sized batting helmut filled with ooey, gooey Nachos.

Indulgent or what?


In 1987, the Minnesota Twins beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. Therefore, I hereby dub that banner the banner of shame.

How Target Field Measures Up 

Hot Dog: The Dinger Dog was definitely filling. I'm not going to say it was the tastiest dog I've ever tried, but it definitely gets points for being nearly two dogs in one!

Nachos: Again, here, they get high points for quantity. Yellow corn chips, nacho cheese, ground beef and jalapeños...and lots of it. And plenty of novelty points for being served in a batting helmet.

Most Obvious Sponsor Presence: The Twins play in Target Field... but Budweiser, US Bank and Best Buy had a very visible presence also.

Unique to Target Field: During one of the innings they had a little boy helping with announcer duties.  He called out each player before their at bat started. It was pretty stinking cute.

Our trip to Target Field means another stadium crossed off the list and another major league culinary experience. What the sports fans in the twin cities might be missing in flavor they certainly make up for in portion size. Perhaps they're packing in the calories for the cold weather on the horizon.

Are you totally grossed out that we ingested that much junk food during 9 innings?

Check Here for Part 1 of our Minneapolis Road Trip Recap

NYC

I'm attempting to keep from publishing twenty posts about our trip to New York City.  Consider this a labor of love, readers. With 300+ pictures taken and a suitcase full of stories to share, it isn't easy to edit myself. Or maybe it is. Maybe I could just say that it was heavenly and leave it at that.  Because, the trip was heavenly. Honestly, this was as close to perfect as any vacation that I've ever been privileged to enjoy. And considering how charmed my traveling life has been to this point, that really is saying something.

It was on this trip that the company, the destination, the occasion, the weather, the food, and the itinerary all worked together so beautifully that I couldn't have asked for anything more. I'm gushing, right? I realize that I am. And if it seems disingenuous, let me assure you that I am not exaggerating. This was, quite frankly, MY (maybe not everyone's) perfect trip.

Last week, I shared with you our unbelievable theatre experience. But in this post, I intend to hit the high points of the rest of the week. There were plenty of them, and even after being home for a week they are all still swimming around in my head reminding me of the good fortune we had! Maybe, if I share the memories here I can get my buns back in gear and resume regularly scheduled programming. Maybe.

Any great vacation always includes great food. There was, of course, an abundance. We compiled a list of "must eats" before boarding the plane and I'm happy to report we knocked that list out of the park. Cheesecake, pizza, a REAL bagel, and cupcakes. We had to have cupcakes. But our first meal was my favorite by far. After checking into the hotel, we boarded our first (of maaaaaaaaaaaaany) subway trains and headed to Katz's Deli for a world famous pastrami sandwich.

In case you're keeping score, this is the deli where the now famous, "I'll have what she's having," scene in When Harry Met Sally was filmed. But more importantly, the pastrami sandwich was pretty spectacular. It was as simple as can be, just an enormous pile of pastrami on two pieces of rye bread. But, WOW. Maybe it was because it was our first meal. Maybe it was because I was hopped up on adrenaline. Maybe it was because they started the meal by bringing us a plate of various house made pickles. But, I was in heaven. This sandwich tasted like New York city. Just the right amount of spice and no frills, just in your face yummy.  Plus the experience of the restaurant reminded us that we definitely weren't in Chattanooga anymore. The tables around us were all speaking different languages (I'm not kidding - French, Spanish & Dutch), the greeter at the door was yelling at customers to move down the line, it was LOUD and the waitress - though nice to us - rolled her eyes openly at the table beside us that didn't tip well. The whole thing set the mood for what was to be a great week.

One of the "couple" items on my Ultimate To DO list is to see a baseball game in all the major league stadiums.  While we were in NYC, we checked another one off the list. We saw an afternoon game at the new Yankee Stadium. Now, I'm not going to say it's nicer than the new Busch (though the hubby did! *gasp*), I will say it is incredibly impressive. Plus, the fact that 70% of the music played was Jay-Z made me smile.  Also, at Yankee Stadium when the grounds crew comes out to "clean up" the infield before the 7th inning, YMCA is played and the crew stops and dances along. It was pretty humorous and definitely something I haven't seen done before. Grown men doing the YMCA will brighten my day EVERY TIME.

We made time to wander through central park that same afternoon. We discovered street entertainment, a guy creating ENORMOUS bubbles and a pair of street musicians playing beautiful classical music under the bridge by the Bethesda fountain (pictured above), that was far from average or expected.  I took the opportunity to cross another item off my Day Zero list and gave a little bit of moolah to the musicians. The acoustics under the bridge contributed such a lovely effect, I couldn't help myself.

Each day more than 3000 visitors climb to the base of the statue of liberty.  Of those 3000, only about 200 are permitted to take the additional (almost) 300 stairs up to the crown. You probably remember that the crown was closed for several years after 9/11 and it will be closed again starting this month for safety and comfort renovations. So, we considered ourselves fortunate to make it to the city during a window where it was possible to look out her crown! It was well worth the suuuuuuuuuuper narrow spiral staircase. The view was completely unique and the experience added in a little bit of "roller coaster" type apprehension and fear that was a welcome adrenaline push. But I guess it goes without saying, we both took some i-bee-pro-pin that night and my calves were definitely remembering the climb when we woke up the next morning.

Although the weather terrorists were predicting rain, flooding and general end of times-Armageddonesque-storms for most of the week, we only had one rainy morning. Thankfully, it wasn't the day we planned to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. Just over a mile each way, we earned the street hot dog and cupcakes that followed.

{Carrie Bradshaw's brownstone, The Flat Iron building, St. Patrick's Cathedral, View from the Empire State building, The Woolworth building}

One of my favorite parts of New York city is the breath taking architecture. It seems like every view is a post card. I loved that during this trip I never worried that I looked like a tourist as I stared up at its beauty slack jawed and impressed. Because, we were tourists in every way on this trip. We brought the camera everywhere, we saw all the sites we could and drank in everything the city had to offer.  Not one moment or view or meal was taken for granted. Together we made memories that I hope will encourage many trips back in years to come.

What city/place makes you want to be a total tourist?

Take Me Out To... Turner Field

As the daughter of a sports fanatic and wife to a man with ESPN on the brain (and the iPhone), professional sports have been and will continue to be part of my life.  I must admit that watching any sport on television is not exactly my idea of a rocking good time; however, a live sporting event is a whole different story.  As a cheering fan in the stands at just about any athletic event I'm on cloud nine.  (With the exception of auto racing.  Time trials for the Daytona 500 was perhaps one of the most painfully boring, hot and stinky days of my life. I have no desire to recreate that experience.)

It was natural then, when putting together a list of what MUST be done in my time on Earth that something sports related be included.  The hubby and I were both raised in St. Louis which has been called the #1 Sports City in the US. (Now, when I looked for supporting evidence I could only find STL publications backing that claim... hmmmm.  Perhaps that's just something we say in STL? NAH) There is no doubt that even during a losing season in St. Louis, the Cardinals reign supreme.  So, it stands to reason that we both were indoctrinated became loyal baseball fans.  While I've been to countless Cardinals game in my lifetime, I had NEVER watched a baseball game in ANY other major league park.  This was something that needed to be altered.

Enter the Ultimate To DO list.

One of the bolder items on the list is my intention to attend a game at every major league baseball park.  Lofty goal, eh?

We decided to start slowly and with a little bit of familiarity.  The Cardinals were playing the Braves in Atlanta this past weekend.  Two birds with one stone! It was a chance to cheer on our home team and cross an item off the To DO list.  So, we took a little road trip two hours south and ventured into Turner Field home of the Atlanta Braves.

We found fantastic seats on the first base line and settled in for an afternoon of Cardinals baseball.  (I'm pretty sure there were a few fans present who might have considered this a BRAVES game and not a Cardinals game... but why split hairs?)

Our seats were under cover which turned out to be awesome both when the sun was shining AND when the scattered showers blew through.

It's true, Atlanta is "Braves Country".  But, it was pretty exciting to see so many Cardinals fans all over the park.  It also made it less scary to cheer for our team when there were plenty of others doing so too.

We went to a game on September 11th so there were tons of pre-game festivities/memorials including special recognition for local police and fire fighters. 

Ultimately, the Cards lost in 13 innings.  But the game was definitely entertaining!  Plenty of ups and downs and we sat next to the sweetest older couple who were game to do a little trash talking but not rub it in too badly when the Cardinals choked.

Now, for the important stuff...

How Turner Field Measures Up:

Hot Dog: Hebrew National Kosher Dogs are always Yummy.  I didn't opt for the fancier "gourmet" dogs that were available, though I have to say they were tempting.

Nachos:  White Corn Chips were a plus but the Nacho Cheese could've used a bit more spice for my taste buds

Most Obvious Sponsor Presence: Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Budweiser, Publix and Chic-fil-a
Unique to Turner Field: The Tomahawk Chop is probably a teeny bit offensive but definitely EXTREMELY annoying... seriously, every time a runner gets on base?

Our trip to Turner Field turned out to be a GRADE A first non-Busch MLB experience.  Makes me think this item is going to be a fun one to keep crossing off!