Thursday, September 28th, we decided to take a tour of Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. It was four stops north on the Red Line and we would get off at Addison. Clark/Division and the stop stop were subway and then the train rose above ground to become the Chicago "L", short for elevated. See the While You Were Sleeping movie poster in my 10/15/17 post.
As were standing by the subway tracks at Clark/Division, ready to start our day trip, I noticed the train status marquis flashing a message that the fire department had closed the stop at Addison due to an emergency. We were faced with a quandary. Should we get off at Belmont, the stop before Addison or stay on and get off at Belmont, the stop beyond? Which was closer? We did not know the station locations to determine the best option. What was the actual walking distance between stations? We later learned they were very close.
We were told that shuttle service would be provided, but we did not know what that meant or how to access it. We decided to divide and conquer. Somebody had to be there early enough to pick up the will call tickets we had purchased by phone. John & Sue got off at the stop before and walked to the Addison stop. They walked the distance quickly and got our tickets, no problem.
Joe & Margaret and Franks & I got off at Belmont and tried the shuttle option. It turns out the shuttle was a bus, deployed into special service. But would it get us to Wrigley field soon enough?
Once near the Addison stop, the shuttle bus could not go past the police and fire blockade so the driver let us off to walk a couple blocks on our own. Would we get there before the tour started?
Margaret, who is the fastest fingered among us on her smart phone, learned that there was an undetermined white powder on the tracks and so, to be safe in case it was toxic, the station had been closed. Trains still went through it, but did not stop for people to get on or off. Doesn't that mean the trains were spreading that white powder as they passed through it? Maybe not. We did not know exactly where it was dispersed. Anyway it did not matter. The white powder turned out to be harmless baby powder.
Joe & Margaret and Frank and I did make it to the ball park doors in the nick of time, as the tour was starting.
We were initially seated along the first base line in the lower deck and told a bit about the park's history.
Then we climbed up higher into the bleachers beyond right field and got a different perspective. I digress, but right field brings to mind a favorite Peter, Paul, and Mary Song of mine that I would like to share. Enjoy Right Field on this YouTube link. The chorus goes
Right field, it's easy, you know.
You can be awkward and you can be slow
That's why I'm here in right field
Just watching the dandelions grow
From our perch in the bleachers we learned a peaked top needed to be retrofitted to the outfield wall in front of rising stadium seats to prevent bleacher bums from racing along it between innings. Off to our right was the original score board, manually updated during the games. The area behind was unheated and poorly lit and working the scoreboard was not a pleasant job. Only men worked the scoreboard. Women were excluded not for sexist reasons but a rather a practical one. The extent of the bathroom facilities was a funnel and a long tube down to a ground level repository for the men to – uh, relieve themselves. After our short time sitting in the bleachers, we climbed yet higher and circumnavigated the field a bit more to sit in the press box elevated and behind the home plate area where the reporters were housed to watch and report on the game progress. After the press box, we walked back down to field level and were actually allowed to step out onto the perimeter of the field. We sat in the dugout and had our photo taken.
We then wandered the area around home plate and amused ourselves taking a group and then some individual photos. Here is all six of us. We discussed coming up for a name for ourselves, but no satisfactory creative proposals were introduced. The MIT six was the best, painfully boring contender, and therefore it too was rejected. Oh, well. We remain nameless. Maybe by next year someone will be inspired. Come on guys – let that logical left brain rest. This is a creative right brain activity!
The folks within are traveling group are John & Sue, Joe & Margaret, Frank (& me, the photographer, not shown).
The Addison red line stop had reopened by the time our tour ending and we were to leave. The mysterious, potentially toxic white powder on the tracks turned out to be baby powder. We boarded the "L" at Addison and would take it about six stops south to Grand. This is my final glimpse of the stadium from the "L". The white metal superstructure is in the background and a classic brownstone building in the same neighborhood is at eye level, viewed from our Addison Chicago "L" platform, the better to be admired.
I have a fondness for any reference to the Chicago "L" because I love the movie While You Were Sleeping where Lucy dramatically and bravely rescues an unconscious Peter from the train tracks, then falls in love with his brother Jack while Peter is in a coma. In fact last night, because I was not sleeping, I watched the movie again. I still love it. We have it on VHS and fortunately we still own a VHS player.
Lake Cruise
After our Wrigley Field tour, John & Sue and Joe & Margaret went on the the Field Museum, which Frank and I elected to skip. The running joke during our trip was that Frank was not really interested in seeing any "dead dinosaurs" – as if there are any other kind. Frank and I instead chose to take another boat cruise, this time one that went out onto Lake Michigan so we could see the Chicago skyline from another perspective and because I wanted to experience passing through the locks between the mouth of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Frank & I took the Red Line back down south to the Grand Avenue stop.
Then we would walk a few blocks east on Grand Avenue and then south on Michigan Avenue to reach the Wendella boat dock area. That was the plan anyway. We were unaware that in this portion of Chicago the streets have two levels. A one mile stretch of upper Michigan Avenue reaching south to the Chicago River is home to Magnificent Mile which houses a collection of upscale shops much like Rodeo Drive does in Beverly Hills, CA. We walked lower Michigan Avenue, thus missing the luxury shops. Oh, well, I would not have bought anything anyway but I would have liked to have checked Magnificent Mile off my list of accomplishments for the Chicago visit.
This canine greeted us at the ticket area for the Wendella lake and boat tours. I understand that in the month before our visit, these artistically painted dogs had been scattered around the city as a tribute to the K-9 corps.
We purchased out two tickets for the 2:00 P.M. tour and waited in the boarding area for our boat to arrive.
A tour map illustrated boat route and what we would be seeing. The tour did duplicate a portion of the First Lady tour of the architecture, but it had a wider scope that including passage through the locks and an excursion around Navy Pier and out to the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse.
The guide on the Wendella boat tour mentioned the dying of the Chicago River for special events. Here are two fun photos I snagged from Wikipedia about when the Chicago River was dyed green during the 2005 Saint Patrick's day celebration and dyed blue during the 2016 Chicago Cubs celebration.
After the river portion of the cruise, our boat made its way through the locks and out onto the lake. The building associated with lock operations is shaped like the prow of a boat.
Flying high above it is the US flag and beneath the US flag, the flag of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) who are responsible for the safe operation and maintenance of the locks. One of the mission areas of the USACE is water resources; the Civil Works portion of the USACE is involved in projects that provide coastal protection, flood protection, hydropower, navigable water, ports, recreational opportunities, and water supply.
The flag bears the USACE logo of a white castle on a red background. The United States Army Corps of Engineers was founded back in the time of the American Revolution. The castle is reputed to be modeled after the castle architectural style of one of the barracks at West Point.
As we pause in the locks for equilibrating water levels, Frank took a picture of me with the Chicago Lighthouse in the background. That would be the farthest point out in our lake path.
The gates on the river side of the locks are closing here as our boat is being tethered within the lock.
Looking out at the gates as they are opening on the lake side of the lock, the water level difference between the lake and the river is evident by the central waterfall segment as the higher level lake water pours in. Again, there is the Chicago Harbor Light off on the horizon.
Initially tethered to the side of the lock, the rope is taut as the boat resists the oncoming flow of lake water.
As the current subsides the rope tension is eased and a crew member with a handy hook tool and a deft hand releases the tethering line.
Once the water level in the lock has risen as high as the lake, the gates are opened for the boat passage.
We passed by Navy Pier off to the portside of the boat. Though reputed by Wikipedia to be "one of the most visited attractions in the entire Midwest and Chicago's number one tourist attraction" we never went there, only viewed it from afar.
Here is one of our expansive views of the Chicago skyline from out on Lake Michigan. I think some of the boat passengers thought that ongoing sailboat race obscured their photo opportunity. I think it made our tour unique. I also love how it seems from this perspective that the sailboats are of comparable heights as the skyscrapers.
We passed very close to the Chicago Harbor Light. It was constructed in 1893 for the Chicago Expo and was moved to its present location in 1919. The base of the lighthouse is surrounded by large stone rubble. I learned a new term for that; it is called riprap.
We never did hear the horn blow, but we were duly warned.
On our return trip back along the river, we passed under the bridge for LaSalle Street and the clock tower of the red brick City of Chicago Central Office Building, a seven- story historic landmark built in 1914.
We grabbed a quick lunch at the Billy Goat Tavern, a little hole in the wall type place on Lower Michigan Avenue. Their menu is brief with no frills. I had a plain old hamburger and Frank had a plain old hot fog.
Their bathroom labeling was amusing, too.
On our way out we were handed two paper caps, the flat paper kind that a short order cook unfolds and places on his head. The tavern hands these out instead of business cards.
In wasn't until much later that I learned that this modest little tavern, hidden within the bowels of the Lower Michigan Avenue superstructure, was quite famous. Per the applicable Wikipedia article:
The tavern is also known for its involvement in the Curse of the Billy Goat (also known as the Cubs Curse). Owner Sianis brought his pet goat, a tavern mascot, to Game 4 of the 1945 World Series, a home game at Wrigley Field against the Detroit Tigers. Despite paid-for box seat tickets, Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley allegedly ejected Sianis and goat due to the latter's odor. Supposedly, Sianis placed a curse on the team that they would never win another World Series championship. After an extensive dry spell, they eventually won the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians.
That evening we ate in. What do you think we had? A Chicago pizza! Aah, tasted good. We followed it up with a few rousing games of Sequence and some good old conversation.
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