Batter Up!

So, I promised I'd tell you about my trip to Chicago with my dad, and here it is.

*I know, I know, a repeat, but I love this picture. Dad and I at the game.*

Last week my dad decided he was pissed that he hadn't gotten to see a major league baseball game yet this summer (and I had seen 2), and he wanted to remedy that. He got tickets online for Tuesday afternoon's Cubs game and a hotel room for Tuesday night.

*A fresh field-view from our seats!*

He got the tickets off of StubHub, which I've used a handful of times and never had any trouble, but there ended up being some issues with the confirmation from the seller, etc. He spent a good hour or 2 on Saturday trying to sort it out.

We planned to leave between 6 and 7am on Tuesday so we could get checked into the hotel and get up to Wrigley in time to catch some BP. This did't work out so well...Huge storms started around 4:30 on Tuesday morning. He went ahead and woke me up with the cue to get ready to go, but when I got downstairs, he told me I might as well lay down cuz we weren't gonna leave for a while. We didn't leave until about 8:30, but we timed it perfectly. For a while, the storms were in a perfect diagonal line from Chicago to Indy. When we left, they only lasted about 20 more minutes, and the rest of the day was gorgeous (hot, but awesome).

We didn't end up getting to watch BP, but our seats ended up being baller. Because of the seller/confirmation issue, StubHub told my dad just to pick his tickets up at their location near Wrigley. We showed up there before the game and it turned out the seats were limited view. This was not advertised on the listing of the tickets. Dad was pissed, but polite. StubHubg guys were incredibly nice about it, knowing that this was an error on their/the seller's part. They offered to find us new seats immediately and said they'd eat the difference in price from what we originally planned to pay.

*The Shark, Mr. Jeff Samardzija himself, guarding the bull pen.*

3 pairs of tickets later, we had seats right behind home plate in the 7th row...for $7 more than face value. Holy shit. It was amazing.

*Kerry Wood pitching.*

It was a great game. Lots of action and offense on both sides. In the 8th inning, there was a combined total of more than 26 hits. Awesome. Unfortunately we didn't get to see Jeff Samardzija pitch, but we did see him on the field for a while, serving as protector for the guys in the bullpen. Seeing him pitch would have been the only possible thing to make it better. I did get to see Kerry Wood pitch though. I became a big fan of his during his Rookie Year, and for some reason have followed him ever since--he just stuck with me (although I'm not a fan of his beard). It was perfect. Plus the Cubs won.

Yes, yes, I know, I'm a huge Yankees fan. My dad is a Cubs fan, and I'm a believer in being able to have a Second Team-and the Cubs are mine. Plus they are in the NL and not the AL, so they only would compete against the Yankees in a World Series match up, and in that case I'd have to go with my Yanks. And I am a HUGE fan of The Shark, Samardzija.

After the game, we went and ate a a pub a block from the stadium to let the crowd die down. We came back to the room, crashed while watching Sports Center and Comcast Sports Net for a while. We finally cleaned up, and went and had appetizers and drinks (a screwdriver and sangria) at Mike Ditka's restaurant--call us tourists, but we love that place.
My dad's original plan was for us to leave early on Wednesday, but we ended up walking around for a while. We walked from our hotel just north of the Hancock building to Millennium Park, then to State Street, and back. Tiring man. I finally got to see the bean that everyone and their mother has a picture of themselves in. We checked out of the hotel, and then had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory--it was close, and I was tired of walking, whatever. Right by the Cheesecake factory is a place that sells Italian pastries and stuff. I'd been in there on a few other occasions, one being right after I got back from Rome and it was awesome. We went in to see if, by chance, they sold the cookies that my roommates and I were obsessed with in Rome. Lo and Behold, they DID!!! Buccaneve's the best things EVER. Not QUITE as good as when I bought them from Di per Di, but still amazing.
Then we got the car and drove home. I drove the whole way, which is a big deal for me because almost always after driving for like an hour, I automatically get tired and my eyes start to close like when you doze off in class. So yeah. Since I was driving, we got to listen to MY IPod on the way home, and not my dad's. That was nice. I'm continuing through my huge John Mayer/John Legend kick with some Josh Groban on the side and a dessert of Dave Matthews&Time Reynolds. Also, I must add that having a BlackBerry makes being away from home that much better. I usually obsess about checking my emails and whether or not I should bring my computer. Now I don't have to!!!