Indiana
As we drove from the Cleveland area to Chicago, we cut across the northeast stretch of Indiana. We had been rushing to get to Chicago because we had tickets for the afternoon Cubs game at Wrigley field, but we were gifted with an extra hour as we shifted into the Central Time Zone. We had forgotten this would happen, and so with the extra unplanned hour, we had time to stop and enjoy some breakfast in Indiana. We stopped in Portage, IN at the Portage House of Pancakes. It was packed!! We enjoyed good size portions of hashbrowns, eggs, and pancakes. Yum!
Chicago
Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field
This game has been the most exciting game to watch this season yet. The Cubs played against the Miami Marlins who were ahead by three runs in the top of the 8th. In the bottom of the 9th, the cubs got the extra three runs they needed to win the game. The cubs have the best record of any MLB team this season and it was a real treat to watch them win with a walk-off run at Wrigley Field. Wrigley is a unique ballpark in that it has vines growing on the outfield wall. I particularly like when the outfielders get “lost” in the ivy when they try to catch the balls hit close to the wall. Another unique aspect of Wrigley is that there are buildings across the street that have installed stadium seating on their rooftops. Through a deal with Wrigley Field, the buildings sell tickets to their rooftops seats so more people can enjoy the game.
Our Favorite Restaurant
Tina’s Italian Bake Shop located near Six Flags in Chicago Illinois. We loved the atmosphere of the little shop. It is decorated with a lot of Italian home-styled furnishings and the food was absolutely delicious. Skylar ate a delicious sandwich, and Alyssa enjoyed a fresh summer salad. Definitely a place we will always remember.
Six Flags Great America
Of course we had to stop at the Six Flags near Chicago since we were in the area. Skylar had been to this park before and was excited to ride Raging Bull again. Of course there weren’t nearly as many crazy rides as Cedar Point in Ohio or Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, but it had some good ones. Rides that we went on at Great America included: Raging Bull, Goliath, Vertical Velocity, Giant Drop, Superman Ultimate Flight, The Dark Knight Coaster, and The SkyTrek Tower. We also watched an impressive Chinese acrobat show. If only I were that flexible….
Chicago
I love Chicago! I think it’s such a neat city with amazing architecture and location. Skylar on the other hand is not too fond. It might be because of the traffic (we drove our car into the city when we probably should have taken the train) or because of the ridiculous tolls on the roads (probably both).
While in the city, we visited the Navy Pier and rode on the Centennial Wheel to get some awesome views of the city. We also found the beautiful Tiffany stained art glass domes in the Chicago Cultural Center. And of course no tourist visit to Chicago is complete without taking a picture at the large bean!
For dinner we went to Lou Malnati’s to experience some authentic Chicago style deep dish pizza. It was delicious!!
Chicago White Sox at US Cellular Field
This may be our last MLB game of our epic roadtrip (we might go to a Giants game, but we will see) so we splurged a little and got seats close to the dugout. It was awesome! I won’t be sitting in the nosebleeds ever again! (Just kidding… though I wish we could have these seats ALL the time). The White Sox didn’t pull through for us like the Cubs did – they lost 5-7 – but we did get on the JUMBOTRON!! Dancing on the jumbotron has been on my bucketlist, so I will forever be grateful for the White Sox (and our awesome seats) for making that dream happen. Now we just need to be on the kiss cam, and catch a foul ball… one day!
