Now THAT was a vacation...
Prologue. Thursday I picked Mike Mann up from his girlfriend's in Parma and we drove west to Chicago. Got to Phil Ajjarapu's very late (construction on the Dan Ryan, of course), had deep dish pizza, met up with my sister, and slept. Soundly. Very soundly.
Side note: Mike's goal was to collect a plastic souveneir cup from all 3 parks. He succeeded.
Friday. After waking up on Friday we moseyed the mile down toward Wrigley, stopping for breakfast at the Salt & Pepper diner. The neighborhood around Wrigley is absolutely gorgeous and feels very much like a real city, not the crap we get here in Cleveland.
Anyway, we walked around the ballpark and surrounding environs for a while. We scalped 3 tickets for only $8 over face from a guy/girl team who were more than happy to give us their business card for the next time we're in town. They even list an office address. Bizaare. Anyway, our seats were about 12 to 15 rows back from the Cubs bullpen along the left field line. We went in early to watch BP, encountering Ronnie Woo Woo, along the way.
Wrigley Field is quite possibly the single most beautiful place I have ever been on the planet earth, which is mitigated slightly by my general distaste for the National League. But seriously, it was a bright sunny day, the stands were packed, the organist was in fine form, although the Billy Joel covers were a bit odd, and in general I can't remember a more beautiful day at the ballpark. The Cubs won 3-1, we got to see 3 probable HoF players ( Maddux, Sosa & Piazza ) and the Mets had a homer so we got to watch the bleacher bums throw a ball back.
After the game we hooked up with Phil who was off work. Wayne Miller showed up when he got off work, although he did cause a brief delay when he had to wash whiskey off of all of the clothes in his back pack. Use your imagination ;-) We got had some very high quality pub food and got slightly schnookered at a pub called the Hidden Shamrock, and then got very schnookered at another pub called Harrigans, which featured a male Irish bartender ( I got a free shot for guessing his name ) and a hot female bartender who Mike promptly fell in love with for the night. It probably didn't hurt that her Tshirt said 'Erin Go Braless' and that for this girl this was a very good thing. Err, anyway, we I drank somewhere on the order of 15 Jack & Cokes that night, and we staggered to the all night deep dish pizza place and then collapsed at Phil's.
Catchphrase for the day: "I'm on Vacation!" This got funnier the drunker we got. And we got plenty drunk.
Side note: I'm listening to A Love Supreme on continuous loop right now, which is sort of like being in heaven, but there are no harps, just phenomenal jazz.
Saturday. Got up early and drove to Milwaukee, where we met up with the incomparable Harold Mester, original founding member of Speakeasy, Clear Channel news bitch and Milwaukee tour guide supreme. We went on a tour of the Miller Brewing plant which featured [A] The single most attractive women I have encountered 2004 A.D. as a tour guide - her name was Kate, and I was in love for about an hour [B] one of the most unintentionally funny videos I've ever seen and [C] Free beer. I gave my free beer to Wayne, Rachel, Mike & Harold, which they all appreciated. Now properly lubricated, we went to almost brand spanking new Miller Park.
Thanks to Harold's mad media connections, we were sitting along the left field line, 10 rows up from the visitors dugout, for very cheap. The Brew crew won 3-1 over the Cardinals in a game that featured not one but two passed balls to allow runs in. The Brewers had a rookie pitcher making his debut who pitched 6 shutout innings.
Miller Park is very gorgeous, with lots and lots of natural light and damn good brats, not to mention the world famous sausage race ( Polish won, I think ). But the coolest part was after the game when they opened the retractable roof. It splits on a line from home plate down through to center field and the sides fan open. They have cameras on the machinery so you can see how it works on the jumbotron. It was very cool, and the mood was helped by them playing "Into the West" from LoTR during the process. Wow. One of the most impressive architectural feats I've personally seen. Of course, they basically had to rebuild it because they got it wrong the first time. Oh well.
We followed up the game with dinner at Mader's, a very famous German restaurant in a dark and gloomy building downtown that feels like a hunting lodge. A little pricey ( most entrees $20+ ) but very very very good, unless you're a vegetarian, of course. Mmmm. My chicken was marvelous. I think I'm still full :-) We then walked around downtown and the waterfront for a while, before heading to the highlight of the day.
I'm not sure how much I should tell you about this bar, because it might ruin it for you. Suffice it to say that it does the secret agent theme very well, and that it has 3 entrances ( two secret and one disguised as "International Exports, Limited" ) and a secret exit. There are many rooms, each with a different theme, and the martini shaker is beyond my ability to describe. You *MUST* go there when you are in Milwaukee. It's amazing.
We regretfully left Harold and drove back to Phil's in Chicago. Upon arriving, Wayne collapsed unconscious, but the rest of us went to a breakfast joint called Nookie's in the Boystown district, which was filled by many young men with perfect hair. It was late, and I was still full from Mader's but I still had an artichoke fritatta which was delicious.
Catchphrase for the day: "What happens in Chicago and Milwaukee Stays in Chicago and Milwaukee." I admit this isn't original. So sue us.
Side note: I got a parking ticket in Chicago, despite parking in an area that had no posted signs and which Phil guaranteed me was safe. I suspect that one won't get paid. With my luck I'll get arrested 7 years down the road in Chicago because of it ;-)
Finale. We woke up Sunday morning. Duh. We then ate some bagels and sat on the porch with Phil & his roommate. We packed up and headed to New Comiskey Park ( aka U.S. Cellular Field ) via the El, stopping only to at the friendly neighborhood noodle shop for a meal that was so large that I didn't get a hotdog at the game.
The El is fun. I like trains, and this one is a stellar example of the genre. It took us directly to Comiskey, where we bought the cheapest possible upper deck tickets. After strapping on our oxygen tanks we climbed to the top deck and sat with a very small crowd of loyal White Sox fans on a cold blustery and for a while rainy day. Sadly, Comiskey it probably the least nice outdoor stadium I've been in, but we still had a good view. Their were fireworks for the two Sox homers, some really good outfield play, and two horrible calls by the umps. The Sox scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Devil Rays 6-5. One last statement: Kid, if you're the lame-o who asked his girl if she'd go to prom with him on the jumbotron, I sure hope she said no.
We took the train to Phil's, then drove our separate ways. Mike & I were back at 1am.
Best damn vacation I've had in ages. Coming up 5/8, I'm going to Cincy for the Reds/Giants game, as well as to visit the Dawn.
Odds & Ends.
Why the hell do I have Callin' Baton Rouge stuck in my head? How do I get it unstuck?
Hey, Friday they are showing Bubba-Ho-Tep and A Clockwork Orange at Cinematheque. Those of you not involved in last minute wedding things interested?
Side note: Mike's goal was to collect a plastic souveneir cup from all 3 parks. He succeeded.
Friday. After waking up on Friday we moseyed the mile down toward Wrigley, stopping for breakfast at the Salt & Pepper diner. The neighborhood around Wrigley is absolutely gorgeous and feels very much like a real city, not the crap we get here in Cleveland.
Anyway, we walked around the ballpark and surrounding environs for a while. We scalped 3 tickets for only $8 over face from a guy/girl team who were more than happy to give us their business card for the next time we're in town. They even list an office address. Bizaare. Anyway, our seats were about 12 to 15 rows back from the Cubs bullpen along the left field line. We went in early to watch BP, encountering Ronnie Woo Woo, along the way.
Wrigley Field is quite possibly the single most beautiful place I have ever been on the planet earth, which is mitigated slightly by my general distaste for the National League. But seriously, it was a bright sunny day, the stands were packed, the organist was in fine form, although the Billy Joel covers were a bit odd, and in general I can't remember a more beautiful day at the ballpark. The Cubs won 3-1, we got to see 3 probable HoF players ( Maddux, Sosa & Piazza ) and the Mets had a homer so we got to watch the bleacher bums throw a ball back.
After the game we hooked up with Phil who was off work. Wayne Miller showed up when he got off work, although he did cause a brief delay when he had to wash whiskey off of all of the clothes in his back pack. Use your imagination ;-) We got had some very high quality pub food and got slightly schnookered at a pub called the Hidden Shamrock, and then got very schnookered at another pub called Harrigans, which featured a male Irish bartender ( I got a free shot for guessing his name ) and a hot female bartender who Mike promptly fell in love with for the night. It probably didn't hurt that her Tshirt said 'Erin Go Braless' and that for this girl this was a very good thing. Err, anyway, we I drank somewhere on the order of 15 Jack & Cokes that night, and we staggered to the all night deep dish pizza place and then collapsed at Phil's.
Catchphrase for the day: "I'm on Vacation!" This got funnier the drunker we got. And we got plenty drunk.
Side note: I'm listening to A Love Supreme on continuous loop right now, which is sort of like being in heaven, but there are no harps, just phenomenal jazz.
Saturday. Got up early and drove to Milwaukee, where we met up with the incomparable Harold Mester, original founding member of Speakeasy, Clear Channel news bitch and Milwaukee tour guide supreme. We went on a tour of the Miller Brewing plant which featured [A] The single most attractive women I have encountered 2004 A.D. as a tour guide - her name was Kate, and I was in love for about an hour [B] one of the most unintentionally funny videos I've ever seen and [C] Free beer. I gave my free beer to Wayne, Rachel, Mike & Harold, which they all appreciated. Now properly lubricated, we went to almost brand spanking new Miller Park.
Thanks to Harold's mad media connections, we were sitting along the left field line, 10 rows up from the visitors dugout, for very cheap. The Brew crew won 3-1 over the Cardinals in a game that featured not one but two passed balls to allow runs in. The Brewers had a rookie pitcher making his debut who pitched 6 shutout innings.
Miller Park is very gorgeous, with lots and lots of natural light and damn good brats, not to mention the world famous sausage race ( Polish won, I think ). But the coolest part was after the game when they opened the retractable roof. It splits on a line from home plate down through to center field and the sides fan open. They have cameras on the machinery so you can see how it works on the jumbotron. It was very cool, and the mood was helped by them playing "Into the West" from LoTR during the process. Wow. One of the most impressive architectural feats I've personally seen. Of course, they basically had to rebuild it because they got it wrong the first time. Oh well.
We followed up the game with dinner at Mader's, a very famous German restaurant in a dark and gloomy building downtown that feels like a hunting lodge. A little pricey ( most entrees $20+ ) but very very very good, unless you're a vegetarian, of course. Mmmm. My chicken was marvelous. I think I'm still full :-) We then walked around downtown and the waterfront for a while, before heading to the highlight of the day.
I'm not sure how much I should tell you about this bar, because it might ruin it for you. Suffice it to say that it does the secret agent theme very well, and that it has 3 entrances ( two secret and one disguised as "International Exports, Limited" ) and a secret exit. There are many rooms, each with a different theme, and the martini shaker is beyond my ability to describe. You *MUST* go there when you are in Milwaukee. It's amazing.
We regretfully left Harold and drove back to Phil's in Chicago. Upon arriving, Wayne collapsed unconscious, but the rest of us went to a breakfast joint called Nookie's in the Boystown district, which was filled by many young men with perfect hair. It was late, and I was still full from Mader's but I still had an artichoke fritatta which was delicious.
Catchphrase for the day: "What happens in Chicago and Milwaukee Stays in Chicago and Milwaukee." I admit this isn't original. So sue us.
Side note: I got a parking ticket in Chicago, despite parking in an area that had no posted signs and which Phil guaranteed me was safe. I suspect that one won't get paid. With my luck I'll get arrested 7 years down the road in Chicago because of it ;-)
Finale. We woke up Sunday morning. Duh. We then ate some bagels and sat on the porch with Phil & his roommate. We packed up and headed to New Comiskey Park ( aka U.S. Cellular Field ) via the El, stopping only to at the friendly neighborhood noodle shop for a meal that was so large that I didn't get a hotdog at the game.
The El is fun. I like trains, and this one is a stellar example of the genre. It took us directly to Comiskey, where we bought the cheapest possible upper deck tickets. After strapping on our oxygen tanks we climbed to the top deck and sat with a very small crowd of loyal White Sox fans on a cold blustery and for a while rainy day. Sadly, Comiskey it probably the least nice outdoor stadium I've been in, but we still had a good view. Their were fireworks for the two Sox homers, some really good outfield play, and two horrible calls by the umps. The Sox scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Devil Rays 6-5. One last statement: Kid, if you're the lame-o who asked his girl if she'd go to prom with him on the jumbotron, I sure hope she said no.
We took the train to Phil's, then drove our separate ways. Mike & I were back at 1am.
Best damn vacation I've had in ages. Coming up 5/8, I'm going to Cincy for the Reds/Giants game, as well as to visit the Dawn.
Odds & Ends.
Why the hell do I have Callin' Baton Rouge stuck in my head? How do I get it unstuck?
Hey, Friday they are showing Bubba-Ho-Tep and A Clockwork Orange at Cinematheque. Those of you not involved in last minute wedding things interested?