Chicago with my Pops

My cousins Jill and Toby with my Dad

Dad at the Chicago Board of Trade

First time in the Subway

Packed on the train

The Game

Dad and I at the game

At Wrigley

Chiquita booth at the Blues Fest

Thursday my Dad arrived on the train for a spur of the moment visit for the weekend. We had a great time amongst our very eventful weekend. We had a few days to think about and get some things worked out and it all came together great. I was already working on overtime at the beginning of the week so I was able to get off early and pick him up at the station right after he arrived. We drove out to the suburbs to meet my cousins for dinner. It had been over 15 years since they had seen each other and he met their families for the first time.
Friday was the spontaneous and busiest of the days but we didn’t feel rushed so it made it very smooth and enjoyable. We got up and went to the Chicago Board of Trade to say hi to my Dad’s friend’s nephew who offered to bring us on the “trading floor” and give us tickets to the very coveted Crosstown Classic Cubs/Whitesox game at Wrigley Field. On our way there we passed tons of Chicago Blackhawk fans headed to the celebration parade since they had won the Stanley Cup just two nights prior. We fortunately didn’t get stuck in the crowd of 2 million people and made it to the security desk at the Board of Trade. I wasn’t able to go on the trading floor because I was wearing shorts. I knew there was a dress code but wasn’t about to sacrifice my comfort in the 90 degree super humid weather just for a few minutes with a bunch of people standing around with colorful jackets on yelling out numbers. I was happy to wait outside and see it behind the observation windows. After we picked up the tickets, we thought about trying to catch a glimpse of the parade but fortunately decided we didn’t have time and got on the train to the game. We were lucky we got on at the stop that we did because the next 20 minutes and 10 stops were soooo swarmed with people coming from the parade and other going to the game that we would have had to wait for who knows how many trains to go by before getting on. It was dad’s first time in a subway so it couldn’t have been a funnier experience. We were packed like sardines in the little train cars and it was sooo hot and humid. We had a couple comical fellow passengers and lots of yelling comments to keep us entertained as doors burst open each stop. Dad pulled out the camera to capture the ride.
We made it to the game and had great seats in right field. When we went through the gates they were handing out discount passes for the Blue Man Group shows so we decided to see if we could get tickets for that night. We were in luck and got 12th row seats for the show at 7. After the game, we went and shared a little Chicago style pizza before going to the show. The show was pretty entertaining. I picture the creators of the production to be three college guys sitting in there livingroom making up random stunts, stupid games, and music jams on whatever they could find. Pretty funny. After the show we took a cab to the Chicago Blues Festival in Grant Park but it was just starting to close down soooooo….for the second time we decided to compare pizza at another place. Good thing we got smalls at both but we still both were a little miserable afterwards since we aren’t used to that much cheese in one day :) We had to walk most of the way home just to get some fresh air. It was a beautiful walk down the Magnificant Mile checking out downtown Chicago.
After a little rest we woke up and enjoyed our morning with a little breakfast and coffee before heading out in the drizzle to the Blues Fest. We spent about 5 hours, listening to a few different bands, taking our coats on and off in the indecisive weather, and being entertained by some locals enjoyin the cactus juice a little too much. We left the park and walked over to Printer’s Row to check out the huge book fair going on in the street. It began to rain and we were going out to the suburbs to meet our cousins one more time so we just kinda whipped through the booths pretty quickly. They had some really cool books old and new and lots to look at. Sari joined us for the ride out to the burbs and was able to meet everyone as we met at my cousin’s ice cream shop and stood outside for a couple hours of visiting. Then back home to get a little rest before having to go back to work today.
The train departed today and I went back to work exhausted but it was worth it and I had a really great time. Thanks for coming dad! It really meant a lot. Love ya!