April Vacation – Chicago, IL

April 18-24, 2023

Ah, what a week it was. It was a week filled with adventure, nostalgia, some wild weather and we were THIS close to watching history unfold in front of us.

The day finally arrived. After weeks of working my ass of to get the house ready for their arrival, my parents and Jarrod finally made it to Iowa.

Tuesday

I had taken Tuesday off to be able to pick them all up from the airport at 1:00. I left the house at around 11:30, stopped to run the car through the car wash one more time, fill up with gas, and make the hour and a half drive to Des Moines International Airport. I got there at around 1:20 and the group was just retrieving their bags. I swung through the pickup area at the terminal, tracked them down and we all loaded up and after a quick stop at McDonald’s, made the return trip back.

We got back to the house at around 4:30. We made some drinks, ordered Applebee’s via Door Dash and just sat and had conversation for the night. It was a pretty low-key day.

Wednesday

The next day, I had planned on making biscuits and gravy/gravy and eggs for everyone before taking a trip to Pella but the timing was off, I still had to make potato and macaroni salads for the barbecue planned for that evening so we wound up not going to Pella, and just got ready for the gathering.

At around lunchtime, dad, Jarrod and I went to Canteen Lunch in the Alley for some loose meat sandwiches for lunch. As I may have mentioned in previous posts, Canteen was used as a model for the diner that Roseanne worked at, the Lunch Box, on her eponymous sitcom.

After lunch, mom continued on the salads and we just sat and waited for Craig and Sue to show up. They arrived at around 5:00, when I started the grill and made up some food. Hilary showed up not to long after Craig and Sue so she joined in on the fun.

I grilled burgers, bratwursts, and hot dogs, all accompanied by the salads mom had made throughout the day.

After dinner, everyone sat around and continued socializing, drinking and enjoying each others’ company.

Craig, Sue and Hilary left and the remaining Greens continued on well into the night, finally calling it a night at around 11:00.

Thursday

I got up just after 7:00 Thursday morning and after showering, I made breakfast burritos for everyone. Hash browns, eggs, bacon, onions, and cheese, and green chile for me, Jarrod and dad.

After everyone else got ready, dad, Jarrod and I headed out for the 5+ hour drive to Chicago.

We hit the road at around 9:45. The drive was pretty uneventful. We stopped in LeClaire, IA, just on the banks of the Mississippi River, for a quick bite and bio break before continuing on.

We crossed into Illinois, then hit Chicago traffic at around 2:30. We crawled along at a snail’s pace, finally exiting the freeway and taking surface streets to our AirBnB, getting there just after 3:00.

We were greeted by the AirBnB host, Miguel, who was a super pleasant man. He gave us a thorough tour of the house, as well as a brief history of it, explained the rules and expectations to us, and headed out. We claimed our rooms and called for a Lyft to head out to dinner.

A Toyota Sienna picked us up from the AirBnB just after 5:00. It was a nearly 30 minute drive to Navy Pier where we exited and were seated at Giordano’s. This is the same place Brandy and I visited with David and Veronica on our trip to the Midwest in July 2020. We ordered an appetizer sampler platter, a medium Chicago Classic Deep Dish Pizza, hold the mushrooms, and a pitcher of beer.

The deep dish pizzas take 45 minutes so we snacked on our appetizer platter and drank our beer until it arrived. Our server offered to pull the first pieces for us so we could get pictures of the cheese stretch, but the stretch was admittedly disappointing, nothing like it was in 2020.

We still enjoyed the pizza and the atmosphere. After we’d had our fill, we packed up the last three pieces of the pie and headed into the pier. We glanced into Harry Caray’s Tavern, much like I’d done in 2020, then moved on to the outside portion of the pier. We were greeted with ominous clouds, threatening rain as we took pictures of the glorious skyline that was so magnificently lit by the clouds and remaining sun. Then, as promised, the rain came.

Undeterred, we made the walk the entire way down the pier to the very end, watching the waves of Lake Michigan crash into the walls of the wharf. We saw a rainbow arching through the sky, spying both ends of the arch with uninterrupted views across the water.

by the time we reached the end of the pier, we were pretty well soaked. The rain wasn’t particularly heavy, but the winds whipping the water into the dock created spray that was then carried to us, only enhancing our dousing.

We took some pictures at the end of the pier, then turned around and headed back to where we came from. Just as we were approaching the doors to re-enter the building, the rain stopped.

We headed back through the mall to Harry Caray’s Tavern where we stopped for another drink. We sat and watched a few innings of the Dodgers-Cubs game. After we’d had enough, we hailed an Uber back to the AirBnB, making the ride back in about another 30 minutes. Once back, I Door Dashed some booze for myself and Jarrod (dad had the foresight to bring his own on the trip.) We sat and watched Community for a bit, drinking, talking and enjoying the men’s trip, then we all headed to bed a little after midnight.

Friday – Game Day

Friday morning, we woke up and headed out the door at about 9:45 to make a 20 minute walk to Cozy Corner Restaurant & Pancake House, on the recommendation of our host, Miguel.

The restaurant had the typical mid-century diner vibe and offered the fare that type of establishment would. As it is billed as a pancake house, I ordered the pancakes with eggs and sausage. Jarrod order the same, but with chocolate chip pancakes, and dad got the biscuits and gravy.

We were all pleased with our meals. We paid the bill and headed outside to hail an Uber to Wrigley Field for the 1:20 game.

We were picked up in another Toyota Sienna just after 11:00 and made the 20-minute drive to the park, being dropped off right across the street from the famous marquee. We found ourselves just outside of Sports World, a sports memorabilia store, where dad and Jarrod picked up some souvenirs, and I finally picked myself up a Chicago Cubs hat in my size.

After our shopping trip, we crossed Addison and worked our way through the throngs of people waiting outside the gate. We continued up along Clark to a small grassy area where there were a couple of cornhole boards set up in front of the four statues of Cubs legends: Fergie Jenkins, Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Ron Santo.

To get into the area, we did have to present our game tickets and pass through a metal detector. It was at that point that I knew I had a small, pocketknife-sized problem. I knew I wasn’t going to be allowed to bring the knife in to the stadium and, sure enough the detector beeped when I walked through it. I was asked to empty my pockets , which I did, hiding my knife in my hand under my wallet. The attendant waved his wand around me, not picking anything else up, so he let me go. I was not forced to dump my prized knife in the trash. Yet.

We wandered around, taking our requisite pictures of the statues, then decided to get into line just as the gates were opened just after noon.

As I knew we were going to have to pass through another metal detector, I hid my knife in my waistband, right behind my belt buckle. That way, if the detector went off, I could claim it was just my belt buckle.

Luckily, the detector did not go off, but dad was pulled to the side so the bag he’d purchased across the street could be searched.

We made our way through the concourse happening upon the Cubs’ 2016 World Series trophy. There was an attendant there taking pictures of fans that wanted to have their pictures taken with the hardware. The three of us gathered around the monument and had our picture taken.

We exited that area and came across a booth where they were handing out first-visit certificates. Since this was the first visit for two of the three, we stopped in line. When we got to the booth, we mentioned that it was dad’s birthday. They told us to go to the Guest Services booth where he would be given a happy birthday sticker, and that everyone would wish him a happy birthday, even if he was wearing a Dodgers hat.

We made our way back to Guest Services dad was given his sticker and we headed towards our seats.

We quickly found them, the four seats smack dab in the middle of row 14 in section 123. The seats were pretty darned good, 14 rows behind the home plate side of the Dodgers’ dugout. Once we were settled in, we headed back into the concourse to get our requisite dogs and beers.

We got back to our seats and eagerly awaited the start of the game. The last time I was at Wrigley Field was in May of 2022. It was a very cold, windy day with the breeze bringing in even colder air off of Lake Michigan. In an effort to prepare for a repeat of the weather, I made sure to warn dad and Jarrod of the possibility of frigid temps. We were all well bundled up with layers and hats, dad even bringing gloves.

It turns out none of that was necessary. It was a pleasant, somewhat warm day- with the sun shining and still air, my hoodie was not necessary. I turned out to be a perfect day for baseball.

The Dodgers had an offensive breakthrough the night before, with James Outman hitting two home runs, including the game-deciding grand slam in the 9th inning. Max Muncy was in the middle of a resurgence as well, and with Julio Urias getting the start, we were all hopeful for a Dodgers win.

The Dodgers were put down quickly in the first, with Mookie Betts grounding out, Freddie Freeman lining out and JD Martinez striking out.

The bottom of the first saw Urias struggle ultimately culminating with Seiya Suzuki driving in two runs, leaving the Dodgers in the hole 2-0. The LA team was put down in order again in the second followed by another run for the Cubs in bottom of the second.

The innings ticked by with the Cubs continuing to pile on the runs, while Drew Smyly continued to dominate over the Dodgers sending them down, 1-2-3 in the third, fourth, fifth…

In the sixth inning, we started talking about the possibility of watching history unfold before our eyes. We watched Smyly get through a perfect sixth inning. In the bottom of the sixth, the Cubs scored their thirteenth and last run of the game. Smyly came back out for the seventh and sent the Dodgers down in order again, now perfect through seven innings.

In the top of the 8th inning, JD Martinez came up to lead off for the Dodgers. He took a called first strike, then, on the second pitch, broke his bat on a dribbler about 30 feet up the third base line. Smyly and his catcher, Yan Gomes, charged for the ball. As Martinez was about halfway up the first base line, Smyly had the ball in his hand when Gomes ran into him, tumbling over Smyly’s back, sending them both to the grass as Martinez crossed first base safely. And just like that, the perfect game and the no-hitter were gone.

Smyly got two more outs before yielding to Jeremiah Estrada, who got the last out of the 8th inning.

As the Dodgers pitching had given up thirteen runs up to this point, they decided to put in Luke Williams, who had started at shortstop that day, to pitch the 8th. Williams wound up pitching the cleanest inning of the day for the Dodgers, getting Bellinger to pop out to shortstop, Mancini to ground out to shirt and Gomes to foul out to first.

The Dodgers put two runners on via walks in the 9th, but Chris “Rally Killer” Taylor struck out and Jason Heyward lined out to second, mercifully ending the punishment bestowed on the Dodgers.

We filed out of the stadium and made our way around the back, up Waveland Ave, where we came across a street salesman hawking bootlegged t-shirts. A tie-dyed shirt caught my eye. I knew it would be a perfect something for Brandy, so I picked one up for her.

We made our way up Sheffield Ave a couple of blocks before hailing a Lyft. I was unfamiliar with the area, so I accepted the default pickup location offered by Uber. A few minutes later, the driver called indicating that he was directed to a spot a couple blocks over. He held his spot there while dad, Jarrod and I make a quick five-minute walk to where he was parked at Seminary and Irving Park. We hopped into the van and we whisked away back to our AirBnB in just under half an hour.

We hung out for about half an hour, catching our breath, before heading out to a burger joint that dad found and suggested. It was close by, just a 10-minute walk. After following Google Maps’ directions through a labyrinth of alleyways, we soon found ourselves at Kuma’s Corner, a heavy metal-themed bar and grill. There were a ton of posters, pictures and vinyl records decorating the walls of the joint, there was fairly heavy music playing over the speakers and all of the food was named after heavy metal bands- burgers with names like Black Sabbath, Goatsnake and Brujeria filled the menu.

I decided on the Led Zeppelin – Applewood Smoked Bacon, BBQ Pulled Pork, Cheddar, Pickles.

Jarrod got the Plague Bringer – Crushed Garlic, Housemade Hot Sauce, Pepperjack, Jalapenos, Tortilla Strips, Roasted Garlic Mayo.

Dad landed on the Iron Maiden – Avocado, Cherry Peppers, Pepperjack, Chipotle Mayo, Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion

The burgers were super juicy, 10 oz patties. Mine, topped with pulled pork, was a ton of food. Did I eat it all? Of course I did! I was a pig during my entire time off (ultimately gaining TWENTY POUNDS… vacation calories don’t count my ass…)

Anyway, we paid the bill and exited and I immediately noticed across the street a storefront with big, red letters spelling out The Horror House.

Unfortunately, they were closed by the time I noticed it, having closed just 15 minutes prior. Too bad, so sad.

We made our way back to the AirBnB, sticking to streets instead of the alleys Maps had sent us down on the trip there. We found ourselves back at the pad about 10 minutes later where we turned on the TV and chilled until hitting the sack just before 11:00.

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday morning, we hit the road just after 9:00, stopping at Starbucks for coffee and breakfast sandwiches. We hopped on the freeway that was astonishingly empty and were on the open road not too long after.

We stopped in Dixon, IL, to top off the gas tank, then stopped at the Iowa 80 Truck Stop, the world’s largest truck stop. We grabbed a bite to eat for lunch, dad and I choosing Taco Bell and Jarrod selecting Wendy’s. After our quick bite, dad shopped around a little bit, buying mom a front lawn flag with a cow on it. Apparently that’s a thing, or something. We then piled back into the car and made the rest of the journey home, swinging through Coralville to show dad and Jarrod where I used to live, as well as the damage from a recent tornado that skipped through town.

We pulled in at home just before 3:30 and unloaded our luggage and greeted our loved ones. We hung out for a bit then all headed out to Tequila Grill for dinner. We were met there by Craig and Sue. We waited a bit for a table that would hold the 7 of us. We were finally seated, we made our orders and had enjoyable conversation. After dinner, we headed back home where we continued our conversation and turned in for the night at about 11:00.

Sunday morning, we packed up the car with mom and dad’s luggage. We set out for Des Moines at about 8:15, arriving at the airport just before 10:00, in time for my parents to check in for their 12:40 flight.

After dropping them, Jarrod and I went to Zombie Burger and Drink Lab, which Brandy, Christy and I visited during our whirlwind two months in July and August last year. This time, I was thoroughly disappointed in the quality of the food served to us. It was very ‘meh’ and, for the prices they charge, I’ve decided that’s no longer a place I will frequent.

We headed back home where Jarrod and Brandy promptly went to sleep for naps that lasted until 6:00. When they woke up, I ordered Happy Joe’s pizza for delivery and Jarrod and I settled in to watch Field of Dreams. After the movie, we called it a night, turning in just after 10:30.

Monday

We got up Monday morning and I made a pancake breakfast for me and Jarrod. After breakfast, we just kinda hung out until about 11:30, making another trip to Des Moines. We stopped at Mens Wearhouse so I could get fitted for a suit for my friend David’s wedding coming up in mid-July, then we went to Flix Brewhouse for a 3:45 showing of Evil Dead Rise, the next entry in the Evil Dead franchise, which is my absolute favorite horror franchise.

We were a tad early so we each got a beer at the bar after which we made our way into the theater. We ordered our food which showed up right when the previews started.

I enjoyed the movie. I thought it was a fitting entry into the Evil Dead universe. Jarrod was very ‘meh’ about it, not seeming too impressed by it.

We had some time to kill before Jarrod’s flight so we wandered around the Merle Hay mall and, I gotta say, that is a dumpy little mall. Flix, Target and MAYBE Game Day are the only places I could see that would draw any business. It was about 6:00 on a Monday evening and the place was largely deserted. I couldn’t help but notice that several stores were closed for the night, even though the mall technically is open until 8:00. I suppose they are adding an arena for the Des Moines Buccaneers, which is a junior league hockey team. Perhaps that will draw more business into the mall.

After some time of just wandering and trying to kill time, we made our way to the airport where I said my goodbyes to the last of our guests. I made the hour and a half drive back home, getting in around 8:30. I spent a little time with Brandy before going to sleep for the night at about 9:30, ending my week-long vacation.

Conclusion

All in all, it was a pretty fantastic week. Spending the time with my parents and Jarrod was amazing, especially since I hadn’t seen them a whole lot over the last couple of years.

Getting to go to Chicago with dad and Jarrod and revisiting Wrigley for a Dodger game (even if they did get their butts kicked) was awesome, and seeing how much they appreciated the trip was perfect.

Mom spent the day Friday with Sue. Apparently, they got along swimmingly, promising to keep in touch from here on.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to have them visit and look forward to a revisit from each of them in the future.

What’s Next

Apparently, Christy is coming out for a week-long visit next weekend, the 6th, and the weekend after that, we will be having a garage sale before Brandy leaves for a week-plus-long trip to Minnesota. Chances are she will not be back before I take off the following Tuesday, May 23, for four days in Wisconsin to get a new Epic certification. All told, we will be apart for two weeks, which will be the most trying experience for both of us. Being apart is not something we enjoy, and to be apart for that long will be taxing, for sure, but we will survive.

As of right now, we don’t have anything else planned beyond that, but Brandy is jonesing for a trip to Colorado, so that will likely be something we will be preparing for sooner rather than later.

As always, pictures from this adventure can be found on my Photo Diary.

Going back to a practice I had in the past, I’ll end this post with a quote from author Robert Brault, who said:

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. I appreciate you.

-Phil