This trip was no exception, but finally, on our final day in Chicago we were able to sleep in a bit. There were very few sessions in the morning and any of the autograph sessions that were occurring that I was interested in, I was able to obtain earlier in the Convention. All that we had to do was to mail the Michael McKean song sheet home, and do one last perusal of the booths, in order to make any last minute purchases.
Lauren still needed to pack, so I headed down, alone, to try and mail the song sheet from the Fed Ex satellite located in the hotel, but, unfortunately, even after telling the guy in there the night prior the size, to confirm that we could mail it home, it turned out that the framing of it was too large, but fortunately there was a Kinkos in the direction that we were headed to reach the EL, so we decided to mail it there. Letting me on the show floor by myself, with no one to curb my purchasing habits might not have been the best idea, but I was able to control myself and only bought an NL Central Champions T-shirt on clearance and a 1978 Cubs road jersey, that I had thought about, and decided that I really wanted. I grabbed them and headed back upstairs to get them packed and get ready to checkout.
Lauren was packed when I returned, so we checked out—via the television, no less!, what a world we live in! – and went to the elevators to leave the hotel.
Now is the time to air one of the main concerns of the whole vacation—the elevators at the Hilton. Now, I know that there was an abnormally large amount of people in the hotel for the weekend, but having to wait for over 20 minutes for an elevator is unacceptable. Unfortunately, being on the 18th floor made using the stairways impractical, and so, we had to endure the waits. It made one of the benefits of staying on the grounds of the Convention; namely, the ability to return to one's room at one's own convenience, almost moot. But that is neither here nor there, and we eventually found ourselves in the main lobby, aiming for the exit.
After a quick stop at Kinkos, to mail our lugubrious song sheet, we were seated on the Red Line, headed to Wrigley Field. The ride took around a half hour, and soon we were stepping out at the Addison stop, which was notably proud of the being the Wrigley Field stop and was appropriately dressed to promote that landmark.
We began our walk around the ballpark, but at this point we both needed to eat, so we popped across the street to grab lunch at McDonald's It was adequate, and allowed us to begin our photo excursion around the park.
Even in the dead of winter, Wrigley is a beautiful little park, nestled right in the heart of the neighborhood and notably quaint, in comparison to the large concrete monsters to which I am familiar. From the outside, the legendary scoreboard is easily visible, and there is the outfield knothole, with a view to the field of play. In addition, there are statues of Harry Caray and Ernie Banks, and though it was fairly desolate in January, I can imagine on a warm June afternoon, there is quite an atmosphere for blocks around. Again, while it was wonderful to see it at all, I cannot wait to see a legitimate game here, hopefully sooner, rather than later.
After lingering as long as I could justify, we got back on the EL and took it to Midway Airport, the end of the line. We got to the airport much earlier than we needed and were able to check our bags, get through security and relax well ahead of the flight. Lauren had a pizza (not deep-dish, but supposedly still good) and I had an order of hot wings, which took far too long for them to prepare, but were delicious, and we half watched as the Cardinals beat the Eagles to secure their Super Bowl berth.
The flight home was non-eventful, although we did make it in an hour ahead of schedule.
The trip in general was wonderful, despite being absolutely freezing. However, having survived one of the coldest winters in recent memory, I now feel like I could handle a full winter on Lake Michigan. I don't know why everyone kept insisting that my coat was inadequate – I know what I need, and the coat was more than perfect. In fact, often the only part of my anatomy that wasn't freezing was my torso. I did learn that wearing jeans in below freezing temperatures might not have been the best idea, as what started out as a blister on my leg, turned out as a fairly nasty wound that I am still recovering from. Aside from the cold, the only real blemish was the crummy elevators in the hotel. I would definitely rate the trip as an A, and I would love to go back soon when Lauren and I will be able to actually do some outdoor sightseeing and take some pictures of the amazing architecture and outdoor art that is so prevalent. All in all, a good time was had by all!
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