Home From Chicago

I am home, recovering from a baseball filled weekend in Chicago. What a great time. The Red Sox lost on Friday night, but were able to win a close one on Saturday. Thank you Brian for a wonderful weekend!

U.S. Cellular Field is bright and shiny and very modern, but I was a little amused by the fireworks after every home run. At Fenway, you just high-five the guy in the next seat. The food selection is tremendous. They have pizza, churros (which I'd never heard of before), brats, hot dogs, polish sausage, chicken fingers, frozen bananas, dippin' dots, the list is endless. Notice all the noshing by White Sox fans. The only other guy in the shot actually watching the game is wearing a Red Sox cap. I must say, I did appreciate the margarita man, who sells delicious frozen strawberry margaritas from a big black barrel strapped to his back, with a teetering stack of plastic cups on his belt, and a tap in his hand. He'll never find work at Fenway, but he is cool nonetheless.

And I have to thank Brian again for the super amazing seats behind the plate on Saturday night. That's Shonda, wife of the team's newest Closer, sitting just a few rows in front of us!

Here's something you probably didn't know. The City of Chicago's latin motto is Urbs in Horto which means "City in a Garden." So appropriately, during our visit we also took some time to enjoy the 37th Annual Sheffield Garden Walk and Street Festival.
Some of the nicest urban gardens in the city were open to visitors. It was such a treat to be able to get a glimpse inside these beautiful city gardens. Some were lush and tropical, filled with splashing fountains and dappled shade, perfect for sipping a cool drink, and enjoying a little knitting. And, because in Chicago every event must include great food, beer, and music, even a garden event, there was a Street Festival, where we enjoyed an up and coming band, Burn Rome Burn.

Just before heading home on Sunday, we strolled down Michigan Avenue (the temperature was 101!) to the Art Institute of Chicago to see Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre. It was a fascinating exhibit about the unseemly side of Paris cabarets in the late 1890's. Also interesting was the information about the "cult of celebrity" that was just as prevalent then as it is today. Some things never change.

There wasn't much time for knitting on this trip, but I did manage to get in a few rows of Branching Out on the plane. It's almost done. Pictures and details coming soon.