Killing Time Til a Cubs Pennant: A Tale of Two (Baseball) Cities

the Tharpe family baseball tour of Chicago and St. Louis was great fun. though the temperature was higher than Mel Gibson's blood alcohol level after his Holocaust Denial meeting (joke drum sound please).

Chicago
-we stayed at a hotel out by O'Hare where there was a some sort of Sci-Fi and Goth conventions which made for some diverse elevator rides...bunch of tatooed, black leather wearing Goths, comic book geeks, and my family in baseball stuff. weird, but fun
-Pop, Chief and I decided to take the El to Wrigley instead of trying to be suicidal and drive to the game. here is where I need to make an embarrasing confession...I LOVE the El. absolutely love it!! something about the convenience of it, the fact that I don't really like to drive, and the romance of life in the big city. other people see crowded, dirty trains but I see excitement on rails! that being said, the ride from O'Hare to Wrigley and back again kinda sucked and took forever.
-the Cubs-Cardinal game was awesome...for me. Brandon and Dad went to get snacks when the Cards were leading and came back to see the Cubs score a ton of runs. our seats weren't the best...for baseball (our view of home plate was often blocked by a concourse in front of us) but it was perfect for watching hot Cubs (and even Cards) chicks walk by....and Cubs Win!! Cubs Win!!
-and finally got the Wrigleyville experience by drinking in a bar after a Cubs game...Pop bought us a beer at Goose Island before we hopped back on the El for our hour plus ride back
-sadly, the best meal of the trip was at the Rainforest Cafe that Chief insisted that we go to...it has become some weird tradition for us...even though we are ignoring the rest of Chicago's world class restarants for a place with moving elephants and glowing glasses
-went to the Museum of Science and Industry and actually spent awhile there...as opposed to JK and I and our one hour whirlwind tour (that was actually fun and more memorable). the Musuem has redone the U-571 submarine exhibit and it is perfectly done for a history exhibit. the right combination of historical learning but also hands on, interactive stuff that keeps people from being bored and realizing they're learning
-the rest of our time in Chicago was a really hot blur and we tended to jump down each other throats b/c the heat and fucking traffic was getting to us.
Adam's Travel Tip: Go to Chicago in the fall or spring...and don't drive anywhere!!

St. Louis
-very hard for me to admit but St. Louis was probably a little bit more fun than Chicago this time...except for the heat where we left the high 90s of the Windy City for the low 100s of the Gateway City.
-our hotel was basically the reason for this...stayed at the Drury Inn right downtown. it was literally across the street from the Arch and the Mississippi. and only a short two block walk from new Busch Stadium. bigger room, sweet lobby...but the BEST part...everyday from 5:30-7 there were free drinks (yes, alcoholic drinks!) and free snacks in the lobby. we planned our days around this wonderful experience. BEST. HOTEL. EVER.
-took the mandatory Anheuiser-Busch brewery tour...which I must admit is a really cool factory and a great tour. its like Willy Wonka's factory but with beer...so better obviously. Brandon got a brewmaster certificate for volunteering to tastetest. I tried a pretty damned good Summer Ale that of course is not available for the general public. Chief blew tons of money (and maybe more than money) in the huge giftshop...bought a cool Budweiser dartboard. I bought my mom a cool Clysedale stuffed animal. always a good time....even for a guy like me who runs down Bud beer whenever he can. tried to flirt with the cute tour girl, unsuccessfully of course. sadly, my mom did better in chatting one up than I ever would.
-the Cardinals game was pretty cool I must admit...well except for Chief and Pop when they lost to the Phillies. but its a very cool new stadium. and thanks to mom (and her wheelchair) we had UNBELIEVABLE seats in our own little section right next to the press box. kept looking for Joe Buck but never saw him. I did almost break into hives from being in the Cardinals store too long (so much red!!!)
-on the way back home we stopped at the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL. if you are ever in Springfield, and god only knows why you would be, stop there. another perfect example of blending teaching people history with actually making it fun and resonate with people. I was VERY VERY impressed....impressed enough to be geeky enough to buy a t-shirt.
-also stopped by Champaign, IL to see the Univ of Illinois so I could add another college to my list. pretty cool college campus with a neat college town next to it (something that has been sadly lacking from my college experience) got some great pizza at a small college pizza place...these small places in college towns always have the best pizza. I'm sure everyone can think of a place like that.
-Mac the Dog only pissed on me once the whole trip as opposed to Dad and Brandon who he got 2-3 times

and now some pictures!!! click on them if you want to see them bigger...and why wouldn't you want to see them bigger?!