Last Saturday, when the Cubs won Game 6 and made it to the World Series, the 5 Mitchell siblings quickly scrambled and tried to figure out if there was any way we could watch a World Series game together IN Chicago. We knew being inside Wrigley was out of the question since even Standing Room Only tix are thousands of dollars, but just to be together in the vicinity of Wrigley would be totally awesome. But..... it would require Maret flying in from California, Ryan flying in from Utah, Lindsay flying in from S. Carolina, me flying in from Maryland and Ricky (and his wife, Heather) driving up (~5 hours) from Carbondale, IL with a 1 year old baby in tow. And then we would need to figure out where to stay (a first for us, since we've always just stayed at Mom and Dad's!), etc. And all with just a few days notice.
Unfortunately, Lindsay wasn't able to make it, but somehow the other 4 of us figured out a way to pull it off and here we are yesterday morning at the start of our adventure!
Maret's request for Breakfast: Bongo Room!
Maret lived in the city for several years and this is her all time favorite breakfast place, so she brought us all here. We all ordered gourmet pancakes (Lemon Brioche French Toast, Red Velvet, Salted Caramel, etc) and more and then shared it all Family Style. Delish!
Then we walked around the city and shared in some nostalgia with Ryan who worked in the tall Red building behind him for 7 years.
It was so much fun to see Cubs signs every where you looked. Here is the front of the Theodore Thomas Orchestra Hall.
And the iconic lions in front of the Art Institute of Chicago!
As per Chicago tradition, the lions dress up in team helmets or caps when a Chicago sports team qualifies for the championship in its league. But due to the Cubs dismal winning history, in the past, the statues have only donned White Sox, Bears and the Blackhawks gear.
The lions were decorated with Cubs gear in 1984 but only because there was a "Lion Cubs" event at the Art Institute entrance. So, it was fun to see them wear them legitimately for the first time!
Brothers
Maret brought baby Warren with her, who is just 7 weeks old, so we all had fun meeting him and holding him for the first time.
And then..... the highlight of the day! The 7 of us made our way to Wrigley Field! Oh the hysteria! We were all so in our element, surrounded by thousands and thousands of Cub Fans, many of them lifelong just like us! Literally every where you looked, every single person was donned from head to toe in Cubs regalia.
My two youngest nephews, both of whom I met for the very first time on this trip!
World Series Wrigley Field Selfie ;)
Ernie Banks
We decided to walk all the way around the stadium. And I'm so glad we did! Because in the back of the stadium, we stumbled across this.... A black curtain blocking off the through traffic. For what? The ball players arriving at the Field! And we got there just in time! The guy with the baseball cap and backpack is Jason Hammel, a Pitcher for the Cubs.
And David Ross! He's an all time favorite of everyone! So fun to see him, especially since he's retiring so these are his final games of his career.
And Jorge Soler
We kept on walking until we came to the Harry Carey statue. I pulled out my Celebrity Cubs Jersey from my back pack and threw it on as a shout out to Harry. I met Harry when I was the Cubs Bat Girl in 1991, so we met the day that I got this shirt.
Hope you're smiling down on the Cubbies tonight, Harry because they need some Heavenly help right about now!
Behind us is the Fox World Series booth where the Sports Announcers are located and air from after every game.
And here we are at the back of Wrigley.
As game time grew closer, we hemmed and hawed and debated whether we should stay there or go somewhere else to watch the game. The thing is, unfortunately, there wasn't really any place to watch the game by Wrigley unless 1) You paid a really steep cover charge and had reservations somewhere or 2) Waited in lines for hours somewhere to get in. With two babies in tow, neither of those were options. We kind of envisioned some place close by with a big screen set up that we could watch, but we didn't see anything like that. So, it was either stay in the vicinity of the park, but not necessarily watch the game or sit down anywhere, or leave the Field and find some place to eat and sit and watch the game. Both options had their pros and cons. But in the end, we decided to leave (and board the el - Warren's first train ride)..........
And head to Giordanos for some Chicago-style stuffed deep dish pizza! We camped out here for the night surrounded by Chicago food, TV's and Cubs fans!
Sadly, our post-win party in the street of Chicago that we all envisioned didn't come to pass since the Cubs lost :( As I write this, Game 5 is going on. It's the top of the 5th inning and Cubs are winning 3 to 1. But the Indians lead the series 3-1, so the Cubs need to win tonight!
I'm grateful that I grew up in Chicago (Naperville). I'm grateful we had a dad that instilled in us a love of baseball and of the Cubs. And I'm grateful that as adults, we all love each other and make sacrifices to be together for all the important things in life.... like weddings, funerals, baptisms..... and Cubs World Series games ;)
