Trip Report: Food, Hilarity and King Tut Heads
 

Since I traveled through city streets, expressway construction, and surburban villages to experience it, I thought I'd share some IL summer baseball fun.

It was a delayed Mother's Day present and I called in my chits. This translated into last minute "Premier Day" impossible to get St.Louis/White Sox tickets at home. Not only did the son obtain them at the last moment when a season ticket owner released them, but he also managed a will call and parking pass. I won't have time to relate all the details about the last, since I would need to be eliminated if I told. (This does have something to do with the much written about Chicago meaning of Clout.)

I madly dash from work and drive directly to this son's home. We leave immediately with myself adding my White Sox shirt, earrings, and other accessories to my person in the car on the way.

We transport to the U.S. Cellular neighborhood of Bridgeport and proceed to the Northern edges, far beyond the usual fan and approved parking areas. We finally park. We walk in a mad dash to make first pitch, but since I have never come in from this end, nor for many years wandered Bridgeport, we do pause at Jimbo's. I also view Punchinello's, Franco's and other establishments that I've heard much about but have never seen. The neighborhood has greatly changed. The restored stone walk-ups, heavy iron fencing, huge flower draped pots abide check to jowl, as close together as the three massive sedans put door handle to door handle in the 2-1/2 car garage with the "Park Here" sign on it. The neighborhood has more re-habbers sitting on their porches and front stoops, than lightening bugs from the area I had just left 2 hours before. No lightening bugs here.

We get our tickets, enter the stadium, do the brief purse search and do NOT go up the escalator nor the the ramped ascents. My son brings me down and to the right. I feel llike I'm going into a train tunnel. He comes out and leads me into the light and to a triple wide open windowed space. I'm perplexed.

(continued in next post)

Hope you enjoyed the ball game.

He has brought me to the REAL food, sold to the Patio Bar, club, and Corp. boxes and yes, to the employees of U.S. Cellular Field. It's open, but few know it is here. He buys me this incredible combo beef and sausage sandwich for $4.50. Am I in a Major League Baseball stadium?

We retreat, go back up, ascend and transverse to our seats. We are in the outfield at the lowest level about 2 rows in from the field. We buy our water and pop. Oh yes, now I can tell we are in the ball park. We look at our sandwiches, they are at least twice the size of the ones sold on the promenade or in the restaurants above field. Our neighbors view them as well. The Bertucci Bros. sausage is phenomenal, perfect. The hot guardinara adds just the right touch.

We see many St. Louis fans, some with giant King Tut sarcophogus heads with elegan gold beading hanging down- but mostly we see the regular Chicago crowd. Lots of kids, lots of young people, not sparing the clevage or gel. Lots of geezers like me. We could all lose a few pounds or more, with few exceptions.

Game starts. It's a beautiful weather night after an afternoon rain. Large fluffy blue clouds and golden light. Perfect temperature. St. Louis scores a run almost immediately. We come to bat. Nadda. Second inning. Nothing either side.

Third inning, the sun sun is starting to go down over the edge of the upper deck and it's our turn at bat. From then on it is history.

24 hits in the next innings. 11 runs in the third inning alone. We stood up and down so much that the next day I am sore. A little Hispanic girl with hair so long she can sit on it and big brown eyes in front of me is singing perfectly the 1959 Go-go-go Sox song. I feel like I am living in an alternate universe. I was her, then.

By the time this game is over I knew everyone in the entire row in front of me and behind me by their first names. We high-fived so much that I sat it out after a while. We saw White Sox man come through in the 7th, his white socks (ears) flapping and his black cape flying by to give us an five. A woman in our section was dressed at the World Series trophy and she could not sit at all. The spikes in the back tried to impale her when she tried. But she came through as well.

After 8 home run firework barrages, we could no longer see our feet from the smoke. We only had to sing Na-Na Good-bye three times when the substitued new pitchers. But since we got bean-balled twice (Anderson, Ozuna) we did get to boo, as well. There was a 5 minute chorus of OZ-ZIE at one point while he talked to LaRussa and the umpire.

It was past 11pm when we headed down the ramps toward the exit. After 8 innings, it was 20 to 2. We wanted to stay to see a Blackjack score, but it was a long way home.

I was in bed by 12:35am and at work the next morning. It was a night for the memories.

Just want to tell all the other Chicago people and visitors too, that the neighborhood North of U.S. Cellular and South of Chinatown is turning into a series of good restaurants, bars/cafe sitting etc. And it's NOT a mob scene, yet.

We saw and talked to many good sports from St. Louis. But I must not neglect to tell you about the fact that when a group of 20 or so left en masse right after the 4th inning, an entire section of maybe a couple thousand people sang Na-Na Good-bye to them as they transversed the terrace room area and left up the walks by the Rain Room.

What a wonderful trip, thanks Tom.

Oh, I thought you went to the Field Museum looking at the topic. Can I ask you a question anyway? Well, not you exclusively - anybody who knows.

I want to go to the museum, but not to the Tut exhibit. It looks from the website, Tut has a separate entrance, so I can go to other floors to see what I want to see, without the long line. Is this correct?

Faina, check out this link -
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/plan_visi...loor_plans.htm

East Entrance = for Tut exhibit
West Entrance = for everything else

Buy tix online before you get there to save more time

Thank you, Starrs, I will look into it.

For now I'm just gathering as much information as I can.

Awww, how nice JJ5! It sounds like you had a lovely time with your son. Been thinking of you -- hope you are well.

Faina, you can always get into the Museum without going to any of the special exhibits. In fact, I do it all the time and find the other areas just as, if not more, interesting.

The people coming back from Tut are telling me that this time the huge over-sarcophagus case is not included but that there are more of the smaller artefacts than in the former 20 plus years ago showing at the Field.

I do know that on the weekends the Shedd has had long entrance lines. The Field hasn't had the same regular entry problem this year so far. But other than that Shedd entry if its on your list, you should be fine with just getting a ticket at the door of the regular entry. If you are a student in any venue, regardless of your age, bring your Student ID and you'll get reduced fees. If you are doing weekday and I think you are, you should be in less crowds overall.

The one thing I would REALLY try to get ahead is the Architectural Foundation River cruise tour, if you are interested.

Thanks. I've been eons better- but my Sox hardly haven't. Even winning a World Series couldn't top how they are playing right now. Phenomenal- another 9 wins in a row. Go Sox!

I'm only about 50 blocks away in the city during the entire weekends now, but you still can't get them on a non-cable TV. I wish they were back on old Channel 9 like they used to be when I was a little girl.

Faina, do you know that they are giving free LOOP elevator train tours now. You have to get on at Randolph/Wabash, I think.

This is great to know! I'll be at Wabash, not sure now how far from Randolph.

Hmmm... should I get a 3-days pass?

Oh, well, I'll think of it when I come up with the list of places to visit.

I should start a separate thread for my questions. Sorry for piggy-backing.

what a great ballpark evening - glad you had a good time