The Friendly Confines

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is so much better when you have a sense of vindication too. The ability to right a wrong and make things better is so sweet, especially when it comes to baseball. Now, I'm not talking about a competitive thing, but rather a return so exhilarating that it made an entire day one of the best on record. Yesterday, I made my return trip to Chicago and Wrigley Field. The final stop on the Hiawatha trip was certainly one I won't forget.

I left all of you on the train south to Chicago. I was concerned as we were getting closer to the city of the clouds and the wet pavement. After getting to Union Station, I dropped my bags off and headed to the Red Line subway station. As I was traversing, little breaks of sun came and went, and I became so excited that this was actually going to happen.

Six years ago, I took the NL Central trip to Chicago to see the Cubs play at Wrigley. I got into Chicago early in the day, did some touristy stuff, and then went to the park. As that day wore on, the weather got progressively worse, and literally a half-hour after I took my seats at Wrigley, the game got called. I walked back to my hotel with tears in my eyes because I couldn't believe just how unlucky I was. I had traveled so far, and to be stopped by rain was flat-out devastating. As I was in the throes of misery, I kept saying that I had lost an opportunity and that I may never make it back to Wrigley.

The Red Line was packed full of fans in blue and red. The train stopped at the Addison Station under a brilliantly blue sky with crisp early fall temperatures. I stepped off the subway and kind of wandered away from where the massive crowd was exiting, and I just stopped. I said to myself, "This is it and it's happening."

Wrigley Field just seems to spring up from the midst of a North Chicago neighborhood. Unlike in Milwaukee the night before, it has a low profile that doesn't overpower you. It is bounded irregularly by four neighborhood streets, so the park has a real oblong shape to it. The most famous part of the exterior is on the corner of Addison and Clark where the large red marquee reads "Welcome to Wrigley Field Home of the Chicago Cubs." It was here where my ticket was scanned and I went in.

It's hard to believe that Wrigley Field is more than 100-years old and that its held up as well as it has. Sure, the concourse is really narrow, the bathrooms are dark and dingy, and it can't nearly be handicapped accessible, but what can you expect from a field that was built before World War One started? You can see the old wooden members in the roof that covers the second deck and all the metal on the seats have shown wear, but all of this what creates a magical place to see the greatest game in the world.

My seats were in the second deck on the left field line. I had a fabulous view of the field, the Wrigleyville neighborhood, the passing Red Line trains, the tops of the Chicago skyline, and Lake Michigan. Probably the best view was of the entire outfield wall that was completely covered with the famous Wrigley ivy. I got into a conversation with a couple of people who were sitting around me, and I was amazed at the diversity. A couple visiting from Ireland at their first baseball game, a family from Michigan, college students from Iowa...what I found was so significant was that every person I saw was smiling. All smiles. Yes, Wrigley is named the "Friendly Confines", but I don't think I have ever been to a place the oozed more happiness than that.

I sure did pick a good game to go to. The Cardinals and Cubs are bitter rivals, and that brought out a lot of passion from the fans. Everybody was still respectful to each other, so that made a good game better. The Cubs jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the first, two in the fifth, and one in the sixth to lead 5-1 by the time Kerry Wood sang Take Me Out to the Ballgame. In the ninth, however, the Cubs starting pitcher Hector Rondon and Manager Joe Maddon were ejected after warnings had been given and Rondon threw behind Matt Carpenter. The benches momentarily cleared, but order was restored. The next pitch, Carpenter hit a solo homer to right to start a St. Louis rally. The Cards had the tying run on third when Addison Russell made a sensational play at second to force out the Cards runner. It was an exciting way to end it, and I actually found myself swept up in the passion and enthusiasm of all the other fans around me. The Cubs held on for a 5-4 win.

It was around the fourth inning of the game when I got this interesting idea. I did a little research online and found another exciting opportunity. Being that it was Saturday, I was getting score updates on my phone about the Oregon Duck football game. I thought it would be fun to join up with the Chicago Ducks group to watch the end of the game. I found that their bar the go to was only about a mile from Wrigley on the way back in to downtown. I jumped on a bike share bike and rode to the Homeslice bar.

I was able to catch the last quarter of a blowout between my Ducks and hapless Georgia State. What was so much more significant though was the social aspect of it. I met some really fun people that all graduated from Oregon, and finding the common ground so far away from home was comforting. It also shows just how connected I am as an Oregon alumni to a large network across the world. It is a refreshing feeling to know this.

After the games, I was itching to do a ride. For that day only, all rides on the Chicago bike share, called Divvy, were free. So, as a result, I checked out a bike and rode into Downtown Chicago. I rode a loop through and around the El, down into Grant Park, along the lakefront, and crisscrossed the Chicago River. All in all, I rode ten miles and was on the saddle for more than an hour. I incurred a $6 usage fee, but it was so totally worth it. Just like in the past two cities, riding in Downtown was an exhilarating experience. Weaving through traffic, being boxed in by skyscrapers, and seeing all the activity in the heart of a big city is unlike anything I can describe.

After docking the bike on Dearborn Street, I boarded the Blue Line for another fun activity. I met my friend from my Peace Corps days at a bar in Bucktown. We met for about an hour, had a drink, and reminisced about the Peace Corps days and life in Chicago.

I rode the subway back into Downtown, ate some deep-dish pizza for dinner, and then embarked on my last stop for the trip. The sun has gone down, but that didn't deter me from riding the bike down Michigan Avenue to the John Hancock Tower. I ascended to the 94th-floor observatory for a night view of Chicago. While the observation deck is indoors, I was reminded that going up in skyscrapers have been part of Baseball Road Trips for years. Whether it's the Smith Tower in Seattle or the Empire State Building in Manhattan, tall buildings and the views that accompany them are in the fabric of Baseball Road Trips. From the top of the John Hancock Tower, I could see four states, a overwhelming panorama of Downtown, the lights still on at Wrigley, and the imposing black of Lake Michigan.

After coming down the elevator, I finally hit the wall. Three straight days of the Hiawatha had run me ragged. To be honest, I just didn't have the steam to do anything else. I rode back to Union Station, got my bag, rode to the Blue Line station, and took the long subway ride out to O'Hare Airport. I had a night planned of sleeping on the floor of the airport, so I knew that it would be a rough night.

This day in Chicago was filled with such emotion and activity from the second I boarded the train in Milwaukee. I'm exhausted and tired, but every step I took, every person I interacted with, and every sight I saw made it all worth it.

The night at the airport will set me up for a nonstop flight back to LA. Before really heading home though, I'm going to catch the Pirates-Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium in the afternoon. That will make it four games in four cities in four days. I'll author up a Final Thoughts section after a few days recovery, so please be patient :)

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)