Westward-ho!

Wrigley Stadium - Day 2

OMG!

I think that term is odd, but our day has been very OMG. Twelve of us traveled by train out to Wrigley Park to watch the Chicago Cubs play the San Diago Padres - baseball.

'We' lost and are exhausted, but wow it was fun. All the hype of a traditional baseball game, the organ,  the vendors selling beer and sodas, the hot dogs and the crowd.

Armed with a Bud Lite and a Chicago Dog it was easy to find you way around, with plenty of volunteers to guide you. Such friendly, enthusiastic people.

The first 10,000 ticket holders through the gates today were rewarded with Cubs Aviator hats.

I can report that they are very snugly and warm to wear.

How many volunteers does it take to water a pitch? At least thirteen if this picture is anything to go by.

 The stadium filled, yes it is Friday, but 32,128 people attended today. At present the bleachers are under reconstruction, so the maximum capacity is around 36,000. 

After the national anthem, intros etc it was 'batter up!" The ball park was a constant buzz of noise, chants, clapping and hints for players and umpires. People don't sit still for long. It's kind-of like watching an anthill. 

New boy Kris Bryant didn't live up to his reputation, but the atmosphere is one of those 'not to be missed' things.

We made lots of new 'friends' when clarification was required, or photos taken. 

Final score, Padres won the game, but we won the fun prize.

Go Cubs!

Chicago - my kind of town

Day one of our American adventure has been spent in Chicago. Yep, we saw State Street, that great street!

And plenty of beautiful architecture. The Architectural River Tour is a wonder way to see the evolution of building design in this city. 

Would recommend Chicago Line Cruises. Sharon was our guide - an encyclopaedia of information on the styles, architects and owners.

Lunch was at Navy Pier. A lovely spot, but most of the concessions weren't open for the new season yet.

I had a Chicago Dog for lunch. yummy!

After a brief tour around the inner city, seeing the Zoo, parks, lovely old buildings and interesting new ones, were spent three hours at The Art Institute of Chicago. Threè levels of French Impressionists, Modern American Art and lots in between.

More culture than I could poke a broom at! 

Great news is that there's a Macy's department store one block away so we're heading there for today's retail contribution.

One more sleep

Well, I don't know about getting much sleep tonight, but tomorrow we depart for San Francisco and then on to Chicago. Wish we had a bit of time in San Francisco, but it's time to head east.

After the significant drop in temperature here it will be nice to have our days get warmer as we head south from Illinois.

Will we look like this by May 5th?

Five more big sleeps til we head to Chicago, then on down to Paducah for QuiltWeek.

Countdown

With just 55 more sleeps to go our group of seventeen quilters are sure looking forward to departure day on April 16th, 2015.