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Reunited and it feels so good
We were more than happy to break up the trip from London to back home with a stop in Chicago. Not only would it make the drive more manageable and we'd get to see family, but since Nate was not with Ben and I on our first year of the journey, we knew going back to Wrigley Field was a must.
We got to Chicago around 3:30 p.m. and dropped our stuff off at my brother-in-law's (Tyson's) place. The first thing we wanted to go see was the Hancock building, which is the fourth-tallest building in the city. For 28 dollars, we got a ticket to the observation deck and a drink coupon for the bar, which overlooked downtown Chicago more than 1,000 feet in the air.
Unlike the elevator in the Skylon tower, you cannot see outside the one at the Hancock building — and that may have been a good thing. The ride up almost resembles a carnival ride, as it shoots up 94 floors in about 45 seconds. We agreed it may have left a more unsettling feeling in our stomaches if we had been able to see the street below quickly resemble a miniature lego set.
Inside the observation room was a bar, places to sit, and a gift shop. There was also the Tilt attraction, where a portion of the glass windows on a ledge are able to tilt about 45 degrees over the edge, giving people a unique and somewhat terrifying view of the city below. There are handles to hold yourself up off the glass as the floor you're standing on begins to tilt in a manner that leaves you almost perpendicular to the ground below. While some that took part in the adventure let out a scream of sorts, the ride provided no sense of terror for Ben.
We each had a drink from the bar and soaked in the view of the city and then took the 45-second ride back down and set out for a place to get some food.
Eventually, we decided to try Lou Malnati's Pizzeria, and we were not disappointed. After scarfing down an appetizer sampler, some pasta, and some deep dish pizza, we were stuffed. Fortunately the happy hour drink specials helped us wash down the food.
Full of pizza and alcoholic beverages, our walk back to Tyson's was more of a trudge than an actual walk. But we finally made it and rested for a little bit, as the Italian food settled. Once our energy had been restored, we went to a common favorite of ours, Howl at the Moon, which was surprisingly well attended for a Tuesday night. The experience was highlighted by an extended period of late 1990s, early 2000s song request that flooded the piano players — only some of which were by us.
We capped the night with a stop at a hole-in-the-wall place to get gyros, which we also visited the last time we were in Chicago, three years ago. It may not have been the greatest decision to stack even more greasy food on top of already full stomaches, but we did it anyway.
We got to Chicago around 3:30 p.m. and dropped our stuff off at my brother-in-law's (Tyson's) place. The first thing we wanted to go see was the Hancock building, which is the fourth-tallest building in the city. For 28 dollars, we got a ticket to the observation deck and a drink coupon for the bar, which overlooked downtown Chicago more than 1,000 feet in the air.
Unlike the elevator in the Skylon tower, you cannot see outside the one at the Hancock building — and that may have been a good thing. The ride up almost resembles a carnival ride, as it shoots up 94 floors in about 45 seconds. We agreed it may have left a more unsettling feeling in our stomaches if we had been able to see the street below quickly resemble a miniature lego set.
Inside the observation room was a bar, places to sit, and a gift shop. There was also the Tilt attraction, where a portion of the glass windows on a ledge are able to tilt about 45 degrees over the edge, giving people a unique and somewhat terrifying view of the city below. There are handles to hold yourself up off the glass as the floor you're standing on begins to tilt in a manner that leaves you almost perpendicular to the ground below. While some that took part in the adventure let out a scream of sorts, the ride provided no sense of terror for Ben.
We each had a drink from the bar and soaked in the view of the city and then took the 45-second ride back down and set out for a place to get some food.
Eventually, we decided to try Lou Malnati's Pizzeria, and we were not disappointed. After scarfing down an appetizer sampler, some pasta, and some deep dish pizza, we were stuffed. Fortunately the happy hour drink specials helped us wash down the food.
Full of pizza and alcoholic beverages, our walk back to Tyson's was more of a trudge than an actual walk. But we finally made it and rested for a little bit, as the Italian food settled. Once our energy had been restored, we went to a common favorite of ours, Howl at the Moon, which was surprisingly well attended for a Tuesday night. The experience was highlighted by an extended period of late 1990s, early 2000s song request that flooded the piano players — only some of which were by us.
We capped the night with a stop at a hole-in-the-wall place to get gyros, which we also visited the last time we were in Chicago, three years ago. It may not have been the greatest decision to stack even more greasy food on top of already full stomaches, but we did it anyway.
Game day
Our game at Wrigley started at 1:20 p.m., so we left for Wrigleyville around 11:30. We wanted to get there with plenty of time since we were sitting in the general admission bleacher seats in the outfield. Being at the stadium a little more than an hour before was plenty of time to reserve good seats for ousrelves. We were front row of the GA section closest to the left field foul pole, behind a group tickets area, which consisted of barstools in front of a long bar to place your food and drinks.
We were excited with our seat selection for about 10 minutes before the 80-degree day seemingly became triple digits. Being at the bottom of the bleachers there was little-to-no wind, and the sun was amplified by the metal bleachers. We stayed in the front row for five innings before moving to the top of the bleachers where the wind was blowing like a cool fan on the hot day.
During the hour and a half we waited for the game to start, we got our food. The outfield section had some of the typical ball park food with a few signature foods at each stand. You can venture outside the outfield area, but you will have to show your ticket when you return. Tyson had a chicken strip basket — much better than the one Nate got in Toronto — Nate bought a fully loaded Chicago Dog, I found a delicious meatball sandwich, and Ben returned to the bleachers with a savory filet mignon sandwich.
We were excited with our seat selection for about 10 minutes before the 80-degree day seemingly became triple digits. Being at the bottom of the bleachers there was little-to-no wind, and the sun was amplified by the metal bleachers. We stayed in the front row for five innings before moving to the top of the bleachers where the wind was blowing like a cool fan on the hot day.
During the hour and a half we waited for the game to start, we got our food. The outfield section had some of the typical ball park food with a few signature foods at each stand. You can venture outside the outfield area, but you will have to show your ticket when you return. Tyson had a chicken strip basket — much better than the one Nate got in Toronto — Nate bought a fully loaded Chicago Dog, I found a delicious meatball sandwich, and Ben returned to the bleachers with a savory filet mignon sandwich.
The game
This was one of the lower scoring year of games we witnessed. In Detroit, the score was 2-0 while Toronto did get up to 5-4. But the Cubs vs. Arizona Diamondbacks game was a pitcher's duel throughout. Chicago's Jon Lester threw six scoreless innings and Arizona's Robbie Ray allowed just one run in his seven innings of work. Lester went out to pitch the seventh but gave up a leadoff home run to A.J. Pollock to tie the game at 1-apiece.
The Cubs faithful went crazy when Javy Baez stepped up to the plate to pinch hit, after leaving the previous day's game with an injury. Baez singled on an infield hit and advanced to second on an error. It was pretty clear he was still feeling the injury as he hobbled to second rather than sprinting to third in true Javy Baez fashion.
A walk put runners on first and second for Jason Heyward, who grounded into a fielder's choice, but the throw to first for the double play sailed into the Cubs' dugout, scoring the go-ahead run. Pedro Strop took the mound in the ninth and earned the save, sparking the Cubs' victory song.
The Cubs faithful went crazy when Javy Baez stepped up to the plate to pinch hit, after leaving the previous day's game with an injury. Baez singled on an infield hit and advanced to second on an error. It was pretty clear he was still feeling the injury as he hobbled to second rather than sprinting to third in true Javy Baez fashion.
A walk put runners on first and second for Jason Heyward, who grounded into a fielder's choice, but the throw to first for the double play sailed into the Cubs' dugout, scoring the go-ahead run. Pedro Strop took the mound in the ninth and earned the save, sparking the Cubs' victory song.
Postgame
After the game, like most spectators at the game, we headed down the street to take part in all that Wrigleyville had to offer. Drained from the sun, we walked a ways down Clark Street to avoid any overly crowded bars decided to go into the Country Club Bar and rehydrate with water. And beer.
It was a nice bar and had good service. We even had a drunk Cubs fan come over to our table and offer to buy us shots so we can all go out and tear up the town! Respectively, we passed since we were already on our way out. We had more important things on our mind, namely pizza.
We visited a favorite spot of our from the last time we were there, Dimo's. Chicken and waffle pizza, macaroni pizza, philly cheesesteak pizza, and chicken bacon ranch pizza; it had it all!
Still tired from the day, we went back to Tyson's place to rest. We eventually went out and got some coffee and rented the movie to cap the night in, since we planned on leaving at 6 the next morning.
The road home was your typical 10 hour drive, with the exception of a stop for food at Maid-Rite, a sloppy joe fastfood restaurant. They were greasy, they were messy, and man were they good.
Ratings
As we've said before, the main reason we were going back to Wrigley Field because Nate wasn't with us on the journey the first time around. It was a good thing that we went back, because Wrigley looks amazing after renovations inside and outside the ball park. They have new scoreboard, updated some of the seats, and have an awesome big screen outside the stadium with seating for fans to watch the game on Addison Street.
The last time we went to Wrigley, we felt it had the tradition, but the ball park itself needed some work. Well, they've definitely done the work, and this was one of our favorite trips. Wrigley Part II earned an 8.4 from us, tying it for second place. We loved the nightlife the city has to offer, and the ball park experience was as good as it gets. And with the Red Line being so easy to use to get to the field, transportation was a huge plus in Chicago.
| Rank | Stadium | Rating |
| 1. | Petco Park (Padres) | 8.9 |
| 2. | Sun Trust Park (Braves) | 8.4 |
| 3. | Wrigley Filed II (Cubs) | 8.4 |
| 4. | Marlins Park (Marlins) | 8.4 |
| 5. | Kauffman Stadium (Royals) | 8.4 |
| 6. | Target Field (Twins) | 8.3 |
| 7. | Angels Stadium (Angels) | 8.3 |
| 8. | U.S. Cellular (White Sox) | 8.3 |
| 9. | Wrigley Field (Cubs) | 8.3 |
| 10. | Busch Stadium (Cardinals) | 8.3 |
| 11. | Chase Field (Diamondbacks) | 8.2 |
| 12. | Miller Park (Brewers) | 7.2 |
| 13. | Rogers Centre (Blue Jays) | 7.1 |
| 14. | Coors Field (Rockies) | 7.1 |
| 15. | Comerica Park (Tigers) | 6.4 |
| 16. | Dodger Stadium (Dodgers) | 6.2 |
| 17. | Tropicana Field (Rays) | 6.1 |
On deck
We're evaluating our options to make sure we're making the most efficient field choices, and a lot of that depends on the 2019 MLB schedule. For now, our goal for next year is to visit the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and the New York Yankees. Also like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, @MLBjourneymen, and check out our Instagram account, mlbjourneymen.
