Chicago & Wrigley Field

August, 2002 - Arizona Diamondbacks
May, 2003 - St. Louis  Cardinals
August, 2008 - Houston Astros
August, 2011 - Atlanta Braves
Scenes Around Chicago

Waterfront
Michigan Ave.
Art Institute
Millenium Park
Chicago River
Wrigley Field is the home of the Chicago Cubs, the baseball team of which I have been cursed with being a fan since my family moved to the Chicago area in 1950.  My Dad was a great baseball fan and a Cubs fan since he saw the "Black Sox" throw games when he was a teenager around 1919.  Wrigley Field has always been a special place for myself and my brothers.  No family get together in Chicago is complete without taking in a game at the "Friendly Confines".

One of the pictures above was taken in 2002, when the Cubs were in last place,  the other was taken in 2003 when the Cubs were in first place.  Can you tell the difference and which is which.  No matter the standings the Cubs always draw a crowd.  Still it's just a lot more fun to be in the stands when they are winning.  Having been a Cubs fan for over 50 years I've had a lot of days at the "Friendly Confines" enjoying the ambience more than the results.  For the record the picture on the left was taking on May 9, 2003 at the Cardinals' game when the Cubs were in first place.  The picture on the right was taken on August 16, 2002 at the Diamondbacks' game when the Cubs were playing god awful.  The Cubs lost both games.  No one can accuse me of being just a good luck charm.
August, 2002

The pictures above were taken the August 16 & 17, 2002 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
May, 2003

The pictures above were taken at the May 9, 2003 game with the St. Louis Cardinals.
August, 2008
The pictures below were taken at the August 6, 2008 Houston Astros game.  The Cubs are once more in 1st place in the NL Central Division.
This was a Wednesday day game.  As you can see the stadium is nearly full, actually standing room only in the Bleachers.
In the picture on the left the Astros have just taken the field in the bottom half of the 1st inning.  For the first two innings this looked like a pitchers duel.  The Astros got one hit in the 2nd inning.  The Cubs got one run in the bottom of the 2nd with back-to-back doubles by Jim Edmonds and Mark DeRosa.
Then in the 3rd inning all hell broke loose.  The first two Astros were easy outs, then Matsui hit a double followed by a walk to Pence.  Matsui scored on a single by Berkman.  When Carlos Lee hit a homer the Astros were up 4-1.  It looked like my luck for the Cubs was holding strong.  I hadn't seen them win a game since 1994.
In the bottom of the 3rd Theriot hit a single sandwiched between a pop-out by Soriano and a fly-out by Derek Lee.  It looked like another goose-egg on the scoreboard.
In the picture on the left Aramis Ramirez swings at a pitch and either missed or fouled the pitch.  He hung in there and worked a walk.
I'm somewhat amazed by the quality of my Sony CyberShot camera.  If click on the picture to open it in full resolution you can actually see the ball out in front of Ramirez.
So now there are two Cubs on base with two outs in the 3rd.

Jim Edmonds walked to fill the bases.
This brought Mark DeRosa to the plate.  DeRosa connected for a Grand Slam home run to left center field.  The Cubs were back on top 5-4 and the crowd was going wild.
Still with 2 outs the Cubs were not done for the inning.  After DeRosa's homer Fukudome hit a double and Soto walked.  The pitcher, Jason Marquis, then hit a double to score Fukudome and Soriano followed with a 3-run homer to left.
The Cubs were now in the lead 9-4.
Amazingly Marquis settled in and pitched shutout ball into the 7th inning.  The Cubs added 2 more runs in the 5th inning.  The relief pitchers held the Astros scoreless the rest of the way.

CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN!

11-4

In the picture on the left the Cubs take the field to celebrate the victory with the fans.
The pictures below show more of this capacity crowd for a mid-week day game.  The picture on the right, below shows a couple of the private bleachers on the building tops across the street from Wrigley field.  Even these seats are nearly half-full.  They normally fill up only for weekend or night games.
August, 2011
On August 22, 2011 I once more joined my brothers for a Cubs game.  This was a night game with the Atlanta Braves.
For most of this season the Cubs have been god-awful.  A few weeks earlier they started to play better and started winning.  Too late, though, the season is nearly over.
The game started a hour or so before sunset.
By the 3rd inning it was nearly dark and the lights were on.
Cubs lost 3-0.
Scenes Around Chicago

The pictures below were taken around the Chicago water front.

Michigan Ave, "The Miracle Mile"
Michigan Ave is the up-scale shopping area in downtown Chicago.  It used to be State Street, but now this section of Michigan Ave, south of the river has been branded "The Miracle Mile".
On the left is the Wrigley Building, which is north of the river, as seen from Michigan Ave.
Also north of the river, opposite the Tribune Building is the Marilyn Monrow statue.  Why is that little kid standing under her dress?
Along Michigan Ave is the latest public park in Chicago - The Millenium Park.  The pictures below are of the open air concert hall designed by Frank Gehry.
The "Bean"
The Art Institute
On the day before the August 22, 2011 Cubs game, my brothers and I visited the Art Institute.  That's Jeff peering under the lion at the entrance to the Institute.
One of the exhibits we wanted to see was a tapestry made in Madagazcar from spider webbs.  That tapestry is shown  in the pictures below.
Also on exhibit that day was a collection of war posters from the Soviet Union.  A few are shown below.
During most of the day before the game we strolled around the Michigan Ave area.
On the left is the Chicago River looking toward Michigan Ave.  The tall building in the center is another to which "The Donald" has rented his name.
Tour boats ply the river and the lake front.
The Chicago Air and Water Show took  place that weekend.  We spent almost an hour watching the USAF Thunderbirds perform from Lakeshore Drive.