Day 4: Riverwalk run, Wrigley Field, Chicago White Sox

Former KOIN coworker Tim Joyce is now a meteorologist in Chicago, and it was fun to get my morning forecast from him! 

The Fourth of July was going to be a hot one, so I was up early to get my run on.

I headed for the Chicago Riverwalk, not too far from our hotel.

It was already so hot and humid, but I enjoyed a crowd-free run along the Chicago River.

Then I found The Bean (which is actually called Cloud Gate):

And because it was so early, I almost had the place to myself:

My route:

Eryn isn't much for early mornings, so our plan was for me to get up early to run, then we'd meet at 10am to continue our exploration. I showered and went back to sleep! (Mom was up early again for her convention)

I brought Eryn to The Bean, which was starting to draw a crowd:

Then we rode The L to Wrigley Field for our tour.

More pics to come in a separate post :)

While in the stadium, we learned of the parade shooting and manhunt in nearby Highland Park (about 20 miles away). Such horrible news - and we were on edge wondering if the shooter had fled on the train, possibly in our direction.

After the tour, we set out on foot to find lunch and ended up getting veggie Chicago dogs and tots at Devil Dawgs:

It was threatening to rain, and we found a nice, dry spot at a nearby park to eat:

YUM!

We made our way back to the hotel and briefly joined a nearby abortion-rights rally:

Because of the Highland Park shooting, many Chicago-area Fourth of July celebrations were canceled. We had tickets to the White Sox game. MLB and the club made the decision to still hold the matchup with the Twins, but the post-game fireworks show was canceled.

We took The L to Guaranteed Rate Field and then stood in the longest security line I've ever seen at an MLB game. Considering the day's events, I appreciated the extra attention to safety.

During COVID times, we've been choosing seats away from the crowd. This time it meant the top row with this view of the city!

As darkness fell, we were treated to a 360-degree view of neighborhood fireworks. Because of the flat terrain, we could see colorful displays in every direction for miles and miles. 

White Sox Guaranteed Rate Field ✅

*Day 1
*Day 2

*Day 3

Day 3: Dunkin', walking, and Chicago deep dish pizza

Mom was up early Sunday for her first NEA convention duties. While she was working hard, Eryn and I explored on foot!

First stop: Dunkin' Donuts for a chocolate donut!

Then we made our way to Lake Michigan, just a few blocks from our hotel.

Eryn and I were amazed how few people were out on such a beautiful summer holiday weekend.

We didn't know Soldier Field is right on the lake:

We saw signs for stadium tours, and Eryn got the idea to book a Wrigley Field tour for the next day. What a great idea!

We walked all over and eventually made our way to the McCormick Place Convention Center - where Mom's NEA convention was happening. Doors were open, so we went inside. The place is HUGE! The AC felt really good!

We were just wondering where Mom was when she appeared on an escalator right in front of us!

We hung out a bit with her and other Tigard-Tualatin delegates while they checked out some caucuses and ate some lunch. 

Then it was time for us to get back to the important task of exploring Chicago...

It took far too long to get outside the convention center (it really was HUGE!), then we kept walking and checking out the sights.

Our hotel was in the financial district, which was really nice on a holiday weekend - so quiet! We realized the cool old building right outside our hotel windows was the National Reserve. 

After hours and hours and miles and miles and miles of sightseeing, we decided to call it a day. But we still needed dinner. Thankfully, a Chicago deep-dish pizza shop was just around the corner:

WOW. That was so good! I sometimes don't like tomato sauce, finding it too sour or tangy. But this was yummo! It was just cheese (we're both pescatarian), but the flavor was excellent. 

Bed time! Early wakeup to get in a run before it gets TOO hot.

*Day 1

*Day 2

Day 2: A Minnesota run and Wisconsin cheese

After checking off Target Field, we headed south to Chicago. But first, I had to explore the area on foot!

Google Maps showed a park about a mile from the hotel, so I set off to check it out.

I didn't take a single picture of the parks, but they were so nice! AND... there was a perfectly placed construction potty just where I needed it :)

I also got lost and totally turned around, which doesn't often happen to me. I had to pull up my map several times, and I still went the wrong way twice! 

I finally made my way back to the hotel just before the rain. So muggy!

After a shower and free breakfast (yay, Embassy Suites!), we hopped in the car. We were quickly in Wisconsin, which was really rural and beautiful.

We didn't have much time to sightsee, but we did find a place to buy Wisconsin cheese! 

We ate cheese curds in the car - yummo!

When we travel, we try hard to eat places we don't have at home - even if it's just fast food. And since we're still not eating in restaurants, a quick stop in Culver's it was. Mom had a burger and custard and Eryn and I had grilled cheese.

Always fun trying something new :)

We drove to Chicago's Midway airport, dropped the car, took the L downtown, and checked into our super nice convention hotel - the JW Marriott Chicago.

I have no idea why I didn't take pics of the hotel. It was one of the nicest I've ever stayed in! And because it was the convention hotel for Mom's event, we got a killer deal!

:)

*Day 1

Day 1: Minnesota Twins and Adley

Things aligned this summer, and we were able to check a few more MLB stadiums off our lists! 

Mom was a delegate to the national NEA convention in Chicago, so Eryn and I decided to tag along and make a baseball Midwest mini road trip. 

We flew early July 1 to Minneapolis, checked into our hotel, and drove to Target Field to watch the Twins take on the Baltimore Orioles:

We saw a little Baltimore batting practice:

View from our seats:

Remember how my friends' son plays in the Majors? He's an Oriole and was the starting catcher!

GO, ADLEY!!!

The game was pretty boring, but there was a great play at the plate by Adley!

Twins won:

Minnesota Twins ✅

Click HERE for my complete list of ballparks!

:)

Beach house work day

One of my first summer duties was some garden cleanup at the coast.

When I was a kid, my grandparents built a house at Oceanside. They've been extremely generous in letting us visit, and the home has provided decades of respite.

This year, grasses got the best of the garden beds, so Mom, Eryn, and I made a trip to help out.

The before: 

Six hours later, the after:

We ran out of time to complete the south side, but we did pull the seed heads to keep the grasses from spreading:

Construction workers have been shoring up the under side of the house, and when they saw us toiling away in the yard, they brought over a dump trailer for us to fill! With the added space, we were also able to do a bunch of trimming.

Looking forward to going back and finishing the job :)