The Windy City

Next stop: Chicago! I know what you're thinking... Chicago in January??? Yeah, Chicago in January!

I was running really late to the airport, and there wasn't a chance in hell I was going to make it on time. Well, as it turned out, Old Man Winter gave me a blow to the gut, when arriving to the airport in Austin. The smiling American Airlines agent, so eager to say, "I'm sorry sir, your flight has been cancelled(snow storm) and we have you booked on the next flight, SATURDAY MORNING!"

So, this meant waking up at the crack of dawn and catching the early bird to the Windy City.
Which is known as the Windy City, not for it's weather, but for it's boastful politicians shortly after the Great Chicago Fire. It is also sometimes called the Second City (2nd best to New York City). If you walked down the street in NYC, everyone would be decked out in wool coats and nice shoes, but Chicago prefers the Ski jacket and tennis shoes style to keep warm.

I arrived to Chicago on a beautiful Saturday morning. The grounds were white with snow and the sky, a clear blue. I made my way to Bita's hotel, where we could finally head out to settle who served up Chicago's finest deep dish pizza. Giordanno's served us our first pizza of the weekend, which actually turned out to be our last. It's a must when visiting Chicago though.

I have still not had a chance to see a game at Wrigley, but I did get to see the outside of the historic stadium. Lights for Wrigley Field were originally suppose to be installed for the 1942 season, but because of World War II and the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Phil Wrigley donated them to the government. Legislation was passed
to keep lights our of the stadium, but MLB insisted, so in 1988, it was decided they would install lights at Wrigley Field.

After walking around Wrigleyville, we headed back towards downtown and came upon the barren Chicago City Zoo. The animals that were ok with the winter weather were out and about, but otherwise it was pretty quiet. The zoo, however, is in the middle of the famous Lincoln park. The park had a blanket of snow covering it from the night before, but it was a really great site. I can only imagine how nice it is in the summertime.

Saturday night we had a great sushi dinner(Papajin) and enjoyed drinks with Woo and Sarah, some of Bita's good friends. From there, we headed to The House of Blues to see the Neil Diamond cover band, SuperDiamond. The crowd was a mix of 20 somethings to baby boomers all dancing to "Sweet Caroline" and "America." An interesting experienece to say the least.

So after three visits to Chicago, I am convinced it is a really cool city. However, after all of the visits falling in the winter, I am going to go back next time in summer...its just too damn cold.