Kelli's Big Adventure

Well, I started this post, then ran out of time to finish it, but I wanted to post the pics anyway to see where they would show up on the page. I got busy for a couple days, then our internet got disconnected, so here we are...

OOOOOkay, a couple of weeks ago Ben had to go to Chicago for a seminar for work. He wanted me to go with him, but I would need to find stuff to do during the day while he was gone. We took the Amtrak down there, which was awesome because it only took us 1.5 hrs (even during rush hour) and ended up being cheaper than taking the car, if you included the cost of parking. It was a nice way to travel - highly recommend it. :)

We got to the hotel around sunset and the picture below is looking Northeast out of our hotel room. You can see the John Hancock building. It was beautiful!

I forgot to include my knock-off picture of Missy's famous, yet kinda gross, picture of a a half-eaten piece of Chicago-style pizza, but we made sure to get that for dinner that night.

On Thursday, I decided to take the L up to Wrigley Field because I had never been there and hey, they were playing the Brewers! I was just going to get my ticket when I got there to avoid the fees, but some guy in front of me overheard me telling someone what I planned to do and he handed me a ticket - for FREE! That was VERY nice! It only cost me about $4.00 round trip to ride the L. NICE.

Well, when I got there, I started taking touristy pictures like the one below. (I got my finger in it -whoops! I don't know how to touch up photos, so it has to stay.)

While I was doing this, a guy with a Wisconsin ball cap on came and asked me first if I was a Brewers fan. When I replied that I was, he asked me if I wanted a ticket - for FREE! I showed him the one I already had so we could decide which one was better, and he assured me that his was better. I gave the first ticket to a scalper who looked like he could use the money.

Check out these seats! The guy was NOT kidding! I haven't had this sweet of seats at any game since my last game at County Stadium!

Turns out I sat with the guy who gave me the sweet ticket (the one in the middle below) and his two friends. I had the very BEST time!! They were so fun and very respectful. People keep asking me if they hit on me or anything like that and they didn't. They were very cool. We were just four baseball fans enjoying the game and a healthy rivalry (2 Cubs fans, 2 Brewers fans). I learned about their kids, where the live, how some friend of theirs couldn't make it, allowing for them to give me his ticket, etc. My cool new friends are from closest to farthest, Joe, Pat, and Dean. I sat next to Joe, who was really fun. He took my teasing him about being old and losing his hair very well. :) They bought me a coke and would have bought me anything I wanted. I really wish I had sat down before paying $7.25 for a dog and water! They were very sweet. My only regret is that I didn't get their email addresses so we could maybe catch another game together someday. =D Oh, and Joe used to play like a minor league professional baseball or something, and he was VERY impressed with how much I knew about baseball. I have to give credit to my dad <3 for that! :)

I wish I could say the rest of my stay was that exciting, but it wasn't. I didn't really know what else I could do for cheap. Looking back, I suppose I could have gone to the museums or something, but those are kind of expensive, too. All I did on Friday was work out in the fitness center, pack us up, and surfed the net till Ben was done at 3:00. My first trip to Wrigley was definitely worth the trip, though!