I went to Chicago and lived to tell about it ! (PICS)

I took a trip up to Chicago for my annual Cubs game and biking bonanza.    
I brought my camera to share some fun pics.

My stay was at the Hotel Versey.   Its really just a Days Inn but the location is perfectly
snugged into Lincoln Park right near the lake front and about a mile south of Wrigley Field.

Around the corner is an amazing place that serves up some killer crepes.   This one
has matcha tea filling.

Getting around Chicago in a car is an exercise in frustration and bankruptcy.   Parking typically
costs $20 or more wherever you go.    This problem is easily neutralized by bringing a bicycle.
You can take the lakefront path from Soldier Field on the SOuth Side all the way to Wisconsin and everywhere
in between including the notoriously unsafe beach by Oak Street.    If you look closely
you can see a mob of white people running for their lives away from angry mobs of black folk.

Later I strolled down Clark St on my way to the game.   I had to stop off and get an Italian Beef
at AL's along the way.    

This gentleman demonstrates the correct posture to incorporate while eating a Chicago Beef.
THere's enough juice in there to fill up a small can of Campbell's soup so if you arent careful
you'll spill it all over your shirt and smell like Italian Beef the rest of the day.

The game was about what you would expect for the last place Cubs playing first place Philly.
I spent all my budget getting good seats at the game.

Couple other interesting points on my short trip.....The Billy Goat Tavern.
You might be old enough to remember the famous Belushi skiy on SNL....Cheeburger!  Cheeburger!  Cheeburger.

LINK TO SNL SKIT

That skit was inspired by this hole in the wall in a dirty tunnel under uptown Chicago.
The burgers are about on par with what you get at a bowling alley or gas station.

Harry Carey's Italian Steakhouse does more than boast an amazing red sauce.    The building used to be 
owned by Al Capone hitman, Frank Nitti.   If you ask the hostess niceley she will let
you go into the basement and see the tunnel he used for bootlegging activities as well
as some memorobilia. 

Happy Trails!

When I was a little kid, I had an uncle who lived in Chicago, and our family visited him every few summers, I was intrigued by the city, as I was with all cities back then. The summer weather, though, was always "yuck"--hot and humid. I never had any of the iconic Chicago food--pizza, dogs, beef, etc.--until long after my uncle died and we stopped going there.

What killed him was the irresistable magnetic draw of the riverboat casinos that sprang up to the west and southwest of town. He also drank. The combination doomed him.

Oddly enough, though I travel extensively, I've haven't been back to Chicago in some 30+ years. What's stopped me is that it seems like a very expensive place to visit. I don't understand why that is, but I don't feel I'm missing anything vital. The place was interesting when I was young. Our family had a small plane back then, so our chosen method of travel was to fly cross-country in it. I remember us landing at a small airport right on the lakeshore--I think it was called Midway Field?--and the descent to the runway went right past all the downtown skyscrapers. Best seat in the house.

Have fun, I've got to go get me a Chicago dog now.

Thank you for the SNL link.  Those guys-Gilda, Jane, Laraine, Bill, Dan, Garrett, and of courese John are like old friends.   Dan looks so young!  But then--he was...like me.  LOL.

Excellent photos and your descriptions with them.  

Candy

 Chicago continues to shrink for no apparent reason.

  HaHaHaHa...

Uh, no, it's the same size it's always been. When something that only happens in your imagination happens "for no apparent reason," the reason is that your brain has turned to cottage cheese.

 Chicago continues to shrink for no apparent reason.

One thing we know for sure - Chicago is not shrinking because of the fictional story Boilerman made up about Oak Street Beach.

I saw your picture of panicked white people fleeing (a word Boiler LUVVVs to use) from slavering hordes of black criminals. It looked terrifying, especially since the black criminals were invisible!

Been to Wrigley & Wrigleyville several times as well as Caray's fun times.  Went to a game once in September 70 degrees.  Next morning woke up to snow.

By the way chicago's population has dropped 9 years in a row.

https://www.illinoispolicy.org/9-years-of-decline-expect-chicago-to-be-no-4-behind-houston-by-2035/#:~:text=Chicago%20suffered%20its%20ninth%20consecutive%20year%20of%20population,released%20May%2016%20by%20the%20U.S.%20Census%20Bureau.