Day 8 - A Tour of Wrigley and seeing the Sox on the South Side #20 - Guaranteed Rate Field

After making it back to our hotel from watching the Cubs/Braves game, we decided to order pizza and eat in the room while we enjoyed a relaxing evening just doing nothing.  Of course, we ordered some of the famous Chicago Deep Dish Pizza from a local well-known restaurant (for me, it was okay, not blown away by it).  The next day we would start out by taking a tour of Wrigley Field and for me, it would be a chance to decide once and for all which is my favorite stadium that I have seen (more on that in a later blog post).
We pack up the van and drive into Chicago on the famous Lake Shore Drive and I am made even more aware of the fact that I am so thankful that I do not live in a city and have to deal with that traffic every day.  We arrive early and find some breakfast and then make it over to Wrigley for our Tour. It was kind of a rainy and dreary day but the weather improved as we progressed through the tour.

Soaking it all in at the "Friendly Confines"

A lot of upgrades have been taking place in the last few years.

Neighbors trying to take advantage of their priceless location selling seats looking over the left field wall.

Our Tour Guide's name was Bryan and he was very knowledgable of the history of Wrigley Field (who many may know was named for the owner of the Wrigley Chewing Gum Company).  We learned about the history of the Cubs, whose name has a connection to the Football Team, the Bears.  We also learned about the history of the Bleacher Bums as well as the manual scoreboard and the guys that work it every game.

The manual scoreboard in the upper right operated by an all-male crew.

We even got to go up into the visiting team's clubhouse where the Braves had just been the day before.

Tate and Trey sitting in the lockers used by Freddie Freeman or Ronald Acuna Jr. just the day before.

Then we got to go up to the Press box and see where the Hall of Fame Broadcaster Harry Caray used to entertain the crowd when he sang Take Me Out to The Ballgame during the 7th Inning Stretch.

Trey and Tate along press row.

Lots of famous beat writers and reporters had sat up here.

And then we go to go down on the field and into the Cubs dugout which was really exciting.

Trey and Tate down on the warning track at Wrigley Field.

Standing where many of the Cubs stand while watching a game.

Sitting on the bench in the Cubs dugout

Trey making a call to the bullpen

Tate enjoying a little "pine time"

It was there that our tour came to an end and we headed out of the stadium.  The tour was very informative and full of lots of history which I really enjoyed.  There was some construction going on at the time which kind of took away from the nostalgia of the old ballpark, but I have to say Wrigley is a must to take in for any baseball enthusiast.  Unfortunately, after taking in all of Wrigley, it still does not overtake Fenway as my favorite of all the stadiums so far.
We stopped by Wrigleyville Dogs to have a hot dog for lunch and then left the North Side and headed south toward the South Side of Chicago to get ready for the White Sox game that night.
To be honest, I was not very excited about seeing the White Sox.  Everyone always talks about the Cubs in Chicago and there is not a lot of talk about the Sox until you get to the South Side.  I'll have to say, I was impressed with Guaranteed Rate Stadium, even though the name is terrible.  Why couldn't they somehow keep the Comiskey name attached to it somehow like they did at Wrigley?  But the people on the South Side really do like their White Sox.  There is something to be said about the crosstown rivalries that exist in baseball.  But of all the stadiums that we went to on this trip, I would have to say that Guaranteed Rate was probably the most fan-friendly when it came to food.  Their selections were by far the best to choose from and the prices were also more affordable.  The White Sox were not doing very well this year but you would not know it by watching the game that we saw as we once again saw the Minnesota Twins (for the third time this trip).

The view of the home plate area from the outfield at Guaranteed Rate Stadium

Tate getting a little practice in the Kids Zone.

Skyline view of Chicago from Guaranteed Rate Stadium

The view from our seats - Not too bad

The scoreboard at Guaranteed Rate stadium and the rainbow overhead

A beautiful night for baseball on the South Side of Chicago

Stadium number 20 for Tate and Trey

Since this was the last stop on our 6 stadium tour of the Midwest, we decided to leave a little early to beat the traffic and head toward home.  The game was very entertaining and the White Sox were able to get the win.  This had been an amazing trip but like all good things, our trip was about to come to an end.  We left Chicago and drove for about two hours where we stopped in Lafayette, Indiana to rest for the night.  The next day we would be going home.

We are now 2/3 of the way from completing our quest.  And from here on out, it would not be so simple as just jumping in the family van and heading out.  To complete the Stadium Tour, we would have to fly somewhere and rent a car which will require a little more planning (and money).  But we are bound and determined to do this.  We've got four more years to get 10 stadiums out west.  To be continued...