Royalty enjoys its annual visit to Wrigley Field at the end of June during its 100th Anniversary celebration!‏

On April 23rd, the Cubs played the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field. That day was the official anniversary of the first game played there in 1914. With that being said, the Cubs are celebrating all season long by having what refer to as the Party of the Century. Unfortunately for the Cubs & their loyal fan base, there hasn't been much to celebrate over the past century. Sad to say, the last time the Cubs got to the World Series was in 1945. As for the King & I, we've gone there together at least once every year since 1988. Despite their losing history, there's nothing like seeing a baseball game at the Friendly Confines as it's known. However, things are suppose to change next season. Major renovations are in place to face lift the ballpark. We're not looking forward to it but on the positive side, the address will remain the same. As for the on field results, l hope they change too. Time will tell on how things turn out.

Back in September when the schedule was released, I looked it over to see when would be the best time for us to return to Wrigley Field. After thorough analysis, the series against the Nationals at the end of June seemed to be the most logical choice. When they decided sometime in February to make Saturday June 28th a day/night doubleheader that sealed the deal. Their decision was based on potential traffic issues due to a Pride Parade that was scheduled to take place that Sunday. 

With that being said, our friend ‎& fellow roadtripper, Tike Narry who lives in the Bay Area decided to consult his wife Dawn about a possible road trip for that weekend. Last year Tike arranged to rent out a flat in Wrigleyville for him & a bunch of his buddies when they went to Chicago for a similar type weekend. Tike get permission from Dawn so he decided to contact the person who he dealt with last year. When she told him the flat was available for that weekend at the end of June, he asked the King & I if we were interested in joining him. After giving it some thought, we said we would. In addition, our pal Scott Bultman decided to go as well. Tike also had a friend of his, Josh Thurman who came with his wife Stephanie & their son Brendan for the weekend. They wound up staying in the loop which is what they call downtown if you will. They wanted to do more than just spend time at the ballpark. They wanted to walk around & see some of the sites that the Second City had to offer.  

Wrigley Field Marquee

As for the King ‎& I, we flew into Milwaukee Friday morning. We took a flight out of LaGuardia airport on Southwest Airlines. I rented a Chevy Spark, which looked like a matchbox car from Alamo for the weekend. Most importantly, it suited our needs. On the way to Wrigleyville, we stopped off at The Point Pancake House in Gurnee, Illinois for breakfast. When we finished we drove over to the flat that Tike rented for the weekend at 1036 Roscoe Street. Since the King & I usually don't stray towards that part of the neighborhood, we didn't know exactly where that street was. For the most part, we know that area very well. Instead of mapping it out exactly, I decided to contact Tike & Scott. They wound up meeting us a few blocks away then they guided us there. We wound up parking the car in the garage for the weekend. We went inside & we dropped off our bags. Once we got situated, we all walked over to Wrigley Field to see the Cubs host the Washington Nationals that afternoon. It was part of the homestand that they remembered the 1950's.

View from Aisle 420

The King is in the building

As for the game we saw, the Cubs ‎broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fourth inning to take the lead, 4-2. They added three more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning taking advice from their late legendary announcer Harry Caray who was notorious for saying let's get some runs after he sung Take Me Out To The Ballgame. The Cubs went on to beat the Nationals, 7-2. 

After the game, I wound up waiting for the Nationals to come out by the team bus to see if I could see Gio Gonzalez since I didn't get to see him after batting practice.

Stay tuned for a special post that will go into detail about what transpired.

Thank you for reading ‎& following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman