Friday, September 10, 2021
We had a quick breakfast at a neighborhood McDonald’s and walked our way up to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was about two miles distant. The zoo, founded in 1868 with the donation of a pair of swans, is one of the few free zoos left in the United States. Today it has over 1,100 animals in its collection. On the day we were there the Great Ape house was temporarily closed for repairs and the big cat exhibit containing the lions and tigers was closed for construction. Still, we saw zebras, polar bears, chimpanzees, giraffes, sea lions and so much more.
After a couple of hours we left and walked another two miles to Wrigley Field. The stadium dates from 1914. The Cubs starting playing there in 1916. The team was purchased by chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. in 1921 and by 1927 had been renamed Wrigley Field. When I moved to Chicago the baseball season was just about over and I never got to go to this historic field. I was looking forward to seeing it. Being one of the oldest ball parks around we were not quite sure what to expect but we were pleasantly surprised to see an updated, modern looking stadium with all the expected amenities. The restrooms were especially clean.
We purchased a variety of food items and headed to our seats. We’d scored seats in the first section just behind first base. They were really good seats and at $134.72 including all fees, graft and corruption, thought we’d gotten a pretty good deal (oh, how times have changed). We’d gotten there early enough to see the teams warm up. It was a warm day and we were rather hot after our long walk but fortunately our seats were in a shaded area.
The ball game was fun for the first few innings or so. Chicago was leading by a score of 1-0. During the first seven innings the Cubs stayed with their starter and the Giants had used seven or eight pitchers. Eventually the Giants got hot, knocked out the Cubs starter and started pounding the ball. The final score was Giants 6 and Cubs 1.
After the game we wanted to visit a shop we knew of in Old Town. We tried calling an UBER but they wanted about $60.00. Finding no taxis around we opted for the subway. Walking towards the subway we spotted a taxi. $15.00 later we were in Old Town. Our destination was a shop called, “The Spice House” on North Wells Street.
I’d taken a number of people to The Spice House and it was universally loved. They have a vast collection of spices. There are several versions of each spice from different parts of the world and an explanation of how they differ in taste and texture. When we used to go there was an open bag or jar in front of each spice from which you could sample. Take too much? No problem. Just throw it on the floor. The place smelled wonderful. Because of COVID they no longer have open bags/jars of things lying around but the shop still smells great. We purchased a couple of hostess gifts and walked towards my old apartment. We intended to have dinner at a restaurant we’d eaten at many times before.
We entered the restaurant and started reading the menu. Not only weren’t our favorite dishes there any longer but it seemed like there was nothing of interest at all. We were very disappointed. We walked out without ordering. We checked out the menus at a few nearby restaurants until we settled on The Weber Grill Restaurant. We’d been there before and the food was very good. As the name implies they have about 20 grills in the kitchen and cook just about anything they can on them.
Deborah had a chicken Caesar salad and I had a patty melt. When we asked for the check our waiter returned with a free dessert: a chocolate brownie topped with vanilla bean ice cream. The brownie was warm, rich and gooey and the ice cream was creamy and delicious. It was the best thing we ate all day.
It had been a good day.