We met up with some of our Food Group friends in Chicago, eight of us in all. Half of the group had been to Chicago and loved it, and half were first time visitors. We decided earlier this year to meet there for a four-day vacation and we rented a big house in Wrigleyville, north of downtown just three blocks from Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.
We packed a lot of activities into our short stay. Several of us visited the house and studio where Frank Lloyd Wright lived and worked for twenty years around the turn of the last century. The architecture reflected the prairie style that became his trademark.
A highlight of the week was an architecture boat tour on the Chicago River. Chicago is famous for its architecture and a boat tour is the best way to see it. Our tickets also allowed us entrance to the Chicago Architecture Center, a new museum across the street from the river.
The next day everybody enjoyed the day at the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the world’s great art museums. We ended the day with a stroll through Millenium Park. We marveled at the reflective artwork in the Cloud Gate statue, nicknamed “The Bean” by the locals. An unexpected downpour hurried us back home for dinner.
Several of us took a tour of Wrigley Field, just down the street from our house in Wrigleyville. The Cubs were not playing during the week we were there so we got to see all of the parts of the ballpark, including the locker room, press box, and dugout. Wrigley Field is over a hundred years old and is the second oldest ballpark in the major leagues, second only to Fenway Park in Boston.
On our last evening in Chicago we visited Kingston Mines, a blues club on Chicago’s north side. We saw the Mike Wheeler Band, who we all agreed had one of the best bass players we had ever seen. We were having such a good time that we stayed up past our bedtimes to see an extra set.
