Friday 7/21/06 - Zoo and Park

This was our last full day in Chicago. We first drove to US Cellular field, home of the White Sox. The boys were interested in going to a Sox game. We were unable to get tickets. All that was left was standing room only tickets, and those were around $30+ each. We did visit the souvenir stand but didn't buy anything. We also took several photos outside the park. I call the field "Cell Phone Field". The boys and I are not too fond of most of the corporate names given to baseball parks.

Then we drove north to Fullerton, just off Lake Shore Drive. It was a cool day, with a high around 77. There was also a very light rain that helped keep us cool, but not too wet. After we found a place to park, we walked to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Right inside the gate they were giving away free ice cream bars. Awesome! We walked around most of the zoo while the drizzle kept us comfortable. As we were leaving, the ice cream people were trying to get rid of their ice cream bars, so we all obliged.

After the zoo, we walked over to the grassy park between where we were parked the vehicle and the marina on Lake Michigan. There we played catch and even had a little batting practice. We have done this before in Chicago. There is just something really cool about playing in the park in the city, with the big skyline in the background. Hopefully, that will be another memory the boys and I will always share.

We left the park and headed for Cara's. I had to stop at Target, though. I bought drinks and snacks for the rest of our trip. I also bought myself a few extra pair of socks and shorts so that I wouldn't run out of clean clothes during the rest of the trip. The boys also convinced me to buy some chocolate chip cookie dough, which they made later in the evening with Cara's supervision.
Cara was already home from work when we arrived and she had bought a really nice birthday dinner for me from a place called Pollo Loco. Doesn't that mean chicken crazy? It was good. I would describe it as a Mexican version of KFC. We had baked chicken, tortillas, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, and macaroni and cheese.

We all played one more game of trivial pursuit. Cara and David won again. It was yet another good day with the boys and my sister, but sadly, the last one in Chicago this year.