When we arrived in Chicago, we were met by Alon's friend Ben Mercer, who took us out that night, and let us crash at his place for two nights!

We woke up early on the 3rd to experience the festive pregame atmosphere before Cubs games.  Wrigleyville was great, one of the best locations we've seen so far.  The bars outside of the stadium are all packed, street music can be heard, and fans are all in blue.  We especially loved the rooftop seats that private landlords installed on the top of buildings that have views of the field.  Patrons can watch the game from these rooftops, but for a hefty fee! 

The stadium is old, but more importantly, unchanged.  It has a similar feel to Fenway, but of course the Ivy, scoreboard, and rooftop seats set it apart.  The game started with a first inning Grand Slam by Mark Derosa.  That pretty much sealed the deal, as the Cubbies outscored the Braves 10 to 1, on three home runs, and a pitching gem by Sean Marshall [6.2 innings, 8 Ks, 1 ER]. 

After the game, we explored downtown Chicago.  We had deep dish Pizza at Giordano's, caught the view from the top of the Sears Tower, visited Memorial Park, and eventually made our way to Navy Pier.  We went to sleep relatively early, at 1 AM, to rest up for our early departure to Dyersville, Iowa, the home of the hallowed Field of Dreams...