Chi- Town (Chicago, Illinois) - US Cellular Field

On Saturday, we made the 8-hour drive from Pittsburgh to Chicago.  Upon arrival, we went to Portillio's for their famous Italian Beef sandwiches.  We were not disappointed.  There are so many wonderful restaurants in the Chicago-land area, it will be difficult to choose which ones to visit during the next couple of days.  Oh well,  we could have worse problems to solve.

On Sunday morning, August 21st, we started our day off with a wonderful breakfast at Eggstasy, a local eatery known for their spectacular menu.  We both enjoyed a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee.  Kevin was feeling adventurous and decided to try the "Chocolate-Covered Bacon".  This was served cold with whipped creme on the side.  He enjoyed this treat and then also had an omelet and pancakes.  Tina enjoyed a spinach and mushroom crepe with Brie cheese.  We spent $50.00 for breakfast, but felt it was well worth the experience.  We will definitely go back during future travels.

Chocolate Covered Bacon - For Breakfast?

After breakfast, we drove to the south side of Chicago to find a place to park for the 1:05 PM Chicago White Sox game.  We found a cute little dive called, First Base on 32nd and Normal and decided to have a cool one before the game.  We were greeted by "Carrie", who made us feel most welcomed.  She offered to give us a free parking pass and saved us $20.00.  The ballpark was only a couple of blocks from this establishment.  We chatted for a while and shared our baseball adventure with her before making our way to the game.

It was perfect weather for a Sunday afternoon baseball game.  Game time temperature was 74 degrees and it was mostly sunny.  We made our way to our club level seats, stopping to admire some of the specialty food items available.  Our seats were in the shade, but since the stadium was about half full, we walked to another section and enjoyed the game in the afternoon sun.  The White Sox were playing the Texas Rangers.  The Sox scored early and often and ended up winning the game 10-0.  Paul Konerko had two hits early in the game to get to 1,999 career hits with the White Sox.  He came up three more times with a chance for number 2000, but failed to get that milestone hit.  US Cellular Field is still in great shape, but somewhat generic compared to most of the modern stadiums, but it still is a great place to watch a game.

After the game ended, we walked back to "First Base" to have another cool one while the game time traffic subsided.  We were greeted once again by "Carrie" and now also by "Devon", an off duty Bartender at the same establishment.  We quickly struck up a friendship and enjoyed two hours of laughter before deciding to leave.  If you are ever in Chicago, please patronize the "First Base."  You won't be sorry.  We made two new friends today and will look forward to seeing both of them again in the future.

We were both incredibly hungry (imagine that!) and decided to try "Gino's East" for deep dish pizza for dinner.  Another winner!  We turned in early after reminiscing about the great day that we once again enjoyed.