October 26-31: Chicago
Initially when I planned this trip, I planned on driving to Louisville to see my brother and his fiancé instead of going back through Chicago. This changed thanks to the Cubs working their way through the playoffs. When I left Chicago five weeks earlier, I had already determined that I was coming back through Chicago since we had faith that the Cubs would be in the World Series and my brother would be coming to Chicago to see a part of history. I had no idea that I would have tickets to the game.
My family was obsessed with the Cubs. We watched every game and I can't remember anything else I did during this time at home. I watched game 2 at home with my parents and the Cubs won 5-1. I went to my cousins house to watch game 3 with my entire family, which was depressing given that they lost 1-0. I was home to watch game 4 and watched the Cubs get smoked 7-2. It was definitely a high stress feeling leading into game 5. We went from hoping that game 5 would be the clincher for the Cubs to hoping that the Cubs could continue to stay in the series. Chicago was on edge.
Sunday was the big day. It was an evening game but Corey and I drove downtown early. He was going to hang out with my cousins and I was off to hang out with my friend Amanda. Amanda is a close friend that moved from DC to Chicago about a year ago. Thankfully she is able to get to DC often, but I miss her dearly. She was my training buddy for my first marathon and our friendship only grew from there. I was so excited to spend the day with her, even if she wasn't feeling well. I was able to admire her loft condo and explore her part of the city. She brought me to brunch at a place known for their hot chocolate (the food and hot chocolate was amazing). Mostly we were able to catch up, which is exactly what I needed. You can never get enough time with friends.
After lunch I left Amanda to join my cousins and brother and start heading to the game. We met for a quick drink at ZED, where my cousin used to work when he lived in Chicago. Then it was time to go to Wrigley. The atmosphere in Chicago was still hopeful and everyone still believed we could do it. The four of us took our time walking around outside Wrigley and taking pictures. Everyone was so excited and we just wanted to soak up the energy. We made our way to the bleachers and found we had seats the second to the top row under the scoreboard. The positive, there were space heaters under the scoreboard so we were warm all night. And we were center field so even though we weren't close, we had a good view.
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| What is a Mader pose? Anything you want it to be! |
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| Our view for the game |
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| Yes, we took a lot of pictures and this is before the game even started |
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| Just to prove there are space heaters under the scoreboard. Hence why we aren't bundled in any of the pictures. |
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| Couldn't be happier to be at the World Series with my brother |
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| Our attempt to be artsy |
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| Love my family. So much fun to have this experience with them. |
The game was intense. Everyone in the crowd knew it was do or die. We were loud, cheering for everything, and high-fiving everyone around us. Cleveland took an early lead in the second inning, but the Cubs came back in the fourth with 3 runs. The place went nuts. Cleveland got one more run in the 6th. It was a tense 3 more innings. Made even more tense since our closer came in with 2.5 innings to go. The crowd was confused but praying it was the right decision.
The last inning was incredible. Everyone was on their feet and the sound was deafening. When we got the last out to win the game, Wrigley went crazy. Everyone was jumping and screaming and high-fiving and singing. It was an incredible scene and I couldn't believe I was there to witness it. The celebration went on forever. We were slowly ushered out of the bleachers and pushed into the streets. Everyone was singing "Go Cubs Go" and smiling. Cops were everywhere but instead of seeing violence, they were getting high fives from the fans. The mood was such a celebration. I couldn't be happier to have this experience with my brother and cousins.
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| Hugging strangers is always welcome when the Cubs win! |
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The cops were out in force with smiles and high-fives for everyone.
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Cubs win!
Go Cubs Go!
Sadly three of us had an early morning (my brother and I to drive home and my cousin to get to work) so we went back to the hotel and Brad got to keep celebrating. It was such a great day. I drove through Cleveland the next day on my way back to DC and the temptation to stay and see another game was high, but I figured you can't beat seeing the Cubs win at Wrigley for the World Series.
Thankfully we all know how this series ends...Cubs Win! 108 years in the making and I was at the only game the Cubs won at Wrigley. It was the best way to end my cross country road trip and something I will never forget. Now time for a repeat :)
