Chicago? Not without any power it doesn't!

Strangely I begin writing this blog in exactly the same place that I wrote the last one, Lebanon, Indiana.

We had to returned here to collect my passport which I managed to leave behind when we stopped between Cincinnati and Chicago a few days previously. It was a stupid move but on about the only occasion we've had to double back on ourselves, there could certainly have been worse times to do it.

Reaching Chicago we'd dumped our bags with Sean before heading out for a quick walkabout and a beverage prior to seeing the White Sox get defeated by the Oakland Athletics. The Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) nearly got a visit but the significant queue smothered our interest completely.

The next day Sean showed us around Chicago and it was handy to be directed straight to the better parts of town. A brunch restaurant inspired me to try a fruit sushi which was cleverly named Frushi, this was to be followed by a pineapple, ham and coconut omelette which while decent probably wasn't worth the hour and a half they made me wait for it.

En-route to a street party towards the North side of town we stopped for a game of pool. Sean had never played Killer before and so we were surprised that he was so keen to compete over sacrificial shots of tequila. Luckily Phil took most of the load and so we were in good form to continue onward!

Some of Sean's friends showed up and debate raged as to whether or not meat pizza is better than vegetarian pizza. It seems I was in the wrong place to ask, the popularity of the Chicago Style variety featuring Italian Sausage cannot be questioned under any circumstances in this town.

The night culminated in my first ever game of Beer Pong, some full scale basketball inside an actual bar and a late night diner at which I fell asleep at the table. It should also be noted for feature reference that some stumbling around the general area in which Transformers 3 is currently being filmed took place.

With the passport incident leaving me slightly indebted to Phil's good nature, Monday 2nd August proved something of a balancing act.

Having left Sean's place for the final time with the absolute intention of getting a further days sightseeing under our belts we approached the Prius with all but a care in the world. With memories comparable to that of Koi carp a popular method of finding our transportation has been to frantically press the key button until our ride should reveal itself.

"Open the doors Phil"
"Er"
"I'm trying to"
"Stop pissing about"
"I'm not"

With the Prius as dead as a well known extinct bird we'd assumed that the 'Clicky Game' (we actually did call it that) had been the culprit. We'd navigated our way to a branch of The National Car Rental who suggested that we'd (PHIL) left the lights on and that a jump start would provide sufficient remedy.

Their synopsis had of course proved entirely correct and having received what we assume was a complimentary power boost we were back on the road and on the way to Wrigley Field, the historic home of the Chicago cubs.

I'd been advised that the area surrounding the stadium was one big party and that is exactly how it was. We'd had to drive around a bit to find anything close to reasonably priced parking but eventually we rocked up at a lot around a mile away with plenty of time to enjoy a pre-game refreshment.

"I'm just going to put my suitcase in the boot" said I
"Why?"
"More room in the back for your rucksack then Phil."
"Fair enough"
"Actually Phil, where is your rucksack?"
"Ah shit."

Having concluded that he'd left it in the car park all the way back at Sean's place the race was on to both locate the rucksack and get back in time to take in the game.

A nervous subway ride later we found the bag lying in the middle of the car park next to where the car was a few hours ago, it was concluded that it had in fact been left twice. With Phil now 2-1 up in time killing schoolboy errors the forthcoming passport detour was to be a peaceful one.

Having got a little tired of both supporting the home team owing to four straight defeats we'd begun wagering between ourselves on the games. A coin toss giving me first choice I decided to select the Cubs in the home of becoming $20 richer.

For the first time in 20 days something compelled me to purchase chewing gum approaching the stadium, I had cleaned my teeth that morning and there appeared to be no apparent reason for it. It was only as I'd left the shop and looked down at my packet of Wrigley's that I reaslised how depressingly susceptible I am to advertising.

Despite cheering the Cubs solitary run with fresh breath nobody could stop the Brewers making me $20 worse off. We left for some long awaited Buffalo wings, my 'holiday cigar' and a few hours drive to break up the Pittsburgh journey.

p.s

Best title so far?