At the Parade

We got home a little late last night and I really needed to sleep in this morning.  I don't know the last time I intentionally missed getting the daily post up at 7:00 a.m.

Our parade adventure began with a short drive at 7:00 a.m. from my parents house to Midway Airport to catch the Orange Line for a ride downtown.  When we got to the station there was a long line to buy the fare tickets (lesson learned...go to Walgreens the night before and buy a Ventra card).  When we finally got tickets and boarded the train, it was packed.  Apparently there are plenty of Cubs fans on the south side!

We stood on the train for the ride downtown.  Our plan was to see the paraded and skip the rally.  Most of the people on the train were heading for the rally, so it cleared out at Roosevelt and we had an more comfortable ride around the loop to Wabash and Randolph.
Our original parade plan was to find a spot on Columbus Drive.  But the route was changed overnight, and it would turn off of Michigan onto Randolph.  We parked ourselves on Randolph.  And waited.  It was about a two hour wait, but it went by fairly quickly.

Over the two hour wait, the streets became more crowded.  When Michigan and Randolph were closed off, there was just a mass of humanity at the intersection.  I was glad we were up the street and away from the mass.

The wait ended and there first car we saw had Clark the Cub.  Following Clark were a dozen or so trolley buses.  It looked like they were used by team sponsors or office personnel.  I didn't bother taking any pictures of them.  I was waiting for the team.

And finally the double-deck buses turned the corner!  Owner Tom Ricketts was in the lead bus.

Ryne Sandberg was in one of the next buses.

And then came the main attraction, the World Champion Chicago Cubs players and the trophy! You can see Kris Bryant in the front and Jason Heyward holding the trophy.

I put my camera down after this bus and just watched the other players go by.  I wanted to just enjoy the moment without looking at a camera screen.  It was a moment I was waiting for my entire life and I wanted to soak it in.

Soon enough the buses were gone and the parade was over.  It was a lot of waiting for a short payoff, but it was well worth it.

After the parade we walked around a bit looking for a place to eat and watch the rally.  Along the way we checked out the Chicago River dyed blue.  We ended up at an Italian place on Wacker Drive.  We enjoyed some pizza and enjoyed the rally on TV.  From there it was back to the el and a return trip to Midway.

It was a fantastic day...and I hope to do it again next year!!