Travels With Charlie Day #4 “Play Ball!”

We slept in this morning because (please don’t tell Charlie’s parents) we stayed up close to midnight last night. It really is a lot of fun hanging out with this guy. For example, I asked him how does it feel to have such an immature Grandpa to which he answered, “You know evolutionary speaking you are 2 years more mature than Grandma”. That had me confused and I didn’t dare ask him to explain but I did mention that I am 3 years older than Grandma. “Oh, in that case, you are only 1 year more mature than she is”. I still don’t get it but I did make sure Patrice heard it and gave her a “So there!” for emphasis. Did I mention that Grandpa is immature?

The first thing on order for the day was to feed the little boy (I am referring to me, not Charlie). We headed downstairs to the lobby where they have “The Lobby” restaurant. The food and service were superb but the highlight of the day was when a woman approached our table and wanted to know if we were associated with the Toronto Blue Jays who are staying at our hotel. She saw Charlie’s sweatshirt which said “Reiss” on the back and figured we were somehow related to the team. Clearly, she is not a real baseball fan. To my knowledge, the only Reiss to have played MLB was Harold “Pee Wee” Reese (yes Reese, not Reiss). Charlie might someday change that. He is a very good athlete and fun to watch on the field. I have to admit when we talk about athletes in the Reiss family we are not talking about a high bar. As I recall Charlie’s father was the first Reiss who could chew gum and walk at the same time. We politely told the woman that we were not associated with the team and finished our meal

With the game starting at 7 pm we had the good part of the day to explore the city. We asked Gary the concierge for recommendations. He did not seem keen on Patrice’s idea of going on the Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) tour to get a general flavor of the city. He gave us some incredible information including an explanation of the significance of the Chicago flag. He also informed us that July 4th didn’t become a holiday until 1941. He mentioned that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4th. I beat him saying that it was in 1826, 50 years to the day of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Did I mention that Grandpa is immature?

In spite of Gary’s recommendation, we did take the HOHO tour and regretted it. We got to see some nice stuff but inside the bus, it was very hot and on top, we were in the sun. I would not recommend the HOHO tour.

Tonight was all about baseball. The White Sox play in Guaranteed Rate Field. I have to tell you I am sick of all these stadiums named after companies. It is one thing if the company pays for the building of the stadium and the location carries that name forever. As you know that is not the case. For example, you can drive forever and you will no longer be able to find Staples Center in Los Angeles. We got an early start hoping to catch some batting practice at White Sox stadium (sorry, I had to change the name). In spite of arriving early, we found it difficult to get to a parking spot so we missed BP. The stadium might be poorly named but it is beautiful. We were treated to great seats and a great game. Unfortunately for the home folks, the White Sox didn’t win. But they did have a temporary lead thanks to a 3 run home run by Luis Robert Jr. It was kind of cool to see fireworks go off and the fans chanting “Robert!, Robert!, Robert!)

Tomorrow is a free day. Any recommendations about what we should do? Adler Observatory? Shedd Aquarium? Italian Beef?