The Land of the Rising Sun Day #3 “Play Ball!”

by reissmd, posted in Japan, Yokohama

Today we had a wonderful day. We started with another magnificent breakfast at the hotel. Following that we were met at our hotel by our guide for the day, Seiko, and our driver, Mr. Moto (excuse me, “Moto San”). Seiko asked us a few questions about goals for the day and then we were off to Yokohama. En route Seiko gave us all sorts of interesting facts about Japanese history and culture.

Our first stop of the day was a tour of Sankeien Garden. The garden was quite lovely but the best part was something Patrice taught me. She showed me that if you take a picture with an iPhone you can view the picture, tap “info” and then you will see the name of the plant or animal you have just photographed. See below.

Picture of a Grey Heron taken with my iPhone. If you think I would have known that this was a Grey Heron without the aid of my phone, you obviously don’t know me.

From the garden we headed to the Ramen Museum, yes Ramen Museum.  The main reason to go there was to have lunch.  Check out this display outside the museum.

Fun with ramen.

The museum has about 6 different ramen restaurants on the ground floor and each had a 20-30 minute wait to be seated.  

Who would wait 20-30 minutes for ramen? Patrice and I would.

The meal was worth the wait.  And I don’t want to brag (yes I do) but I’m starting to get pretty good with chopsticks. 

After lunch we headed to the main reason for coming to Yokohama.  Okay, my main reason for coming to Yokohama………………Baseball 

As many of you know I’m trying to get to all 30 MLB stadiums (22 down 8 to go) so why not add a Japanese stadium to my list?

We had great seats at Yokohama stadium to see the hometown Bay Stars play the Yomiuri Giants from Tokyo.  It was a fascinating experience.  It was very similar to an MLB game with a few exceptions. Most apparent was that each team had about 3 or 4 sections filled with their most rabid fans.  They were equipped with large team flags and percussion and brass instruments.  When their team was at bat there was almost nonstop chanting. All I can say is that I’m glad we weren’t sitting any closer to this area.  Check out this video to get an idea. 

I love baseball but I think if I had to sit through this I would watch on TV instead.

Just prior to the bottom of the 5th inning the home team rooting section pulled a blue banner over entire section and sang a song while cheerleaders egged on the fans from the field. 

Under that banner were hundreds of fans singing a song in support of their team. Didn’t work so well, they lost 6-0.

There were concession stands selling a myriad of items but in the seating area only beer was being sold.  The beer sells for 800 yen (about $5.40) as opposed to the $16 at Dodger Stadium.    Here is a video of one of the salespeople.

The young men to my right kept these ladies busy.

In 7th inning the cheerleaders came onto the field led the fans in singing but no one got up for a stretch like we do in the states.  

When the game ended the people sitting in our area didn’t get up to leave.  With some help from Google translate I was told that the fans of the winning team stay to hear the “Hero’s interview”.  Since my Japanese is limited to “hello”, “goodbye” and “thank you” we decided to leave. 

Upon exiting I saw fans take all their trash out of the stadium.  Here is a photo of a woman holding a large bag waiting for fans who filed by with their trash.  See below. 

I could just see this happening at Dodger Stadium. Actually I could.

We were among a large crowd heading to the train station for the ride back to Tokyo.  Thanks to our amazing guide, Seiko, we knew exactly what to do.  At the station the security team was spectacular.  They would limit people checking through the turnstiles until the previous group had exited the loading lobby.  Once we were allowed to proceed there were another group of security people who allowed passengers into the boarding zone. The process was seamless and we boarded a train very quickly. Once on the train, we heard announcements in Japanese and English prior to every stop.  I followed our progress on Apple Maps but it wasn’t necessary since Seiko had done such a wonderful job of preparing us. 

A great day in Yokohama.  The only thing that could make it better would be if I don’t wake up at 3 AM again 

Until tomorrow 

The Land of the Rising Sun Day 2 “Where Am I?”

by reissmd, posted in Japan, Tokyo

The time change has been a challenge.  By 6:30 pm last night (2:30 AM in Los Angeles) we were done.  We did get a chance to walk around the neighborhood and catch some of the local flavor before heading to bed.  

Traditional Japanese coffee just steps from our hotel

We also explored the hotel.  We went to the restaurant where we were greeted by their very friendly staff.  The manager came up to me and remembered meeting me at the Gate Hotel in Osaka.  Of course I had to tell him this is my first time in Japan. 

The room is very nice.  Included are pajamas for use during our stay.  Here is Patrice modeling hers. 

So stylish don’t you think?

Here you can see me in my pair.

Notice how short the pant legs are. I suppose I am taller than most men in this country. Heck, I could get used to that.

 In addition to a variety of niceties to make our stay more pleasureable the room has an amazing toilet. The machine says hello everytime you approach. Check out this video.

In addition to saluting, the seat is warmed, has an optional bidet, and flushes once you get up. Fantastic, better than a wife!

Today was our first day touring.  Our guide, Silvia, and our driver Ogawa San, arrived promptly at 9:30. Actually they came early. Both were a delight. Silvia had us walking all over Tokyo and filled us with all sorts of interesting facts of which I remember very little. At the end of our tour Silvia walked us to our restaurant 634 Musashi (131-0045 Tokyo, Sumida City, Oshiage, 1 Chome−1−2) with is 350 meters above street level in what is called Tokyo Skytree. The structure is very impressive giving you fantastic views of the city.

The view from our table.

The food at the restaurant was very attractive in its presentation but I didn’t think it tasted all that great. The portions were incredibly small but as my friend Mike likes to say they make up for it with very high prices.

After lunch we used Apple Maps to get us back to the hotel. I love navigating on public transportation when on a trip. It makes me feel like part of the community. So I set my phone to take us to the Gate Hotel and received perfect instructions on how to get there. Unfortunately there was one small detail that I failed to consider. I used the wrong Gate Hotel for my directions. Upon exiting the train station it was immediately evident that we were nowhere near our hotel. Luckily I was able to flag down a cab and he was able to get us back to our room.

I have to stop writing now because Patrice said she couldn’t wait to get into bed. This kind of wife is better than any automated toilet. So bye for now. 

I’m back, I misunderstood her plans. She is fast asleep.  I guess I will read my book

On the toilet. 

See you tomorrow. 

The Land of the Rising Sun Day #1 “Japanese Efficiency?”

by reissmd, posted in Japan, Tokyo

Today Patrice and I embarked on our next adventure, a trip to Japan. Patrice is quick to inform you that this destination was my idea. Hmmm, does that mean that she has her doubts? She likes to remind me about our trip to Africa where we boiled during the day and froze at night (“YOU’RE THE ONE WHO WANTED TO COME HERE!” she daintily told me on a regular basis during that trip).

I guess it was my idea to come to Japan. My good friend Fred (who was born in Tokyo) and I frequently talked about a trip together. I finally got tired of trying to plan a mutual time for us and just said to Patrice, let’s go. In preparing for this trip our friends Ginger and Don recommended we read the book “Learning to Bow” by Bruce Feiler. The book was an interesting read and we learned a lot about Japanese culture. It stressed how efficiently everything is run in the country. Unfortunately the book was written about 30 years ago and I assume things have changed a lot since then. It will be fun to do a comparison.

My biggest concern about going on the trip was trying to eat with chopsticks. This is a skill I never even attempted to learn (Isn’t that why we have forks?). I was told that in smaller towns forks might not be an option. At my new workplace (UCLA Palos Verdes) my co-workers have invited me to join them for several lunches at a local Pho restaurant. The first time there I embarassingly requested a fork while everyone else used chopsticks. With our upcoming trip in mind I decided to use this opportunity to try to learn this new skill. With the support of my co-workers and some special tutoring from Dr. Choi I was able to feed myself. I also had lunch with Fred and his wife and they too gave me some tips. Fred did have one very good suggestion for the trip, “Order a lot of soup”.

Our flight from LAX was via Delta Airlines to Tokyo – Haneda Airport (HND). Followers of the blog might remember that we have been loyal American Airlines customers. We had heard a lot of wonderful things about Delta so we decided to switch. In reality the real reason for the switch was that Delta was much cheaper than either American or Japan Airlines. Delta offered a nice choice of dishes for lunch. Check out the menu (see below)

I chose the エビ. The food was good and I was given a fork.

The flight was pleasant (if 11 hours on a plane can ever be considered pleasant). At HND we retrieved our luggage and breezed through customs after which we were supposed to be met by our driver. Our tour agent warned us that our driver might not speak English but he would get us to our hotel in a timely manner. Unfortunately no driver was to be found. We called the local contact for the travel company who found out that the transit company said our flight was early and a driver had not be sent yet. Wait, wait, wait didn’t they read “Learning to Bow”! In addition to the book, many of our friends told us how efficient things were run in Japan. We were cautioned, “Trains are on time, don’t arrive late, you will miss your ride”. Having a driver be a no-show was not what we expected. So instead of a personal driver we went outside the airport and found a cab.

To make things easier this trip Patrice decided to get a backpack on wheels (see below).

If this works out I might get the Hello Kitty model.

The rolling backpack worked quite well but it made it difficult for her to also roll her luggage at the same time. Lucky for her she brought a sherpa (me) who rolled her bag, his bag, and wore his backpack. Definitely great planning on her part.

After dragging our luggage outside to the taxi area we only waited seconds for an available cab. The driver loaded our luggage for us. When Patrice tried to board from the traffic side he immediatedly stopped her saying “Not safe, this side please”. I was very impressed with his concern. There was some heavy traffic on the ride to the hotel, but other than that it was fine.

We are staying at the Gate Hotel. So far things seem very nice. The room is spacious. The shower/tub area is very interesting. I am not sure if this picture is adequate.

The shower and tub are in a room separate from the rest of the bathroom.

Tonight is a free night. Right now all I can think about is sleep. I think it is around midnight back home. Here it is about 4 pm. I assume most of you won’t see this until the morning which will be about midnight here. The next few days could be very interesting until our bodies adjust.

Somewhere in Time Day #5 “America is Safe”

by reissmd, posted in Mackinac Island, Michigan

Today is the last day of our trip and we are on our way home. It rained today and we have been so lucky to have had excellent weather up until now.

After breakfast, we headed to the dock via horse-drawn carriage. We sat up front with a great view of the horse team’s butts. The rain stopped long enough for us to board the ferry without getting soaked. We then took the shuttle from the dock to the Pellston airport. If looking at the horse team’s butts wasn’t unpleasant enough it was a dream compared to watching our driver spit his tobacco juice into a water bottle. Is that my breakfast that I feel trying to come up?

The Pellston airport is tiny but must be a prime spot for terrorists. I had an unopened tube of toothpaste in my carry-on that was confiscated. Not only was the tube unopened, I had not even opened the box.

Upon arriving in Detroit and heading to our connecting flight I spotted a traveler wearing a Houston Astros jersey. I had to ask him if he saw the game where they pulled the pitcher after 7 no-hit innings. He did and was in complete agreement with me. Lucky for him he was in a hurry to catch his flight because I was about to unload on him my frustration about the TSA taking my unopened tube of toothpaste. All I can say is that you can all rest comfortably knowing the TSA has prevented the father of 3, grandfather of 4, Assistant Professor of Medicine at UCLA, non-gun owner, non-smoker, non-pill taker, with a perfect driving record, who just reached 74 years old, from taking an unopened tube of toothpaste onto a commercial flight from Pellston, Michigan to Detroit. The whole system is ridiculous.

In addition to hearing about airport security, I thought you might like to see a few interesting pictures from Mackinac Island.

Looking for a job? Do you meet the qualifications?
Open 11:30 am to 9:00 pm and 9:00 pm until 2:00 am. Closed at 9:00 for 60 seconds?
Do you think Dr. Putz is a urologist?
I am not the only criminal TSA needs to worry about. This criminal must have lost a shoe climbing over this fence.
Detroit Airport says “Don’t touch!”
Maybe TSA is right. This is clearly an individual with criminal intent.

See you next time when we are off to ………..

Somewhere in Time Day #4 “Happy Birthday to Me”

by reissmd, posted in Mackinac Island, Michigan

Today is my birthday and thank you to everyone who sent me their well wishes. Also thanks to those who said they were shocked to hear I was still alive. Before I get to today let me fill you in on last night. We had dinner at the Carriage House at the Iroquois Hotel (7485 Main St, Mackinac Island, MI 49757). The place was recommended by Patrice’s sister and we have to confirm this is a great place to go. The ambience was perfect with wonderful views of the lake and a keyboard player entertaining us throughout our meal. We shared our first course which was the Crab Tower.

It looked more like a crab bungalow than a tower to me. Look at this comparison photo.

A tiny pepper shaker puts the “tower” in perspective.

Even though it was small, it was very tasty so I am glad we ordered it.

Goat cheese salad and French Onion soup followed although they were not photo-worthy, they were delicious. Patrice had the whitefish and I had veal marsala. Unfortunately, I was too busy listening to the music to remember to take pictures.

This morning I was greeted by a series of phone calls and texts from my loved ones wishing me a happy birthday. As I have told many of you I am very pleased that these birthdays continue to come, I just wish they didn’t come so fast.

After breakfast, we took a tour of the stables. We learned a lot of interesting facts about the horses and the carriages. After the tour, we were free to wander the area or return to town or the hotel. After a bit of exploring the area, we decided to return to the hotel. Patrice asked me if I knew the way back and I said, “Yes, just walk downhill and follow the horse dung”. This worked well except this person made things a little difficult.

This tour guide told us they take turns removing the horse droppings and today was her turn.

After a brief rest, Patrice had us signed up for a “Behind the Scenes” tour given by the hotel historian. I knew we were in trouble when the 2-hour tour started out with him spending 40 minutes pontificating in the hot sun. Then we finally started to move along only to stop for another 25 minutes to hear about the outside windows, eaves, and gardens. We then moved inside where he started to go over the posters that lined the wall most of which we had already seen. At this point, I had had enough of the so-called Behind the Scenes tour. Also when he told us that the hotel would be putting in a flower arrangement in the design of “The Scream” by Van Gogh I said to myself, “That’s it!” I am not an art connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination but even I know that “The Scream” was painted by Edvard Munch and not Vincent Van Gogh.

If you want to see our guide, here is a 2-minute answer to the simple question, “Where do the employees come from?”.

Rather than getting annoyed at this guy, I should have just recommended that such a fair-skinned person wear a hat to prevent skin cancer.

We leave early tomorrow. Mackinac Island is a wonderful location but I am not sure I can recommend the Grand Hotel. It was a fun place to stay because of its history, but I doubt I would stay here again. They charge a heck of a lot for the rooms and they are nothing special. The staff is very friendly but most of them are seasonal and don’t seem to know what they are doing. That’s okay with me. I prefer a friendly clueless person over a smartass any day.

That’s enough for tonight. Patrice said tonight would be very special. I got very excited with anticipation and insisted she tell me what she meant. She finally did. At 3:00 AM a storm is expected.

Somewhere In Time Day #3 “Exploring Mackinac Island”

by reissmd, posted in Mackinac Island, Michigan

After that huge dinner last night, we decided it was only fitting to start today with a wonderful breakfast. First, we were greeted by this menu and told we could have any and all items listed.

After seeing this I was a bit overwhelmed

For starters we chose the fresh fruit plate.

That thing in the middle is the lychee. Some locals told us how to eat it. Not worth the effort

The fruit plate was good but some of the selections needed an extra day to ripen. The lychee was a challenge. In order to eat it you had to compress the shell to extract the edible portion. Unfortunately, I’m a beginner and mine popped out of the shell hitting the adjacent window before landing on my plate.

For our next course, I chose the chocolate croissant and Patrice the Chocolate Avocado Muffin.

Croissant was good but we’ve had a lot better
Avocado?

For the main course, Patrice picked the quiche Lorraine and I requested an omelet.

Quiche Lorraine for Patrice
Omelet with cheese, onions, and mushrooms for me.

Both were very good. It was a very filling breakfast with a huge selection. But if that wasn’t enough, you might prefer the buffet.

How did I miss seeing this on our way in? Just lucky I guess. Tomorrow might lead to a less healthy series of choices.

Next, we took a carriage tour of the island. This was a lot of fun. Shelly was our guide and her horses were Jane and Patty (not Patrice). Here is a shot of Patty. Does she look anything like my Patty?

My Patty used to have long hair just like this.

We learned a lot of fun facts and saw some interesting sights. For example, I found out that I misled you yesterday. Mackinaw is the English name. Mackinac is the name given by the native inhabitants. It apparently means turtle. Mackinac Island when viewed on a map from the Canadian viewpoint looks like a turtle shell.

Island landmarks included the Arch Rock. See below.

The beautiful Patrice with her travel partner, the famous blogger, Robert.

We also saw some amazing homes. It is hard to believe but these beauties were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They are only occupied during “the season” and then boarded up for the remainder of the year. See below.

The flowers die each winter and they are replaced prior to the start of the new season.

Another interesting sight (I will spare you the fort, cemeteries, and churches) was Sugarloaf.

Sugarloaf was nice but won’t make you forget the mountain of the same name in Rio. Check out our blog post from Rio to see the other Sugarloaf.

Our tour came to a close and I asked Shelly if it was okay if I took a picture of my Patty with her Patty. Shelly said it was okay with her. Patty (her Patty not mine) relieved herself after I asked so I took that as a yes from her.

Patty with my Patty.

After the tour, we headed to the parlor for high tea. There, we were once again serenaded by the harpist. She played many lovely tunes including Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini. That piece was featured in the movie Somewhere in Time. The music is lovely and that along with the beauty of the hotel and the island as featured in the film is what got us here.

I especially like the end of this video when the couple walks in front of me and says “Sorry”

I suppose that is enough for today. I need to take a rest because soon we will be leaving for dinner!

Somewhere In Time Day #2 “The Grand Hotel, and I Do Mean Grand”

by reissmd, posted in Mackinac Island, Michigan

We left a lovely hotel this morning (The Westin at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport). See below.

The lobby of the Westin at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)

We then flew to Pellston, Michigan (I never heard of it either), from the Pellston Airport (PLN) we then took a shuttle to a ferry. After a 16-minute ride, we were docked at Mackinac Island. We have also seen the spelling “Mackinaw” and that mystery was soon solved. We were informed that the French originally inhabited this area and named it Mackinac. When the British came they called it Mackinaw. Both are pronounced the same way (Naw not Nac).

After getting off the ferry we were told to walk across the street and get a horse and carriage ride to the hotel. They said that carriages arrive “every 30 minutes give or take a few”. After waiting a bit I looked at Apple Maps and saw that the hotel was only half a mile away so we decided to walk. It is very safe to walk here because the only things you will see on the streets (other than pedestrians) are bicyclists and horse-drawn vehicles. On the way to the hotel, we saw a number of interesting sites.

Hart’s Inn: I don’t know anything about it but it sure looks inviting.
French Outpost: I think they might specialize in stacking turtles here. I am not sure but I will find out later in the trip.

Then we approached this magnificent sight. See below

The Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island, Michigan

As you can see, the view of the hotel is spectacular. They boast of having the longest porch in the world (I have read it is 660 feet and 668 feet, you can choose). In addition to the outside being a thing of beauty check out these inside shots.

Lounge around the corner from the concierge desk.
A long hallway with shops on one side and sitting areas on the other,

After checking in we lounged around the property which included a stop at the Cupola Bar (the highest point of the hotel). While sitting there enjoying drinks (we had water) and appetizers (we had burrata with tomatoes and warm artichoke dip) you can look out over Lake Huron and chat with your fellow travelers. The bar also has this lovely chandelier.

Murano glass chandelier

After a little more hotel exploring and chilling in the room, it was time for dinner. For dinner, at the Grand Hotel, men and women must wear formal attire. Here is a shot of me in my blazer.

Very handsome, no?

Patrice wore an elegant gown with a plunging neckline that caused everyone to turn their heads to get a look. She won’t let me publish it because our children might see it.

For dinner, we had the “red” menu. The hotel rotates menus (red, green, and yellow). For appetizers, we chose wild mushroom risotto and melon and Parma ham.

Mushroom Risotto
Melon and Parma Ham

Next, we had Corn Gazpacho and White Asparagus soup.

Corn Gazpacho
White Asparagus Soup

Salads followed. We had heirloom tomato and cucumber salad with buffalo mozzarella, mint, and peach vinaigrette.

Heirloom tomato and cucumber salad with buffalo mozzarella, mint, and peach vinaigrette.

The entrees were beef tenderloin and pork chops.

Beef Tenderloin
Pork Chops

For dessert, we had their signature dessert called “Grand Pecan Ball”. We also had vanilla bean crème brûlée. I wanted to try the crème brûlée to see if it was as good as what I make.

Their “signature dessert” Grand Pecan Ball was excellent
Creme Brûlée. I have to admit, it was better than mine.

After that full meal, I told Patrice it was time to work out. Unfortunately, the gym was closed. So after finishing the blog, it is time to go to sleep. We have another fun day ahead.

(Patrice here, he said nothing of the sort in regards to going to the gym. We didn’t even look).

Somewhere In Time, Day #1 “Play Ball”

by reissmd, posted in Detroit

Today Patrice and I started a vacation to Mackinac Island in Lake Huron (yes, Michigan) for a celebration of my *** birthday. Why go all the way there to celebrate? Good question but I am not sure I have a good answer. In 1980 there was a romantic movie entitled “Somewhere in Time” starring Christopher Reeve (aka Superman) and Jane Seymour (aka Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman). The movie was filmed at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and the location looked like the perfect retreat for a loving couple.

So we decided to make a visit to the island but due to flight schedules, we needed to spend a night in Detroit before heading to our final destination. Once I realized we needed a stop in Detroit I immediately started to think about baseball. As luck would have it the Tigers are in town and we got to add ballpark #22 to our list (just 8 more to go). Patrice and I couldn’t be happier about this bonus. Let me rephrase that, I couldn’t be happier about this bonus.

In order to include the ballgame we needed to take the early 7:15 AM flight from LAX to Detroit. So we headed to the airport at 5:30 only to find out that our flight was delayed and departure time was moved to 8:45 (eventually leaving at 9:02). The flight to Detroit was smooth but we had to hustle to check into our hotel, get the rental car and drive to the stadium. We thought we still had plenty of time to get to the stadium but the wait at Avis Rent A car was absurd. There were about 15 people lined up at the “Preferred Member” counter. It took us about 40 minutes to get a car and then we were off to the stadium. Traffic was light so we entered the ballpark just in time to see the first pitch.

The game was amazing and heartbreaking. The Houston pitcher, Framber Valdez, had a no-hitter going through 7 innings. Earlier this month (August 1st to be exact) Valdez no-hit the Cleveland Guardians. I was really excited about the game. It reminded me of when I took my son, David to watch Fernando Valenzuela pitch a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1990. David was so excited he didn’t want to go to the bathroom even though he was hopping around in discomfort. I explained to David that Fernando couldn’t give up a hit when the Dodgers were batting so we took a break at that time. Similarly, tonight I headed to the bathroom in the 8th when the Astros were batting (Patrice didn’t have to explain that to me). I returned in time to see that the Astro manager had pulled his pitcher. I tapped the guy next to me to help me understand this. He simply replied “Pitch count”. Well, the relievers let the game slip away, giving up 4 runs in the bottom of the ninth, sending the Astros to defeat. I am a huge baseball fan but if you are not going to let us see a no-hitter how do you expect fans to get excited about a game. I have gone to hundreds of baseball games in my life and have only seen one no-hitter. That was a very special night with my boy. Tonight could have also been very special except…….

I am unclear why this pitch count nonsense has taken hold. I don’t know any specific statistics but seems to me like pitchers are still getting injured with great frequency. Shohei Ohtani just torn his ulnar collateral ligament. Clayton Kershaw seems to always be missing games because of injuries. When pitch count discussions come up I like to remind people of the 16-inning game between the San Francisco Giants and the Milwaukee (now Atlanta) Braves in 1963. The Giants pitcher (25-year-old Juan Marichal) threw 227 pitches and his opponent from the Braves was the 42-year-old Warren Spahn who threw 201 pitches. Tonight’s pitcher (29-year-old Framber Valdez) threw 114 pitches.

I might have been disappointed tonight but Patrice was very pleased. She read a good portion of her book and the game ended in 2 hours and 35 minutes.

My apologies to my blog followers. I like to make the blog humorous but tonight I just had to rant. Sorry, I will try to do better tomorrow.

Travels With Charlie Day #5? “Should We Stay In Chicago”

by reissmd, posted in Chicago

Last night it took a very long time to exit the parking lot at White Sox stadium aka Guaranteed Rate Stadium (Do you really think that should be the name of a stadium?). When we finally got back to the hotel it was late resulting in another sleep-in day this morning. When we finally got going we decided to skip breakfast and go straight to lunch. My friend Mike has repeatedly recommended we go to Al’s Italian Beef. I rarely eat beef but I didn’t think I could face Mike when I got home if I didn’t give it a try.

The trio getting ready to eat at Al’s Italian Beef.

Mike said I should order the beef and sausage combo with sweet peppers. Before getting our food I had to use the bathroom where I saw some interesting signs. See below.

Since this place was near Wrigley Field I assume they were referring to baseball
Bathroom archery?
Definitely a Los Angeles County Health Department “A” rating for cleanliness.

Outside the bathroom, I saw pictures of a number of celebrities who have dined at Al’s. This picture made me think Al is not a boxing fan or just not a great speller.

Sugar Ray Lenord?

I ordered the beef and sausage combo with sweet peppers as recommended by my Chicago food expert. See below.

Al’s Beef and Sausage Combo with Sweet Peppers. It was good but I would not go out of my way for it.

After lunch, we headed to Wrigley Field for a tour. We gave Charlie a number of choices of things to do today and Wrigley was his selection without hesitation.

In front of Wrigley with Charlie’s newly purchased Chicago Cubs hat. Hey! I thought you said you were a San Francisco Giants fan?

The tour was great. It lasted about 90 minutes and we got to see all sorts of aspects of the park. We sat in the prime seats and the bleachers. We were able to see the visiting team’s clubhouse and sit in the Cub’s dugout. Our guide told us all sorts of interesting information about the stadium, the Cubs, and the history of baseball in Chicago. But the main thing that made this a perfect outing is what Charlie said upon leaving, “Sitting in the visiting team’s clubhouse at Wrigley Field was the highlight of my summer”. Did you hear that Charlie’s Mom and Dad? Did I mention, that Grandpa is immature?

For dinner, I was lobbying to go to a Chicago landmark called the Wiener’s Circle. The place is famous for its hot dogs but is actually more famous for the attitude displayed by its employees. Rude is putting it mildly. This video convinced me that maybe we should save this for a trip when we are in Chicago without a 10-year-old.

We opted for a quiet meal at the hotel instead.

This will be the last post for this trip. I really enjoyed our “Travels With Charlie”. He is a very good travel partner. Patrice is pretty good too. Chicago is a great city but the weather is not to my liking. If asked would I ever want to live here, the sign below should give you the answer to that question.

As Randy Newman put it, “I Love L.A”

Travels With Charlie Day #4 “Play Ball!”

by reissmd, posted in Chicago

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!)

That is Robert between 2nd and 3rd trotting home after his blast. Just to clarify, that is not me.

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