It was blazingly hot on the way there. We took the Blue Line down and changed to the Red Line in the Loop. It was the first time that we'd been on the El in a long time, quite possibly the first since Julie was really old enough to be looking around. Katie proceeded to chat up at least one total stranger on the trip. My social little girl. *sigh*
But we got in, settled into our seats for the greeting, and then proceeded to roam the field. Katie and Julie were delighted that the Cubs had brought in bouncy castles, although they only managed to get into one each, because there were some long lines and slow children. (Not that my children are ever slow about leaving a bouncy castle.)
After we dined on complementary hot dogs and popcorn, we set out for the visitors' clubhouse.
daisy_knotwise decided that she had had quite enough of the stairs before getting there, but it was interesting for me and the girls to look around. In fact, Gretchen decided that she had had quite enough of walking by this point in the expedition and took Julie to go sit down while Katie and I headed up to the press box. Eventually, I ended up sitting in the chair reserved for Paul Sullivan, the Tribune's current Cubs reporter, while Katie sat next to me in a second reserved Trib seat. It's a pretty good view, although I've got to admit that I prefer my seats overall. :)(And I wonder how Ron Santo managed to live as long as he did, getting up to the press box on a daily basis. That's quite a trip, more so for a double amputee!)
We did a quick walk past the Cubs' clubhouse, settled in the dugout for a few minutes, and then walked around the bases once, stopping briefly to chat with the fellow wearing a Lou Brock jersey from the appropriate Cubs minor league affiliate. (I'd pointed it out to Gretchen who said it was "cruel", so I had to mention it to the man with a grin. Of course, I'm a Cardinals fan...) By then, they were getting ready to clear the park for the next session, so we headed back to the El, getting there ahead of the looming rain.
Sadly, Julie was pretty heated up by this point and was into "interesting" behavior on the trip home. But overall, it wasn't too bad.
And a good time was had by all.