Sunday morning one of the Texian Army guys drove from MI where he was staying to Chicago. The plan was for him to provide us transportation in exchange for him crashing with us. He arrived mid-morning. It should be noted at the hotel parking is $37/day. This seems outrageous, but parking is so limited downtown that this rate is on par with the area.
We went to Gino's East and had a delicious time. I've aforementioned Gino's is my favorite, so this should be no surprise. By the time we were done with the meal, it was about 2PM, and the Toyota Park lots opened at 3PM. After returning to the hotel to gather belongings, it was about a 20-30 minute drive.
On the way to Toyota Park, we stopped at Joe & Frank's Market (7147 W Archer Ave at Harlem, Chicago, Illinois 60638). Although we were just there to get tailgate supplies (ice, water, beer, chips, etc), next time we have decided to pick up some deli meat, cheeses, and bread for the tailgate. The selection is amazing with sausages hanging from the beams for your choosing. This market caters to the Polish population (staff members were speaking Polish), and there's lots of Polish snacks to try. The guys bought a Polish beer which wasn't bad. I definitely need to try this next time we're headed to Toyota Park.
Aside from the 5 of us Texian Army members, we were joined by a college student from St. Louis and his parents. So, we had a tailgate of 8. Things were pretty lackadaisical. We were supposed to have stadium security meet with us at 4PM, but that never happened. They just showed up whenever it was time to go in. We've never had a problem during a game, which is probably why. We also didn't have that many people.
The game itself is really nothing to write home about, since we lost 2-1. We scored the first goal, but it was then disallowed. To date, I still don't know why the goal was disallowed, since the linesman didn't put up an offside flag. We should have tied (even Chicago fans who thought it was a goal were disappointed), but so goes MLS refereeing.
After the game, we went back to the tailgate, and the St. Louis' guy's car was keyed and tire was cut. It was the first problem we've ever had when at a Chicago Fire game. It was a good thing he had a spare tire and knew how to change a tire, but no one ever deserves to have their car vandalized. Security apologized profusely, but there was nothing they could do. Nearby Chicago fans offered cookies as a peace offering and were available for assistance. So, lessons learned - be careful if you're taking a car to Toyota Park.
From the game, we returned to Miller's Pub because it was conveniently a couple of doors away from the hotel. We called it an early night around midnight since we were tired. The guy crashing with us had to be up at 6AM to drive to his parents' place.
The next day on Labor Day we slept until noon, had lunch at Macy's, and walked around. I stopped at Garrett's Popcorn again to take popcorn home for my dad. One of the gals who was staying an extra night allowed us to put our bags in her room until we needed to leave later in the afternoon, which was nice of her. We then walked to Millenium Park (had to take a picture in the bean) and Michigan Avenue until slightly north of the river, had a gelato, and returned to the hotel. We left for the airport around 3:30PM (flight departed at 6:30PM), since it takes an hour to get to O'Hare via L train (blue line - $2.25 each way). ORD is either #1 or #2 in terms of the nation's busiest airports (always competing with ATL), so it's best to get there two hours prior to departure, although this time we had no problems going through security.
So, that was my trip to Chicago for the Dynamo game. I love Chicago for its eating places and unique city vibe. On to Columbus today for the USMNT world cup qualifier against Jamaica!
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