Evanston trip report

[damfran]

Got into Chicago around 4pm Friday....almost 5.5 hour ride. Checked in at Best Western River North

I spicy Bloody Mary and 2 Coronas at Heaven on Seven....2 Jack and Cokes at Billy Goat.....Corona and Absolute Lemondrop at Houlihans...2 micro beers at The Big Bar at the Hyatt.....needed air. Leisurely walk north, many pics of street performers, and about 5 artsy pics of Marilyn Monroe's panties and flowing dress...pretty hot actually.

Refused into the Cape Cod Room, yet again, for improper attire. Went to the bar there and ordered 2 dozen raw oysters, 1 dozen Rocked, 2 kinds of horseradish, and 12 deviled egg halves for my friend and I. Heiny's in the bottle, start talking to a bunch of UM people, etc.... then the shots start coming our way from others.....my stomach is confused and these shots could put me over the edge. I pass, yet am prodded to do at least do 1.........of Tequila, which I don't drink. I do it while praying to keep it down, our group is quite the focal point now, drink 2 waters, pay the $95 tab counting tip, steal 2 oyster forks, and leave.
Walk to the Rush Street scene....I have NEVER seen it so alive on a GLORIOUS Friday night.

Back to River North, decide on Portillos, order 4 Italian sausages and 2 Chicago dogs for us....dropped a dog on the hotel carpet, yet ate it anyway......sold decision making, eh? Sleep

Awaken at 7am Sat, drive to Sidney Markowitz golf course on the lake for our prepaid 9:30 round....paired with two all right dudes. 3 HOURS FOR 9 HOLES!!!!!! Alternated pars with double bogeys...every single hole. Loved the Lake contrasting with the skyline.

Off to Evanston bed and breakfast, very eerie, creepy place.......off toward alumni tailgate after FINALLY finding a bar near the stadium, The Blue Note. Tailgate was the biggest one of the $10 variety I have seen , and the first one where the real food was included. Had about 4 of the 312 beers, ate, met some cool people. The port a johns had very nice fake flowers in them. DB was a good speaker in person, very candid. Off to the game. Field is smack in the middle of a residential hood. Smaller than I thought, not constructed in an efficient manner as far as pedestrian traffic flow. Great turnout, of course, from the UM crowd. Never really nervous that we would not come back and win...old hat by now, eh?

Cab back to B and B, pizza shack place , sleep.....woke for the breakfast, bypassed the Chicago Marathon, made it home in 4.5 hours
I guess I'd go here again....but only because it's so close to Chicago. Props to all the NU egghead students we met....very cordial.

Only have Minny and Lincoln left.

 

[cmrlily]

re: pedestrian traffic flow in the stadium - yes, that was awful. Really annoying how it's cut off at the endzone. The scoreboard seemed inaccurate at times too. Also, not sure if you noticed, but after NW's first touchdown, they marched out the W-I-L-D-C-A-T-S flags, but the "D" was missing. I would expect something like that out of, oh, everyone except us and NW. Then, I thought, were they cleverly mocking us. "No D", as in, your team has no d(efense)?

Parking was very, very easy and cheap.

I hope you had your Portillo's dog with everything on it.

 

[damfran]

re: pedestrian traffic flow in the stadium - yes, that was awful. Really annoying how it's cut off at the endzone. The scoreboard seemed inaccurate at times too. Also, not sure if you noticed, but after NW's first touchdown, they marched out the W-I-L-D-C-A-T-S flags, but the "D" was missing. I would expect something like that out of, oh, everyone except us and NW. Then, I thought, were they cleverly mocking us. "No D", as in, your team has no d(efense)?

Parking was very, very easy and cheap.

I hope you had your Portillo's dog with everything on it.

That was hilarious with the banner!....never thought of the mocking us angle...I doubt it....I said it was because the "D" guy had Diarrhea. He was back out there the next time. Can't believe I forgot to mention the piece of crap down and yards to go board......inaccurate more than half the game. LOTS of empties smuggled in there....pretty lax at the gate

As far as the dog..............I don't even want to think about it ever again.....yet it will haunt me......the innebriated vision I had of myself was Dan Aykroyd pulling the salmon out of his pocket dressed as Santa in Trading Places and eating it along with his beard while drunk on the bus