Well we were conned. Woke up and looked out the window to see clear and blue skies. Perfect for a ball game or so we thought. Headed outside and it was cold. It was 11C so I guess the cubs t-shirts we bought were going to cut it. So pack the jumpers, coats and gloves.

As we drove closer to Wrigley Park and closer to Lake Michigan, the temperature on the dash was getting lower. It was now 9C. Not sure where we were going to park. There was plenty of people offering parking on their properties from $30 to $45. I am sure there is something cheaper, so we headed out to where Bradley will be working and there was a one park left out the front – and it was free.

Free parking comes with a price but the 1.75 km walk at least kept us warm.

On the grass outside the field, Budweiser had set up some bars and an electronic batting game. Jenny and I both gave it a go. You had a practice swing then 3 game swings. Of course I hit a home run on the practice swing and bombed out on the game swings and Jenny got a couple of taps in the game swings. 

Clark the Chicago Cubs mascot was there so we had our photo with him and also got to see the 2016 World Series trophy. Time to put on the oxygen and head up to our seats. I had chosen these seats as they were undercover however with no rain on the radar, it would have been better to have been in the sun.

The view from the seats was good, able to see the whole field and even still make out the ball. There were plenty of screens, both large and small to keep up with what is going on and the place was nearly packed to capacity. I guess there were still some people working in Chicago today.

What was really interesting was the grandstands on the roofs of all the buildings on the other side of the road in the east and north. Even though they miss out on the big screens, they would have enjoyed the sunshine. The wind coming off Lake Michigan was brutal and the wind chill would have put the temperature somewhere around 3-4C. Having thin blood doesn’t help as I lost feeling in my fingers by the end of the game. I guess my gloves weren’t thick enough.

It was a close game with it looking like the Cubs were going to take it out 2-0 but a 3 run Home Run hit by the Yankees late in the game took the win away. The Cubs seemed to have lost hope and never recovered. It was still a good game despite the loss.

The walk back to the car started the blood circulating and by the time we got back to the hotel, I had feeling back in my hands.

The Illinois Foodfest has 2 more days to run and tonight we headed to Red Lobster for some seafood. Of course we have enough leftovers for tomorrow nights dinner. It will be good to get back to Oz and some reasonable sized meals.

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Even though there was little chance of rain today, it was still cold with a maximum of 9C but a little cooler with the wind chill.

This morning was better spent indoors with the Adler Planetarium where it was warmer. Car parking here was interesting with a flat rate of $19 in the centre carpark or park on the street which is closer for $2 an hour. We parked on the street.

The Planetarium had a couple of large domed roof theatres with very comfy chairs. How do I know. I only saw about half of each show we went into as I was snoring for the other half. There were exhibits on the moon, the planets, telescopes and astronomy in different cultures. It also provided a venue for today’s Illinois Foodfest, the Galileo’s Café, where you could look out over the very choppy Lake Michigan.

We spent the end of the day wandering around Chicago again taking in the Millennium Park, Buckingham Fountain and of course the Giant Jelly Bean or as it is more commonly known, Cloud Gate. I wonder if Cloud Gate (2006) was inspired by Adelaide’s the Malls Balls (1977).

The big mistake for today was heading out of Downtown Chicago at the start of peak hour, with most of the first 20 kilometres spent at 10-15 kph. A diversion to Walmart for some chicken and salad for dinner then back to the hotel. Tomorrow is the big Cub’s vs Yankees Ball Game at Wrigley Field.

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Another cool and windy day in Chicago so today rather than wander around the streets it is road trip time. Jenny said why don’t we go to Wisconsin and I said well there is the Harley Davidson Museum there so why not. After all it is only 133 kilometres up the road.

We had been driving through flat land for miles and then we spotted a sign to ski areas. Not sure where they ski as we hadn’t even spotted something that looked like a hill let alone a mountain. Figured that they meant water skiing but after some Googling, I found one of the hills they were referring to, Wilmot Mountain. It was literally that, a small hill, that almost looked man made with a few lifts. Apparently Vail Resorts now owns it. I guess you will ski whatever you have available.

It wasn’t too hard to spot the Harley Davidson Museum arriving into Milwaukee and we must have picked a good day as it wasn’t too busy.

I haven’t been a huge fan of Harleys, having owned 1 Yamaha, 2 Suzuki’s and a Honda (still have a Suzuki ER185 and a Honda CB900) but I was impressed by the history of the Harley Davidson from humble beginnings through several bad spots and still keep going.

The museum had one of every motorbike model they ever produced or so it seemed and I took over 100 photos. What was interesting was the 80’s when the Japanese bikes were taking over sales, and the Harley style changed to mimic the Japanese bikes more. When AMF merged with Harley, the diversification was different with golf carts, boats, ski mobiles and mini bikes. Not to mention the Topper scooter produced in the 60’s. I bet not too many hard core Harley riders were aware of that.

At the end of the museum tour and just before the gift shop, there was a selection of Harleys that you could sit on. The touring bikes were comfortable but not sure about the other models particularly for long rides. It didn’t take long for orders coming in from Australia for t-shirts from the gift shop. I even bought a t-shirt and a Hawaiian shirt for myself.

I took over 100 photos today of all the bikes on show in the Museum. I have uploaded them to my Flickr account and can be see by clicking “here“.

An hour and a half drive back to Chicago and out for out Illinois Foodfest venue for tonight, the Olive Garden. Nice meals but off course way too big and you come out as full as a goog.

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