And…we’re off….!

Thanks to Tom and JP for packing their car with a year or so worth of our belongings and chauffeuring us to Kenosha. Our first official Loop day on the water could not have been any better. After some memorable well wishes from our dock neighbors at Southport Marina, we set the chart-plotter for Belmont Harbor in Chicago and headed out. The beautiful sunny skies and smooth blue-water quickly put any game-time anxieties to rest.

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We chose Belmont Harbor as our first destination because both our children live in this “Wrigleyville” area AND Sam’s first apartment is right across Lake Shore Drive from us! This is so cool ‘cuz I can’t tell you how many times I stood up in 7N looking down on this exact spot thinking about this very moment! Tyler could not join us but we spent a great day with Sam. After an uneventful docking we hung out in Belmont Harbor for a while admiring the incredible skyline and watching the hustle and bustle of boats flowing in and out of the Harbor on what Tom Skilling has gotta rank as a top 5 weather day for 2019.

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The Cubs whooped up on the Pirates earlier in the day, 14 to 1, so we decided to head over to the Wrigley Field area for some dinner and to soak in the post victory celebration. We dined at Joe Maddon’s new restaurant called “Maddon’s Post”. The place has a nice atmosphere and the food was good, but the real payoff was that Anothony Rizzo (2 hit, 2 RBI, 1 run day) and some friends were seated at the table next to us. Samantha and Pam, big Cubs fans, were super excited since he is their favorite player. None of us had the gumption to go up and greet or take a pic of Rizz (we can call him that now). We all decided it was best to respect his privacy. As an added attraction, Tom Ricketts, owner of the Cubs, was also there and came to Anthony’s table to greet and congratulate him on the game. Mike gave Tom a brief “don’t I know you” wave and he nodded back with a confused look. Good times.