America’s Favorite Passtime
Our first full family trip back home to the US is underway, and we wasted no time jumping back into American culture. We spent Father’s Day at Wrigley Field watching the Chicago Cubs versus the Pittsburg Pirates. (I’ll spare you the anxiety, the Cubs won in an extra inning.) We’ve also spent a few days at a lake house and have been to an outdoor concert!
We’re spending around 2 weeks stateside visiting my husband’s family for a week followed by a week with my family. Our flight was into Chicago where one of my brother-in-laws lives with his family, which made for easier travel into the US for us. We only had one layover this time as opposed to two. Our toddler did great on the flights and was a trooper getting adjusted to the time change this weekend.
Our first week will be spent at a lake house, but we decided to spend day 1, Father’s Day, in Chicago for a Cubs baseball game. What better way to welcome ourselves back into the US than with a trip to the ballpark to experience America’s favorite pastime. It was our two-year-old’s first time seeing a major sporting event in person, and he had the time of his life. We have a little sports lover on our hands. He clapped, he woo’ed, and he yelled, “Go Purdue” and “Go IU” with such confidence it was hard to correct him to finally saying, “Go Cubs!” He also ate a ballpark hot dog, got a new Cubs baseball cap, and ate chocolate vanilla swirl softer serve out of an upside down cubs helmet serving dish. I’d say he got the full experience and was asleep by 6:30pm that night.
My husband and I also treated ourselves to some Cubs swag and tasty treats at the game. I couldn’t miss a true Chicago dog, so that was concession stop number one for me. We also got a plateful of nachos, dill pickle tater tots with a side of ranch dressing, and a couple of beers. I know we missed some classics, but I was too full to stuff anymore in. Needless to say, I opted for a salad later that evening.
After the game we headed to a taco restaurant while we waited for our train back to the suburbs. We had a great time visiting with family and relaxing a little after all of the excitement. Highlights from the game were on TVs at the bar, and it was like our toddler was back in the action. He was yelling “Go IU” and “Go Purdue” anytime a player was on the screen.
It was an early night to bed for all of us that evening, which was much needed after the excitement of the day and travel the day before. We headed to the lake house Monday morning to enjoy some time with my husband’s family. However, since we have trouble keeping our schedules light, we made sure to add in a mid-week concert in the Indianapolis area.
Tuesday afternoon we made the three hour drive from Michigan to Indianapolis for a Mumford and Sons concert. My sisters and one of my brother-in-laws joined us as well as a couple of friends we know from college. It was a great quick reunion for all of us. The concert was of course amazing and really filled my need for live music and concerts. Something I’ve been missing while living in Norway. There’s something about an outdoor concert that’s therapeutic for me. I’m happy we were able to fit one in this trip.
Well, it’s not a long post today, but we’ve got some quality time with our families to soak up. I’ve got a list of comfort foods to enjoy while we’re in town, but be sure to share any suggestions I may be forgetting. Remembering all the must-eat foods can be a challenge sometimes when there’s so many to choose from.
