Saturday, September 5, 2009

CHICAGO

SEPTEMBER 2-4, 2009

After flying a passenger to Chicago to attend the Oprah show, we knew we would have a full day to go explore the city. There happened to be a rescheduled Cubs vs. White Sox day game so we thought we would jump on the train and head down to Wrigley Field.







On our way back to the field we found some general admission seats in the bleachers. When we got in we could not find a seat anywhere. Attendance was over 40,000 and it was an absolutely beautiful day out. We finally found some seats at the top where we could stand and lean against the fence and have a great view.



There was so much rivalry in the crowd, I would say 50/50 White Sox and Cubs fans. We saw a fight break out and a lot of taunting. It was nice to see so many energetic, crazy, fanatic fans. The White Sox ended up winning the game.

After the game there were tons of guys in the street making music on buckets. There would be 2-6 guys in a group drawing a crowd to marvel in their talents. Check out the video below (sorry its going the wrong direction and for the idiot at the end). The streets were flooded with people and there were vendors on every corner selling memorabilia.


After the game we headed back on the train and decided to go explore downtown Chicago. We walked to the Navy Pier which had a museum, some restaurants, a ferris wheel, carousel, etc. There were also boats coming in and out of the harbor.







We went in search of the Sears Tower and along the way we got some great views of the city. The architecture is just absolutely breathtaking.












It was cool to see the famous Chicago theater where Steely Dan happened to be playing.





After walking block after block in search of the Sears Tower, we finally found it, except now it is called the Willis Tower. Jerry and I ventured up to the Skyledge which is 103 floors up. There are 360 degree views of the city along with glass floored observation points where you can look down 103 floors to the ground below you.






What really scared me was when we were at the train station and saw a huge black widow. Chris pretended like he was going to throw it at me and I screamed at the top of my lungs and ran...I hate spiders! Pilots think they are so funny. It made for a good laugh at least.

OUTSIDE LANDS

AUGUST 29-31 2009

After a hectic month at work and not knowing whether I would get any time off, I was able to squeeze out a few days to make it up to San Francisco for the Outside Lands Music Festival. Tyler and I got a good deal on a pair of 3 day tickets, I had free hotel nights, and our plane tickets were free...how could we pass it up.

We flew in Saturday morning and took the Bart to the Civic Center. From there we decided to make the trek to our hotel. After a few wrong turns and some shady streets we made it to the Holiday Inn which was in a great location. We were able to check-in early and get ready for the festival. We stopped at Mel's Diner for some lunch and then BevMo:) We started to take the bus but when the bus we needed to transfer to was full we finally split a cab with some crazy guy! It was definately some good laughs along the way.

We got there just in time to see Groundation. We were just taking everything in as people were spread out all over the hill on blankets, people dancing, smoking, drinking, and just having a great time. We got lucky that it was a beautiful day and nice and warm.

Along with having a million porta potties, they also had some of the best food. Tyler and I found our 2 most favorite things....poke and sweet potato fries. We also had the best black bean burrito! They also had a WINE tent that you could go wine tasting at.

The festival was spread out over Golden Gate Park, which we were informed, is larger than Central Park. There were 5 stages, 2 huge ones and the others just average. The layout was set up great. There were tents and booths set up between the stages, food and bathrooms near every stage, and just a variety of things to keep you entertained. They were able to accommodate a lot of people.

One of my new favorite bands that I really appreciate after seeing them live is Matt & Kim. They had so much energy and just seemed to be having a great time. Here is a little video of them playing at Outside Lands.

The Barbary Tent and Stage had another group of performers and bands. There were crazy clowns, people walking on stilts, and just a bunch of different things out of the norm.

People were painting or drawing on pieces of paper and then the used each piece to create these birds.



Band of Horses put on an amazing show. I included a short clip of their show as well. All the stages were creative and different. One was even solar powered. The art around each stage made it unique and was just refreshing as you traveled all over the festival. Below you will find the complete line-up from the show. Definetely a festival you won't want to miss out on next year. I know we will be there!