After visiting Chicago in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000, I began to develop a true appreciation for one of America's proudest, most vibrant, most beautiful cities. Each year another friend moved out there, offering another reason to go out. By 2001 Adam and Carmen, Max, Josh, and Caitlin were all living there. Beth and I knew that we had to visit, but we wanted to go when it was still warm enough to check out Wrigley Field. We bought plane tickets for September 13 and Cubs tickets for the 14th. Alas, no planes took off and no baseball games were played in the days following September 11.

Adam asked me on September 12 if we were going to make it to Chi-town. I said even if there were planes taking off, I had no way of getting in the airport. The bridges and tunnels in Manhattan were closed, the streets were abandoned, and the air smelled of thick, putrid ash from over a million tons of exploded concrete from the WTC, only about a mile and a half from our home. We were not going to Chicago. Still, the painful days of September passed by. We needed our friends and exchanged our tickets for the 3-day Columbus Day weekend. Oddly enough, the postponed Cubs game from the 14th was to be played on the Columbus Day weekend. It was a perfect fit. We were going to Chicago.

After getting picked up, we headed for the Empty Bottle, a fun bar with a lot of character. And Rocket from the Crypt. The six of us met up with Josh's roommates Adam and Mark and caught up on old times over a few beers. I went for a Chicago brew and ended up a tad tipsy.

Finally we all went to Adam's new apartment, on the 23rd story of a luxury skyrise overlooking Lake Michigan. What a pad. We didn't realize how spectacular the view was until we woke up and looked out his huge living room windows. We all slept late, chilled out and listened to the new Oysterhead album, and walked to Wrigley for the Saturday afternoon start.

My first Cubs game was truly memorable. Even though we all had different seats, Adam said "it's like a Phish show; you sit where you want." Upon entering the friendly confines of Wrigley, we were each handed a complimentary gift: a Homer Simpson pez dispenser. Are you kidding? The game that we had decided to go to in June just happened to be Homer pez dispenser giveaway day. Perfect.

As a lover of baseball, Wrigley blew me away. It was so cozy, so gorgeous, so windy, so cold. I guess it was Cubs baseball in October, a scenario which few people have ever been alive to witness. After the Homer Simpsons pez dispenser giveaway, the game didn't disappoint. We sat beside right field for the best view of Sammy. I explored the park, checking out all the angles. You could see both Adam's apartment and Lake Michigan from the upper deck. And the city skyline was visible too. We were treated to Sosa's 63rd home run of the season, an inside-the-park job assisted by the reddening autumn ivy. And Cubs starter Julian Tavarez pitched 7 1/3 of no-hit ball against the pitiful Pittsburgh Pirates. The final score was Cubs 11, Pirates 2. It was the Bucs's 100th loss of the season.

Max always lamented at college at B.U. that he never had time or the opportunity to play in a band. But there was never doubting his talent. Now transplanted in Chicago, Max was able to meet some similarly talented musicians and create Lunch, a trance-rock Chicago-based experiment.

Moved from his customary position behind the guitar, Max kept the rhythm going with thunderous bass lines. In the red visor, he sets the grooves in the smoky downstairs Elbo Room.

Chicagoans say that while they don't have an ocean, they have a lake. As a son of the Atlantic, this logic always astounded me. An ocean travels beyond your eyesight and many times more across your imagination. An ocean's ripples, traveling for hours and thousands of miles, can carry you to Earth in a majestic 5' crest. As much as I love Chicago, I need an ocean. Or, if I don't get an ocean, then I need enormous mountains (Colorado). But then again, they have a Great Lake where we stopped by for a few minutes of disc. The lighthouse (above left) was unexpected, and it elicited memories of home. The lifeguard stand, fallen in hibernation, signaled that the summer was officially over. The sunset over Lake Michigan created a surreal arrangement of clouds, and it was a very pleasant scene. With the lake stretching out well past the horizon and tiny whitecaps falling onto soft white sand, I began to appreciate the concept of a great lake.

After an entertaining bout of autumn frisbee, our crew sought out a kick ball course. Earlier in the day we had placed a kick ball (dodge ball, 4-square ball, whatever) from Toyscape in the trunk for just this very purpose. We found an ideal field next to the beach with perfect boundaries. The field faced north, so the roll was toward the lake. During sunset, besides Lake Michigan, we played an intense, organized, well-played game of kick ball. We played every man for himself, and Josh blew us away, clinching the victory against Dave with a 7th inning home run. Beth impressed us all with her outfield skills, and I was the king of overrunning bases.

Above left, Sammy Sosa stands solo in the sacred territory of Wrigley right field. The bleacher creatures adored him all game, giving him a standing ovation every time he sprinted out to his position.

We spent our final day in Chi-town, the 509th anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the New World (observed), at Toyscape. Click here to see awesome pictures taken outside Toyscape's doors.

Above right, Josh and Dave pose by a statue in the Chicago Botanical Garden. We spent the Sunday afternoon at the Gardens, exploring Spider Island and tossing disc wherever the occasion arose. Below, Beth and Josh enjoy a nice moment under the autumn sun at Wrigley Field.