Wrigleyville is composed of several square blocks surrounding Wrigley Field, the historic home of the Chicago Cubs. After watching the Cubs beat the Padres 8-3, we walked across the street to the corner of Clarke and Addison and into the world famous The Cubby Bear.

The Cubby Bear is advertised as "the place" for Cubs' post-game partying. It seemed that a good number of the crowd that were leaving Wrigley Field headed in that direction. Within minutes the place was packed. I was not impressed. It seemed very dirty and kind of smelly. There were no tables available, so we waited in line at the bar for a cold one. All they served were domestics and the basic imports. The Cubby Bear is not a brew pub. That was enough for me. I was thankful that my friends were in agreement. I can now say that I experienced The Cubby Bear after a Cubs’ game, but there are much better places just down the road.

Just a few blocks down on Clarke Street is Goose Island Beer Company. It was pretty crowded, but there were still a few tables available. When I visit local brewpubs, I always try the India Pale Ale (IPA). Goose Island’s IPA was above average, but it was just a bit too hoppy for my taste. I next tried one of their darker beers. The Honest Stout is brewed with caramel malt and has a robust, roasty flavor. I really enjoyed the taste. The creamy body was very rich and satisfying. Goose Island’s flagship is their Honkers Ale. I think the Honkers was everyone’s favorite. It had a nice rich taste with a gentle hop finish. We spent a couple of hours at the Goose Island Beer Company and had a great time. There were several good friends, plenty of nice conversation, and an endless supply of ice-cold brew.

Wrigleyville is also filled with many shops. There are the usual souvenir shops and those hocking Cubs’ clothing and memorabilia. And there are some unconventional shops as well. There was one shop that featured vintage Roaring 20s dresses and clothing in its window.

This was probably one of the best nights that I have experienced while traveling on business. I first went and watched the Cubs play at Wrigley Field. Then spent the rest of the evening with good friends in a fun and exciting locale like Wrigleyville.

The highlight of my trip to Chicago was definitely watching a Cubs game at historic Wrigley Field. Seeing the ivy-covered walls and the building-top seats across the street, all of the things that we have seen hundreds of times on TV were awesome. The scoreboard is still manually operated. You can actually see the guys changing out the numbers when someone scores. There is no hint of the sterile surrounds of Comiskey Park. The friendly confines of Wrigley Field is America’s second-oldest ballpark, and is where baseball was meant to be played.

We had quite an adventure on our way to the ballgame. We jumped on the "L" downtown. From there, it is only a short ride on the Red Line, which stops directly at Wrigley Field at the Addison Station, except when there is a fire on the track. Our train moved forward about 50 feet, then retreated back into the station. Every train in the downtown area was stopped and evacuated. It was a weekday about 6pm, so there were thousands of people coming up from the subway. There were no available taxis, so we jumped on a waiting bus. After about 45 minutes, we had moved maybe a mile. The bus driver gave us directions to Wrigley Field. We had no choice except to walk the remaining couple of miles. We arrived at the game in the bottom of the fourth inning.

We had just purchased our tickets on the internet earlier in the day and we had great seats. We were on the field level, about 15 rows behind home plate. I was amazed to see that the screen protecting the fans from foul balls was made of old, rusty chicken wire. I probably missed the first few pitches by just looking around and soaking up the wonderful, old-fashioned ballpark atmosphere.

The walk to Wrigley Field had left me quite hungry and thirsty. I quickly found my way to the pizza and beer. I am used to normal mediocre ballpark food. I was pleasantly surprised that the Chicago style pizza was so good. The beer was frosty cold and really hit the spot.

On the field, the Cubs were hosting the San Diego Padres. Sammy Sosa hit his eighth home run of the early season to help the Cubs defeat the Padres 8-3. My heart was pounding when I sang "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the Seventh Inning Stretch.

Wrigley Field has been the site for many of baseball’s historic moments. Babe Ruth’s "called shot" during the 1932 World Series; Ernie Banks’ 500th career home run; and Pete Rose’s 4,191 career hit, which tied him with Ty Cobb for the most hits in history, all happened at Wrigley Field.

Without doubt, this was my best baseball experience ever.

Just the name of the street --- Astor --- conveys an image of prestige and power. Indeed, Astor St. WAS the home of many of turn-of-the-century Chicago’s wealthiest families, and some of their mansions still stand. Strolling past them is a great way of unwinding after a day of power shopping on Michigan Ave.

The southernmost block of Astor St. now contains many high-rise condos and isn’t as attractive as it used to be. So, let’s start our walking tour at Division St. and North State Parkway and admire a mansion with a different sort of notoriety: The conjoined buildings at 1336-1340 N. State are the former Playboy Mansion --- the late Hiugh Heffner’s infamous "Bunny Hutch".

Continue north to Schiller and turn toward the lake. At the intersection of Schiller and Astor is the Charnley House, built in 1892 by the firm of Louis Sullivan, an employer and mentor of Frank Lloyd Wright. Walk north along Astor and imagine yourself living in one of the magnificent old greystones you’ll pass. The Patterson-McCormick Mansion, 1500 Astor, is an even statelier example of Prairie School design. (The "McCormick" was Cyrus R., who reaped a fortune from inventing the first successful mechanical grain harvester.) This isn’t a Wright building, but there are several of his works --- including his own home --- in nearby Oak Park.

Admire the parkway gardens --- gardening is a competitive sport here --- as you continue north to The Cardinal’s Residence. This angular brick mansion, with nearly a score of chimneys, has been the official residence of Chicago’s Roman Catholic archbishops for a century and a half. In the late 1970s, I watched the then-Pope address congregants from its balcony.

If it’s a pleasant day, you can enjoy magnicient views of Navy Pier, the north end of the Magnificent Mile, and the Chicago skylne by walking a block east to the lake, through a pedestrian underpass beneath Outer Lake Shore Drive, and as far out as you care to venture onto the breakwater at North Ave. Beach.

The quirky Museum of Surgical Science is in the 1500 block of Inner Lake Shore drive, just south of the pedestrian underpass. It normally charges admission to its collection of centuries-old medical tools and memorabilia, but is free on Tuesdays.

You can walk back along the lakefront seawall to Michigan Ave. or swing back west through the Gold Coast for some garden-walking.

Chicago’s Latin motto, Urbs in Horto means "City in a Garden." Some of Chicago’s finest private gardens are along North Dearborn Parkway, a block west of State and the Cardinal’s Residence. You can follow Dearborn back to Division St. and catch a subway train back to the Loop, or, better yet, turn back north and visit Lincoln Park

On summer weekends, when the Cubs are out of town, you can take a tour or Wrigley Field. For a $10 donation to the charity Cubs Care, you will get a great behind-the-scenes look at beautiful Wrigley Field. Tickets will need to be purchased in advance through Ticketmaster because it sells out every time. You will tour the press box, Cubs locker room, the Cubs dugout, the bleachers and more. You will learn about the security system, the scoreboard, movies filmed at Wrigley (like "A League of Their Own" starring Madonna). You can ask questions of your host - like what do the players eat before a game? Bring a ball and glove because you will be able to play catch on the field and take all the pictures you want - even in the on-deck circle!

Over the years, I've spent many, many afternoons at Wrigley Field. This is one of the highlights of any Chicago trip; obviously, the baseball schedule will determine whether or not you have an opportunity to attend a game.

Most games start at 1.20pm. Some start later. The best way to kick off a day in Wrigleyville is to arrive early and preparty in the neighborhood. The stadium is practically surrounded by bars and restaurants. The Cubbybear is probably the most famous, but it's also the most touristy. On game day, a can of Miller Lite will be four or five bucks. Go a block away to Texas Star Fajita Bar for some decent Tex-Mex. On Sheffield (beyond the right field wall) there are two bars: Murphy's and the Sports Corner. Both are good places to primer.

If you have the prized bleacher seats, you might want to enter the gates early (at least 1 hour before game time) if you actually want a decent seat. On hot days in the summer, the most comfortable "seat" is to simply stand against the chain-link fence in right or left field, behind the seating area. You're simply a few feet farther away from the field, and you get a decent breeze.

Stick around through at least the seventh inning - sometimes someone halfway famous will sing. I've seen Jimmy Buffett do the seventh-inning stretch in the past. If anyone halfway cool is in town for a concert, there's a decent chance they'll sing at Wrigley. Always fun to see who it will be (just hope it's not Da Coach).

After the game, postparty in the neighborhood or walk a couple blocks away for any one of the good restaurants in the area. Sheffield's in a fun place...a few blocks south on Sheffield.

Note about tickets: Bleacher tickets can be hard to get, especially if a division rival is in town or if there's a good pitching matchup (i.e., Kerry Wood vs. Anybody). In fact, bleacher seats to almost all of the premium games sell out before the season even starts. If you are serious about attending a Cubs game, try to line up your tickets ahead of time, either by buying them the day the go on sale (in Feb. 2002), picking one of the rare games with tickets will available (Marlins, etc.), or get seats to the game you want via an online broker (at a premium, of course). If you really want to experience Wrigley, I would definitely advise getting into the bleachers, but I would not advise relying on the (semi-illegal) scalping scene on game day to get your tickets. It can be done, but if you show up on a Friday and it happens to be Wood vs. the Unit, you will be watching the game from Murphy's. The bleachers may not be suitable for young children, as it can be quite a debaucherous and well-hydrated crowd.