Day 4: Flight to Chicago, Illinois

I woke up around ten to six, in time to catch the 6:20 hotel shuttle to the airport. This was my first time flying Southwest Airlines. It's a popular discount airline in the U.S. Check-in was pretty similar to other experiences but one big difference is that there is no assigned seating. Your boarding pass has you in one of 3 groups. Once on the plane, you just take the first available seat. Each seat had a leather (or faux leather) exterior and the spacing between rows wasn't as cramped as some other airlines I've flown.

I first sat beside an interesting salesman of motorhomes, learning that they range in price between $90K and $2Million. Then a late boarding passenger sat in between us. At first I thought he was in the military but he turned out to be a tour guide from Brooklyn, New York. Complete with all the mannerisms of a stereotypical New Yorker, he was quite amusing.

This pair of mountains were Northeast of Portland. I'm thinking that Mt. St. Helens is in the foreground and Mount Rainier is further north but do stand to be corrected!


We left Portland around 8am and got into Chicago's Midway Airport around 2:00pm (central time). From there I caught the Orange L-Train which took me up to the famous "Loop". I was absolutely amazed at the incredible amount of construction and renovations in the large area south of the Loop. When I first visited Chicago in February 1994 this area clearly had suffered the ravages of poverty, crime, and dereliction. But there has been a massive gentrification program in place for some time and the positive effects of it are showing through bright and clearly!


I love all of the vistas looking town the long tunnel of buildings in most any direction in the Loop.


At the Clark & Lake station I went down 3 flights of escalators and caught the Blue line out to O'Hare. But I got off at Division and walked down to Melissa's. I hadn't known what weather to expect in Chicago but it was certainly much warmer than I had ever dreamed. It's like they're experiencing a second summer here. Quite a contrast from the cold, dreary weather back in the Pacific Northwest!

Melissa's condo was looking fabulous. I was greeted by her older cat, Noche. The other one, Luna, is more skittish and only came out of hiding a few hours later.


Upon arriving, I realized just how hungry I was. So Melissa and I strolled down to her local Mexican restaurant, "Mr. Taco's" [sic], where I got a chocolate milkshake and 3 tacos. We got caught up on each other's lives and nourishment quickly came back into my body.



That evening went went to see the movie, "Death At A Funeral", an hysterical British flick full of subtle and not so subtle humour throughout. Beforehand we had an hour to wait so we went for a walk down Chicago's famous Michigan Avenue.