Today, woke up at 230am to drive to New Orleans Intl Airport for thr flight to Chicago. Left home at 245am and made our way there. It was about 2 and a half hour drive to the airport. Taking the flight from there is much cheaper than my own regional airport-about 100 US cheaper..so we'd rather drive all the way there to take the flight. Drove to the Avis car rental area and had to take a shuttle bus to the airport. Reached the place at about 5 plus am. It was way too early.
Went to the gate, sat down and ate sandwiches which I made for breakfast. Our flight was 7am. So, after eating, I rested a while,putting my head on CT's shoulders. Then, someone walked beside us and talked to us. It was Anthony-CT's colleague. He was also taking the same flight to Atlanta and transit to Las Vegas. We are also transitting at Atlanta. So, it was rather coincidental to have met him. We reached Atlanta at 8plus am, which was 9plus am (Atlanta time). We explored the area and I saw people queuing up for food at this stall and I saw fried chicken wings. So, I got tempted and bought 5 wings. Yum.
Air Tran plane we took-check out the sign!
Our next flight to Chicago was 1plus pm. So, we had 4 hours to "stone". So, we sat down, started reading, slept and then woke up and had lunch. Bought food from Burger King. I had a grilled chicken salad while CT got a double cheeseburger. After eating, read a while and slept again. Ha.. It was like a cycle.. Finally, we boarded the plane to Chicago!
Reached Chicago at 220pm and saw HsiangLing running towards us. Gave her a big hug and then we went on their car. It was a very cool car-Infiniti SUV with GPRS system in the car which tells you where you are on the map and how to get to your destination by a guided voice. Even when the car reverses, it shows the view of the back on the screen where you are heading so that you will not knock anything at the back of car. So, if you are not sure how to get to a place, you just need to tell the computer and they will guide you. Awesome...and if you happen to miss the turning, they will guide you in another way to your destination.Very useful. That is why HsiangLing drove the car to Toronto as well. The GPRS has the map of Canada roads as well. How cool can that be??
We went to their place to drop our bags, and then, Joan (HsiangLing's husband) & HsiangLing drove us around Chicago downtown. After that, we parked the car and walked along the Lake Michigan near the Shedd Aquarium. The Lake is huge!! It is like a sea as you cannot see what is on the other side.
Lake Michigan with downtown Chicago
We did lots of walking...never walked so much during my whole stay in Mobile, Alabama added up.We walked to Grant Park where they are having the "Taste of Chicago" event going on. In the park, there is also a big ferris wheel and water slides. They have about 500 booths set up by restaurants in Chicago displaying their food and we buy coupons and purchase to try. . They have taste portions as well for 3 coupons($1.50)..so me and CT bought a lot of the taste portion so that we can make our money's worth by trying a lot of different food and stalls. They have all sorts of cuisine..but it is super crowded!! So, we were squashed! Something which I do not like as I prefer peace and quiet! hehe..
Taste of Chicago Event
After eating, we went to see Santana performing at the Grant park. It was def very crowded also, but because of the big screen, we managed to see Santana from it. People were dancing and having picnic while listening. After watching, we went back to the stalls to use up our coupons. We finally had a deep dish pizza which is famous in Chicago. It is super thick pizza with thick layer of cheese..very yummy. After that, we squeezed out of the crowd and took a train back as Joan and HsiangLing parked the car back home already since the parking in Chicago is madness. It is difficult to find parking and if you do, it is very expensive..about 5US$ for half and hour! It is very convenient to take the train as their apartment is near the train station. But me and CT were not used to walking so much because in Mobile, we drive everywhere. The roads and streets is not pedestrian friendly. So, we were aching a lot while we went back to the apartment.
Santana performing at Grant Park
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