Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Arriving and Departing
Last year, with a 20th anniversary and 40th birthday pending, my husband and I began discussing taking a trip to celebrate the occasions. We eventually decided on a cruise and began making some of the preparations - as in getting a passport.
In the spring we began searching for a cruise. We consulted my Mom and StepDad - they are becoming quite the cruisers. Armed with information and ideas we kicked around the ideas for weeks. We simply could not commit to anything. I finally stated the obvious by noting that we really did not seem too fired up about this idea. My hesitations: taking a cruise during hurricane season and hot weather (if I don't enjoy the hotter than Hades summers in my panhandle state, why would I pay good money to cruise someplace that is also hot in August?).
So, we began exploring other options. An Alaskan cruise would have rocked - our budget anyways. Chicago has always intrigued us both and we began looking online for places to stay, etc. It didn't take too long to discover that a weekend in Chicago was going to be a bit on the expensive side. We nixed the idea and settle for looking into cruises for next spring.
Unbeknownst to us, God was making a way. My husband was given the opportunity to attend a conference in Chicago in August - cool huh? We made the arrangements and were off on our adventure.
We have flown in and out of Chicago more than once, but have never actually "been" in Chicago. I was not really sure what to expect and well, we got off to a harrowing start on our adventure.
We decided to take a taxi to the hotel. At O'Hare you get in line and as the next taxi pulls forward you have your ride. As we are waiting a driver comes to the airport guy in charge, says something, and we are offered a ride downtown in a waiting taxi. We realize that someone else is already in the taxi and we are told we are "ride sharing" and given the indication that it will be less expensive. As the driver crams our belongings in his trunk, he also shoves yet another person's belongings in also and all 4 of us passengers are off to downtown Chicago.
It takes me less than a minute to decide that this is a really bad idea. Our driver's skills both in driving and communicating are seriously questionable. I exchange all sorts of looks with my husband. We have arrived on Sunday, but this is not quite the holy experience I was looking forward to having - in fact I am beginning to wonder if a Pearly Gate experience is in my immediate future.
The traffic is horrible and our driver is AGGRESSIVE. I try to make small talk with the lady sitting next to me. "Is the traffic always this bad?" She has not lived here very long and is obviously pondering her own Pearly Gate experience.
At an unusually slow moment of our trip I spot one of those digital construction signs. It states that some street is closed - take LSD. I am laughing, the lady next to me is not as amused and has no idea what the sign means, and I am almost certain my driver has taken the sign literally.
At just the precise moment that I have decided that I would rather walk than be in this cab any longer, our driver exits the freeway. I am thinking that surely the residential/downtown experience will be better. He is dropping off the lady next to me first. As she tries to explain where her address is I am sending up "flare prayers" for each pedistrian anywhere near us - trust me, our driver does not care for them.
After unloading her, our driver somehow, miraculously, gets us to our hotel. As I slide out of the backseat I lean forward and say, "Good luck" to the 30something gentleman sitting in the front seat. He has not moved a muscle since our ride began.
We almost took the subway to the airport on the day we flew out. But instead were blessed with a really great and personable taxi driver. He was from Seattle (one of our favorite trips), had driven a limo in NYC, and was living in Chicago because his wife's family is there.
We told him of our horrible experience upon arriving. He asked us what color the cab was. Red. He explained some things to us about that company and its drivers, noting that a lot of locals will not even use the company because of its reputation.
So a warning to anyone visiting Chicago - DO NOT USE THE RED CABS!
By the way, our trip back to the airport was cheaper than our trip to the hotel - go figure.
simple faith
Last year, with a 20th anniversary and 40th birthday pending, my husband and I began discussing taking a trip to celebrate the occasions. We eventually decided on a cruise and began making some of the preparations - as in getting a passport.
In the spring we began searching for a cruise. We consulted my Mom and StepDad - they are becoming quite the cruisers. Armed with information and ideas we kicked around the ideas for weeks. We simply could not commit to anything. I finally stated the obvious by noting that we really did not seem too fired up about this idea. My hesitations: taking a cruise during hurricane season and hot weather (if I don't enjoy the hotter than Hades summers in my panhandle state, why would I pay good money to cruise someplace that is also hot in August?).
So, we began exploring other options. An Alaskan cruise would have rocked - our budget anyways. Chicago has always intrigued us both and we began looking online for places to stay, etc. It didn't take too long to discover that a weekend in Chicago was going to be a bit on the expensive side. We nixed the idea and settle for looking into cruises for next spring.
Unbeknownst to us, God was making a way. My husband was given the opportunity to attend a conference in Chicago in August - cool huh? We made the arrangements and were off on our adventure.
We have flown in and out of Chicago more than once, but have never actually "been" in Chicago. I was not really sure what to expect and well, we got off to a harrowing start on our adventure.
We decided to take a taxi to the hotel. At O'Hare you get in line and as the next taxi pulls forward you have your ride. As we are waiting a driver comes to the airport guy in charge, says something, and we are offered a ride downtown in a waiting taxi. We realize that someone else is already in the taxi and we are told we are "ride sharing" and given the indication that it will be less expensive. As the driver crams our belongings in his trunk, he also shoves yet another person's belongings in also and all 4 of us passengers are off to downtown Chicago.
It takes me less than a minute to decide that this is a really bad idea. Our driver's skills both in driving and communicating are seriously questionable. I exchange all sorts of looks with my husband. We have arrived on Sunday, but this is not quite the holy experience I was looking forward to having - in fact I am beginning to wonder if a Pearly Gate experience is in my immediate future.
The traffic is horrible and our driver is AGGRESSIVE. I try to make small talk with the lady sitting next to me. "Is the traffic always this bad?" She has not lived here very long and is obviously pondering her own Pearly Gate experience.
At an unusually slow moment of our trip I spot one of those digital construction signs. It states that some street is closed - take LSD. I am laughing, the lady next to me is not as amused and has no idea what the sign means, and I am almost certain my driver has taken the sign literally.
At just the precise moment that I have decided that I would rather walk than be in this cab any longer, our driver exits the freeway. I am thinking that surely the residential/downtown experience will be better. He is dropping off the lady next to me first. As she tries to explain where her address is I am sending up "flare prayers" for each pedistrian anywhere near us - trust me, our driver does not care for them.
After unloading her, our driver somehow, miraculously, gets us to our hotel. As I slide out of the backseat I lean forward and say, "Good luck" to the 30something gentleman sitting in the front seat. He has not moved a muscle since our ride began.
We almost took the subway to the airport on the day we flew out. But instead were blessed with a really great and personable taxi driver. He was from Seattle (one of our favorite trips), had driven a limo in NYC, and was living in Chicago because his wife's family is there.
We told him of our horrible experience upon arriving. He asked us what color the cab was. Red. He explained some things to us about that company and its drivers, noting that a lot of locals will not even use the company because of its reputation.
So a warning to anyone visiting Chicago - DO NOT USE THE RED CABS!
By the way, our trip back to the airport was cheaper than our trip to the hotel - go figure.
simple faith
Labels: Travel
# posted by simple faith : 8:42 AM
