Trip Report: Philadelphia to Chicago (O’Hare).

A few of you might remember that I did not write a post on Friday because I was taking a day-trip to Chicago. Well, here’s a brief trip report. A few months ago, I decided that I wanted to get away for day and escape to a city I’ve never been to. Of course, I’m up for paying as little as possible, and I scored a $199 round-trip flight from Philadelphia International (PHL) to Chicago-O’Hare on American Airlines. The morning flight left PHL at 7:50am, and the return flight left ORD at 9:15pm. With that being said, I think you know already that it was a long day for me – but a fun one!

I woke up at 4:30 am to get ready for the big day. Anytime I get to fly, I like to get to the airport extra early; so I can soak up the jet-fuel smell and observe the morning rush. I left home at 5, and arrived around 5:40. Already, terminal A-east’s check-in area was swamped with passengers. Luckily, all I had to do was print my boarding pass at the American Airlines kiosk; the nice thing about day-trips is the worry-free and hassle-free convenience of not checking a bag.

The American Airlines Super MD-80 was towed to the gate. I watched the crew do their pre-flight inspections – and saw some familiar faces from the last trip. I boarded the airplane, and it was quite some time before we finally departing Philly. We waited in a queue consisting of nearly 20 airplanes. I didn’t mind though – it was more “plane spotting” for me.

The approach into O’Hare is probably one of the coolest approaches – it takes you right by city (pending on the direction of the wind). After landing, I headed straight to the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) Blue Line, which took me from the airport to the famous downtown loop. After getting off at Jackson station, I walked to the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower. After 30 minutes + of waiting, I was on the elevator to the 103rd floor of the tower. If you ever to to Chicago, I highly recommend going on this tour. The new glass balconies will surely give you your money’s worth.

After getting back to ground-level, I worked my way over the Chicago River and towards Navy Pier. The walk was a good 30 minutes or so, and I reached the SeaDog’s Speedboat area of the pier. Twenty dollars later, I was on a speedboat on Lake Michigan. The tour, the ‘architectural tour’, is one of the coolest things to do in Chicago. Not only do you get the thrill and excitement of riding around on a speedboat, but you go into the Chicago River and get to observe Chicago’s finest buildings from sea-level.

After jumping off the boat, I headed for Uno’s pizza. Unfortunately, the wait time to enjoy fresh pizza was much too long, and I found an alternative nearby. I didn’t happen to catch the name of the restaurant, but all I can say is that the deep-dish pizza was delicious. Everything was fairly low priced, and the service was great!

Of course, Chicago is home to a major aerospace manufacturer’s corporate headquarters. Yes, I’m talking about The Boeing Company. I have always wanted to visit Boeing’s corporate headquarters, and I have to say that they have one of the coolest buildings in Chicago. The building has its own helipad, and is right on the Chicago River.

After all of this, it was time to head for home, and I found my way to the nearest Blue-Line station to make my way back to O’Hare. The flight back was in an American Eagle CRJ-700. I have to say that this airplane is not very generous when it comes to space. Sadly, the flight attendants did not turn off the window-area flood lighting, making it impossible to fall-asleep and get a good view of what was happening outside. The flight arrived earlier than planned, which was a help to me – as I was exhausted by the time I stepped on the airplane. I paid my garage fees, and drove myself home. This is probably one of the best trips I’ve ever taken.