So, I’ve returned safe and sound from my trip to the USA and just about over the jet lag and that late night insomnia that I always seem to get when flying back from North America. I’m going to break this trip down into four posts; the epic journey to Columbia, Columbia itself, Oak Park and Chicago with hopefully all four being written in the next 10 days or so.
So, it’s Friday morning, 3.10am rolls around and Australia by the ‘Manic Street Preachers‘ blares out demanding that I wake up and get myself sorted out. My taxi turns up at 4am and it’s off to Leeds Bradford Airport for my first flight, the 6am KLM flight to Amsterdam. My epic journey would take me from Leeds to Amsterdam, then to Chicago. I had managed to secure the time through work to go on a trip to see Becca, a friend I met through Kidz Klub. She said she would introduce me to life in the Southern States, an area that has intrigued me for a while now. Was this the redneck backward area that movies and tv series like Top Gear had told us it would be? With air travel in the US still at a very low price it seemed like a great adventure and a chance to check off another state or two on the list. So from Chicago I would fly onto Charlotte, North Carolina and change there for a flight to Columbia, South Carolina.
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I am not a comfortable flyer, once I get going I am fine but turbulence and landing especially are quite nerve wracking for me. This might be due to knowing people who build engines for planes and being aware of the stresses that go through landing gear and other things during a flight. It might also be due to being a soft muppet… So being dazed and confused is usually a good way for me to start out!
An hour later and I am in Amsterdam Schiphol airport and after perusing the cheeses and duty free shops for an hour or so it was time to get on the big jet to America. Schiphol has these new funky x-ray machines that use a different kind of radio waves to see through your clothes rather than using a metal detector. It’s painless and quick and the operators are happy to go through what the technology is when I asked. Basically, they get you to “strike a pose” like you were in the video for “Prince Charming” by Adam and the Ants and the machine whizzes round you. Seems a lot more effective, quicker and less embarrassing than metal detector.
Eight and a half hours and more Mickey Rourke films than I care to admit later (and about 3 hours sleep) I am descending over Lake Michigan into Chicago O’Hare’s airspace. I’ve never been to Chicago and I would have to wait a few days to sample it from the ground but it looked stunning from the air. A huge 8 million strong seaside city 2000 miles from the sea. O’Hare is the world’s third busiest airport by passenger number (Schiphol is 17th on the list and London Heathrow is 4th) and you can tell from the air and by the set up they have on the ground to get around with a monorail and buses whizzing round the terminals.
US customs is always something I dread and with so many international people coming into Chicago for the IMTS manufacturing exhibition during the week I feared this might take a while. Fortunately it was relatively quick this time but one thing I would recommend to everybody who happens to get one of the green I-94W cards for the visa waiver process, make sure you hand it back in! The lovely Canadian officials if you travel back by land won’t necessarily take it off you. Thirty seconds double checking will save a lot panicking and potential problems at customs the next time you go back to the States.
Changing at O’Hare is surprisingly easy. I had to go from Terminal 5 to Terminal 2 which took a matter of 10 minutes. The 3 and a half hours I had planned for was looking like it was ample time. Going through US security is different to that in UK or European airports, you feel a little humiliated by it all! Of course not everyone has been through the procedure before but it really is back to basics. And while I understand why the US makes a particular point of people taking their shoes off at security (the case of Richard Reid the Shoe Bomber a few years ago) after the best part of 15 hours in travel by this point things do begin to pong and it is highly uncomfortable!
So flight 3 was Chicago to Charlotte Douglas Airport, a 4pm Friday evening flight and it was as you would expect very very busy! A bouncy Airbus A320 took me an hour and a half and about 700 miles south of Chicago. I knew what would await me at Chicago and being stuck at the back of the plane with two people between me and the aisle was not going to help that I had just 50 mins to change planes. A quick sprint later and I arrived at the departure gate (I say gate, it was a door to the outside). Charlotte itself looks pretty big, a sprawling city known for its financial district, new energy industry, a major transport hub between the North and South and, of course, NASCAR.
US internal flights are strange, I had never been on one before this trip but they are like catching a coach, everything is very casual yet very basic. I can’t work out whether this is refreshing or worrying! So as my plane, a tiny 50 seater, wheeled up to the gate I thought this wasn’t going to be good! My flight time read 53 minutes so I thought I had better make the best of this and get comfy.
It was now almost 8pm Eastern Time, approaching 1am UK time, I settled in on my row which had one seat on my side then two on the other and started to polish off the rest of my sweets. The flight attendant came on the radio and said once we get going the flight time would be 15 minutes. Wait!? 15 minutes?! I’ve had showers longer than that! Had I known it was such a short flight I would have at least investigated a less polluting way of travelling. Essh I am going to have to do a lot of cycling this winter to balance out my carbon footprint from this year.
So, 15 minutes after take off we touched down at Columbia Metropolitan Airport, which is about the same size as Leeds Bradford Airport, or a large shed. One of the best things (and a natural thing) to do after sitting in air conditioned planes and airports is to go outside as you step off the plane and take in a deep breath of fresh air. I did this not quite realising just how humid South Carolina is in September (I had been warned by Becca, however you don’t quite mentally prepare yourself enough for it) It was like stepping off the plane in Uganda 6 years ago! It was hot, the air was still and thick with moisture. My fragile English internal climate control was going to take a beating this weekend!
Fortunately it was straight off the plane, into the terminal, straight to baggage re-claim, my bag was there waiting for me as was a dear friend. 23 hours, 5000 miles, 4 time zones, 4 planes, 3 and a half hours sleep but no lost baggage, no delays, no problems.
And breathe…
Nice one Pete sounds like you had a great time. Keep up the blogging mate
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