Charlie's Bird
living the dream with Charlie and Thandi and chirping all the way back to the nest.Archive for USA travel
Finishing my story
…so on the flight home, about 2-3 hours in, there was that dreaded announcement… ‘Is there a doctor on board?’, so I headed to the back of the plane, where the air hostesses hang out, and there was a young man on the floor. His seat neighbour came through to tell us his history…
Turns out, let’s call him Jerry, was a 32 year old South African who had been working in the US (farming in Texas) and he had had a heart attack 2 weeks before climbing on the plane. During the flight, he wasn’t feeling great and walked towards the back to tell the staff. He was experiencing chest pain again!
Anyway, when all of us with good consciences had come forward, we had me, a nurse, a paediatric nurse and one of the air hostesses was an EMT. We made him comfortable-ish on the floor, checked his vitals and got some oxygen into him. The plane has quite a comprehensive medical kits and we managed to give hime some nitroglycerine – a potent drug that opens up blood vessels that may be in spasm. Fortunately that worked and within half an hour his pain had completely resolved, he wasn’t cold and clammy anymore and he was more himself. The attendant was on the phone with medical services on the ground in the States, and they directed us through a lot of it, and after we had monitored him for about an hour, and he really had stabilised, we were able to make him comfortable in an open row, and the flight continued.
I kept checking over my shoulder to make sure he was okay, and wandered back a few times. In the morning though (actually afternoon) before we landed I had another chat to him, and he was smiling, so glad to be almost back home with his young family, and he was feeling fine at that point. So, all was well that ended well. I have thought of him often since we got home, trusting that he has had good medical care here at home and is on the mend now.
I’m back
…from an incredible trip! Okay, so, it’s a wow from our little family. Chicago is so very cool. okay, so here goes a blow by blow….
Day 1 – we landed and were pretty easily able to get cards/passes for the CTA (Chicago Transit authority), which gave us a weeks worth of unlimited riding of buses and trains. The system is pretty similar to the one in NYC, so we were cool with it. Also, since out last trip, we had figured out how to use apple maps to really navigate the city, and it was pretty easy and straightforward. We made our way down to our hotel, and while we couldn’t check in, we stored our bags and then headed off to find some lunch and an Esim and data. A 5guys burger and sim installed and we headed off to our first excursion – an architectural river cruise. And it was at this point that we realised what a special city Chicago is – it is beautiful! The architecture is really amazing – from art nouveau to brutal black box architecture to the corn cob buildings. And seeing it from the Chicago river was just lovely! The weather was hot, and we were really happy to be out and about. The cruise was about an hour and a half, and then it was time to head back to our hotel and actually settle in. Showered, watered and fed, we all slept well.
Day 2 – the day started early with us heading to the Chicago Skydeck – a viewing platform in the Sears/Willis tower (not quite sure about the naming controversy here), but it was overcast, so the team on the ground recommended a rebook, and trying another day. So, it was time to just explore. We picked up a Starbucks and headed to Millennium park for a walk through. Its a beautiful park – from the Pritzker auditorium to a fountain, to a water park area with amazing facial projections, it was a lovely exploration. Despite being overcast and a bit drizzly, it wasn’t cold. then we headed up Michigan Avenue (the equivalent of NYC’s 5th avenue), to start our food and walking tour. Commencing at Lou Malnati’s we started our day with a slice of deep dish pizza that Chicago is known for. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it quite as much as I did. Crispy base, lots of cheese and toppings, yum. Thankfully we had a good walk before entering there Billy Goat Tavern for our first taste of a Chicago dog. Different to a hotdog elsewhere – no ketchup, but mustard, a pickle relish, fresh tomato and some mild pickled jalapeños on a poppy seed bun. So good! Then a meander and some history lessons from our guide , “Chicago Gandolff” and a stop for an Italian beef sandwich – slices of roast beef on a soft bread roll, with a chilli pickle and a jus/gravy that you soak the sandwich in – really tasty. The highlight, a walk to the Palmer hotel where the iconic brownie was invented and a slice for each of us. So good! At this point I was stuffed to the gills! we made our way home, and then got ourselves ready to head up to a concert that evening. The Violent Femmes were great! The concert was held in a beautiful old theatre, it really was lovely, all the seating down below had been taken out, so standing room only, and because we got there quite early, we were about 3 people from there front. After a mediocre opening band, the Femmes took to the stage. It was the 40th anniversary of their debut album, so they played it from beginning to end. Man, those guys looked old and damaged, but, they sounded just the same. They then moved into some other tracks, but the crowd started to get a bit raucous – too much booze and maryjane… so, we decided to shield our 12 year old and left before the end, but a such a memorable concert for the kid!
Day 3 – Try again at the skydeck, and this time, conditions were perfect. It was cooler, but a crisp clear day. In fact, from the skdeck, you can see all the way over the lake to Michigan. We did some jumping on the glass platform – yikes! Did my head in. Anyway, then it was time to hustle, we needed to get to the expo for registration and bib pick up for both the 5km that the whole family had entered and there marathon. But, with 48000 people and their families all trying to get there, it was chaos! We could not find an empty enough bus and ended up walking the 3km there… It was an easy enough process to register, but it was so busy with so many people, we quickly grabbed some merchandise and left. I would have loved to explore the expo a bit more, but we had places to get to. Our next port of call was a Gangsters and history walking tour through Lincoln Park. Our very young and interesting guide kept us entertained with stories of gangsters – Dillinger and Capone, Moran and O’Banion, the Valentine’s Day massacre, speakeasies and prohibition. The weather turned, and it got seriously cold and wet, which none of us wee really expecting… Joh! Charlie found a plastic rain poncho in his bag and used that to try to keep himself warm… He looked like a homeless person! Anyway, despite the weather, the tour was great! We meandered along the edge of Lincoln park, found a Starbucks and defrosted. Then we headed to an immersive exhibition – Van Gogh and Mozart. Wow! Amazingly beautiful, and such a lovely way to spend an hour in music and enjoying amazing visuals.
Day 4 – 5km day. I think my family were as anxious as I am before a marathon. Anyway, we were up early and dressed and headed off to the (EXTREMELY) cold start. None of were ready for it to be that cold – 8degrees, but anyway, we waited in the start pen, and before too long, we were off. It was a really fun 5km – through the streets we had walked earlier in the week, with a little double back to a finish line, where we were awarded medals, water, bananas, candy, cool drinks – so much stuff! And now, we could wear our 5km beanies with pride! We headed back towards our hotel, stopped in at a classic old school diner, Eleven Diner and had a breakfast of champions – so much so, that we were full for hours and hours! After a shower, we headed off to the Shed Aquarium. I must say, we are spoilt with the aquarium in Cape Town here, but they did have beluga whales to see – so elegant and squishy, and we saw a cool little interaction with a blind sea lion. After dealing with way more people than we wanted to, we headed home to chill, I was after all, running a marathon in the morning.
Day 5 – another extremely cold morning… I got up, kitted up, had some breakfast, and then it was time to head to the start. Thankfully, I had inadvertently chosen accommodation about 1 km from the start, so it as no drama to get there. I walked up and then joined a seemingly endless queue to get into the start area. A pitstop and then I went into the corral. My word, it was so damn cold! I was freezing. I had made the decision to sacrifice a pair of pants, and I at least had them on to try to keep warm. This was all reminiscent of the Knysna half marathon starts, sans fires. Anyway, I got through about an hour and a half of waiting before it was my turn to get running. So, the run itself – its a lovely course – very flat, which I kind of liked, but I realised without hills – there were no resting points, and then nice downhill recovery runs. So after about 15km or so, it felt like a slog. Also, I didn’t find much company on the run, and by the halfway mark I was bored and lonely, and it was starting to turn into just a slog fest. Oh, and I have to mention the watering points – lemon lime gatorade was at each one – at first, it tasted great and refreshing, but halfway, it was so acidic and strong that my tongue and mouth were just burnt from it. I tried to dilute it with more water – didn’t help, if I ever see it again, it will be too soon! Ugh. Anyway, I persevered and hung on, my family and I kept missing one another, until I eventually saw them at mile 21, so, about 33-34km, I was desperate by that point, and had a bit of a sob, I was so glad of seeing them and talking to someone. Filled up on love, I pulled up those big girl panties and put my head down to get to the end. While my time was slow, and probably a PW, I was just so grateful that I had managed to finish a marathon on my newly healed ankle, so I received my medal with great pride! Again, so many treats for the runners – they actually gave us a plastic packet to collect stuff – a finishers beer(especially branded) water, chocolate milk, donuts, bananas, apples, candy. We had an epic fail in trying to meet up afterwards, so after drinking my beer, I started the walk back to the hotel, and then fortuntaley, we did find each other. After a shower and a rest, dinner at another classic diner, Ed Debevicks, a diner where the staff are insulting. It’s hysterical. We laughed and laughed and laughed. The food was super filling as well! Yummy chicken sandwich (burger in our language) and a Caesar salad for me.
Day 6 – our last full day dawned, I was a bit creaky, but we once again, had things to do. A trip to the planetarium to start, we arrived early, walked along Lake Michigan, tested the very cold water, and then headed in. The displays were nice, but we really wanted to see shows in their dome – we got to see Planet 9, about Pluto’s demotion and the probability of another planet that we can’t see properly yet, beyond it. And then another one on the moon. Both were really amazing, and just so cool to see projected onto the dome, with an almost 4D feeling to them. Then it was time to get some shopping done, Target, TJMaxx, Crocs, Dicks sporting goods, all sorts of spots to shop. We picked up a few things, but certainly not as much as when we travelled to NYC. Saying that, we did have to buy another suitcase to come home with… Ah, well, lots of candy to be shared with friends! After the shopping mojo evaporated, it was time to head back to the hotel, via the Art Institute of Chicago… there is some really beautiful work there – the impressionists, American Gothic, etc… my family though, sadly, does not really appreciate these sorts of galleries, but at least I had an hour and half to wander around, and be soul soothed.
Okay, this has been a super long report, I’ll tell you all about my flight home next week…
Charlie's Bird 