A blog about Peter's motorcycle trips to various places in the world ………….
Andy and I are sitting waiting for a taxi to the bike dealer. Both of us a tad apprehensive about how the rest of the day will go – but overall we’re optimistic.
Yesterday we went ‘downtown’ and had a lengthy walk round the heart of Chicago. They don’t call it the windy city for nothing. Our little expedition made us very aware of how we’ll have to plan our final weekend there quite carefully to ensure we get the most from our visit.
I know United American Airlines sometimes gets a bad press but I have no complaints. Our flight, which was sadly full, was on time and got in early. Plus we somehow got a free upgrade to ‘economy plus’ which meant we had ample legroom. And the cabin staff were helpful and plied us with copious free drinks – coffee, tea, soft drinks and wine – a reasonable lunch and a sandwich.
Clearly getting to America on a Sunday evening isn’t a bad idea either. We breezed through immigration and only had a very short wait to get our baggage. As the hotel we booked was only a few miles from the airport we got a taxi. However both of us realised we’d got the wrong one straight away. The driver was polite enough and took us straight there. But his 40 dollar fee suggested he saw us coming.
The hotel is fine for what it is though the initial room they gave us only had a large double bed! This was quickly sorted fortunately. Our evening snack at the hotel bar/restaurant quickly reminded us we were in America – it was huge, with french fries for four. Each!
Tomorrow, or rather today, we’ll go to downtown Chicago.
Amazingly everything has gone fine so far and they let Andy through all the check-in processes! We now have a couple of hours to kill before take off. We were told the plane wasn’t that busy so we’re hopeful they’re will be plenty of space to stretch out in. Fingers crossed.
If you download this file
America 2017 - route mapping. (1.6 MiB, 111 hits)
Starting to get both nervous and excited now – with just days to go. On Saturday I will train down to London where I’m staying overnight with Andy and his wife at their daughter’s house: It’s just a short journey from Heathrow. On Sunday we fly to Chicago.
I think I’ve got everything organised for the trip, but I’ll find out if I have on Tuesday when the riding begins ……………….
Six weeks to go before we fly to Chicago. The routes are roughly mapped and some hotels booked. At the moment it is looking that we’ll ride to Harrisburg over the first two days, then ‘do’ the Civil War Museum and Gettysburg and Antietam battle grounds. Washington DC next and then the southern states.
