More accurately, it was automobile, planes and trains.
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Rockefeller Church, University of Chicago
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We used the excuse of taking Nick to his summer job in Culver, Indiana, to visit Chicago for the first time in 28 years. What a blessing it was. We were blessed with the BEST weather Chicago can ever offer, sunny, not too hot nor too cold. Our downtown hotel, while a little noisy because of the fire station across the street was very convenient. We got a chance to visit the Chicago Board of Trade (where Peter used to work) and the University of Chicago (where he graduated 30 years ago). We even did a Chicago River tour which was a perfect way to see Chicago on a nice sunny afternoon. The trip also allowed us to sample much of Chicago's finest fares, Billy Goat Tavern, Giordano's stuff pizza, mid-Western steak from Boeufhaus, BBQ rib-tips and assorted other excellent food items.
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| Eugene C Eppley Auditorium |
On the day of travel, we started from Chicago at around 9am, to Culver Academies about 80 miles away. After a short pit-stop at the Walmart in Valparaiso, we arrived at Culver just after 11:30am, Chicago time. A short tour of the campus and a quick lunch at the Lakehouse, we started our return trip at around 1:20pm, Chicago time. Contrary to my belief, highway traffic on a Saturday afternoon is horrendous. With the help of Google map and many detours, we arrived at Chicago O'Hare at 3:59pm, for our 5:10pm flight. Fortunately, we were able to return our car and got on the shuttle and made our San Francisco bound flight with a few minutes to spare.
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| Culver Academies Quad |
After a four hour layover at the San Francisco airport where we wolfed down several bowls of noodles and other hot and cold food at the Cathay Pacific lounge, we boarded our flight for Hong Kong. The 15+ hour flight was good and none eventful. We arrived in Hong Kong at 6:15am, for our 7:00am flight back to Taipei. Not enough time for a shower in the lounge, so we headed straight to the gate where we board the final leg of our flights home. Upon arriving in Taipei, instead of getting a cab home, we decided to try the newly completed "subway" train to Taipei. The ride was very pleasant and quick. It only took 35 minutes from the airport to the Taipei Main Station in downtown Taipei. Since we left our car at the Honda service center in Beitou for services, we took the MRT to Beitou then drove home, completing our "trains, planes and automobile" trip. Overall, we traveled around 10,000 miles over about 26 hours.
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| Taoyuan Airport MRT |
Now, it's time to stay put for a while and rest!!
