Tuesday
I was up at 7am, had a quick breakfast then Barb and Rick took me through to East Lansing to catch the train to Chicago. It was a few minutes late and there was a real crowd waiting to catch it! Many thanks to Barb and Rick for putting me up and putting up with me! I especially enjoyed the South Haven sojourn!
Battle Creek is a crew change stop but we were stopped there so the engineers could make some adjustments to the new engine, lol!! After about half an hour, we moved at about one mph, then we stopped again, lol!
We received further information after two hours, the rear engine would not release its brakes so we were not able to travel! I told the people next to me that they should simply unhitch it and leave it behind, lol! There was a crossing just in front of us, many cars had come and left but a couple had stayed! We just moved a few inches, then stopped again, that must have got the car
drivers excited, lol!
This is why I always build in an extra night, just in case!
Finally, we headed slowly up the track to Amtrak property where they cut off the rear engine so we could be on our way!! LOL, what did I suggest earlier?? After, three hours we were on our way, lol! I had travelled Business Class, we were offered cheese and crackers or hamburgers! Later, snack packs were handed out.
We arrived in Chicago over three hours late and many folk missed their connecting trains. I finally arrived at my hotel, Hotel Felix, and was pleased to settle in and sort my bags out. I asked for a fridge and one was duly delivered. Two things that made it less enjoyable, no way of making a hot drink in the room and, strangely, no bedside light!
I use hotels.com for my hotel bookings, they are a subsidiary of Expedia. I was handed a letter when I arrived and it seems that I am a VIP, lol! This meant I could have a 2pm check out and 20% off food and drinks at the restaurant next door, yay! I rang the shuttle company and changed my pick up time so I could avail myself of the offer.
The restaurant, Troquet River North serves French cuisine but was not as expensive as I thought it might be. I had Salmon Rillette, a salmon spread served with fingers of lightly toasted sourdough bread. It was very tasty and very filling. I had a glass of Michigan cider with it and it was quite pleasant!
Wednesday
I really appreciated the late check out, so I slept long and had a lazy morning. There is a cafe across the road, Moti Cafe, that serves Indian Street Food but they also make a mean latte!
The shuttle driver to O'Hare was excellent. He picked the good lanes to travel as traffic was almost gridlocked. He dropped the other passengers off and then took me to Terminal 5. He then took my baggage to where Air NZ check in will be, what a good guy!
I sat and waited to check in for about 90 minutes, beside a couple and their two children.He is Spanish, she is American and they live in Northampton, UK, they are both teachers, lol. We had a very interesting chat.
While waiting in line to check in, I talked to an American couple, their daughter and son in law plus two young grandchildren (both boys) live in Nelson, NZ. They have visited about 15 times! Once I had checked in I had to wait for the wheelchair then was taken to the SAS Business Lounge where I could relax and wait for boarding.
The Plane was the latest Dreamliner so there were 27 in business, nine seats in three rows, and more in premium economy. I was sitting next to the lady who has family in Nelson, lol!
The pilot came over with an update on flight time and the weather on the way and into Auckland. It appears we have a woman driver for the first section of the trip, yay!
We saw the new safety video, it is very good, using current and past all blacks as well as fans and youngsters plus the American guy from Suits - we were now flying Air All Blacks, lol!
The airbridge was not fully retracted for some time after we were ready to leave. Then we had to wait as there were a lot of planes already queuing. Finally we pulled away but it was slow going and after some time the pilot came over and told us we were 15th in line, lol! We finally lifted off an hour late! Both the lady i/c cabin staff and the pilot had to ask people to stay seated while we waited. This was due to safety issues if we were suddenly given the green light to take off!!
We had a good flight, I watched 'Avengers, End Game' so was quite happy. I had to ask one of the cabin crew to cut my hamburger up it was so big, lol! I slept on and off throughout the journey, until it was nearing time for breakfast. There were a few bumpy patches but they was not too bad. Towards the end of the flight I had an interesting conversation with the lady next to me. At the end she asked me when I was returning to Chicago, I told her the date and she laughed, they will be on the same flight!!
Thursday
Disappeared somewhere over the Pacific, lol!
Friday
It was such a good flight we made up 45 minutes so we were only fifteen minutes late into Auckland! I only had 40 minutes to make the bag drop at the international so was a bit worried. However, when we walked into Passport Control it was devoid of any passengers, nice one! My bag was off the plane quits smartly and we only had two in front of us at security. Thank goodness for having assistance!
So my bag was dropped off for the Napier flight in good time and then it was over to the Domestic Terminal. The Regional Lounge is being extended upstairs and they have taken some of the current lounge out of commission. It was only small to begin with so when i arrived I was told it was full, fortunately a few people left so I could go in and have a cup of coffee.
The flight to Naper was on time and my friend collected me from the airport, home again!!
Wednesday
I really appreciated the late check out, so I slept long and had a lazy morning. There is a cafe across the road, Moti Cafe, that serves Indian Street Food but they also make a mean latte!
The shuttle driver to O'Hare was excellent. He picked the good lanes to travel as traffic was almost gridlocked. He dropped the other passengers off and then took me to Terminal 5. He then took my baggage to where Air NZ check in will be, what a good guy!
While waiting in line to check in, I talked to an American couple, their daughter and son in law plus two young grandchildren (both boys) live in Nelson, NZ. They have visited about 15 times! Once I had checked in I had to wait for the wheelchair then was taken to the SAS Business Lounge where I could relax and wait for boarding.
The Plane was the latest Dreamliner so there were 27 in business, nine seats in three rows, and more in premium economy. I was sitting next to the lady who has family in Nelson, lol!
The pilot came over with an update on flight time and the weather on the way and into Auckland. It appears we have a woman driver for the first section of the trip, yay!
We saw the new safety video, it is very good, using current and past all blacks as well as fans and youngsters plus the American guy from Suits - we were now flying Air All Blacks, lol!
The airbridge was not fully retracted for some time after we were ready to leave. Then we had to wait as there were a lot of planes already queuing. Finally we pulled away but it was slow going and after some time the pilot came over and told us we were 15th in line, lol! We finally lifted off an hour late! Both the lady i/c cabin staff and the pilot had to ask people to stay seated while we waited. This was due to safety issues if we were suddenly given the green light to take off!!
We had a good flight, I watched 'Avengers, End Game' so was quite happy. I had to ask one of the cabin crew to cut my hamburger up it was so big, lol! I slept on and off throughout the journey, until it was nearing time for breakfast. There were a few bumpy patches but they was not too bad. Towards the end of the flight I had an interesting conversation with the lady next to me. At the end she asked me when I was returning to Chicago, I told her the date and she laughed, they will be on the same flight!!
Thursday
Disappeared somewhere over the Pacific, lol!
Friday
It was such a good flight we made up 45 minutes so we were only fifteen minutes late into Auckland! I only had 40 minutes to make the bag drop at the international so was a bit worried. However, when we walked into Passport Control it was devoid of any passengers, nice one! My bag was off the plane quits smartly and we only had two in front of us at security. Thank goodness for having assistance!
So my bag was dropped off for the Napier flight in good time and then it was over to the Domestic Terminal. The Regional Lounge is being extended upstairs and they have taken some of the current lounge out of commission. It was only small to begin with so when i arrived I was told it was full, fortunately a few people left so I could go in and have a cup of coffee.
The flight to Naper was on time and my friend collected me from the airport, home again!!
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