{"id":10,"date":"2015-12-21T14:07:48","date_gmt":"2015-12-21T19:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/KevinCroll.com\/?p=10"},"modified":"2015-12-22T15:22:17","modified_gmt":"2015-12-22T20:22:17","slug":"01-8-23-00-chicago-ohare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/KevinCroll.com\/?p=10","title":{"rendered":"01: 8-23-00 Chicago O’Hare"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEVER ORDER AN AUSSIE BURGER<\/strong><\/p>\n

8\/23\/00\u00a0Chicago O\u2019Hara\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wednesday, \u00a03:40 CT<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBoy am I sure glad you\u2019re thin!\u201d \u00a0Kind of an awkward start to an awkward trip. \u00a0This was what one of the two guys I was sandwiched between said as I sat down in my seat.<\/p>\n

And DAMN, am I having an awkward start to this journal!<\/p>\n

Anyhow, mom drove me down to CVG <\/span> FOR MY FLIGHT, SCHEDULED AT TWO O\u2019CLOCK. \u00a0It ran a bit late, then they couldn\u2019t operate the ramp-thingee and had to move it down a gate, then they couldn\u2019t squeeze everyone\u2019s 1.8 bags into the bins & under seats, <\/span>then<\/span> I was reamed by the attendant for not properly stowing my bag.. \u00a0but now I couldn\u2019t be happier! \u00a0Here I sit in Chicago for the next three hours. \u00a0The bright side is that my flight from Cincinnati was delayed. \u00a0Otherwise, I\u2019d be here for another hour. \u00a0I have decided that Chicago is <\/span>not<\/span> my kind of town. \u00a0Sorry Frank. \u00a0Even this $4 bottle of Killian\u2019s tastes like crap.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been too nervous to enjoy the trip thus far. \u00a0I mean, traveling Lone Wolf is a good time and all, but this is a Big trip a Long WAY from home. \u00a0Yes, the freedom of deciding where, when, and for how long is a wonderful experience, but as Dad said, \u201cit\u2019s nice to have someone to say \u2018isn\u2019t that a pretty sunset.\u2019 to.\u201d \u00a0But I\u2019ve been OK \u2013 I haven\u2019t been all worked up or anything. \u00a0Sure I\u2019ve lost sleep (been up since 4 AM or so), felt less than excited, crapped my brains out, eaten like a bird all day \u2026 but nothing <\/span>too<\/span> bad.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hmmmm. \u00a0Two hours till my plane boards. \u00a0Another beer, perhaps.<\/p>\n

\"Beer-honker\"

Honker’s Ale<\/p><\/div>\n

Mmm. \u00a0Goose Is. Honker\u2019s Ale. \u00a0Local. \u00a0Bird related. \u00a0Not bad.<\/p>\n

Well, I must say. \u00a0The beer may be over-priced, the view may be less than idyllic, the people may make me wish for apes to conquer human-kind, but the conversations, people-watching, and movers & shaker atmosphere is nice. \u00a0Just overheard an old Air Force pilot talking shop w\/one of the crew members grabbing dinner.<\/p>\n

Damn, there is NOTHING to do. \u00a0Well not <\/span>nothing<\/span>, but not much I\u2019d be interested in. \u00a0I <\/span>suppose<\/span> I could read, but then again I\u2019m only 1 hour into a 22+ hour flight. \u00a0Speaking of, I\u2019m still not sure how to go about the jet-lag thing. \u00a0My understanding at present is that I will touch-down in Sydney at around six AM. \u00a0Now do I sleep during the LA to Syd leg, or do I attempt to remain conscious until Friday night in order to reset my circadian rhythm?<\/span><\/p>\n

And how many hours away <\/span>is<\/span> Friday night? \u00a0I honestly don\u2019 know. \u00a0Due to some as of yet incomprehensible temporal rift as I move west, I gain time from here to the neighborhood of Hawaii, but soon lose an entire day. \u00a0Post! \u00a0As <\/span>Bill Bryson<\/span><\/a> put it, for one entire day I will not exist! \u00a0I will board a plane in LA today (Wed), and touch-down on a Friday, without ever \u201cbeing\u201d on Thursday. \u00a0But why couldn\u2019t it be Tuesday? \u00a0I wouldn\u2019t miss a Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh! \u00a0An hour and a half until I board. \u00a0Time to spend that American currency while I can.<\/p>\n

KC<\/p>\n

I have just discovered that the bar I have left is the \u201cArtist\u2019s & Writer\u2019s Bar\u201d. \u00a0I must have looked like an ass!<\/span><\/p>\n

Gate C-19: Los Angeles \u2013 Sydney<\/p>\n

Sydney. \u00a0Over four years of anticipation. \u00a0Only 30 minutes to boarding.<\/p>\n

(and some 20 hours in the air)<\/p>\n

Flight was delayed \u00bd hour. \u00a0Dropped into another bar, met a guy going home to Columbus, OH. \u00a0For a moment, everything felt alright. \u00a0The fourth beer probably helped. \u00a0I can\u2019t wait to brush my teeth!<\/p>\n

\u2026 in Sydney.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEVER ORDER AN AUSSIE BURGER 8\/23\/00\u00a0Chicago O\u2019Hara\u00a0 Wednesday, \u00a03:40 CT \u201cBoy am I sure glad you\u2019re thin!\u201d \u00a0Kind of an awkward start to an awkward trip. \u00a0This was what one of the two guys I was sandwiched between said as… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","hentry","category-triptoaustralia","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/KevinCroll.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/KevinCroll.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/KevinCroll.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/KevinCroll.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/KevinCroll.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/KevinCroll.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63,"href":"https:\/\/KevinCroll.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10\/revisions\/63"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/KevinCroll.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/KevinCroll.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/KevinCroll.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}