Israel day 13 - horrible travel day

Israel day 13 – Travel to Chicago
Tuesday, July 10, 2007

We got to breakfast at 7 am and we were ready to leave Tel Aviv. A taxi was ordered to be at the hotel by 7:30 am. We arrived at the airport by 8 am for our 10:40 am flight. The taxi cost 120$ ($30 US).

The flight was delayed by an hour and we took off about 11:50 am heading for JFK airport in New York. Dianne was afraid we would miss our connecting flight to Chicago. Arielle was there for a three-week art program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I did want to visit Chicago after reading an article by John Cusack about what a great city it was and how much he loved it. So we planned the trip to spend a few days in Chicago and pick up Arielle before we go home to Los Angeles.

While on the plane I confirmed we would have about a three-hour layover, and Dianne was able to relax. We arrive in New York after an 11.5-hour flight. It was so strange to go from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv in 14 hours, and it would take about 5 hours to get from LA to NY. How come it takes 11.5 hours to get to NY when it should have been 9 hours?

Anyway, we get to New York at 3:50 pm local time and I check in for our flight to Chicago. I thought Dianne booked us on American Airlines, but it showed right on the itinerary that we were booked on Delta and the flight was schedule for 3 hours later at 7 pm.

Dianne cannot stand to wait around in an airport and the first thing she did was to try to get an earlier flight to Chicago. She was told the earliest flight was 7 pm. However, when I used the self-serve check-in, on the boarding pass is printed that the flight time was scheduled for 9 pm. I was confused: Our 7 pm flight is taking off at 9 pm; was our 7 pm flight cancelled? I checked in three hours ahead: Did we check in too late? Were we now on standby? The TV screen shows our flight as 7 pm and on time: What was going on here?

Dianne wanted an earlier flight so she would not have to wait 3 hours. What a laugh. I was hoping that we would actually fly out at 9 pm. Then we go to the Delta terminal and I heard the real horror stories: People who had to sleep overnight in the airport for delayed flights; cancelled flights; 2 days to get from Germany to New York, etc.

Dianne and I both had similar conversations. As we walked around the airport we asked, “Was it worthwhile to go through these types of travel nightmares to visit other lands?” We agreed it was like the labor to deliver a baby: It is hell, but when it’s over you forget about it. Thank goodness that was true, because I don’t want to travel anyway. If I was able to remember this hell, I certainly would not be willing to go again. However, it is always in the background of my mind and I always try to talk Dianne into traveling in the US. Good luck.

We were lucky; our flight only got delayed another hour to 10 pm. We get on the plane and then sit on the ground for another hour. We finally arrived in Chicago just after midnight local time. By the time we got into our hotel room we traveled 30 hours to get from Tel Aviv to Chicago.

And it is now Wednesday, July 11 and Dianne’s birthday. It is 12:30 am and Dianne speaks to the man at the reservations desk, tells them it’s her birthday and asks if she can get an upgraded room. WOW, we got a huge suite on the 45th floor with a rack rate of $1000 per night. I took lots of photos.