Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

I'm a little tired after RJ's first birthday party and don't know exactly where to start. So I'll push that story 'til tomorrow, which happens to be RJ's actual birthday. So in its place, I'll give you an idea of how my commute to Dublin works. I just got back from Dublin Friday night and will be flying back on Monday.

Here's what my Monday/Tuesday will look like:

2:30 PM CST - Beth drives me to the Crystal Lake train station.
3:00 PM CST - UP Northwest Line to Dee Rd station (Park Ridge)
4:00 PM CST - Taxi to O'Hare
4:15 PM CST - Check-in/Wait at Airport
7:00 PM CST - Board Plane
7:30 PM CST - Take off for Dublin
2:30 AM CST - Land in Dublin, Collect Baggage, Wait for Hotel Shuttle
3:45 AM CST - Shuttle to Hotel
4:00 AM CST - Check-in at hotel, Shower
4:30 AM CST - Go to Work (10:30 AM GMT)

That's about 14 hours of travel. During this time, if I don't get any sleep, I'm useless the next day. I really don't sleep well on planes. Thus, Advil PM is my friend.

The flight to Dublin is much harder than the flight home. On the way to Dublin, you lose sleep, on the way home you can gain sleep. So this past Friday when I came home, I fell asleep at 7pm and woke up the next morning at 6am . . . like that I'm back on schedule.

So to recap: Make sure to pack sleep aids (especially if you expect to function the next day). Flying West is easier than flying East. And . . .

Those aren't pillows! [download/rent the movie if you have to ask]

The Adventure Begins . . .

. . . with a man wearing a cowboy hat and chaps at the Crystal Lake train station. WTF? As I struggled with the door and two suitcases, however, I was glad that the cowboy was there. He was kind enough to hold the door for me. Inside I was quickly met by the "Can I sell you a used weekend ticket" man who was down on his luck. From his waistline, however, I can't imagine he was too far down on his luck. Still I have a weakness for helping people, so I gave him five bucks for the used ticket (If nothing else, I appreciated that he was being resourceful). I still bought a legit ticket on the train as train tickets are non-transferable.

I get to the airport by 4:15pm (for a 7:30pm flight) thinking that the TSA might give me a private screening. No luck there. This was the fastest I think I've ever gotten through security at O'Hare. So it was 4:30 and I had two and a half hours to kill before the flight began boarding. Luckily the Jets/Chargers game was on. On Friday, I gave out my Super Bowl picks as San Diego over Dallas. I think I need to revise.

You know it's a good travel day when you're lucky enough to have a whole empty row of seats on an international flight. I got some good sleep on the flight (well . . . as good as you can get). As a bonus the dreadlocked retro hippie sitting in front of me didn't smell like he hadn't showered in weeks.

One drawback to the flight. For those gluten-freers out there. My gluten free breakfast came with a gluten-full muffin. It said "Contains Wheat" right on the label. I did log the complaint with the Flight Attendant who apologized profusely and swapped me a banana for the muffin.

Otherwise, I landed safely in Dublin, got checked into the hotel, and I'm looking forward to a shower. I smell like a dreadlocked retro hippie who hasn't showered in weeks. Gotta wash the travel off!