America 2015: Day Seven (5 August 2015)

You might have laughed if I told you, you might have hidden a frown
You might have succeeded in changing me, I might have been turned around
It's easier to leave than to be left behind, leaving was never my proud
Leaving New York, never easy

                                                                                                     - R.E.M.

Wednesday 5 August

The song is true. Leaving New York’s never easy. You can never have enough time in this epic city. That’s the bad news. The good news is that we left New York and flew into the vast Midwest to another of America’s best cities: Chicago. After coming here so often in the winter, which are fairly brutal here, summertime is such a nice relief!

After seven hours of sleep, I was still on a massive high from the epic Yankees game in The Bronx last night – that seventh-inning explosion of nine runs really put the icing on the cake of what’s been a great few days in New York – and particularly sad to be leaving.

The cab ride from Midtown to LaGuardia Airport was an interesting one, with the three of us squeezed across the back seat, and I was definitely glad to get out at the airport and stretch my legs. Our cabbie, George, was a real conversationalist. Actually, that’s a lie. He basically grunted at us, and barely talked, except to tell us to “hang on” when he got out of the cab at the lights to close the back door properly. Okay then… Just a little more NYC authenticity on our way out the door!

We were lucky to be on the left side of the plane out of LaGuardia, which is the side you want to be on to take advantage of the spectacular take-off. I had the window seat, and the views of Manhattan and New York Harbour and then The Bronx were awesome. It’s a far more spectacular vista than the one you get taking off from JFK International out in Queens and, as far as these things go, the airport itself is far less manic. It was cool getting an overhead view of Yankee Stadium as we headed west.

 

Whilst the taxiing at both ends were long, the flight itself, at just under two hours in length, was pleasant, though not without a few bumps along the way. My only regret was not eating more at the airport in New York City. It was early afternoon before we got into Chicago, so lunch kinda passed us by. Suffice to say, we arrived in Chicago with empty stomachs!

The #LoveMeLonghini wedding here in the Windy City is the main reason we’re in America, and everything else we’re doing here has slotted in nicely around it. There aren’t many people for whom I’d fly 12,000-odd miles halfway around the world to see get married, but these guys, and the whole family, are amazingly awesome and wonderful people who’ve always opened their doors to us each time we come to town. No words I can say can really do them justice.

It’s really nice to be staying in a house rather than a hotel – thanks so much, Matt and Jaimie – particularly after a week on the road. Shuffling from hotel to hotel, which are fairly impersonal for the most part, is the one downside to travelling, and coming from New York to the Midwest is a major relief, too. Manhattan is such an intense and manic place, and the Chicago suburbs are a welcome break. Generally, Chicago is a more laidback city, with pleasant Midwesterners and not so much of the do-everything-at-a-hundred-miles mentality that rules in New York City.

 

We had dinner at Coopers Hawk, a local Wheaton-area restaurant/winery-type place that serves giant meals – thankfully, considering my stomach was just about eating itself – last night with all the family, and it was like no time at all had passed, even though it’s been nearly two years (November 2013) since we were last here. It’s so easy to just pick up where we left off, but it’s kinda scary to see how much the kids have grown. It makes me realise I’m getting old!

Ready for a giant sleep tonight!