We Made it to Chicago

Departure day began for me at 2:30 AM. Because I live quite far from El Cerrito High School, our scheduled meet-up location, my parents had me wake up early so we were out the door at 3:00 AM. Unsurprisingly, there was no traffic, so I got to El Cerrito plenty early. Don was already there, so we quickly took care of things like putting on luggage tags. I politely refused the offer of Red Vines, because it goes against my personal philosophy to eat things that taste like plastic to me. We didn't have to wait before the rest of my cohort began showing up. Once everyone was there, Don ran through some last minute instructions with us, but it was nothing we were not informed of before. We took group pictures of the cohort, and finally, all we left to do was wait for the shuttle.

But a special day wouldn't be special without some obstacles, and we countered one right away when our intended shuttle was late and could not be contacted. Stranded at El Cerrito, our cohort chatted some more while we continued to wait for the uncertain arrival of our shuttle. During this time, we discussed other viable options of getting to the Oakland Airport: we considered BART, Uber, and finally – wait for it – a six hour walk to the airport. Luckily, soon enough, our ride, an SUV, pulled up, and everyone was able to fit into it along with our luggage. Raqueeb was stuck being cramped in the back, while we three smaller girls sat in the more spacious middle. The ride was short and smooth to the Oakland Airport, and we arrived there in a fairly short amount of time.

We made it through security and all the check-ins in no time, but due to the fact that the shuttle was late, we barely had time to grab a light breakfast. With only around eight minutes to spare, Raqueeb, Lindsay, Jahnvi, and I made a mad dash to Subway. We made it back just in time for us to board the plane.

A beautiful sky

The whole flight was pretty uneventful. I sat with Ms. Sciacca, with another lady to her left. I did not get a chance to properly talk with the lady, however, since the lady slept for most of the flight. There was, however, a very cute baby on the plane, who, to my surprise and admiration, barely cried at all. From the position of my seat, I saw that the baby’s father rocked him back and forth gently for the whole flight, to make it more comfortable for the baby, and I was most impressed by the father’s action. He took very good care of his child, and it made me realize just how much work parents do to raise us.

Once we got off the plane, we went to the luggage claiming area, and I easily found both of my bags. However, we waited a while for Raqueeb’s trombone, and I used this time to text my parents to let them know of our safe arrival. After we had gotten everything, we went out to another SUV, and I was shocked by how hot and humid Chicago is. We met with a bit of traffic on our way to the hotel, but it was not a long ride. When we arrived at the Omni Hotel, we left all of our luggage downstairs, outside the lobby, while we checked in to the hotel.

Sitting room

The hotel is grandiose and beautiful. It has a quite spacious lobby with plenty of classy chairs. The lights, the atmosphere, the décor - everything in the hotel has an air of elegance. There are plenty of elevators around, and we found our rooms easily enough. Our rooms are super fancy and nice. We have a sizable sitting room/living room area, with a couch against the wall and a desk and chair in the corner. The bathroom is very clean, and, according to Lindsay and Jahnvi, the lighted mirrors are just like the ones in makeup tutorials, which got them very excited. There was a little chaos as we threw around clothes in our room and changed, but eventually, we made it out of the hotel and were on our way to Navy Pier.

Inside the room

Navy Pier

I loved the smell of the fresh water of Lake Michigan. It was a well-appreciated respite from the intense heat of Chicago. Although it was still hot, the semi-cool wind from the water made it bearable. We ate some surprisingly good cheese pizza, and I learned something new: never judge a pizza by its display - because I honestly did not expect the cheese pizza to taste so good. We walked around Navy Pier, and then went on the Centennial Wheel. It was untruly an unexpected day – we thought we would only get to go around once, but we got to go around three times! We also got to take a lot of pretty pictures.

On the Centennial Wheel

After Navy Pier, we walked over to the 360 Observation Deck. It was not a long walk, and walking to our next destination actually gave us a better glimpse of what the city of Chicago is like. At the 360 Observation Deck, there is a strangely wobbly elevator that took us up to the observation deck. There, we were greeted with a breathtaking view of the whole city from the top. It was absolutely astounding, and the observation deck had such good lighting for taking pictures. We also decided as a cohort to do the tilt, which was not as scary as I had thought it would be. I was so focused on holding on to the handle bars that my mind wasn’t focus on the fear of falling. I had an extremely good time there, and I even got a souvenir penny!

The view from the top

Finally, we walked back to the Omni Hotel, a very quick walk. The day’s excitement has finally caught up to me, so I’ll be retiring to bed after I finish my blog. My first day in Chicago has been extremely fulfilling, and I look forward to the three weeks we’ll spend here.