After this weekend, I am not sure that I will bother with Chicago again. Most of the trip was great, but it was book-ended by events that soured me on a lot of things. But I will go into that after a brief reporting of our Girls Trip to Chicago.
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There were 4 of us scheduled to spend a long weekend in the Windy City: STX, JTX, RQS and me. I'd be traveling in female mode for the entire trip, with only my masculine legal ID available to get me through airport security. (More on that later.) It would also be the first time that RQS would be taking a trip with me solely presenting as Marian.
I had packed both my suitcase and my backpack, and took a cab to to Croton Harmon station. Well, I was so absent minded, that I left my backpack with my Chromebook in the washroom - and it was gone by the time I went back for it. AARGH! If I'm lucky, Metro North may find it, and then bring it to Lost and Found at Grand Central Terminal. But to claim it, I need legal ID - of which I left a backup version (US Passport card) in that bag. (Again, more on this later.) So I took the cab back to my apartment, so that I could get a new supply of medicine before the trip.
The next few days with the girls was mostly uneventful. (More on this later.) We had a great time exploring Chicago, going to the Field Museum, the Art Institute, and Navy Pier on our first full day there, and then going to the Skydeck (Observation level at the Sears/Willis Tower), and then the Magnificent Mile on our second full day there. After STX and JTX left for home, RQS and I went to the Rookery to see this classic building. And that's where my troubles began.
After our Rookery tour, we went to a local place to have lunch. That's where my wallet was stolen. AARGH! Instead of going to see the Money Museum at Chicago's Federal Reserve Bank, we ended up making phone calls to banks to cancel credit cards, and going to the South Side of Chicago to file a police report.
Arriving at the police station, we saw a migrant encampment completely surrounding the police station's block. This is where I realized that having my wallet stolen is a "first world" problem. These people have it much worse than I ever will. I couldn't avoid the children playing with the revolving door, as they didn't have much to play with. Inside the station, people were encamped on one side of the "receiving area" while the other side had been cordoned off for police business. Chatting with the police officer while he was taking down my information, I found out that the area within the Loop has become a high crime area. It is very different from the last time I was there, and even the PO has had his wallet stolen once. So you can now see why I won't be visiting Chicago again for a while.
Today, it was time to go home. With ALL of my ID taken by the pickpocket, I was worried about TSA airport security - and for good reason. We checked out of our hotel room early, and got to the airport. Although I had TSA Pre-Check privileges, for this trip, I lost them due to my missing ID. I had to fill out a form to inform TSA that I was without ID, and then (after a minor back and forth between the TSA area and Delta's ticketing area) I had to wait again until a TSA officer was available to ask me several security questions to insure I was the person who would be flying home. After a few minutes, this officer made a phone call, asked me some personal questions, and then I was cleared to pass through security screening - without Pre-Check privileges.
Given a choice, I'd always go for Pre-Check (or Global Entry, if traveling internationally) to avoid the hassles of intense TSA screening. Today, it was time to go home the way most people do. I went through the full body scanner without my shoes, all of my bags were swabbed down for dangerous chemicals, and I had to have a full body pat down. TSA had the grace to ask me whether I wanted a male or female to perform the pat down, and I said that it didn't matter. Once the pat down was done, I still had to wait for my bags to be processed, and after 30-45 minutes, I was ready to enter the secured area of the airport.
Once I entered the secured area, it was time to look for RQS. And I couldn't find her. Instead of being close to the TSA zone, she had located herself in an area where I couldn't see her. So I proceeded to take the long walk to the gate, and wait for RQS - she'd have to pass by me to go home. This made perfect sense, as she did find me with a little help from our cell phones.
Two hours after we boarded the plane, we landed at La Guardia airport. And we were home before 7:15 pm. Not bad! But I still had to make it home. Leaving at a little after 8:00 pm, I made perfect connections to get to Croton Harmon, and then found a cab waiting for a fare at the station. After telling him my story, he offered to drive me home for free. I'm glad that I didn't have to accept his generosity, as RQS had given me some money to have in my purse if needed. But I am grateful that there are still some people in this world....
