18:00 CET is 11 o’clock and Chicago is my new Detroit

After a self-mandated isolation period where I did nothing but relax (as I’ve hinted at, there’s been a lot of stress on this trip, but the stress magically melted away Wednesday morning and I started feeling a whole lot better).

Now I am in New York City.

Because of my divorce from Delta, I have had to change airports. No longer is Detroit in my mid-west Americana vocabulary, it is Chicago O’Hare – and United Airlines. I might note that, unlike Detroit, I am actually willing to leave the airport and see the city. I’ve only left the Detroit Airport once, and that was for only a few hours to see a friend, who returned me to the airport.

So Thursday at 18:00 CET I was sitting at Terminal 1, Gate B5, waiting for my noon flight to La Guardia – fully refreshed and distressed.

Two hours later, my flight was on-time into La Guardia, my bags were quickly off the belt, and I was on my way to my hotel near Times Square – I’m now unpacked and ready to explore, but… I am actually doing NYC with my Sagittarius Amigo. Unfortunately for him (and me), his flight from Germany was delayed due to mechanical issues—so while he should have beaten me to the hotel, he didn’t.

There is one upside to his delay – since I checked in first, I was able to move us both to rooms on a higher floor, and to be on the same floor – something that comes with having hotel chain status.

I really am a points and miles whore.