Fly from RDU to Chicago, Amtrak from Chicago to Memphis, fly from Memphis back to RDU.
Although I left on Friday morning, I think this trip began Thursday night. In preparation for my 6:05 a.m. flight, I had to go to bed early. So, after my 5:00 p.m. gym class, I showered, made a quick dinner, and got in bed. I set my alarm for 3 a.m., popped some melatonin, and dozed off.
I woke up at 3 a.m, ordered an Uber, and headed to the airport. Having no checked bags, I was in line for TSA before they even opened. They open at 5:00 a.m. I was like fourth or fifth in line, so when they opened, I went right through. Soon after that I was on the plane, and we took off at 6:05 a.m. as scheduled.
I arrived to Chicago Midway Airport while it was still dark. I got off the plane and found my way to the subway stop in the Midway Airport, and bought a day pass. I easily found the right train, got on, and found a seat. As the train left, I could see the sun begin to rise. Midway Airport is about 30 minutes away from downtown Chicago.
The ride was easy; not too crowded. People were hopping on and off for their morning commute. Soon, I caught my first glimpse of the Chicago skyline.
Without too much effort or too much money, I had gone from my apartment in Raleigh, NC to downtown Chicago within only a few hours. All of this before most people (including me) normally wake up for the day.
My day in Chicago
I am lucky to work at a company with a location in Chicago, so I was able to use that as my "home base" for the day. I went there first to drop off my luggage and put together a day pack. Alternatively, I could have put my luggage in a locker at Union Station because I would need to end up there for the train anyway.
After putting my big suitcase away and grabbing some essentials in a backpack, I was ready for breakfast. I walked from the office to Beatrix, some breakfast place I read about on Yelp or Reddit, I can't remember. I grabbed some food and coffee to go.
Knowing I was limited on time, I pre-booked whatever I could online the day before. So, I already had a ticket for the water taxi. The all day ticket lets you hop on and off unlimited all day. I planned to eat on the water taxi, but that was a better plan than I knew.
On the water taxi, there was a little room with tables and chairs. It was even warm in there! And even better, I was one of only a few people on the water taxi, so I had a peaceful, warm breakfast, while floating up and down the Chicago river.
I just realized I haven't mentioned the weather. It was cold.
They said I could chill on the water taxi as long as I wanted, so I took this video tour of the taxi after I finished eating. But after that, they said they were changing out the boat and I had to get off. I was on another side of town, so I had to find my way back to my office. It was almost time for lunch.
I had three ways to get around: subway, water taxi or bike share. I bought all-day passes for each so I had options. I thought this could be a fun time to try the bike share. It was only a few miles away, and the streets really weren't that busy since it was a workday. Most of the roads had bike lanes.
I had a lunch reservation at a pretty nice place, so I put on a decent shirt and started walking. I walked down the Magnificent Mile toward the lunch spot. My restaurant was on the 94th floor of a skyscraper and did not disappoint. The views were awesome and the food was delicious.
After lunch I returned to the office to get on some athletic clothes for a bike ride. Chicago has a greenway going along the lake called Lakeshore Trail. First, though, I stopped by the Bean to get some obligatory Bean pics and videos.
After the Bean, I found a bike and started on my ride. I found a self-guided bike tour of Chicago which I followed.