Getting to Washington

We hardly ever have a perfect experience when traveling by air; there are just far too many variables.  But our trip from O'Hare in Chicago to Ronald Reagan airport in DC came about as close to perfect as anything we have ever done!

On Friday, December 18, we had a 10:00 a.m. flight.  Our original plan was to get up early Friday morning and make the almost-three-hour drive there.  We would check one bag, board our flight, and be in Washington around lunch time, leaving us half a day to get to our hotel and perhaps sightsee a bit.

But then, Jeff started looking at our luggage situation and suggested that we try to fly with only carry-on bags.  After all, we could dress in layers for the flight, and we'd learned how to get by on very few clothes during our experiences with discount airlines in Europe.  Plus, with only carry-on bags, we would not have to be at the airport as early since we could go straight to security without having to check in at a counter.  And, as each person was allowed a carry-on and a "personal" bag, we actually had eight small bags with which to work.

OK.  Carry-ons only!

Then, I started looking at our schedule and thought that getting up at 4:00 a.m. Friday morning to drive to Chicago would make for a VERY long day.  And, quite possibly, the only thing we'd want to do upon arrival is take a nap, not sightsee! 

So, I asked Jeff if he had any points built up for frequent stays in hotels.  He checked and discovered that he had about 18,000 points, 15,000 of which were due to expire on January 31.  It took 12,000 points to get a room at the Comfort Suites O'Hare, so Jeff made the reservation.  This hotel was five minutes from where we would be parking our car to shuttle to the airport.

Voila!  We were all set!

Jeff had taken Thursday and Friday off work, so, when the kids finished their French lessons on Thursday afternoon, we loaded up the car and headed to Chicago, arriving a bit after 8:00.  We slept until 7:00 on Friday morning, ate breakfast at the hotel, and headed to our airport parking shortly after 8:00.

We had reserved a valet parking space a few weeks before, so all we had to do was drop our car under a pavilion, load our bags into the shuttle, and we were off to the airport by 8:20.  We zipped through security (well, as zippy as four people who had to take off and then put back on coats and shoes, reload a laptop, etc. could be!) and headed for the gate.

Jeff checked the departure screen as soon as we got through security and discovered that a 9:00 a.m. flight to Ronald Reagan was boarding at the gate next to our 10:00 flight.  He asked if I wanted to try to jump on the earlier flight, since we didn't have any checked luggage.  As boarding had not yet closed for the earlier flight, he dashed off to the gate and asked if there were four seats still available.

"Do you have any checked luggage?" asked the gate guy.  When Jeff answered in the negative, he said, "OK, hurry up.  Boarding closes in five minutes."  He scanned our boarding passes and hustled us onto the plane.  The flight was barely half full, so we easily stowed our luggage, buckled in, and were headed to Washington DC an hour ahead of schedule.

Instead of being exhausted upon arrival, we were well-rested.  Instead of having to hoof it from long-term parking, we were dropped off at the front door.  Instead of being stressed and rushed, we were able to easily catch an earlier flight and get to DC with an hour to spare.

It just doesn't get any easier than that!

Next time...our pre-blizzard time in the city!