I’m encouraged to report that we spent less than $350 a day, well below the $1500 average, to cover the expense of our recent travels back to Indiana. My wife’s flight and ground transportation was covered by her business, while hotel costs were mostly Marriott Rewards points. Dining costs were minimal entertaining her mother. We still had dog sitter costs, my flight, and two nights in Rochester, Indiana where there is no Marriott property. Most importantly, we didn’t buy costly souvenirs and gifts, although my wife did purchase some “needed” household items for her mom. On the humorous side, she unintentionally bought duplicates of several items. Mom does now have six tubes of toothpaste, several gallons of mouthwash, and about 100 rolls of toilet paper, that she wasn’t aware of previously. She’s 96 years young, but obviously is not reliable when it comes to making a shopping list, but will be smelling good for many years to come.

It was about as efficient as we can possibly get traveling, something we should easily match on our next trip home over the holidays. For us, it was cheap travel!  We’ll never own a camper, sleep in a campground, or even stay in a cheap hotel – with maybe the exception of my wife’s home town. We might do some more extensive train trips and some long weekend travel by car, so we can take the dogs along. However, a majority of our travel will involve long flights, cruises, fine dining, and resorts, so the $1500 a day price tag will once again raise its gilded head.

While my wife was slaving away making calls on advertisers, I spent the afternoon as a Senior Citizen at the Chicago History Museum, including a Vienna Chicago Dog lunch to set the mood. It was interesting to learn the meaning of the 4 stars on the Chicago flag – The Fire, Columbia Expo, World’s Fair, and Ft. Dearborn, with the thought of adding a fifth. Chicago Classics like Montgomery Ward’s, Sears, The Radio Flyer, Frank Lloyd Wright, The Stockyards, Marshall Field’s, Cracker Jack, and Crate & Barrel are featured among the numerous displays. I also enjoyed looking over the sports memorabilia and video from the Sox, Cubs, Bulls, Bears, Blackhawks, and Negro Leagues. I then took an Uber to the Michigan Avenue Marriott that was packed with Michigan State Spartan fans waiting for their team to play at the United Center. My wife finally joined me for an early dinner at Joe’s Stone Crab, where we shared our “how was your day?” experiences.

As we were getting up this morning in Chicago, my wife and I got our signals crossed on flight information. At the last minute, she discovered that she was on an earlier plane and rushed out the door to catch an airport shuttle. Since she was on a business trip, a company representative had booked her flight. With me now retired, I’ve made a point of traveling with her whenever possible, and try to mirror her flight itinerary. In looking back, apparently it was too costly for me to book a direct flight home on a different airline, as her company had arranged for her. We had forgotten all about it, until she double-checked this morning, and had to scramble.

She arrived at O’Hare about a half hour before her flight; too late to print her ticket. Eventually, she got some help from an agent, rebooking a flight that would get her home three hours later. By chance, she went by the gate of the “missed” flight, and found they could still let her board – delay averted. In the meantime, I grabbed our luggage and checked-out of the hotel, but missed the first shuttle. Fortunately, there were no additional delays. I will get home six hours later than she will, and will have to pay the parking and luggage fees, but we’ll be back together this evening, while the pups will get some earlier attention from her. They’ll be so relieved to get the entire “pack” back together again!

I have plenty of time to read Michael Connelly’s Two Kinds of Truth, and do some blog writing, as the flight takes me back to Portland via Phoenix. I do miss the Ken Follet family of characters that I spent several weeks getting to know in A Column of Fire. It was a lot of work keeping them all straight, but I now better understand the Catholic vs. Protestant religious rivalry and the related politics that led to bloodshed, torture, and murder. They all felt they were doing “God’s Will” in preserving their beliefs, while securing their place in Heaven. All I can say is that Hell must be a busy place!