Leg 4: Minneapolis, MN to Gary, IN -- 2:40, 23.0 gallons
This was an easy one for sure. The weather in Minneapolis was mostly clear...just some broken clouds on the way to the Chicago area. But yet again the starter refused to do its thing. And now I was convinced I had a real problem on my hands, and that this wasn't just heat-related. Obviously. I lucked out, though, because after getting out and just moving the prop around by hand a bit, when I got back in the thing started right up. Ok, whatever...get me to Boston where I'll have time and tools and help from my friends, and I'll replace the starter there.
Here's a shot of Jen doing her word puzzles while we were enroute.
I was feeling pretty giddy, because despite the route diversion the first day, we had made a tremendous amount of headway, and our goal of spending the second afternoon and night in Chicago was definitely within reach.
We flew through Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois on the way to Chicago. Jen agreed to doing some sightseeing by air before landing in Gary, Indiana. I picked Gary because it was way cheaper than landing and staying in Chicago, and it's only a short drive from downtown Chicago. Anyway, I had wanted to get a class B clearance to fly over the Ohare airspace, but the Chicago controllers were absolute friggin' dicks. They wouldn't clear me through Midway's class C, let alone Ohare's class B. And all I wanted to do was skim across the top. Oh, well, whatever. So we went around to the south of the airspace, got clear to the east, and then swung back up Lake Michigan toward downtown.
Wouldn't you know it, but I had the stupid camera on macro mode for these shots. Oh, well. You get the idea.
I took about 6 more great shots of the city when we were right next to it, right over the old Meigs field, etc., but since they were in macro mode they didn't come out. Dag bernit!!! Here's the only one that came out half decent.
Anyway, after putzing around the lake and listening to some way-too-tense controllers yap, we landed at Gary. I had called Gary Jet Center about three weeks prior to arrange for a rental car. I spoke with a guy there who sounded like he scribbled the reservation on his friggin' arm with a crayon. I didn't trust him, so a week later I called back to confirm. This other guy at Gary Jet Center said that I should call Hertz directly. Did that, and the guy there said I had to have Gary Jet Center make the reservation, that they would take care of it. Here we go again... I finally got in touch with Cynthia at the Jet Center, who eventually did confirm that our reservation was in the system. Ok, cool.
Well, when we landed and asked for our car, the guy working the desk said there was no car and no reservation. When I bitched a bit he was very apologetic, and he offered to give us a crew car for the night, and he'd hangar the plane free of charge. Done deal! Apology accepted! I pushed the plane into their big hangar and was relieved that again my baby would be sheltered from the elements -- and once more we didn't have to pay for a car for the night. Schweeet.
After checking into the hotel, Jen and I drove into Chicago. Our only real goals were to go up in the Sears Tower and eat at the original Pizzeria Uno. The Sears Tower was lame. It took us over an hour to get through the ticket line, the elevator line, etc. Finally we were up there on the observatory level, and the first words Jen uttered were: "We just flew over all of this and it looked so much cooler from the air." You took the words right out of my mouth! I guess we're spoiled, but so be it. We got the heck out of there. We ended up at Uno's to scarf down some good deep dish pizza. I was raised on that stuff. My friend Bruce and I used to blow off school and illegally drive his dad's car home in the middle of the day...his poor dad...he was a teacher at our high school, so Bruce would just snag the car and half the time his dad would end up walking home. I kid you not! Anyway, Bruce and I would skip school, and he always had those mini Uno's pizzas at his house. I had been to the original Pizzeria Uno once before on a previous trip to Chicago, but Jen hadn't, and I'm always up for good pizza.
Anyway, after all that we drove along Lake Shore Drive, and somehow I managed to follow it straight into the ghetto on the way down shore. We lived to tell.
After doing a bit of damage at the hold 'em tables back at the hotel (we stayed at the ever lovely Trump Casino), we called it a night. Tomorrow's goal -- get to Boston somehow.