Day 1: Chicago to Quito
It’s day one and we’re off! It was a hot and humid day in Chicago when we left at 7:30 am, so we were happy to travel to cooler climates. We hopped in a Lyft and made it to the airport in good time. O’Hare was not very crowded and we were able to check our bags and breeze through security — until they flagged Jo’s bag.
Turns out little containers of fruit and yogurt you might make yourself for breakfast are considered a liquid. Or as our conversation with the friendly TSA lady went… TSA Lady: “They didn’t let you take your food thru???” Us: “No, they said no yogurt.” TSA Lady: “Ohhhh yeah. No Yogurt. Can’t do Yogurt!!!” We could have tossed them, but it was not busy, and we were gonna consume them in about five minutes anyway, so we opted to exit security for our snack. TSA Lady also suggested the “freeze your liquids” trick might work on yogurt. Hmmm… would it work on sunscreen?
Pointing at security lines since we didn’t take a train
Eating yogurt in a very empty security line
Having finished our snack and banished any trace of liquid from our bags, we went back through securtiy, said hi again to our new TSA friends, and went to our gate (B10) just a few steps away. We sat down behind some balloons and a table with big light-up ORD letters and a bunch of United employees hanging around. Turns out our flight is part of an unofficial (but supported) United Hub Marathon where about 60 people are attempting to fly thru seven United hubs by the end of the day.
O’Hare dino celebrating United’s 100th birthday
Hub Marathon set up
Soon after arriving at the gate, we were notified that our flight was delayed by about two hours (mechanical issue on the inbound flight?). Since we are paranoid fliers, we still had plenty of time to make our connection in Houston and weren’t concerned once we saw the connecting flight take off. Plus, we figured United had some incentive to keep their 60 Hub Runners on track!
Meahwhile, we relaxed at the gate until the flight arrived and observed/joined in the Hub Marathon party. The United staff made signs and cheered the passengers as they deplaned. O’Hare was hub stop number three, and Houston was stop number four. The plane boarded quickly — regular folk as well as the Hub Runners who only moments ago de-planed. On the way down the jetway, everyone was given a bag of Garret’s popcorn, and each passenger had a first-class style bag on their seats. Bonus.
Hub runner t-shirt showing the route
As it turned out, our row-mate was one of the hub runners. We got to talk to her and learn more about what was going on. Apparently, there were a few people in the group who were not planning on completing all seven hubs, so… I mean… that basically makes us honorary marathoners with a total of two hubs. When we landed in Houston, we were about three hours late, but we still had plenty of time before our next flight.
Our rowmate and her homemade hub runner dress
We strolled up to a Priority Pass lounge which was (surprise, surprise) not letting in anyone other than Emirates first class passengers (Don’t they get enough?!?). BUT! We successfully negotiated entry by promising the desk agent that we would only be there for 30 minutes in order to get to our gate for our flight, and we were obviously Emirates first class passengers if anybody was asking. We took the time to rearrange our carry-ons, and enjoyed some food and drinks.
Who is this guy, Houston?
Lounge speed run
Keeping our promise, we departed the lounge after 30 minutes and made it to our gate a few minutes before boarding started. Everything went smoothly. Boarding was quick, we left on time, enjoyed a tasty dinner (sheppard’s pie and cheese enchilada), watched TV (Jo watched Pluribus and Matt watched Chernobyl), and when the pilot promised BIG turbulence, it ended up being one of the smoothest landings ever. Underpromise, overdeliver!
No hub runners on this leg
Why are there stilettos?
Once we landed and got off the plane, everything was quick again. The line for customs was only a few minutes and we got a REAL stamp in our passports. We got through to baggage claim, and our bags were on the carousel waiting for us. And — as an added bonus — we saw that our previously-booked American flight (that was supposed to arrive two hours earlier) actually just landed.
Future friend
We exited and found Santiago, our guide for the mainland was ready and waiting for us. He drove us to the hotel for the night and we reviewed the plan for tomorrow. Since it was already past midnight, we agreed on a late start of 8:30 am. We arrived at the hotel and immediately went to sleep. Tomorrow, the real adventure begins, starting in Quito.
Made it to Quito!
Time to sleep!
