Two takeaways from my Chicago to Cleveland back to Chicago trip yesterday (that are only useful if you plan to ever use these airports):
- DO NOT park at Lot H at O’Hare in Chicago.
- If you use Uber or Lyft to get picked up at Cleveland Hopkins Airport, you have to go to a special “Ride Share” area. That is not marked anywhere in the airport (that I saw).
One day work trips that involve air travel are exhausting. I should plan overnight trips to share the travel over two days rather than all in one.
And now for a way too long typical travel story…
I left my house at 5:00 am yesterday. I got to the remote parking area and was confused by signs that told me to take the first left for Lot E, even though I never turn there for Lot E. I should have trusted my gut. I ended up in a lot I didn’t know about, Lot H.
I got there, saw I could park there, and there was hardly anyone there (a warning sign) and went in. And dropped my credit card while using the drive through kiosk. Sigh. (I found it.)
I waited at the bus stop for a ride to the airport. And waited. And waited. I thought about leaving and driving to Lot E because there’s usually lots of buses there. I finally called parking help and they told me a bus comes every twenty-four minutes.
At O’Hare remote parking, you usually take a bus to the People Mover tram at Lot E and take that to all terminals. But the tram is not in operation Monday through Friday through the winter, so the airport is relying on buses to get from parking to the terminals (and between the terminals). SO UNLESS YOU WANT A LONG WAIT, DON’T PARK IN LOT H. Lesson learned.
I stuck with it because I am dumb. I got to the airport and Cleveland just fine.
Then in Cleveland, I used Lyft for the first time. I was feeling anxious about it, but got tips from Mica the day before and thought to myself, “how bad could this be?”
I ordered my ride and waited outside the arrival area. Then quickly realized my driver was going someplace else. And I could not find signage for where to meet him ANYWHERE. I called him and he said I had to to get to a walkway and go to a special pickup area, so I went up to the departure area and found someone who explained to me how to get there. The driver had to wait for me for five minutes and I felt like an arse. But he was nice about it.
Also, it was raining the whole time and I got to walk to my ride in the rain, yay, great. Ha ha, I had just been hoping NOT to do that.
I used Lyft two more times during the day and had a hiccup each time where the driver’s app showed me on the opposite side of the street, even though I put in the exact address of where I was. What’s up with that? So yeah, more walking in the pouring rain. Whatever, I won’t melt.
Side note 1: I ate at Melt Bar & Grilled, which was the highlight of this trip! It was even better than I remember.
Side note 2: is it normal for Lyft drivers to talk to you during the whole ride?I know a lot about Mark, Robert, and David now. Granted, I’m pretty chatty.
And now, more on why you shouldn’t park in Lot H.
Oh, but first, let me mention that my hour-delayed flight home was so turbulent they couldn’t bring the drink cart out. My stomach felt like it was on a roller coaster. I tried to laugh about it, but, ugh, I felt hot (my fan didn’t work) and nauseated.
I was so glad to get off that plane and to see that our gate was right by an exit, yay! And right where I needed to be to pick up my Lot H bus!
But yeah, the problem is that the Lot H bus only comes every twenty-four minutes, right? So I talked to other passengers as I watched them get on Lot E bus after Lot E bus. I made friends with the traffic attendants. We joked around and they told me they wished all passengers were as fun and patient as me (ha, I tricked them).
Then a bus showed up and had a sign that it was going to Lot H and E. The bus driver started arguing with the traffic attendants about how Lot E people get mad at her that they have to drive though Lot H first (not sure why she wanted to argue with them).
So she went to Lot E first instead. Sigh.
But first, we had to stop at every terminal at O’Hare (I was at the first stop at terminal 1). Then after we dropped all the Lot E people off, she told me about the crazy passengers yelling at her. (I feel bad people are so rude to her – it’s not like she designs the routes.)
While riding the bus it occurred to me that I never got a parking ticket at the lot that morning. Was I so distracted by dropping my credit card that I missed it? Would I have to pay a huge lost ticket fee?
Then I got to my car and the door wouldn’t open because I’ve been ignoring the indicator on the dashboard telling me the battery is dying in my key fob. I used the valet key to open the door and was worried the car wouldn’t start because it’s a pushbutton and I have no idea what the hell to do to start it with a dead key fob (I now know). Thankfully, it started.
And thankfully, I hadn’t missed a parking ticket – that lot just has you use the same credit card to get in and out. Phew.
And thankfully, there wasn’t a ton of traffic to get out of there, and I was home by 9:00 pm.
Silly stuff like this is why I love smaller airports (like Milwaukee!) This is typical O’Hare travel, especially now with the tram down Monday-Friday. It just sucks I got home a lot later than I wanted to on a Thursday night, when I have to get up early on Fridays to teach. So the third takeaway is:
3. Try not to travel on Thursdays, or too late into Thursday evening. Or get a sub for my Friday class.
There were many positives from this trip – I got to use TSA Pre✓ and all I was carrying was a backpack and purse (it’s so nice not to worry about where my luggage will go). And my flight being delayed an hour isn’t that bad – I’ve had much worse! I think my flight was delayed three hours on my last business trip home.
But yeah, definitely not using Lot H again. (Or ignoring my low battery key fob signal!)
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