Our midwest trip was over, and we headed back to Chicago to catch our plane. On our way to Milwaukee we'd gone up the coast of Lake Michigan, and there were road closures and detours due to road repaving. I checked the traffic app on my iPad, and even though it was the 4th of July holiday, there was still congestion around the detours, so we opted to take the tri-state tollway directly to O'Hare.
Since we had a rental car, we opted to pay cash.
I haven't had much experience with tollways. In our state there are a couple of bridges with tolls, but only one express lane which I know of that charges a toll. In our state there is no option to pay cash. Either you buy a transponder and set up an account with a credit card to be charged every time you drive in a toll area, or your licence plate is photographed and you are mailed a bill, with a hefty added service fee. If you take a rental car on a tollway the rental car company will charge you an additional fee as well.
I was a little confused about how often you had to pay. Once when you got on and again as you got off? Every few miles? This chart was supposed to be helpful, but it left me with even more questions. I just opted to pay whenever asked, and hoped I wouldn't miss a paypoint. Those with transponders could sail on through, but those paying cash had to merge off into a toll plaza, make payment, and merge back in.
Another novelty was the "Oasis."
An Oasis is a rest stop spanning the tollway, and you could stop for a meal and bathroom without having to pay to get on or off the tollway. A number of fast food places were available, but of course we had our standard picnic lunch.
The girls loved the idea of eating while watching the traffic zoom by beneath.
We didn't buy and food or drink but we did spend a few coins on the massage chairs.
When we got to O'Hare I dropped Grammy and girls and our luggage, then drove the rental car back to the Enterprise office in Des Planes, IL. I put the keys through the night slot (they were closed because it was July 4th) and called the cabbie the agency recommended, and returned to O'Hare within an hour. I was less convenient than if I'd dropped it at the airport, but given that I saved $700.00 by renting off site, it was worth it. I could have dropped it at the airport for a $50.00 fee, but instead I just spent $20.00 on a cab and an extra 45 minutes.
Since it was July 4th the airport was pretty empty. We sat around for an hour and ate as much as we could that was left in our picnic cooler that we wouldn't be allowed to take through security. A even took a few gulps of Ranch salad dressing!
We had an old styrofoam cooler from my aunt's garage that we needed to dispose of, but I realized if I left it near the garbage can (it wouldn't fit inside) that it would probably be considered suspicious and then the whole airport would be evacuated. I found group of bored looking TSA agents and gave it to them to dispose of. They weren't too pleased about having to deal with someone else's garbage, but they did agree that leaving it by the trashcan would have caused a panic.
Our flight was in the evening, and our plane followed the sun west, always on the edge of sunset.
I did a little reading of books downloaded from my local library onto my iPad, and the girls read or played games. Grammy alternately snoozed and read People magazines and Reader's Digest. At one point my mom was reading her paper copy of Reader's Digest, and I was reading the same issue as a digital version on my iPad.
It was interesting to experience a 4 hour sunset. The colors changed along the way, sometimes more intense, other times more subtle.
As we approached Seattle we were able to look down and see the 4th of July firework show preparations. We could see the boats on Lake Union, the barge where the fireworks would be discharged, and throughout the city small, colorful explosions rising from neighborhoods. Aerial fireworks were illegal in the city, but plenty of people with money found their way to the Indian reservations where they could buy a potent arsenal of explosives to wow their neighbors.
We landed in Seattle, my husband picked us up, and then we drove on the freeway you see in the photo above, right past the fireworks. We had just enough time to drop Grammy at her house and drive back before the show was over and the roads clogged up with the ten of thousands of spectators who had converged near the lake to watch the show. We were stunned to see how many stupid people stopped in the middle of the freeway to get out of their cars to take photos, despite the flashing signs warning them not to.
It had been a long day and I was glad to be home.
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