Midwest adventure 2009: Chapter 1

Fun adventure so far. Airport in LA fine: Premier check-in was easy. Those frequent trips and subsequent premier status makes life so much easier. I could easily get used to travelling like this. It will be hard to go back to donkey class. But we did learn that they really don't like you to carry on hand weights. Colin had one in his backpack. I guess to workout on the plane????? Who knows. We gifted it to the airport since we couldn't bring the explosive device looking hand weight with us.

Arrival in O'hare was less than stellar. Airport was virtually empty at 10:45 but it still took over 30 minutes of waiting to get our bags. I sent Brian to get the car - he took Edwin with him. Finally (after being directed first to carousel 4, then to carousel 6, then back to carousel 4 - passengers en masse) Julia, the big boys and I get all 8 (!) pieces of checked luggage and make our way to seats to wait for Brian. His phone is dying: it's hard to get ahold of him. Meanwhile, he's been directed to a rental car shuttle pick-up that doesn't actually have pick-ups. After waiting for 35 minutes, he finally schlepps it with Ed to a different terminal to try and find a shuttle to take him to Alamo. This after calling the 800 number - which of course is in India - and then finally gets transferred to the woman at the Alamo desk in Chicago who gives him the pick-up details. Meanwhile... kids and I are waiting and we get the call to try and hop an Alamo shuttle ourselves to meet Brian at the rental site. We HAUL the bags to the curb (actually the 3rd curb if you remember O'hare's pick-up) We have as much luck as Brian getting a shuttle. No Alamo busses in sight - plenty of other ones though. So I finally sight an Alamo bus, try and flag it down, and he drives right by. The Avis driver says to me, "Did he just leave you folks stranded?" I reply that Yes! He! Did! and the nice Avis guy says "Get in, I'll take you to Alamo." Because by this time, it's 11:45 PM, I have 3 kids with me and EIGHT LARGE BAGS with me. I think he pitied me. So we "hop" in (more like lugged and hauled in: especially Julia) He takes us to the Alamo gate, but since he's in an Avis bus, he can't go in the Alamo lot. So he lets us out ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD about 150 yards from the Alamo office. We schlepp everything off the bus, I give him all the chick cash in my pocket and he pulls away. Then another Avis bus arrives to tell us that the Alamo driver who had passed us by was looking for us and was upset that we left without him. ! I decide not to argue with him, and try and make our way accross the road with my kids and the luggage to get to the other side. "Watch out for the spikes!" (as in the "Warning: Severe Tire Damage" kind) he calls to us as he stops traffic in the road for us to cross.
We haul our crap to the office to find Brian talking to the rental agent. and they have no record of our reservation. Of course!!! I handle this information very well. (OK, so I don't. I believe the word lawsuit might have been mentioned.) But I know they have a reservation because while waiting originally for Brian, I too called Alamo (thankfully remembering their "catchy" Go Alamo! slogan to get the right number... 1800 goalamo...) and I speak to a lovely man in India who tells me that no, Brian has not checked in to get his car yet - thereby confirming to me that Alamo does, in fact, have a reservation for us. When I "share" this information with the agent at the counter, she reiterates that it's not in HER computer, so obviously, I must be wrong, and would we please get out of line so she can help the next customer.
Out of line now, I do manage to get ahold of someone else in India who gets our confirmation number lickety split. Back in line we go, and she gets us a small piece of paper allowing us to drive off the lot. After a bit of confusion choosing a car (first one too small, next one too stinky, last one: just right) we hit the road to drive the mile and a half to the hotel.
[Edited to note: " So you do realize you have proven the theory, it is easier to rent a car in India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. Even though the main mode of transportation is a bike." jmp]

At the hotel, Brian jumps out, goes to the front desk and they happily say to him that they have everything ready - key is out and everything. Brian comes back to the car with a smile and exclaims that at least something went well.
We park and he takes a few kids up to the room with some luggage (we do this in shifts, because we have too many kids and we're sneaking one in...) and he opens the door to the room. Inside is....
One double bed. ONE. No couch. No chair.
For 6 of us....