Boot Camp Graduation Day 0

The beginning of a four-day adventure in which Southern Man teaches his afternoon class and then goes to the airport to fly to Chicago to meet up with Southern Parents and Southern Sister in Waukegan, near Great Lakes Naval Station where Teen Daughter The Elder will graduate Navy boot camp tomorrow morning.

And it all went about as expected as modern transportation technology whisked Southern Man halfway across the country in the space of an evening. A drive to the airport to the long-term parking lot ($16), a shuttle (free) to the terminal, a quick breeze through security and a few steps to the gate, an on-time fight ($111) to Midway Airport in Chicago (with a brief stop in St. Louis; Southern Man didn't even get off the plane), a light-rail train ride ($2.25) to The Loop, a four-block walk to Ogilvie Station (which was the most strenuous part of the entire trip) and a heavy-rail train to Waukegan ($6.25) where Southern Sister was waiting at the terminal to take him to the hotel where Southern Parents and Youngest Nephew were waiting. Even with the one-hour time change Southern Man was in bed by 11:30. Not bad, given that he left work mid-afternoon. And the whole thing, tips included, was only about $140. What an amazing world.