Greetings from O'Hare! UPDATE

Well, I'm out of Milwaukee and have a fairly long wait for my connecting flight at O'Hare.  I've already spent $30 on coffee, a couple of bananas, and a strawberry cream croissant!  Oh, and a bottle of water.  Airports charge an arm and a leg for everything!

I'm getting used to the cold and would you believe, I don't really mind it?  The only problem is that my clothes - jacket, sweat pants, etc., are a lighter weight suitable for California winters, but I'm ok with it.  Sioux Falls may be a little colder though.

I only have 20 mi. of free wifi here, so I'm making this short.  Later, from Sioux Falls.

UPDATE:
I arrived in Sioux Falls around 10 am and waited outside for only about 5 minutes for the taxi ordered by the lodge where I'm staying.  I thought I would die and turn to ice!  I had my titanium frame glasses on and they were burning my skin with cold; my ears were hurting with the freezing temps, and the cold wind came through my coat and fleece gloves.  All my clothing is for California cold winters - far different than upper midwest winters.  I'm tough though and lived through it.  In fact, I know I'd enjoy a cold winter if I had the proper clothing!  

I looked at a calendar and realize that I'll just have about a month until I leave for NY.   There are times when it is better to fly, but I hope I never have to rely on another plane!  One thing I'll have to say though is that Chicago O'Hare airport is one of the best.  For as much traffic as goes through there, they do a fantastic job moving the planes and people.  As a large hub I'd prefer O'Hare to any other airport I can think of.   But get me behind the wheel of my Highlander with a stack of maps and let me loose, and I'm ecstatic!

The Lodge is delightful - the woman at the desk offered me beer left by a big group that was here last weekend, and I took 3 of them!  I don't know how I'll survive the 1/2 mile + walk to the DMV for my 8 am appointment.  The cancelled flight out of Milwaukee screwed up my schedule, so rather than a leisurely two days in Sioux Falls and a 10 am appointment, I had to compress everything into one day.   But I am so glad I could spend an extra day with my brother and sister-in-law and have them all to myself after the crowds left.

When I look out of my window I see a huge lot of RV's in the lot next door.  They look new, but I'll have to study them from the warmth of my room for a bit to get an idea of what they have.  Looks like a lot of 5th wheels, which I would never want again, but they remind me of how I enjoyed traveling in my Hitchhiker II a few years back.