chicago Travel Guide
10/02/2008 at 8:30 AM
Tags: Sarah Palin, Possible-Presidents-Map (all tags)
First of all, a warm welcome to everyone who got here by searching "Nude Sarah Palin." Sorry, we're not quite delivering on the promise of the headline, but still, this story is pretty great.
We're following the lead of Chicago tavern owner Bruce Elliott, who figured painting a nude portrait of America's hottest governor ahead of tonight's big VP debate wouldn't be a bad way to rack up business at his Old Town Ale House. The Chicago Tribune reports:
MORE...
by BS
9/23/2008 at 2:15 PM
Tags: New Routes, New Airlines, Porter Airlines, YTZ, MDW (all tags)
After Porter Airlines vaguely announced earlier this month that it would start service to an unnamed airport in Chicago, TheAirDB reports that the Candian airline will start service to Midway soon.
It'll be the second destination in the US for Porter, which flies seven times a day between Toronto City Centre Airport and Newark. There's still no official word on when trips to Chicago might start.
Porter has also recently added service to Quebec City, and in the past it's made seasonal trips to Mont Tremblant--something to keep in mind as winter creeps up on Canada.
Related Stories:
· Porter Airlines [Official Site]
· Porter Airlines: MDW to YTZ [TheAirDB]
· Porter Airlines coverage [Jaunted]
by pbb
9/23/2008 at 1:09 PM
Tags: American Airlines, Flight Reviews, Travel Blogs (all tags)
This is the path for American Airlines Flight 268 yesterday. Normally wouldn't be a big deal--except that flight is supposed to go to JFK. It made an unscheduled stop at ORD after an "electrical system issue." Because pilots couldn't rely on their gauges for the landing, the 757 ended up off the runway with a blown tire.
Blogger Pam Mandel was on the flight, and wrote up a pretty riveting account of what it's like to be on a plane greeted by a phalanx of emergency personnel at the airport:
The flight attendents were like angels, perfectly calm and in good humor. The passengers sat and joked, I snapped pictures of the fire crew out the window and as they boarded the plane. Finally the left engined whirled to a halt and a cheer went up in the cabin....
I managed not to fall down the stairs--I was a little jittery--and I stepped on the grass. A woman in full secrurity gear looked at me and smiled. "Welcome to Chicago O'Hare!" she said, and I laughed.
Not as crazy as a mid-air collision--but that's a good thing!
Related Stories:
· AA 268 [FlightAware]
· "Unscheduled Landing" [NEV]
· Plane Diverted to ORD Blows Tire [CT]
by pbb
7/30/2008 at 9:45 AM
Tags: Celeb Travel, Patrick Swayze, Johnny Depp (all tags)
Patrick Swayze recently struck a pose not found in dance class on the set of his new television show "The Beast" in Chicago. Defying earlier reports by People magazine and others that he had terminal pancreatic cancer, Swayze put that baby in a corner with chemo sessions at Stanford and is set to star in the '09 series as a FBI agent whose new partner has a hidden agenda.
Is Chicago the new Vancouver in this economic climate? With the Canadian dollar around 97 cents to a Washington, high-profile projects like "Public Enemies," a '30s gangster epic starring Johnny Depp, have been taking advantage of the Second City. It doesn't hurt that the city just stood in for Gotham, either.
Related Stories:
· Patrick Swayze's New TV Series Will Proceed Despite His Cancer [NYT]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Celebrities-Portal.com]
by egw
7/23/2008 at 4:15 PM
Tags: Smoking, Smoking Bans, Restaurants, Bars (all tags)
Is the wind in the Windy City a little clearer these days? Two and a half years after the City Council passed a "public places" smoking ban, residents are pleased overall--even if the ban has had some unintended consequences.
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by egw
7/22/2008 at 10:05 AM
Tags: Summer Travel, Bill Murray, Festivals (all tags)
It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's many planes over Lake Michigan in this year's Chicago Air and Water Show, August 15-17. And the annual spectacle will have a special star, one who must not be as afraid of heights as he was of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
That's right, Bill Murray will make a special jump on Friday, the first day of the festival, with the Golden Knights parachute team. (They've handled George H.W. Bush, so maybe they're in the geriatric-jump business?)
Free boat-jumping exhibitions and the ever-present Blue Angels will swoop and dive for the thousands of spectators along the lake, and Gary Sinise's band is playing. Don't forget the fireworks all three nights!
Related Stories:
· Bill Murray to Take a Dive at Air Show [Chicago Tribune]
· Missed Connections: Cruising with Bill in Stockholm [Jaunted]
· Chicago Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: dojalife]
by egw
6/18/2008 at 3:00 PM
Tags: Summer Travel, Film Festivals, Film Festival Travel, Festivals (all tags)
As sunburns mount and the mercury rises, the allure of the local multiplex grows. But, seriously, you aren't going to see "The Love Guru" are you?
Support indie filmmakers at the Second Annual Gen Art Film Festival in Chicago this weekend and you can do penance for both "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "Sex and the City."
A $20 ticket gets you in to one of the new films and that night's after-party. We're liking fest opener "Bart Got a Room," a teenage nerd fable co-starring Alia Shawkat ("Arrested Development") along with William H. Macy. Ensemble drama "Explicit Ills" on June 27 looks good, too.
Related Stories:
· Gen Art Film Festival [Official Site]
· Film Festivals coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo of the Music Box Theatre: greddy]
by egw
6/17/2008 at 11:00 AM
Tags: ORD, Bobby Sturgell, Airports, Airline Analysis, Virgin America (all tags)
While the government is maintaining caps on takeoffs and landings at New York area airports--and some aviation insiders pray for re-regulation--officials at Chicago O'Hare are rolling out the welcome mat. The head of the FAA, Bobby Sturgell, says there will be no more flight caps at ORD, citing a new runway that's scheduled to open this fall.
But airlines aren't exactly clamoring to fill the extra capacity, says the Chicago Tribune:
The flight caps are no longer necessary, or even relevant, because the airline business is in the midst of an unprecedented downturn spurred by record fuel prices and a weak economy.
Both American and United, big-time carriers at O'Hare, have recently announced major cuts in service. JetBlue has all but halted growth--save for some new flights in the Caribbean.
This should help Virgin America with its planned expansion at the airport, right? Possibly, says spokeswoman Abby Lunardini:
[It's] encouraging, but we don't have official word back on our FAA filing yet.
UPDATE: Now Virgin America says it will cut capacity by 10 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, due to higher fuel costs.
Related Stories:
· Flight Caps to Vanish at O'Hare [CT]
· O'Hare coverage [Jaunted]
· New Airline Routes coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo of the ORD disco lights: diongillard]
by pbb
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