LHR-->EWR-->ORD

I came to London alone, and I leave London alone.

Matt and I parted ways at Holborn and I made my way to Heathrow (LHR) for a 12:00 flight.  His flight was 4:00, so he was going to squeeze in a few more hours of work.

Matt used his fancy schmancy miles for my ticket, and I had access to the club before my flight.  I had a great breakfast and some comfy chairs to relax in before take off. 

It was an uneventful flight back to the US.  My seat on the plane was not as comfortable as my flight over on British Airways, but I will certainly not complain.  I made small talk with the man next to me once I saw him reading The Hunger Games :)

A nice selection of charging options

The strip steak was delicious

He knew that I had never been to New York so when we landed at Newark he was sure to point out the major Manhattan landmarks.  He works in Manhattan and we had a sobering talk about his day on September 11.  His office is not far from Ground Zero, and his recollection of that day brought tears to my eyes.

I had a two-hour layover in Newark that I did not want to wait out.  Matt booked a long layover not knowing how long clearing customs would take.  I happened to exit customs with the flight attendant from my flight.  We chatted on our walk through the terminal.  I told him I wanted to see about getting on an earlier flight home.  He walked me to the right terminal and line for changing my ticket.  If you are ever on the LHR/EWR flight look for Salvatore, he's great!  The agent at the counter said no other flights were available so I resigned myself to some down time and checked out the United Club - you know so I can tell Matt all about it.  I thought I would give an earlier flight one more try, and asked the agent at the desk to help me out.  She tapped a few keys and voila!  I was on my way in 45 minutes.
 
This United Club was definitely much busier than the other two clubs I visited on this trip.  This club even had shower rooms, slightly weird.  They looked quite clean and the employees were cleaning them after each patron finished.

My flight from Newark to Chicago (ORD) was even less luxurious.  First class on this plane only meant leather seats.

I know, boo hoo.  It did have DirectTV so that was a bonus.  After that the rest of the day was a blur.  I'm pretty sure I drove home and went to bed because it was approximately midnight, London time. 

Can't wait to go back!