We wake up the next day and there is a line of thunderstorms on our way back west. We tentatively pick Chicago area and load up and go. We’re a bit more comfortable now that we are down a person, but with 2 adults, 2 kids, a stroller, bike and bags it is a bit of a puzzle to load and manage weight and fuel.
The next leg is a big one, about 3:30 minutes, plus possible deviations for the thunderstorms. While we definitely don’t have get there it is, it is about 14 hours straight back, we have 5 days, and we want to have some time to enjoy the ground. We have onboard weather and our phones work some times. Flying over the mid-west states can be a bit boring at times as it it’s large squares of different shades of green and brown for as far as the eye can see.
We chose Peoria in the air. The town looked to be on a river and they had great fuel prices. We landed in the early evening and taxied to Byerly Aviation. I love FBO’s like Byerly! They came out and waited patiently to see what we needed. We had already found the embassy suites hotel in the air and booked a room and the hotel had a shuttle. We informed the line guys and they had the reception call the shuttle and helped us with our bags on a cart. Having our 2 month daughter on a long flight a diaper change was needed once we landed, who knew a low wing aircraft also made a great changing pad? They patiently waited while I changed her too! So nice to have that level of service with 2 small children. A plus for the Little Dude was popcorn!
We shuttled to the Embassy Suites hotel and it was right on the Illinois River. We were only staying the night and did not need a car and it was so nice to be able to use a shuttle. Once we were settled in our room, we walked along the river to granite city food and brewery. It was so nice to walk to dinner and eat outside right on the river. The service was great and the food was made so fast. We walked back to the hotel and relaxed on the patio to watch the sunset before heading to bed.
The next morning we enjoyed the breakfast buffet which is always pretty good. Embassy suites are great for families since the rooms offer a little extra space and free breakfast and Wi-Fi. We loaded all of our stuff on the cart and went to the front desk for the shuttle. One problem. They were refusing to let our son on the shuttle without a car seat. This was an interesting one for us since they didn’t ask for it when they drove us over and the shuttle is a 20 person bus. We have been on a few shuttles and didn’t need it. She was telling us about Illinois law, well it never crossed our minds that different States would have different rules. Since we were just in 2 big city’s and rode buses, it didn’t even occur to us. Eventually, the agreed to let him ride on the shuttle the 5 minutes back to the airport. We were back at Byerly and it was time to gas and go.
