Slept ok. Odd dreams about JSON config & suffocation, or maybe config items set to turn the air off?
T3 was empty as I left. T2 was madness.
There are other/extra airlines using it, and the queues for those airlines are out the door & almost to the carpark.

Aer Lingus check-in was less mad, but still problematic. They were prioritising the 0640, but didn’t have people intercepting at the start of the line, so an old American woman was doing it; she had kind of a useful busybody vibe, though I suspect she was trying to simultaneously not lose her position near the kiosk/machines AND not stop people on earlier flights from making their plane.
Eventually got to a kiosk machine, which refused to read my passport.
Got boarding passes issued by an actual human being.

Had Millennial Breakfast of poached egg & smashed avocado on sourdough from a pub/taproom.

Flight to Dublin uneventful.

Dublin airport is a maze of corridors, but they do leave you with only one route, and eventually made it to US Preclearance.
Security screening was its usual zoo when that place is full.
People one ahead of me in the line for the TSA person in the kiosk had some sort of problem, which took a while. Then the TSA person left the booth to lead them into the non-passenger bit, leaving me in line for an empty kiosk.
Got re-assigned to a somewhat disinterested chap; where are you going, purpose of trip, picture, there you go.

Gate area was, again, a bit of a zoo.
Long queues of people & indistinct announcements.
There were announcements about full flights, so they were offering free-checking of carry on luggage to your destination. One flight was overbooked, and they were looking for a volunteer, starting the offer at a hotel night & up to £2000.

Did American Airlines check in while waiting; that went well, and I took a screenshot of the pass, just in case.

Accidentally joined the queue for my gate when the priority boarding was announced. Actually wanted to get to somewhere that I could hear the announcements & see the gate, but ended up part of the line. Fortunately they announced All Rows boarding just before I got to the desk (similar situation for the family immediately behind me)

Plane probably left a bit late?
It’s very full; no empty seats at all.

Nodded off a few times, but didn’t really sleep. Or do anything else. Just sort of zoned out & watched the little plane on the map.
Entertainment system was playing up, so I had a choice of a very few movies, and no way to navigate to anything else. Nothing held my interest, though did reread Murderbot #4.
Pretty sure I saw the south coast of Greenland out the window.

Had to leave T5 on arrival to take the wee train to T3 (airside transfer was suspended a while back). The exit from T5 really isn’t obvious at all, or at least not the one I found; you have to cut through the food court, and it doesn’t look very official.

T3 went well. Checked that my mobile boarding pass was still good, and the chap at American Airlines suggested that I go to the security screening at the far end, because it was less crowded. Also a very chill experience, which was nice; there were still people & lines, but they were a bit calmer than I’d expected for Chicago.

Got a very nice BLT Bagel for probably dinner.

Flight to Indy delayed (crews previous flight got in late), but they made up some time, and I had a window seat with some awesome views of fields & roads. Spotted the JW & LucasOil from the air. And maybe the hospital, but wasn’t sure on that one. ( just checked; yes, it was the hospital )

The airside of Indy looks different. More empty space, no Café Patachou, more closed shopfronts.

Taxi system at Indy works way better than I expected. You press a button, and a few minutes later a taxi shows up.
I think it’s a different space to where I used to catch the shuttle bus, but my memory is being fuzzy here. I think it’s one road further out for the taxis & general population pickup?

Hotel cannot run my bookings together this time, so I have a 3-night, a 7, and a 1. They’re different room types?
Currently on 24th floor, in an accessible room.
Next one, according to the app, is a top floor room, so here’s hoping.

There’s a concert in White River State Park.

Did sink laundry, had a shower, waited until 10pm or so, then slept.

Woke up stupidly early at 5am
Sent the travel plans email to Parents, read for a bit

Coffee+Walk with Alex, who suggested Argos for a power bank.
Did dishes, swept, unplugged everything, took out rubbish/recycling.
Walked through the park to Argos, which has moved. Curry’s still there, bought power bank.

Took many pictures of power sockets & windows; devices unplugged, windows latched in the vent position.
Took pictures of taps.
Narrated nearly ten minutes of walking the flat & checking everything.

(This is my ridiculous process for not worrying that I’ve left a tap running, or the iron on, or forgot to lock the front door. I know I’ve taken the pictures and made an audio note, so I know that I checked it)

Train to Marylebone.

Luckily not the same one as the very chatty Carribbean hairdresser at Aylesbury, who was friendly, but would have gotten painful for an hour long trip.
Got some postcards for Dawn, but not a great selection.

Lunch at Five Guys, because why not.

Tube to Paddington, Heathrow Express to … Heathrow.
Arrived before hotel check-in, so followed the access tunnel to T2, to see where the flight leaves from (same place as always), then went back to T3 (where I flew into after medical repatriation)

Tried the Aer Lingus online check-in, but the app crashed partway through the process, and just wouldn’t do it.

Hotel key didn’t work first time, but second attempt was fine. Room is on the small side; could place my hands flat on the bathroom wall while sitting on the toilet. Bed takes up ⅔ of the width of the space, but it’s comfortable enough, and only for one night.
Should have packed the double port USB plug. There was one wired in, but a way up the wall, so had to put the thing charging from that port on top of stuff to make the cords reach.

Walked back to T2 to be sure I knew the way.

Basically mooched around until it seemed time to get some sleep. Used the ‘lounge’ to write out the flights & times in notebook, just in case.

Hotel room has annoying green light in roof that probably has something to do with a fire alarm, maybe, but it lights up the whole room enough that you can still see the outlines of things even with the rest of the lights off.