Boston-Philly-Chicago

January 16, 2019

Another whirlwind trip to some of my favorite cities - but this time in reverse. And with the added fun of January chill. I mean, thrill!

And we're off to Tokyo on the Millennium Falcon! Wait, no, it's a 777-200.

A cute, but funny, graphic in the ANA magazine. Only the kid is blissfully ignorant of the emergency.

All kinds of masks available on the flight.

Back in Narita. Haven't been here in a few years!

Spotted in Narita: a vegan pork cutlet sandwich!

The Starwars aircraft, hand-autographed by The Force Awakens cast.

Here's Chicago! Back in a few days.

Back in Seaport, Boston - after only 3 months away.

Heading to that shiny new office building.

Sunrise over Seaport!

Our office's beautiful lobby.

The canteen / meeting place.

Espresso bar!

What great views.

Clear view of Logan.

Reflections.

Next stop: Chilly Philly!

Philadelphia City Hall - with Christmas lights still up.

Great views from our office...

... but the days are too short!

A cute virtual library at the PHL Airport.

Pick your story length (1, 3, or 5-min) and it prints you a short story for the road!

Also spotted in that airport: indoor relief for service animals.

Finally made it (back) to Chicago. Windy City, bring it on!

Beginning my tour before sunrise.

Our winter visit quickly turned snowy.

Not the Chicago I'm used to.

I guess this sign fell victim to exactly what it's warning against.

Looks chilly!

The next day, we saw quite an array of skies.

Mid-day, blue starting to show.

And mid-afternoon, barely a cloud in sight!

Spectacular views; and spectacularly flat.

Last evening in Chicago. Doing some of the River Walk.

Beautiful skyline, even in the winter.

More River Walk.

More River Walk, bridges.

Somehow, it's cozy.

Christmas lights still up.

The new Apple Store on Michigan Ave.

Historic Water Tower.

Omotesando-esque lights lining Michigan Ave.

Time to bid farewell to the US, after another whirlwind 5 days.

I found where they hide the clutter at O'Hare.

My flight back to Tokyo took an unusually Southerly route, and skies were relatively cloud-free.

Taking off over the Chicago suburbs. Looks just like Toronto!

Snowy farm lands over Northern Illinois.

Farmland and terrain.

A frozen Missouri River.

Imprints in South Dakota.

More interesting texture.

And more.

Snakey river, approaching Montana.

More frozen river.

Here come the Rockies!

Over Flathead National Forest in Montana.

More Rockies.

Rockies in a sea of clouds.

A sea of clouds, with some Rockies poking through.

A ridge breaking up a sea of Rockies.

More Rockies.

A river of clouds flowing through the mountains.

I think we're in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington, now... with a ski resort at the bottom of the photo.

Cloudy river.

About to cross into Canadian airspace - finally.

Waves hit the very far end of Vancouver Island, and end my scenic trip!

A beautiful approach into Tokyo Narita.

A wonderful chance reunion at Narita: Pang and Colin!

Have I ever mentioned my gripe about time zones around here?