One Hour Morning Layover | Chicago O’Hare Airport

This week I had the opportunity to travel for a work trip. I left from a small remote airport in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the early morning hours. If you’ve never been in a single room airport, I encourage you to try one out. This airport is one large room divided with a security barrier and a small waiting area. After security, when it’s time to board you have to walk out on the tarmac and up a ramp. No jet bridges here!

Peaceful Morning

There is something peaceful about a chilly morning walking out of the one room terminal building and boarding a small regional jet. The sun was not yet up and the passengers barely awake. I lucked out with an exit row seat for a little extra leg room because these regional planes are extra small. As I looked back at the building out the window the flight attendant gave the safety talk. It was time for take off.

Hop Up And Down

This first flight was just over an hour. Barely enough time to get up to cruising altitude before descending back down. I brought a book with me to enjoy during the sunrise flight. After we took off the sun began to creep over the horizon and welcome in a new day. It’s always breathtaking to see a sunrise from the air.

Overall the flight was standard, smooth sailing. After some snacks we began the decent to Chicago. The sun was finally over the horizon as we prepared for landing.

Layover In O’Hare

For people who have not been to O’Hare International Airport before, it can seem like a daunting task. There are multiple terminals and it is pretty spread out. But there is nothing to fear, there are lots of maps and your airline’s app usually have maps in them too. I was flying United this time and in their app there was a map with a route to get me from my arrival gate to my departure gate which made it really easy. There was just over an hour so I decided to get some breakfast and coffee before my next flight. I came into a F gate and was flying out of C so I had some ground to cover.

Summer House For Breakfast

For breakfast I decided to stop at Summer House Santa Monica. They have a decent sized breakfast menu for an airport restaurant. I opted for The Original which is a breakfast sandwich with: eggs, tomato, cheese, and spicy mayo. I chose to include chicken sausage and the whole thing was served on a house made english muffin. It may not have been the prettiest sandwich in presentation, but it sure tasted good! I finished off my stay in O’hare with a Starbucks iced coffee before my flight and still had some time to spare.

Enjoy Your Layovers

In general, layovers can be stressful if they are short and sprinting between gates is involved. But if you have the time explore a new airport, take advantage of the extra time not confined to an airplane seat. Consider checking out O’Hare if you haven’t explored it before. Thinking about taking a trip but haven’t booked a flight yet? Check out our Skyscanner Post to learn about discount flights. As always keep Seeking Discovery and continue to Explore Every Day! We will see you in the next adventures.