June 2025 U.S. Trip (Chicago - Seattle - San Francisco) Departure Chapter
A half-month U.S. trip from June 12 to June 26, 2025
This trip route: Beijing to Los Angeles (entry), then a 6-hour layover to Chicago (Evanston) - Seattle - San Francisco, returning to Beijing.
Theme of the trip: primarily to attend my nephew's undergraduate graduation ceremony at Northwestern University, then travel to Seattle, and finally return to China from San Francisco—a graduation trip.
Let's start with pre-trip preparations: the departure chapter!
First, phone cards: China Mobile's North America data plan. Pros: relatively smooth speed, activation time based on Beijing time, 1GB per day is enough for general use. Cons: cannot enable hotspot, cannot use Google Maps and other apps, some software usage restricted. U.S. phone card (T-Mobile). Pros: can share hotspot, unrestricted app usage, convenient for waiting at restaurants (giving a local number) or contacting locals/taxis. Cons: hotspot connection often drops on iPhones; many spam calls; activation time is set by the provider, not selectable by the user.
Second, carrying medications. Three days before departure, I suddenly tested positive for COVID with a fever, so I rushed to the hospital to get antiviral medication. To avoid infecting my husband, I took large doses of Vitamin C. The antiviral was a 5-day course. After consulting the doctor, fearing issues at immigration, I stopped after three days once the fever subsided and boarded the plane. I brought along: cephalosporins (Ceclor), cough syrup, painkillers (Loxonin), erythromycin eye ointment, Yunnan Baiyao plasters, iodine swabs, and band-aids. Since I had checked the medication regulations beforehand, I only took common medications to avoid trouble. I did not declare them upon entry, so it was safe.
Third, long-haul flight preparations. The flight would be over ten hours plus domestic connections on United Airlines. I was worried about the cold and the poor food. In the end, it was indeed cold, but the service and food were not that bad—acceptable. I had read suggestions to bring heating neck patches, moisturizing masks, heated eye masks, and nasal inhalers. The moisturizing mask was checked in and not used, but the others proved very effective. Due to drinking lots of Vitamin C, I got my period right after boarding. Since I suffer from cramps, I was well-prepared. After security, I bought two bottles of Alien Energy Drink (recommended by a colleague for cramps), filled two thermoses with hot water (very important), and used a heating neck patch on my belly. I also carried a small bottle of essential balm, which helped with poor air quality or headaches on the plane. I think these items were all very useful. United's Wi-Fi was good, but only for WeChat messages; sending photos required extra payment. The seats were a bit cramped, but the hardware was fairly new.
Fourth, landing in Los Angeles. We needed to clear customs here and then connect to Chicago. From reading guides, each person's experience at LAX varies, so there's not much reference. First, we had a connecting ticket, but we had to claim our luggage in LA for customs clearance—basically pick it up, walk about 50 meters, and then re-check it. No re-weighing or additional procedures needed, but don't forget to retrieve the luggage. Then, immigration. The line wasn't as long as expected. While queuing, you can observe the speed and friendliness of each window officer, so you can choose which group to line up in (not a specific window, as about three windows share one queue). We saw a female officer who was very fast and didn't ask many questions, but when we got close, we were assigned to a younger male officer in the same group. Still, as long as you have proper reasons and a valid entry purpose, it's fine. We had printed the EVUS, return ticket, Chicago accommodation address, and graduation ceremony tickets—well-prepared. Yet we still had all ten fingers scanned and answered questions for about ten minutes.
Fifth, transferring terminals. After exiting customs, terminal signs were clear, so no worries. From landing to finishing security at the new terminal, it took us about three hours—pretty efficient. If you have a connecting flight, allow plenty of time. Domestic U.S. aviation is well-developed; even with many people, baggage check and security go quickly if you follow the rules, with good order. This was also evident when boarding and deplaning: passengers queued orderly, with those in the back not moving until the front rows had taken their luggage. This made everything very efficient. We sat near the back, and by the time we got off, the crew had already cleaned the front seats.
