teamjessup

6/16/09

9:06am Central Time (I think)

We are currently passing through Red Wing, Minnesota. Lots of trees, lots of water. Oatmeal with Grapefruit again. Oliver had Hashbrowns with a Biscuit. Breakfast with a nice elderly couple again. They were returning home to Rochester from visitng their Son in Portland.

Have I mentioned how hot it is on the train? Actually it seems more humid than anything. Yes, humid. On the train. We're in the Sleeper Car. It seems even worse in Coach Seating. Smells too. At least in the Sleeper Car it smells like coffee. Humid Coffee.

Showering on the train has been an experience. It is Much easier than I would have thought but still odd to be completely nude and keeping your balance while flying down the tracks. No real complaints though. It did feel nice to shower.

2:24pm Central?

Milwaukie. There is so much more decay the further you go east. It makes some sense as everything is older, however it just seems as though things are left to rot and crumble out here so much more. Just an observation.

Both the Wisconsin Dolls and the Torture Museum billboards were located on the same block. I wasn't able to check out either establishment to form a true opinion of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, but it did look rather interesting.

How we roll.

99 floors above Chicago.

Chicago. It's crazy in Chicago during rush hour in a downpour when running with a 6 year old from the Sears tower to the train station. We had about 4 hours to spend in Chicago and since the Sears Tower is right across the street, we attempted a visit. It wasn't bad, but there was zero visibility and I only had one opportunity to take photos before the clouds completely covered everything up. We were 99 floors up, so it only made sense that we were in the clouds. I did buy the souvenir photo. Yes, it's fake, but I really did go to Chicago with Oliver.

Union Station in Chicago is not only a major hub for Amtrak but it appeared to be the major hub for Metra. (Chicago's commuter train) This meant that during rush hour when Oliver and I were wandering around, it got crazy busy. Admittedly I've never been in a city of that size. Really, it was like out of a movie.

One of the nicer things about getting a sleeper car with Amtrak is that you get to use Amtrak's Metropolitan Lounge. They have them in most of the major stations (bigger cities). The Metropolitan Lounge is a much nicer waiting room to hang out in while waiting for your train.There's TV's, snacks, beverages, and a baggage closet to store your stuff if you want to roam about town. Generally it's much cleaner and seems to have newer furniture. There's also a concierge to check you in and make you feel special.

Chicago to Cleveland was Coach seating. How does one sleep in those seats? Argh!