Well, this was actually a week ago. Geez...I dont write for a week and feels like a YEAR! So first let me state that my camera was still on the fritz - I sort of downplayed how hard my camera hit the ground and also the fact that when I said I dropped my camera AND my beer, I actually meant that I DROPPED THEM AT THE SAME TIME, breaking my camera WHILE splilling beer on it. So its just been what I like to call "sick" sometimes its in a good mood and will Cooperate and sometimes it just wants to sit there and make me suffer for getting sticky beer all over it, jamming the switches and locking up the lens cover from time to time. WHATEVER!! IM SORRY OK?? IM DOING MY BEST!!
Sorry...the only reason Im coming clean about the camera was that I was so pissed that I didnt get more shots of the train trip- It was awesome.
Here's Vicky, my boss's wife, (and part-time co-worker during my stint at the Este warehouse) hanging out in the Vista Dome while we waited to leave McCullough Yard.
I arrived at McCullough Yard in Norwood around 730 - John helped me find the right train and we took a little tour of the cars before we left.
We spent most of the evening hanging out in the dome, having some snacks, just hanging out and relaxing... Brian asked me if I wanted to ride in the engine from the yard to the Amtrak station and I ended up riding it with his daughter Katie. It was very hot, and very slow, but when am I going to have that opportunity again?
By the time we headed out, it was after midnight, and when we were almost to the Amtrak station, they stopped us - either freight cars moving or they were holding us till the Amtrak train got there - for two hours. Katie and I hopped out of the engine and headed back to our roomettes.
The roomettes on the sleeper car were pretty sweet. Just a tiny little room with a seat and plenty of leg room, a sink that pulls out of the wall, a mirror and plenty of storage room. you have to pop out into the hallway to pull the bed down from the wall, and when you pull it down, it fills up the entire room. Its a really cool way to travel! I took this picture when I was lying down getting ready to go to sleep. you kind of get the idea:
So I fell asleep around one when they stopped us, woke back up for a few minutes when we started moving towards the Amtrak station, slept through the hook up to Amtrak and woke up going about 80 just outside of Indy around 7 ish. I got up, got dressed, made my way back up to the dome seating area where there were a few people already up, and had breakfast served five min after I sat down - A Western Omelette, Fruit, Toast & Potatoes.
The ride up to Chicago doesnt offer much for scenery...a lot of Rural Indiana plight to look down on while you ride in the lap of luxury. It was cool though to pass through intersections and watch all the people stopped at the tracks as you pass by. Its nice to be on the other side for once!
We arrived at Chicago's Union Station in Downtown around one, rented a car from the Hertz IN the train station and made the trip right back to Cincinnati with the CRC's Public Relations guy and a WVXU reporter who both also just took the one way leg for experience.
So I never actually breathed outdoor Chicago air, and saw the skyline in my rearview mirror for about three seconds and that was it! It was a great time though! Great food and a really unique experience. If you're interested in some of the trips coming up and have disposable income to burn, this is a really fun way to travel.
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