Chicago to Texas

Today is sleep late day and you guessed it I was up at 6:30am. I layed in bed so Colin could sleep but after an hour, I couldn't stand it anymore so got up and took a bath and a shower and got dressed. I guess Colin couldn't stand it or couldn't sleep with the noise so he woke and we headed to the lounge for breakfast. The breakfast isn't that great but a banana and cup of hot tea hit the spot. We went to Millennium Park the first day but missed the 'cloud' or 'bean' or whatever they call that big jelly bean looking thing so that was on our list to see. Today is our last day in Chicago and still so much to do and of course the weather is forecasted to be great.  So we bundled up from head to toe and headed to Millennium Park. It is a cold 25 degrees outside. Thankfully, it was only a three block walk and there it was . . .

. . . and seriously we almost had a perfect picture but this dude would not move out of the way!

. . . and for fun . . .

We snapped a few photos, Colin chased a pigeon, and we headed to a warmer environment. We made a pit stop for some snacks and back to the hotel to warm up and pack. One thing about the Palmer House Hotel is that it is old and grand and beautiful.  I loved all the small details in the room especially the fixtures and doorknobs . . .

We made our way to Chicago Union Station where Amtrak is located. Amtrak. Yes, that Amtrak.

Indeed we are taking the Texas Eagle train from Chicago back to Texas . . . all 1,125 miles or 26 hours 15 minutes. It will definitely be an adventure.  Here are my notes that I kept on the iPad . . .

Tuesday, November 25, 2014
1:00pm  Since we are staying in a sleeper car . . . oh it isn't as glamorous as it sounds . . . we had a separate boarding area which was like a first class airport lounge called The Metropolitan Lounge. It was nice and had snacks while you waited. We were escorted to the train early and found our roomette which is literally 2.5 feet by about 6 feet. It was cozy and converts into two beds for sleeping.  The sleeping car . . .

. . . and our superline roomette . . . Amtrak's words not mine . . . our room 13!

1:15pm   It literally took Colin about 15 seconds to get his iPad out; like he won't have enough time to play the next 26 plus hours . . . I think we are ready!

1:30pm   We met our room attendant Bashaurd (no clue how to spell it but pronounced Bay-shard) and Stacy came to take our dinner reservations for 6pm.


1:45pm   As we departed Chicago it was absolutely gorgeous outside, too bad we have to leave the sunny skies. While the weather the past few days hasn't been the best, we survived and made the best of our time.

2:15pm   I get sucked into my Garrett popcorn, yummy. Who knew a mix of caramel corn and cheese corn would be so yummy?

3:40pm   I am tired but know if I take a nap I will be up ALL night. Our window is super dirty so taking photos of scenery is impossible and we are moving to fast too.

3:46pm   I'm slowly getting a headache. Why you might ask? The train horn/whistle is a constant! Seriously it seems non stop and already dreading the dark hours. We live near train tracks and I hardly even notice it any more but today it is killing me.


6:00pm   Dinner time! One of the perks of having a room in the sleeper car is that all meals are included with your roomette fee. So we are off . . . should be interesting and at least it gets us up and out of our 2x6 room!


7:18pm   Back from dinner and I was pleasantly surprised at how good the food tasted. We both had steak with a baked potato and Haagen Dazs ice cream for dessert. The menu price was $24.99 but since in a sleeper we paid nothing except for a few bucks for a tip. I was smiling when they told me they had fresh brewed iced tea! Yummy and that really helped my headache.  We got back to our room just as we were pulling into St. Louis . . .

11:04pm   We are still hanging out and riding the rails. I woke to go to the restroom and Colin was out cold fast asleep. I came back and went to the horizontal position . . . lets hope I get some decent sleep.

6:12am   Well I wouldn't say it was the best sleep but apparently I did sleep most of the night. I woke from time to time when we stopped but not a peep from the boy upstairs. So let's recap . . . IF and that's a big IF . . . I ever do this again I will have to invest in some of those noise blocking headphones.  My goodness the train conductor blows that horn non stop.  I understand it is necessary but my goodness I will probably be hearing that in my dreams for the next few weeks!  The ride was fine but at times it was very rough and jerky . . . I wonder if that has to do with us being on the lower level?  Maybe the upper level is a smoother ride but this was the only room available and being lower not any hallway traffic which is nice too.    Colin just poked his head over his upper bunk and proclaimed, "I got awesome sleep! What time is it? I can't wait to be home".  Well glad he is good to go, but I have a feeling the next 10 hours are going to drag on slowly!  The good news is we are almost to Texas! And we know it takes foooorrrrrever to get across this great state.


7:05am   Breakfast! Nothing special but made us get up and out of our room. Lots of traffic on the rails so we got to sit and wait while trains passed, changed tracks, and moved along. The dining car is small so seating is community. So if you have less than four people in your group you will be sharing a table. We have been lucky so far and sat with nice, interesting people. 16 stops completed only 7 more until we arrive back home.  Someone is looking happy . . .

8:23am   So I was bored and train was not moving so I thought why not take a shower?  I mean it's down the hall so let's get the full experience on board.  I haven't seen anyone use it so figured it would be clean so grabbed my stuff and off I went.  I placed my clean items in one area and get ready to shower.  Took me a minute to figure it out; set water temperature and press button for water to flow . . . water was super hot and couldn't figure out how to make it colder but the water stopped.  I tried to cool it off with no luck so I took a very hot shower.  The water only last a minute so must keep pressing the button.  The train had started to move so it was interesting keeping balance too.  I exited the shower and noticed my shirt was wet . . . The only place it was wet was both air pits.  Ugh oh well it should dry.  I get dressed and go back to my room feeling like a million bucks. No seriously, I was amazed at how much better I felt.

9:05am   I was amazed at the colors of leaves in the Longview, Texas area. The part of Texas where I live the leaves go from green to brown with no real colors like the yellow, orange, and reds I saw from the train.   I think it's time for a nap!

9:10am   Colin is still hanging out and has started asking, "how many more hours?"  I feel your pain buddy . . .

10:06am   Well the nap didn't happen because someone has started complaining he just wants to be home.   I knew this would be the hardest stretch so what do we do?  Eat!  Snack time seems to always cure the blues even if it isn't healthy.  I'm eating the leftover Garrett popcorn while Colin is eating a Juicy Drop Pop . . . don't ask I'm sure it was pure sugar and will regret it later.   Now back to that nap . . .

11:34am   We have arrived in Dallas, Texas. Sadly, we could drive home in about two hours but the train will take us a little over four hours due to stopovers in Dallas and Fort Worth.  I was going to step off and take a picture of Colin in the window but instead got this . . .

12:45pm   As we pulled into Fort Worth we went to have our last 'free' meal in the dining car. For the last time we will hear Stacy from the dining car say, "if there are 3 or less people in your party we have community seating so you WILL be sitting with a stranger but hopefully leaving with a new friend."   Blah, blah, blah . . . we were assigned a table with two people already seated, one a girl from Australia and the other a guy who easily annoyed me.   Oh well, it was bound to happen but enjoyed the company while we ate.  We returned to our room to pack the items we used since we only had two stops and we will be home!


2:10pm   The last leg of our journey has started. We are both so excited.

3:05pm   Just pulled out of Cleburne, Texas so that means our stop is only 45 minutes away. It's been fun but going to love my bed and a nice hot bath and shower tonight.


3:24 pm   Colin is growing restless and pretending to be spider man and showing off his dance moves. Oh my . . .

November 26, 2014 at 4:10pm   We have arrived!!!!

. . . and just like that the train was on its way to the next stop . . .

. . . without us!  All I can think about is a nice hot shower!  It was a great trip and the train was fun.  No, seriously it was fun, and glad we did it.  I would so do it again but would definitely have to be a different route!  I also would want a roomette if the trip is long too . . . so worth the money!

Colin' Favorites
1. train
2. snow in Chicago

Heidi's Favorites
1.  exploring a new city
2.  Christkindlmarkt
3.  seeing Annie . . . I love musicals!