March 7

Well, riding coach was an interesting experience. The Syracuse Amtrak station was full of Syracuse University students going wherever they were going, and our train car was full of a group of them, the group who dropped and broke their vodka bottle on the way to board the train. They weren’t too bad though, considering my expectations were based on the liquor. It was clear that one of the college girls liked one of the boys because she was laughing very loudly at things he said that were not funny. It was slightly amusing, and they were for the most part respectful, ending their typicalness at around 1:00 a.m. The perils of coach. However, we were lucky enough to sit behind a woman who loved Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston and listened to them all night long loudly on her headphones. I could sing along. And her daughter had a DVD player, and no headphones. This seven-year-old girl watched The Hills Have Eyes at 1:00 a.m. on the loudest setting possible. Needless to say I wasn’t happy when I woke up to slashes and screams at 2:00 a.m. Luckily I finally got my earplugs to work right and slept when the train was moving. Everyone else was using headphones on the train and were respectful. This woman and her daughter were not, and this was probably the most frustrating. Did it not occur to them that this would bother people? I use to assume that people knew they were wrong and just didn’t care, but I’m beginning to realize some people just don’t get it. I’m guessing Whitney lover and movie lover fell into the latter category. Luckily, I did sleep. Coach really wasn’t that bad, and would have been practically delightful if we had ended up in different seats. I am glad we got seats next to each other, so I suppose it balanced out.

We got off the train at Union Station, threw our bags in a locker, and went out to eat. We found Lou Mitchell’s diner, and if the rest of this trip is a disaster we’ll always have Lou’s. Breakfast was great. All meals include an orange and prune—perfect with diner food—and a little cup of vanilla soft serve at the end. The food in between was good too. I recommend it if you are ever in Chicago. It’s on Jackson Street a block or so from the station. Go on your birthday if possible; they’ll give you a huge slab of chocolate cake. You’ll see the flashing lights on the sign. Then we walked around a bit after it stopped pouring. We walked around the Sears Tower but didn’t go up it because it’s overcast. Maybe we’ll squeeze it in Friday after Wrigley. We bought a fancy postcard in the Sears Tower gift shop for our dance teacher Shari who is collecting them.

Right now we are sitting in a fancy lounge at Chicago’s Union Station, a lounge reserved for sleeper car riders. It’s nice. I feel elite. Again, balance. Well, maybe “elite” isn’t the right word because my pleasure at being in this lounge isn’t based on the fact that other people aren’t in this lounge. It’s the sweet leather chair I’m sitting in and free coffee and snacks, and the news on the television. I wish we had came here first because you can store your luggage here for free, with a redcap watching it! Now we know. We aren’t accustomed to expecting extra service and perks. In here they escort us to the train as well; it isn’t a cluster$#%& to board the train. I’m so excited for this leg of the trip! We board in an hour.


Some of what you can see when you travel through America's backyard. This is a business/bizniz vehicle in Indiana.


When walking in the vicinity of Union Station in Chicago you see a lot of people coming and going. We saw this lady arriving in full tie dye.


Lou Mitchell's exterior.


View of Chicago as we leave the city on the Empire Builder.