1. If you feel the urge to take a nap during the day, do it! The chairs may look long and wide and comfy--but it is an illusion, a trick! You won't sleep well at night and should get every wink of sleep you can, whenever you can!
2. Bring a blanket--it gets cold. And a pillow if you can swing it.
3. Wear loose-fitting, comfortable pants that won't ride up or bunch up your undies during a long night of tossing and turning.
4. Bring snacks--including a thermos of hot water, soup packs, tea bags, and a bottle of wine and corkscrew. Have your own picnic in your seats or the snack car.
5. Keep a good sense of humor about the characters around you--they are going to be around for twenty hours, not three or four. Ignore the cookie crumbs the guy across the aisle keeps flinging your way...
6. Enjoy the scenery during the daylight hours. It is as beautiful and interesting as America is vast--and there are plenty of wide open spaces to gaze at.
7. Caffeine is key after a sleepless night. Drink lots of it and keep going!
8. Don't count on checking your bags in lockers at the train station--they cost an outrageous $4/hour. The art museum coat check will happily take them for the day though!
This is not your airport/airplane trip--no oppressive sense of crowding or rushing or panic. People mill around and some get to wave goodbye through train windows. Yes, it takes a lot longer, but you get a chance to just sit and enjoy it. Despite my problems sleeping (Jeff did slightly better with a few hours of solid sleep), we spent the day in Chicago tired but happy. We walked off the train, through downtown, and straight to the art museum where we spent the entire day looking at a lot of fantastic art. We figured out the trains to the suburbs (double deckers!) to stay with Shona's friends, and had a great time meeting them. Today we're going to a Cubs game and tomorrow we head home on a 7-hour bus ride. It has been a good adventure--things are just different enough that it is almost like visiting another country!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
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 Ed, Dad, Jeep says...Hi. This blog is for all of you to post your latest info, thoughts, pictures, etc. You can also add upcoming events or book and movie recommendations, or create new sections of things you want to share with everyone. I hope you will all use it! If you want to add a blog post or update any of the links or lists on the right side, you'll need to login at the top (so keep track of your login info). Once you've logged in, click new post (at the top) to add a blog post in the middle section here, or click the little hammer and screwdriver next to any section you want to edit. |