Train Trip to Chicago


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While on the train, Dave and Carone entertained themselves by playing a game called "Spit". To me, the game seemed to be more about arguing over rules than having fun, but what do I know?
		Christmas dinner on the train was the first meal we were truly awake for. Carone actually could smile at last!
While we were eating dinner, we pulled into Minot, North Dakota, for a brief stop. I got off the train to take a few photos, and got this rather nice shot of the station and train.
		Dave and Carone remained aboard the dining car while I took my photos in the cold. I got this picture of them from the ground. I had to significantly brighten the window area so you could see them!
Christmas night was the first day we were actually able to go to bed at a decent hour. We slept well. The next day, we arrived in La Crosse, Wisconsin after going through Minneapolis. We picked up a lot of passengers and the train became nearly full. La Crosse is the place where the game of the same name was invented after observations of local Indians.
		Our last full stop before Chicago was in Milwaukee. The station is covered, so not much of the city could be seen. But I did get this shot of what I think is Amtrak's Midwest Corridor train.
Our car attendant, Darrell, was a very humorous man, as you can see by this photo of Carone taken at the Milwaukee stop.
		Late in the afternoon of December 26th, we finally arrived in Chicago. This photo of the skyline was taken as we approached the city.
The train arrived in Chicago's Union Station. The station was very busy, but we were able to rent a car (a Volvo that was cluttered with electronic gizmos) and head off to our hotel.
		We stayed at the Best Western Inn of Chicago on Ohio Street just off of Michigan. I stayed here in 1999 when I went to a trade show.
Unfortunately, it looks like things have been let go at the Inn since I was last there. Our first room had a leaking sink in the bathroom which left a large puddle, and our replacement room had a tub that wouldn't drain. Still, the hotel was centrally located and quiet.
		The Inn is in the middle of Chicago's Magnificent Mile, and the views were superb. This is the view from our fifth-floor room at night looking south. We went to a restaurant called Bandera the first night we were in Chicago. It's around the corner from the Inn, and a place I remembered for having great food. We weren't disappointed.
We enjoyed a great dinner at Bandera and retired for the night. The next morning, Dave decided to drive to the Amateur Electronic Supply in Milwaukee. Why? Who knows? But we stopped at the visitor center once we crossed the Wisconsin border, and Carone and I both braved the very cold, stiff breeze to get this photo.
		After visiting the somewhat disappointing radio store, we stopped at this cheese place to get some of what are called "cheese curds". Dave's a big fan of them, but I find them rather bland. Apparently, Bobby Nelson was some kind of wrestler back in the 50s or 60s. Check out the "Mitt or Mittout" sausage.
After getting cheesified, we returned to Chicago and decided that we would go to The Cheesecake Factory, an odd restaurant located in the basement of the John Hancock Building. I had been there in 1999 and thought it interesting. It was only a few blocks, so we walked in the cold, passing Chicago's famous Water Tower on the way.
		Chicago was enormously busy over the holidays, and the restaurants generally wouldn't accept reservations. This meant that when we arrived at The Cheesecake Factory, we were given a pager and told to expect seating in 60-90 minutes. Naturally, we were thrilled by this news.
We were fortunate to find seating in the bar, and finally got into the restaurant about an hour after we arrived. The Cheesecake Factory interior is very strange, and I have compared it to either an intestine or a mushroom. The food is quite good, however, and the many varieties of cheesecake astounding.
		The next day, we decided to drive to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. I had visitied this museum in 1979, and Dave had previous to that. Unfortunately, the museum, like all the Chicago museums, was packed with people, and we were presented with at least an hour wait to get in, along with an hour wait to see most of the exhibits. We decided to forgo the museum.
Dave decided that we should drive to Gary, Indiana, forever memorialized in "The Music Man". What we found was a city trying to re-build itself after the vast majority of its industry disappeared. Gary was a city of boarded up and burnt-down homes and businesses, but with a spanking new convention center and casino. In fact, it is the site of the Teen Miss USA pageant. This sign we found in the city says it all.
		South Chicago is vastly different from the Magnificent Mile. Here are abandoned businesses and decaying Rust Belt architecture. The Robert Taylor Homes, a set of high-rise projects, were envisioned in the early 1960s as a solution to chronic housing problems for low-income Americans. Sadly, the project instead ended up isolating a population and slowly decayed. Today, they are being torn down, but this building appears to still be in use, despite its poor condition. The projects are visible from the Dan Ryan Expressway.
Chicago's skyline is impressive from any direction. This is from the south as we returned from Gary.

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