Throwback: Chicago by Train

When I tell people my story I start to realize that I must enjoy living on transportation. I spent 2 years practically living on a bus and nearly 4 years living on a ship. Maybe one day I’ll have a private plane I can live out of! I would actually love to give RVing a try…but I don’t want to drive it. So if there are any drivers out there, let’s join forces. In December 2013 I got to cross trains off my “Types of Transportation I’ve Lived On” list. It was only for one night, but it counts!

There’s a saying about the hardest part of the journey being the first step. That was especially true for this journey because I couldn’t find the train. Since it’s much closer to me, I decided to book my trip out of Rockville, MD instead of Union Station in DC. I had seen the Amtrak terminals at Union Station before- very airport-esque with screens to tell you at which gate your trip would begin, friendly staff to direct you, etc. Rockville station doesn’t even have a sign that says “Amtrak.” No markings at all. It is just a set of tracks next to the Metro tracks so I prayed I was in the right spot. I even called Amtrak customer service to ask if I was in the right place, but they weren’t even sure! I was thankful I was leaving a full day ahead of when I needed to arrive to Chicago – I thought I might need to go book a last minute flight. **TRAIN TIP #1: Book your trip out of a real station, not these side of the road “stops.” Your peace of mind in knowing you’re in the right place is worth it.**

Finally, more people started to show up and my confidence began to grow. Eventually the train arrived, the conductor stepped out and said, “I’m looking for one person. Is Valerie Perry here?” Gulp. Why were they looking for me? There were now about 20 of us at the station. Why was he asking for me? I shyly raised my hand. He asked if he could store my large bag for me before showing me to my compartment. That’s why he was looking for me – I was the only one that booked first class! Whew!

I climbed aboard and the train moved forward a few car lengths to allow the rest of the people at the station to get in the coach car. Have you heard comedian Brian Regan talk about first class people? (Watch in HERE.) It was like that. “Close that curtain! Snap it! Snap it shut!” I felt like I was out of my league, punching above my weight class – a feeling I have often. Anyway, I boarded my fancy first class train and my “Sleeping Car Attendant” took me up a tiny little staircase to the second floor. (Did you know Amtrak cars have 2 floors?! The lower level was luggage storage, bathrooms, and showers, while the actual private compartments were on level two.) At the top of the stairs he showed me where the complimentary water, coffee, juice, and soda station was located. He then showed me to my room and asked what time I would like to have dinner.

I was 20 minutes away from my apartment, but I was on an epic adventure! Here I was on a trip of 700 miles in over 17 hours with a bunch of strangers and on a train! This is exactly the kind of excitement my life needed.

I loved my private compartment. It was probably a bit more than half the size of my last ship cabin, so it didn’t really feel that small. After all I lived in that cabin for three months. I would be living here one night. Each compartment accommodates two people. It would have been cozy with a roommate. One bed folds up against the wall and the bottom bed is made of the two seats that face each other next to the window. Each compartment has a sliding door with a little latch on the inside. The only thing I did not like about my trip was that there was no way to lock my compartment when I left. I didn’t want to carry my laptop and camera bag around with me, but I hated that there was no way to secure my stuff. Amtrak, please fix this!

The seats were really comfortable. They provided pillows and blankets so I kicked my shoes off, propped my feet up on the chair across from me and snuggled in next to the window. Unfortunately this trip was in early December so it was dark an hour into my trip. **TRAIN TIP #2: Book your train travel during daylight hours. I saw very little.**

I was comfy. I was warm. I was content. But I knew that I had a whole train to explore so I couldn’t just sit there. The car directly behind mine was the Dining Car. Just like in White Christmas! (Snow! Snow! Snow! Snow!) More on that in a minute.

The next car was the Sightseeing Car – all windows. Even part of the roof! I stayed here until it was too dark outside to see. It’s a great space. Amazing views, lots of room, even booths where you can play games. The lower level of this car had a snack bar where you could buy sandwiches, chips, drinks, etc.  The car after that was the Coach car. In hindsight I should have explored more. I wasn’t sure where all I was “allowed” to go so I laid low. I should have just went and apologized later if I needed to.

Soon it was time for dinner. One of the great things about booking in the Sleeper Car is that your fare includes all of your meals! The downside (that I didn’t know about when I booked) is that your meals are community seating- meaning they just pair you up with some random person/people who also needs a seat buddy. I hate this concept. Ask my parents about taking me to local fire hall dinners. I support the fire department. I do not support eating my meal across from a stranger. But I embraced it here – a bit of a “When in Rome” situation I guess. And it wasn’t bad at all. I got paired up with a guy who was traveling from DC to Chicago as well. He was originally from Philadelphia and the Eagles were playing the Bears in Monday Night Football so he decided to hop on a train and go see it for himself. He was a former professional soccer player, but he got injured so now he does something in IT but also earns quite a bit of money playing poker at local casinos. And that’s when I realized: I could be anyone I wanted to be on this train. No one knew me. We were all going our separate ways in 17 hours. I told him I was a comedy scout for SNL and was coming to Chicago to look for fresh talent at Second City, iO, etc. I didn’t. But I could have! It was a freeing feeling.

After my steak dinner I went back to my compartment and enjoyed the solitude. This was early December and the holiday craziness was already beginning to effect the rest of my life so it was really nice to just relax for awhile. There were no expectations of me at all for the next day. No one to please. No one to impress. And no real agenda to keep. Just time and travel. (But sadly no time travel. That would for sure impress some people.)

I decided to get ready for bed and went downstairs to use the tiny bathroom. Even this didn’t bother me. It just reminded me of the ship. When I came back up my Sleeping Car Attendant asked if I was ready for bed and he prepared the top bunk for me. They have a cargo net that you hook to the ceiling to ensure you don’t fall out of bed – something cruise ships can learn from. I know more than one crew member that had to take days off of work after falling out of bed.

One of our middle of the night stops was Pittsburgh and I really wanted to see what my old town looked like via train. I assumed I would be sleeping very light with announcements, rail noise, and stops and starts waking me up often. In reality, I slept soundly. I didn’t wake up until after 6:00 am. I enjoyed a huge breakfast in the Dining Car then stared out the window.

There’s not that much to see through Indiana and Illinois next to the Amtrak tracks, but it looks like a slice of typical midwestern Americana. I was still very much in my “adjusting to land life” stage during this trip and seeing so much of my own country reminded me how much of the world I have yet to see. I loved seeing the plants and mills along the tracks. The people that work there are who have literally built this country.

We were significantly delayed as we got closer to Chicago. There was a lot of freight traffic and we were told that rails were too cold. I’m not really sure what that last part meant, but it the end it meant my trip took about 2 hours longer than I had expected. I didn’t mind. I got some juice and read my complimentary newspaper (how did they deliver newspapers to the train?).

​After warming and resting I was ready to go experience a Chicago Christmas. After all I got here a whole day early – I better not waste it! The Christkindlmarket and the Marshall Fields building were right across the street from my hotel.I got off the train at Union Station in Chicago but my journey was just beginning. For starters I couldn’t figure out how to get out of the station so I wandered around for a bit. It was lightly snowing when I finally made it outside. I knew my hotel was only a few blocks away, but it took me awhile to get my bearings. I eventually found it, was grateful for an early check in and a hot shower in a room 7 times the size I’d just spent the night in.

It took some searching, but I found the wreathed lions at the Art Institute of Chicago. Now I was hungry, exhausted, and cold. I bought some food, headed back to my room, and warmed up while watching Christmas movies.

But…there was still more to see! I calculated that the Lincoln Park zoo was only about an hour’s walk away. I could walk there, see the Zoo Lights, then come back via Navy Pier and Magnificent Mile to see their lights. One thing I hadn’t calculated: a snowstorm. It put down about 3 inches before I even reached the zoo and it kept coming. But if you know me at all you know there’s no stopping me when I commit to a crazy idea. I made it to the zoo and really enjoyed the lights.

I was too late coming back to see the Christmas stuff at Navy Pier, but the lights on Magnificent Mile were gorgeous in the snow.

When I went to bed that night I knew our speaker had arrived but the rest of our staff was delayed because of the snowstorm. **TRAIN TIP #3: Snow doesn’t stop trains the way it stops planes.**

When my colleagues found out I was taking a 17 hour train trip instead of a 2 hour flight they all thought I was crazy…and told me so. After my trip, many of them asked me about it and then confessed that they too would like to try a train trip one day. I think a lot of life is like that. People will tell you that you’re crazy or you can’t do something. But when you do, you’ll find out you’re not the only one who wanted to try. You’re just the first one who tried. In the end I’d rather be seen as crazy or adventurous than boring. If a 17 hour overnight train trip and 3+ hour city hike in a snowstorm keeps me unboring then I guess I have some adventures to plan.

**TRAIN TIP #4: Do it.**