Well,as I mentioned in my previous post, we took the Empire Builder to Chicago. Below are some pics of us at Staples, and in Minneapolis, we did have one of my Mom who was with also, but the only picture I have of her is at the Staples Depot, taking a nap while we waited for our train!
Crystalie and I above and my Dad Bill, and myself below.
My daughter Jennifer also joined us and we were a party of 5.
Above is us waiting for the train to arrive in staples, we arrived at 3:30 am to board at 4:09 am, but as with any public transportation it was delayed. 2-1/2 hours later it finally pulled into Staples, we don't know why it was late, but they have an Amtrak App, and I downloaded it about 4:30 am and found out it would sometime around 6:00am before it arrived. Needless to say this is when my Mom got in her nap. In Staples, no Amtrak employees are there to talk to, when the train arrives the conductors and assistants help you board and check your ticket and give you a seat assignment.
The train ride took about 11 and a half hours, putting us in Chicago around 6:00pm. The ride itself was interesting, we did visit the viewing car, which has more glass, to see through and also seats facing either side. Along with some cafe type dining tables if you bought a snack at the snack bar. The cars all have two levels a lower and an upper, the upper is the coach seating area, and then of course their our sleeper cars, which we did not get.
Crystalie and I enjoyed the viewing car, once we left Minneapolis, and were going south along the Mississippi River. We enjoyed watching the river and Lake Pepin in route to LaCrosse, WI where we crossed over and headed east to Milwaukee and then south to Chicago.
We napped a little bit and we had packed sandwiches,scones and crackers and snacks and some beverages, so we got by without eating a meal on the train. Although my mom and dad did go to the dining car for a light lunch.
Riding the train you see the old side of most Metropolitan cities, as the railroad lines were there for many years as the city grew around them. But it was all very interesting and the trip down all in all was a good experience other than being late.
