automobile, train, train, automobile, plane, plane, train, train, train, automobile.
Plus intermittent walking.
Clear enough?
Alright, I will elaborate, but only because you asked nicely.
We began our travels last Friday, the first day of spring break. Around 9 am we left our house and drove to Michigan City, IN. One ride on the South Shore Line later, we were in downtown Chicago. After a brisk walk in cold, wet weather, we made it to Union Station, grabbed sandwiches to go, and made our way to the boarding platform for the Empire Builder - the Amtrak train that took us from Chicago to Shelby, MT, over the course of about 28 hours. It was a fun way to see the country and relax. After all, when you are stuck on a train, there's not much else you can do! We read, napped, looked out the window, ate, talked.... The overnight sleeping was a bit of a challenge, but that was expected. I've never been very good at sleeping while in transit - doesn't matter if it's a car, a plane, or a train. So I spent a portion of the night reading a book in the cafe/lounge car, which has an upper floor with tons of enormous windows. Our only aggravation was related to the power outlets available at each seat. According to the Amatrak website, coach seats do not typically have power outlets. So although we brought along our laptops, we did not bring along any movies. Since one movie will about kill the battery anyway, it seemed like a pointless endeavor. As soon as we saw the outlets - placed in neat pairs at every single pair of seats, mind you - we began a habit of checking at each station stop for a wifi net work that would allow us to get online long enough to get a movie from iTunes. Needless to say, our search was fruitless. And now we know for next time. One of our favorite parts of the train experience was breakfast in the dining car on Saturday morning. We at our other meals at the little snack shop. Breakfast, however, was a sit-down affair. We were seated with two older women. One was an organist and the other a schoolteacher. Go figure. And as if that weren't enough, one of the dining car staff members was someone Aaron knew from college. Go ahead and start singing "It's a Small World." I don't mind.
 | ||
| Us on a train. I think this was the Metra. |
 |
| The Amtrak train, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. |
We arrived in Shelby late Saturday afternoon. Abby and Phil picked us up at the station, and we headed south to their home in Helena. For the next few days, we had a great time hanging out with Abby, Phil, and their dogs - Maggie, Takk, and Fry. Sunday started with the Helena walking mall, with stops at the Creperie for breakfast, the Big Dipper for ice cream, and Blackfoot Brewing for, well, beer. We got to see a little bit of the town and even saw one of Abby's schools. We ordered delicious pizza from Bullman's for dinner.
On Monday, both Abby and Phil went to work, while Aaron and I relaxed and had a true vacation day. We were both in our pjs until well into the afternoon and enjoyed chillin' with the puppies and watching tv. That evening we went out for Mexican food. Also delicious. And we made a Costco run, so that Abby and Phil could take advantage of our membership to pick up a few things.
On Tuesday, Abby and Phil were kind enough to carpool to work so that we could have a car for the day. We had a relaxed morning at home. Lunch was at Great Harvest. Then we hiked Mount Helena. It was really cold and windy up there - even some snow flying - so we didn't make it all the way up, but we still had a nice hike and really enjoyed the view. That evening, we all went to Riley's Irish Pub for dinner, and then to a very tasty frozen yogurt place.
 |
| On our hike |
 |
| Tasty frozen yogurt! |
On Wednesday, Abby took a personal day from school. Abby, Aaron, and I started the day at FireTower Coffee, where I had the most fantastic cheese bagel known to mankind, as well as a rather delicious mocha. Two thumbs up. Then we accompanied Abby to school so she could supervise a new lunchtime music club. After that, we visited the history museum. We finished up with a late lunch at a coney island in town. Also quite tasty. Dinner was at Toi's Thai. More yum.
 |
| What's not to love about Wienee Wednesday? |
 |
| Yes, we are that awesome. |
Intersperse all of that with lots of time relaxing and watching Netflix, and you've got one fantastic vacation.
Bright and early on Thursday morning, Abby and Phil drove us to the Helena airport, where we boarded a flight to Denver. Denver was just a quick layover stop - enough time for a bathroom and a bagel and that's about it - and then we were on our way to O'Hare. At O'Hare, we made our way through myriad hallways - first going up, and then down, and then up, and then down... - until we finally arrived at the station for the CTA blue line. We took the blue line into downtown Chicago, transferred to the red line at Jackson, and headed back north to the Chicago stop. From there, it was a short walk to our hotel, the Millennium Knickerbocker (which I booked on a fantastic deal, by the way). We arrived there around 3:30 or 4. After a little rest in our room, we walked to Lou Malnati's for some great Chicago deep dish pizza, without the long lines and waits of places like Gino's and Giordano's. It was delish. We stopped at a couple of stores on the way back. I bought a sweater at Banana Republic; in true Sara fashion, its original price was $110, but I got it for about $35. Thank you, clearance rack! Since we were walking by it anyway, we decided to get a slice of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory, which we took back to our room to enjoy.
 |
| Our hotel in Chicago |
On Friday morning, we walked to the nearest Corner Bakery Cafe for a late breakfast. Yum. Conveniently, there was a Puma store across the street, so we stopped there as well. Then we went back and checked out of the hotel but left our bags with the bell staff so we could shop unencumbered. We had a great time on the Magnificent Mile and even managed to pick up a few things we needed. After a great dinner at Big Bowl, we made our way back to the hotel to pick up our bags. We tried to stop at Garrett's for popcorn, but the line was too long. So we consoled ourselves with a stop at the Lavazza coffee shop across the street from our hotel. Luggage retrieved, we returned to the red line and then to the South Shore. Our train was delayed en route for about 25 minutes due to a medical emergency (someone passed out in the car after ours), but we eventually made it back to Michigan City. Thankfully the little blue car was still right where we left it. We made a McDonald's stop for food and caffeine and then hit the road, arriving at our house around 1 am.
So, like I said:
automobile, train, train, automobile, plane, plane, train, train, train, automobile.
Clear enough?
No comments:
Post a Comment