It has come to my attention that I last amused my probably now non-existent reading audience with a post on August 9. Over three months ago. A burst of carelessness for which I have no explanation.
It may be too late to revive a moribund blog, even one with a nigh-on 18 years of history. Rather than attempt anything so grandiose, let me simply mention that I returned Sunday from another one of my pleasant train rides from a West Coast city to Chicago. I was again graciously welcomed by my friends Jim and Dorothy who traveled two hours by bus from West Lafayette, Indiana, just to keep me from feeling lonely all by myself in the Windy City.
This was my fifth -- if I count correctly -- rail trip from a West Coast city to Chicago in the last three years, for no reason other than I was feeling antsy and my longing for train travel was rising in my breast. Besides those five recent rail adventures, I also had traveled that route by rail -- both times originating in Seattle -- two other times: when I was a teenager, just cutting my teeth on the wonderful world of travel, and much later, en route to a Maine wedding involving one of my nephews.
I rode this time from Seattle to Chicago on the Empire Builder. I described the route at some length in my post of February 21, 2024 -- the last time I rode the Empire Builder. As in 2024, much of the route was shrouded in seasonal darkness, and the portions seen by day were not the sort of sights that vary much from year to year. Eastern Montana? North Dakota? You get my point. But the train is always fun. I sit most of the time cocooned in my cozy roomette. Six excursions to the dining car for meals, meals that are included in the sleeping car ticket. And an occasional visit to the cafe/lounge car, to drink coffee, watch the world go by, and observe the curious "coach class" passengers surrounding me. (To be honest, they're often more interesting than the somewhat elderly bunch in sleeper class.)
The trip took 46 hours, and we arrived in Chicago exactly on schedule at 4:45 p.m. Thursday. Jim and Dorothy had planned their bus travel to arrive at about the same time, and they met me in Union Station. We walked to the nearest CTA station, mastered the ticket vending machines to get Ventra cards loaded with enough value to get us around town the next couple of days, and took the subway to our hotel just off the Chicago River, near its origin in Lake Michigan.
Chicago is a great place to visit as a tourist. It has the same appeal as New York, Washington, and Boston. Good transit, walkable distances, and sights worth visiting.
Without boring you with a moment by moment itinerary -- already fading from memory even now -- I'll mention that we took the CTA somewhat north of the Loop and walked the Bloomingdale bike/pedestrian trail. Not a long trail -- just under three miles -- it reminds one of the High Line in New York; both trails make use of an abandoned elevated rail right of way. We wandered around the lakefront parks, and spent a considerable time in the Field Natural History Museum. We joined a small group for a two-hour historical architecture tour -- one of many such tours organized by the excellent Chicago Architecture Center, located just a couple of blocks from our hotel.
The highlights of the trip were evening performances by the Lyrical Opera of Chicago ("I Pagliacci" and "Cavalleria Rusticana") and the Steppenwolf theater north of the Loop ("Amadeus"). The Amadeus show was especially memorable. I had never seen the movie, and the Chicago performance -- presented in theater in the round -- will affect my image of Mozart's personality for the rest of my days.
I had an early flight home Sunday. I had felt some trepidation about the airline situation -- the shortage of air traffic control workers and the impending threats by the government to begin canceling flights. I had even booked a refundable Amtrak return trip -- necessarily coach class, in order to be refundable -- which fortunately wasn't needed. I became confident enough to cancel the train booking on Saturday afternoon.
Back in Seattle about noon Sunday, my whirlwind adventure at an end. An exercise in cramming a lot of enjoyable activities into a short time period. It's hard to imagine now -- Wednesday night -- that I was still on the Empire Builder a week ago, just preparing to stretch out in my roomette bed for the second night. Two nights on the train, three nights in Chicago. And I look back on it all in somewhat of a daze.
Would I do it again? Need you ask?
This was an easy essay to write. In my last post, on August 9, I was looking forward to my three week September visit to Lake Como. Now inspired, maybe I can pull myself together long enough to say a few things about that wonderful experience!
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Photo: Night walk along the Chicago River, from our dinner restaurant to the Lyric Opera House
