Minnesota

 Bubbles, here!  I am not on a train.  I had a lot of fun on the train,  I really enjoyed looking out the window, and I liked the way the train sways just a little as it goes down the track,  AND I am glad that we are off the train.  We had a long day.  There is almost always something when you that is not quite as scheduled when you ride on the Amtrak, and we had switching problems (that might seem like a global problem but I think it was about who gets to go on what tracks in the railroad world) in Ohio, and we had to stop a lot.  I liked that we were on the train on the Winter Solstice, it was warm and cozy in our little car and we just kept heading west.  I thought that we would not see any more of the great lakes, but we did move along on the tracks very very close to Lake Michigan, and you could see the Chicago skyline for a long long time before we got there.  We rode through miles and miles and miles of industrial parks, the further west you go, the more that things can spread out and we could really see a lot of the old buildings that are not being used now, and you get to see what people leave in the back of something, out of sight out of mind unless you are riding on the train.  

We were 2 1/2 hours late getting into Union Station in Chicago and it was cold there, you could feel it as soon as you got off the train.  We made our way to the Metropolitan Room, that is where you get to go if you have a "first class" ticket, it is just around the corner from the gigantic waiting room that was all decked out for Christmas.  They have done alot  of work there to make the train station beautiful again, and boy were there lots of people there, and it was really fun 

to watch them all.  I have a great seat, up high it is really fun to see all the people, some are moving really fast, and others look like they are talking to themselves, but I think that they have those things in their ears so maybe they are talking to someone else.  Most people were really smiley and lots had packages I bet for Christmas or Hanukah.  By the time that our luggage was checked in and we stopped for a moment to just take it all in, we knew that there was not enough time for doing windows.  I think that we will be able to find a website, and I don't know when they take the windows down but we will be coming to stay in downtown Chicago in January.   We walked to a really fun food court and had a japanese meal, and sat with people from Mexico City and Philadelphia and Portland, OREGON - it was really fun and MaryAlice loved the food- seaweed salad, miso soup, sushi and green tea, she was happy and we had a really good time sharing a meal and people watching on Jackson Street.  

We took a little walk, took some pictures and then made our way back to the train station.  It wasn't a very long wait, and we got on a little car and the red cap took us and our luggage to our sleeper car.  We were the LAST car on the train, the last one, meaning we were the first car as we made our to the tracks.  

This train, the Empire Builder cars are double deckers,  we were up on top, and you walk from car to car on the top deck.  We were in room 5, and Scott who was a "trainee" came and talked to us right away.  We left right on time, and in just a couple of minutes it was clear that something in our room was making a bad noise.  MaryAlice thought it sounded somewhere between a geiger counter and chinese torture, Scott called the conductor who came, and at first he asked about duck tape, but then he was like oh this is not a duck tape thing.   He had to do something else because we were coming to our first stop, and he left his conductor hat and told MaryAlice she could take a selfie and she did.  When the conductor came back he moved us to room 4 right across the aisle, and there wasn't any bad noises there.  We settle in for the afternoon ride. 

The dining car guy came around and we made our reservation time, then we just watched as we made our way to Milwaukee.  It was a fun ride, lots and lots to see.  There are a lot of industrial buildings and lots of trucks and vehicles to move things around.  It is flat, and the sky was beautiful and then as the sun got lower in the sky it was more and more beautiful.  There were Solstice reds and yellows and we had lots of ahh's and oh my's and deep appreciation.  What a fun way and a fun day to be heading to see Sasha, and James and Myah, and everyone else who we will get to hug and love and catch up with.

The train was almost to St. Paul, just outside of Hastings MN when we stopped and stopped and stayed stopped.  Then we would start back up and go just a little bit.  MaryAlice kept opening up the Amtrak App to see what the schedule said.  We were just fine except MaryAlice was feeling bad that Sasha was going to have to be waiting.  We made it less than an hour late.  Sasha was there, we got another ride in a little cart and jumped in the car.  Here we are.  It is sun shine and not so cold and we are having a slow moving morning.  James is back from his run, Sasha is doing her "live" workout, and her I am blogging away.  I am going to share a few more pics and will check back in tomorrow.  Have a good Sunday and I hope that it is funday for you too!