So, time to begin this trip report, which will be in sections. Can't write it all tonight. The quest was for a train trip, within a budget, for a family adventure while the kids were off school last week, to celebrate a birthday for Michigan Son at the end of this month, after which said son is no longer half fare :unsure: After much discussion and some unrealistic ideas contributed by Michigan Kids, we settled on a visit to our nation's capital, much hyped by Michigan Mom and eventually voted in. We had a voucher to use as partial payment and there was the bus connection... one or both of these factors resulted in a paper ticket being necessary, so one more trip where MM had to keep track of tickets. No worries!
We were given a ride to the Ann Arbor train station by Michigan Ex-Husband who hung out with the kids for a few minutes before the bus arrived. It was weird to be embarking on our journey at 8 pm at night, but the timing worked out well as we had other obligations earlier in the afternoon. The Wolverine to Chicago was a bit delayed and we got to see the train boarding and departing. After that the waiting area cleared and there was just a handful of us waiting for the bus to TOL. The station agent and driver put everyone's bags in the hold as we boarded. The weather was clear and the driver advised everyone of the ETAs into Dearborn, Detroit and Toledo Amtrak stations. Nothing was shown on the TV screens, maybe the driver didn't want the distraction or maybe the system wasn't working. No matter, it was a good time for a catnap. We arrived in TOL at 10:10 pm and everyone filed into the station.
TOL Amtrak station is interesting in a surreal sort of way. It is more spacious than the A2 station, by far, but the seating is more limited. Instead of rows of chairs, there are high backed, long padded benches. This comes in handy if someone wants to stretch out and nap during a delay, but results in less seating given the space available in the building. I'll write more about TOL for our return trip. (Let's just say that at 5 am it becomes even more surreal.) For now, we noticed there were restrooms, vending machines, some tables w/chairs and a few (very few) outlets available. This time of year, in the cold night, we were just grateful to walk into a heated waiting area. "Well, kids," said MM, cheerfully, "We'll be boarding our train in less than an hour!"
Ah, that was not to be. Right on cue, the TOL station agent, an older, somewhat implacable-appearing woman, made an announcement. The Cap was running 2 hours late out of CHI, had been held for connections from the West, and was expected in TOL at 1245 am. There was the usual blurb about trains making up time. Why do they bother with that? Does anyone care if the train gets to DC an hour late? No, it's more about boarding at 11 pm instead of 1 am. Whatever. It was at this moment that MM filed the TOL bus connection experience in the "Never Again' category. No more updates or announcements were made, other than the bag check announcement. SO, almost 3 hours to kill. I went up to the agent window and asked her if there was anything we could walk to, any place to eat. While not a normal meal time, ordering food does kill time. The agent, almost cracking a smile, said, "Do you have a car?" Well no... we arrived on the bus. So the answer was "No.". An hour or so later, I went to the window again and asked if there was any update. The headshake "No" again. At 1248, 3 minutes past the quoted time, and in response to pressure from the kids, MM approached the window for a third time to ask for an update. "Just as before" came the response, "12:50." OK, great! That isn't 12:45, but great! Clearly no time got made up so far. 12:50 came and went. No announcements. Notice, now. No passengers appeared worried or petrubed in the slightest, so I am fully prepared to admit this is soley Michigan Mom's problem. At 12:58, the Cap came roaring in. The agent then made an announcement for the arrival. MI Daughter was puzzled and said,"Mom, they didn't say anything until after it got here." I said, "Honey, the important thing is , it's here." We headed out eagerly into the dark cold and made our way to our sleeping car. Our SCA, Emmanuel, was there to greet us and direct everyone to their rooms. We got situated as the train whistle sounded and the Cap started to make its way out of TOL. The beds were ready in our roommettes and we settled in for the night very quickly. MI Son was thrilled to get into his room (prefers these to the BR) after I wiped everything with sanitizer, and MI Daughter fell asleep very quickly in our other roomette. I couldn't sleep right away despite being tired and enjoyed watching the landscape go by, sitting at the far end of the bed while MI Daughter slept. Our upper level roomettes were quiet and comfortable. For future, we'd be happy with either upper or lower. Eventually I had to nap for a couple hours but awoke early, and went to see if coffee was ready which it was...thank you Eamannuel... Enjoyed the fresh hot coffee while the kids slept in and the train traversed beautiful views of mountains, farms, forests, valleys, water frozen to form icicles and frozen waterfalls, More tomorrow!
We were given a ride to the Ann Arbor train station by Michigan Ex-Husband who hung out with the kids for a few minutes before the bus arrived. It was weird to be embarking on our journey at 8 pm at night, but the timing worked out well as we had other obligations earlier in the afternoon. The Wolverine to Chicago was a bit delayed and we got to see the train boarding and departing. After that the waiting area cleared and there was just a handful of us waiting for the bus to TOL. The station agent and driver put everyone's bags in the hold as we boarded. The weather was clear and the driver advised everyone of the ETAs into Dearborn, Detroit and Toledo Amtrak stations. Nothing was shown on the TV screens, maybe the driver didn't want the distraction or maybe the system wasn't working. No matter, it was a good time for a catnap. We arrived in TOL at 10:10 pm and everyone filed into the station.
TOL Amtrak station is interesting in a surreal sort of way. It is more spacious than the A2 station, by far, but the seating is more limited. Instead of rows of chairs, there are high backed, long padded benches. This comes in handy if someone wants to stretch out and nap during a delay, but results in less seating given the space available in the building. I'll write more about TOL for our return trip. (Let's just say that at 5 am it becomes even more surreal.) For now, we noticed there were restrooms, vending machines, some tables w/chairs and a few (very few) outlets available. This time of year, in the cold night, we were just grateful to walk into a heated waiting area. "Well, kids," said MM, cheerfully, "We'll be boarding our train in less than an hour!"
Ah, that was not to be. Right on cue, the TOL station agent, an older, somewhat implacable-appearing woman, made an announcement. The Cap was running 2 hours late out of CHI, had been held for connections from the West, and was expected in TOL at 1245 am. There was the usual blurb about trains making up time. Why do they bother with that? Does anyone care if the train gets to DC an hour late? No, it's more about boarding at 11 pm instead of 1 am. Whatever. It was at this moment that MM filed the TOL bus connection experience in the "Never Again' category. No more updates or announcements were made, other than the bag check announcement. SO, almost 3 hours to kill. I went up to the agent window and asked her if there was anything we could walk to, any place to eat. While not a normal meal time, ordering food does kill time. The agent, almost cracking a smile, said, "Do you have a car?" Well no... we arrived on the bus. So the answer was "No.". An hour or so later, I went to the window again and asked if there was any update. The headshake "No" again. At 1248, 3 minutes past the quoted time, and in response to pressure from the kids, MM approached the window for a third time to ask for an update. "Just as before" came the response, "12:50." OK, great! That isn't 12:45, but great! Clearly no time got made up so far. 12:50 came and went. No announcements. Notice, now. No passengers appeared worried or petrubed in the slightest, so I am fully prepared to admit this is soley Michigan Mom's problem. At 12:58, the Cap came roaring in. The agent then made an announcement for the arrival. MI Daughter was puzzled and said,"Mom, they didn't say anything until after it got here." I said, "Honey, the important thing is , it's here." We headed out eagerly into the dark cold and made our way to our sleeping car. Our SCA, Emmanuel, was there to greet us and direct everyone to their rooms. We got situated as the train whistle sounded and the Cap started to make its way out of TOL. The beds were ready in our roommettes and we settled in for the night very quickly. MI Son was thrilled to get into his room (prefers these to the BR) after I wiped everything with sanitizer, and MI Daughter fell asleep very quickly in our other roomette. I couldn't sleep right away despite being tired and enjoyed watching the landscape go by, sitting at the far end of the bed while MI Daughter slept. Our upper level roomettes were quiet and comfortable. For future, we'd be happy with either upper or lower. Eventually I had to nap for a couple hours but awoke early, and went to see if coffee was ready which it was...thank you Eamannuel... Enjoyed the fresh hot coffee while the kids slept in and the train traversed beautiful views of mountains, farms, forests, valleys, water frozen to form icicles and frozen waterfalls, More tomorrow!
