This one started as a random idea that I had by 3 pm on 4/19, and had reservations made by 7:30 PM Central (after getting off at 5 PM and letting my mom attempt to talk me out of it, even though I knew she wasn't going to be able to).
Where to this time? Back to ARB, because my friend was gonna be back in town. Between the storms, my sleep being more messed up than usual (I had a more than 12 hour of sleep night/day a few days prior), and excitement about leaving, I didn't sleep before boarding the initial Megabus. I did pack some Tylenol Simply Sleep, though, and used one at this point so I could get some sleep on the way to Chicago. I still woke up briefly a few times, but it was more quasi-productive than previous trips.
Got to Chicago about a half hour early and walked the rest of the way to Union Station, printed all the tickets from the Quik-Trak for Wednesday and Thursday, and sat near the gate my Wolverine was set for lining up at – Gate C. I was reminded at priority boarding that if I could only book an AGR business class seat one way because of points limitations, that from CHI was the better choice, lol. The Wolverine was on track 28, and departed on time. Between freights and, later on, signal problems, arrived at 2:17 PM Eastern time to ARB. I ended up walking to the arcade because there were no cabs available to take there. At least I saved a few bucks this way.
Due mainly to the short notice, I couldn't see my friend after all, but I still made the most of it. Took a break for Jimmy John's and Starbucks around 8:30 PM, and commiserated over Twitter about the news about Doctor Who actress Elisabeth Sladen. After finishing at Starbucks, went back to the arcade and stayed till close (2 AM), then went to Denny's, using a Night Ride cab. I ended up ordering a raspberry tea and the new Build Your Own Chicken Wraps.
While entertaining myself on my computer, I also tweeted back and forth with some other people that couldn't sleep, and plotted what time I should catch the bus. I ended up asking the driver to alert me when I was near the spot closest to the station that I'd get on his route, then I followed the mapped routing on my phone anyway, just to be sure.
I walked the remaining half a mile or so easily, arriving back at ARB with plenty of time to wait. Was mildly annoyed that a TSA-marked guy was patrolling, but it's not like I started any trouble. We, for all intents and purposes, basically ignored each other. Noticed the Quik-Trak had a piece of cardboard over the screen saying “out of order”, and while I know it wasn't likely, had a bit of a “lol, upgrade-related?” initial reaction to that sign. At one point, I got tired of sitting and got in line, hoping to score an early copy of the new system timetable like last time I'd run this route, but no luck this time.
351 departed ARB 16 minutes late, and it was crowded in coach, at least at the car I boarded at. Tempted as I was to just walk to the next car and try getting a seat there, I just grabbed a rear-facing seat (though it was on the right hand side, if it'd been facing the “correct” way), hooked my phone up to charge, and took another Simply Sleep after the conductor collected his portion of my ticket – wasn't much else I was willing to do because for once it was a bit warm in the car, and I'd forgotten my computer's charger.
I woke up a little before arrival into CHI, which ended up happening at 12:02 PM Central, 38 minutes late. Got my usual popcorn, and rested a bit in the Metropolitan Lounge till sleeper boarding (sleeper was all that was left at time of my booking, and I really wanted to run the detour route, especially with the alternative being “bustituted halfway home”. At least the roomette upcharge was only $94 plus the rail fare). As a bonus, I got to see my current favorite TE conductor. I didn't say anything as he pulled my ticket in the Lounge, but I did say "Hi" as he passed though the dining car later, during my meal.
21 left on time, and after a few delays for various reasons, a more lukewarm vegetarian choice than usual, and random entertainment (including reading part of one of those old-fashioned book things), I ended up arriving at STL at 9:13 PM, one hour and forty-one minutes late, according to the Amtrak Status Maps site.
Taking this trip resulted in having to cancel a similar round trip on 5/20, but even without seeing my friend (he would have definitely been back "home" by 5/20), it was good.
Where to this time? Back to ARB, because my friend was gonna be back in town. Between the storms, my sleep being more messed up than usual (I had a more than 12 hour of sleep night/day a few days prior), and excitement about leaving, I didn't sleep before boarding the initial Megabus. I did pack some Tylenol Simply Sleep, though, and used one at this point so I could get some sleep on the way to Chicago. I still woke up briefly a few times, but it was more quasi-productive than previous trips.
Got to Chicago about a half hour early and walked the rest of the way to Union Station, printed all the tickets from the Quik-Trak for Wednesday and Thursday, and sat near the gate my Wolverine was set for lining up at – Gate C. I was reminded at priority boarding that if I could only book an AGR business class seat one way because of points limitations, that from CHI was the better choice, lol. The Wolverine was on track 28, and departed on time. Between freights and, later on, signal problems, arrived at 2:17 PM Eastern time to ARB. I ended up walking to the arcade because there were no cabs available to take there. At least I saved a few bucks this way.
Due mainly to the short notice, I couldn't see my friend after all, but I still made the most of it. Took a break for Jimmy John's and Starbucks around 8:30 PM, and commiserated over Twitter about the news about Doctor Who actress Elisabeth Sladen. After finishing at Starbucks, went back to the arcade and stayed till close (2 AM), then went to Denny's, using a Night Ride cab. I ended up ordering a raspberry tea and the new Build Your Own Chicken Wraps.
While entertaining myself on my computer, I also tweeted back and forth with some other people that couldn't sleep, and plotted what time I should catch the bus. I ended up asking the driver to alert me when I was near the spot closest to the station that I'd get on his route, then I followed the mapped routing on my phone anyway, just to be sure.
I walked the remaining half a mile or so easily, arriving back at ARB with plenty of time to wait. Was mildly annoyed that a TSA-marked guy was patrolling, but it's not like I started any trouble. We, for all intents and purposes, basically ignored each other. Noticed the Quik-Trak had a piece of cardboard over the screen saying “out of order”, and while I know it wasn't likely, had a bit of a “lol, upgrade-related?” initial reaction to that sign. At one point, I got tired of sitting and got in line, hoping to score an early copy of the new system timetable like last time I'd run this route, but no luck this time.
351 departed ARB 16 minutes late, and it was crowded in coach, at least at the car I boarded at. Tempted as I was to just walk to the next car and try getting a seat there, I just grabbed a rear-facing seat (though it was on the right hand side, if it'd been facing the “correct” way), hooked my phone up to charge, and took another Simply Sleep after the conductor collected his portion of my ticket – wasn't much else I was willing to do because for once it was a bit warm in the car, and I'd forgotten my computer's charger.
I woke up a little before arrival into CHI, which ended up happening at 12:02 PM Central, 38 minutes late. Got my usual popcorn, and rested a bit in the Metropolitan Lounge till sleeper boarding (sleeper was all that was left at time of my booking, and I really wanted to run the detour route, especially with the alternative being “bustituted halfway home”. At least the roomette upcharge was only $94 plus the rail fare). As a bonus, I got to see my current favorite TE conductor. I didn't say anything as he pulled my ticket in the Lounge, but I did say "Hi" as he passed though the dining car later, during my meal.
21 left on time, and after a few delays for various reasons, a more lukewarm vegetarian choice than usual, and random entertainment (including reading part of one of those old-fashioned book things), I ended up arriving at STL at 9:13 PM, one hour and forty-one minutes late, according to the Amtrak Status Maps site.
Taking this trip resulted in having to cancel a similar round trip on 5/20, but even without seeing my friend (he would have definitely been back "home" by 5/20), it was good.
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