Amtrak Adventure - Day 36 - Return to New York

A day of mixed emotions. While I looked forward to seeing family and friends again after five weeks away, it saddened me to think the trip was almost over. I could quite happily have kept on traveling!

Amtrak Adventure - Day 35 - Final Day in Chicago

Day 35 - the final full day of our trip. Maybe it was the idea of the adventure almost being over which took a little of the steam out of our sightseeing enthusiasm, or maybe it was the weather: hot, humid and very sticky with the constant threat (occasionally fulfilled, particularly when we stepped outside), of rain or storms. There was still so much we could see and do and now so little time to do it.

Amtrak Adventure - Day 34 - The Beach and the Blues in Chicago

Our second day in Chicago dawned bright and sunny, a perfect morning to hit the beach. Surprisingly, Chicago offers several beaches all within walking distance of the downtown area making it easy to spend time in the sun without sacrificing a whole day of sightseeing. 

Amtrak Adventure - Day 32 - St Paul, Minnesota to Chicago.

Day 32 threatened to thwart my plans to travel around the country by rail.

An email from Amtrak the evening before told of a service disruption which was delaying the train from the west coast by so many hours that the company was going to provide a coach to take passengers from St. Paul to Chicago by road. It was a sensible decision by Amtrak to ensure that at least some of the passengers bound for Chicago would get there as scheduled, but it was a huge disappointment for me.