Day Nineteen … the great escape

Today was our last day in Chicago. We were booked on the 2.50 pm Southwest Chief Amtrak train that travels from Chicago to Los Angeles (more on that later). So we had some time to kill in the morning before we needed to head to Union Station. And what do you do when you have some time to spare … you go and attempt to make it out of another Escape Room.

Having enjoyed the Escape Room in New York (The Heist … which we didn’t make it out of) we thought we would give another one a try. The same company that operates in NY also has rooms in Chicago so last night we booked an 8.00 am slot to attempt to solve the Gold Rush challenge. At 8.00 am on a Sunday we were the only ones booked in so we had the entire adventure to ourselves. It was brilliant … filled with number puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, riddles and cryptic messages that all led you to be able to open locks, open trap doors, find the gold and be gazzillionaires. And we did it! We managed to solve all the clues (with only a small number of hints) that led us to escape the room with less than 3 minutes to spare. Colby, our delightful game guide was very impressed that we had managed to do it with only two people. The games are designed for 6-8 people … so doing it on you own is so much harder.

We then wandered down to Einstein Bros. Bagels to indulge in our remaining US speciality. We ordered two bagels (cream cheese, avocado, bacon and egg), a hash brown to share and a coffee for me and then, with bag in hand, we headed to the riverwalk to enjoy our last few hours in Chicago. It was lovely to sit and watch the traffic on the river, the sun shining on the buildings and relive the key moments of our days in Chicago.

Then it was time to go back and repack our suitcases and to filter off the luggage we would need for our 40+ hrs on the train. We then decided to walk to Union Station (with bags in tow), again to savour the river and to also see parts of Chicago we hadn’t seen yet. The walk was about 30 minutes long, was on flat ground and easy to manage with our cases.

Arriving at Union Station we were somewhat disappointed that the station itself was surrounded by construction fencing which meant photos of the iconic building were hard to get, and the Great Hall was also cordoned off as they “modernise”. The modernisation is an absolute travesty as they turn an incredible building filled with marble columns, ornate lamps, intricately carved statues and grand staircases into some sort of shopping mall experience. 

I was able to get some photos of the key architectural features as we wandered around the station (making every effort to stay away from the remodel). She is a grand old building and I am sorry I couldn’t see her in her full glory.

As I said earlier we were booked on the Southwest Chief train that travels from Chicago to Los Angeles … non stop. We had booked sleeper rooms for ourselves, opting for two separate sleepers to: 1. Maximise our view by giving us rooms opposite each other 2. Give us more room for the long journey; and most importantly 3. Mean that neither of us had to climb up into the top bunk! It was a little indulgent … but having seen others struggling in their little rooms and trying to get up into bed (and needing a strap to stop them falling out) we are feeling very happy with our decision.

Because we had the sleepers we were also given access to the Member Lounge at Union Station where we could enjoy free snacks and drinks prior to our train departure. We were also given priority boarding and escorted (along with the other sleeper travellers) to our carriages prior to departure. Very fancy indeed!

Once on board we were greeted by Pam, our delightful and very welcoming train attendant. She explained the train, her role and what was included in our tickets. We get full meal service including a three course meal at dinner with wine. We had to select a time for our evening meal (which turned out to be fairly arbitrary as we selected 7.00 and were called at about 6.20!).

Once settled into our rooms we went off to explore the train … checking out the toilets, showers (they provide everything), the observation car and the snack car (just in case we get hungry). We sat in the observation car for a while which has large open windows and lounge style seating.

We headed back to our rooms … sitting opposite so we could chat as the world rushed by. The changing views were fascinating to watch … from the urban centre of Chicago, to the suburbs, to smaller towns and to fields of corn and wind turbines. I perfected the art of taking photos out the window and happily snapped photos as we travelled.

We were called to our seating early and sat with a couple from New Mexico - Joel and Connie who were returning home after visiting their son and their grandchildren in Chicago. We had a fantastic dinner … the food was amazing and the conversation was lively and filled with both laughter and moments of seriousness. They were a lovely couple and we enjoyed spending time chatting with them to the point that the dining car attendant had to ask us to leave!

Sorry that I forgot to take photos of our dessert ... blueberry and white chocolate cheesecake and a meyer lemon cake.

Back to our carriage where Pam was busy making up everyone’s beds. We told her we were happy to be last as we were in no rush. She came down once all the others were done, and we watched her quickly transform our seats into our beds … complete with sheets, two comfy pillows and blankets to stay warm in the night.

I probably won’t be able to post this for another day or so as internet in the middle of the US, on a train, is pretty sketchy. So far we have been in Illinois, Iowa and we are now in Missouri!

Today’s tally …

Photos - 346

Steps - 12,846

Kms - 9.83 km

Ad labs - 0