USA: Seattle, Chicago to New Orleans (17 April, 2012)

17 April 2012

Continuing from Seattle to Chicago and through to New Orleans.

Picking up from where we left off somewhere in Montana /Minnesota and the unfortunate incident of the old “bugger” being taken off the train, the scenery has been pretty much lack lustre. We travelled over the upper junction of the Mississippi which connects with another 2 large rivers as we cross the border into Illinois.  Although we are still far from Chicago there are signs of civilisation unlike the prairies we crossed the day before. By night we tried to sleep which was difficult, by day the scenery stayed much the same except for Oil wells dotted across the countryside, which explained what the burning fires were in the dark.  As we came to the northern Michigan lakes area everything started becoming green and lush and thankfully warmer temperatures. Or so we thought.

We arrived at Union Station Chicago at 3.45pm to a balmy day, a few clouds, and massive skyscrapers. Just incredible. We got our bearings, and at last our “land legs” after just under 2 days on the train.  It is here I must give credit to Amtrak - with 47 hours of travel our train arrived 5 minutes before schedule.  5 minutes !!! Now who was it who provided Amtrak with Feedback from our last trip to ensure this train arrived without delay ??? Thank you, it worked !!

With only a few hours of daylight left we decided not to use public transport until we got an orientation of Chicago, so we decided to check out our trusty maps and set off on a journey of discovery. This didn’t take too long, in fact only for about 50 metres.  You see, where we were staying was across the road from the biggest MacDonalds we have ever seen.  Not only does it have 2 levels, it also has a 2 Drive Thru roads and the cars were banked up.  You are now thinking we are going to eat MacDonalds – wrong.  Directly on the opposite corner was an Italian Diner serving fresh pasta, pizza, sandwichs/subs and a dessert bar.  This is where it was a toss up – MacDonalds vs. Portillo’s Italian Diner.  Thinking this was an ordinary pizza/pasta bar – Wrong Again. There are 4 separate counters for serving Desserts, Take-Outs (for phone ahead orders), Pizza/pasta, and lastly the one for Sandwichs/Subs.  All the while Ragtime music plays in the background. In addition to this there are 3 separate eating areas ie. Main floor area, upstairs dining and an outdoors area. But there is more …. There is a drive thru around the back of the building which we didn’t see until we were nearly run over in the drive-way by someone wanting to get home asap and tuck into their freshly made pasta. Check out the photos of Portillo’s Diner  (it even has a full size car on the mezzanine level)  It’s worth a visit if you get to Chicago.

We grazed there for a couple of hours and came out of the diner to a huge thunderstorm. By morning it passed, clear skies and time for us to explore “windy” Chicago - with a capital W. It was cold, at about 50 degrees Farenheit and I reckon blowing a Category 4 cyclone.  But that didn’t stop these 2 adventurers, YET!

Why is TJ smiling ?

I had my sights set on doing the Sky Deck on Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower). The name changed a few years ago when a British insurance company bought the naming rights and a few floors for the exposure.  Now for those who know us well, you would be familiar with the fact that unlike me, Tony has a real problem with heights.  Anything over the size of a 6 ft. ladder and he goes ape sh….t.  I have many stories about my excitement of getting up high in places, and Tony’s anxiety attacks such as Centrepoint in Sydney, Communications Tower in Kulala Lumpur, and for heaven’s sake – the Skyrail up to Kuranda !!!  But I give credit where credit is due, he did get to the edge of the Grand Canyon, fantastic effort !!  (and if you carefully look at his profile picture on his Blog - all the while he had his sunglasses on AND his back to the view LOL).

So you can imagine the scenario here – me getting excited about getting up to the SkyDeck and Tony working up a sweat thinking I would again convince him he should come up to the Tower with me.  After a healthy half jog, me in the lead, you wouldn’t believe it – What a disappointment for me and an absolute relief for Tony!  The alternative to the Sky Deck? A sedate canal cruise checking out the skyscrapers from the BOTTOM UP.  The canal cruise was an Architectural Tour and really informative to say the least. Amazing that in the late 1800s a major fire ripped through Chicago and wiped out a 3^rd of the city and to think what stands there now. 

We found the city to be really clean (mostly likely because of the high winds), the people really friendly and ready for a yarn.  At one point we ventured into a shopping centre and were admiring this re-born Harley Davidson motorcycle when this guy interrupted asking is we were Aussies.  He was Aussie too from Sydney, had been there for about 3 months, with his South Carolina girlfriend.  He heard me and Tony talking and picked up on the accents.  Funny thing – you can always pick our fellow countrymen here, not sure if it is always the accents though.

With our limited time in Chicago (28 hours) before we embark on the next leg of the trip down to new Orleans, we made the most by doing our own walking tour around the Loop, Downtown (yes another Downtown), and checked out Millenium Park, Michigan Avenue, Wacker Street, and little laneways that  aren’t shown on the map, but sometimes more interesting to see.  The city has taken pride in its history, its buildings and to us it is really a showpiece.  There is a well-balanced blend of old and new eg. How the old train and tram lines sit side by side with new structures.

A piece of Chicago’s history also includes an engineering feat in whereby they changed the flow of the river to take it away from the city.  As the story goes apparently, for many, many years all the sewerage, drains etc.  flowed into and stayed in the waterways of the city. So as to ‘flush’ it out they built Locks to help in redirecting the water flow – into Lake Michigan – would you believe!

But seriously the river is picturesque, but I wonder if they have learned anything from this.  We were told that every year the city dyes the river GREEN for St Patricks Day and thousands of people and boaties flock to, and cruise on the river all day in celebration.  Hhhmmm!!

Would we come back to the Windy City again? Definitely – when it is warmer and we have more time.  We might even catch a bus or other public transport and even walk the SkyDeck.

Now as I finish this part from Chicago, my mind keeps wandering back to the old fella who was tossed off the train.  You might remember from my last blog that he was “de-trained” in Grand Forks.  My guess is that he is wandering around thinking – “Where the Fork am I ?”

18^th April, 2012

Enroute from Chicago to New Orleans
This must be the best behaved, well- mannered lot of passengers we’ve encounted so far.  (Just quietly, I am also the white minority on this train – even the man I’ve been travelling with in with the majority).

We’re on another overnighter ‘the City of New Orleans” train and should arrive in NOL (Amtrak Code for New Orleans - getting to know the lingo now) around 3pm this afternoon.  There have been few stops ie. Jackson, Fulton, Memphis, KazooCity and  Hazelhurst with a few more to come.  And we now add another 4 states to the list ie. Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Bayou near New Orleans

Not sure what is in store because since once we crossed into Mississippi early this morning it has been raining heavily ever since.  We’ve had some train delays already because of water across the lines.  The train is pacing along fairly quickly in order to make up some lost time.  Expected arrival time of 4pm or thereabouts might be achieveable.    Living in North Queensland you get used to the rain.  We just don’t want to experience the Tornadoes that rip through the mid-west.  As we get closer to New Orleans we get glimpses of Bayous, Lake Pontchartrain more Freeways, and damaged and abandoned houses on the outskirts of the city.

Train announcement –“ We have just crossed into Louisiana and will be stopping briefly at Hammond. We also wish to advise that flood warnings are in effect in New Orleans” .  The panic sets in.

Til next time!

Liz and Tony