• Trip to Italy and Spain
    Waiting at the station.
    1The old wooden benches.Photo of a photo of the old station layout.1We are finally on our way on the train.Chicago Union Station

    Planes, trains, and automobiles

    February 1 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 32 °F

    We made it to Chicago! We left Gainesville, MO, on Friday morning and drove to Kansas City. After a visit with my parents and a haircut, we drove to my brother's house to spend the night.

    Early Saturday, we caught the Southwest Chief train to Chicago. Phil's father used to work for Santa Fe Railroad before the initiation of Amtrak, so Phil has many memories of the Kansas City Union Station when it was his father, Woody's, office and place of business. There were some neat old photos of the station in it's strictly railroad days. We waited in the room for our train with the same wooden benches that were there in the glory days.

    The train trip was long but smooth. We were not crowded, and the price was right at $180 for the two of us.

    We're staying at a Marriott property tonight, and we'll use the shuttle to the airport tomorrow. I probably won't post again until we get to Rome on Monday so stay tuned.    Read more