Chicago Trip 2012 - Day 7

Well, I never said I was Speedy Gonzbloges.  Here, finally, is the account of the end of our Chicago Trip from April.

I actually have no notes from this day, because I felt like crap.  I slept in the top berth the night before, which wasn't a problem in itself.  The problem was that I was already sick with flu-like symptoms, and the train ride during the night was very fast and very rough.  I'm sure it was just heightened by the darkness, but I would wake up in the middle of the night and it would feel like the train was running full-throttle out of control.  On top of that, we were on the upper level - I was in the upper bunk and there's a lot a movement near the top of a train.  My head was congested and I felt slightly nauseous, but what was more disturbing was the sensation every time we roared across a rough patch (which was about every 2-3 minutes) that the train was going to tip over or run off the rails.  That combined with the fact that I had to get up 3 or 4 times to go to the bathroom made for a restless night.

Leaving the cabin in the middle of the night involved worming around on the bunk to put clothes on lying down, unhooking the harness that keeps you from falling out, slithering down sideways and backwards between the edge of the bunk and the cabin door feeling blindly for a foothold, then trying to put on your shoes in a gap about a foot wide.  You do this all in the dark while the train is rocking and bouncing and jerking while trying not to wake your cabin mate in the lower bunk which is pretty much impossible - if you haven't already stepped on him on the way down or if the train didn't lurch and throw you onto the lower bunk while you were doing your shoe dance routine, then the loud ripping of the velcro when you pull the curtains apart to get to the door or the noise of the train when you slide open the door to stumble down the hall will do the trick.  I will say that the cabins do a good job of muffling a lot of noise.

Anyway, morning finally came and we got up at some point and headed to the observation car while we waited for a booth for breakfast.  We had something or other for breakfast, then went back to the room where I continued my decline.  Here are the only photos I took that day:

I almost look functional - I felt much worse than I looked

Morning came too early for Todd

Riding the rails to home

We arrived at Dallas Union Station at 11:30am, then had a short hike back to the car.  The pressure in my head amplified the post-train still-on-the-train feeling, and it was hot.  I felt like a sea-sick dehydrated zombie.  We made it home, where I barfed and then crashed.  It took the better part of a week before I would feel close to normal again.

So, that's the end of my tale.  A horrible end to an otherwise great trip.  I highly recommend Chicago to anyone looking for a city getaway, and despite my moaning I also recommend that everyone take a train journey at least once in their life - it really was a fun adventure, if not something that I would repeat again soon.