The trip west...

Though I was planning to be in Chicago for a meeting, I scheduled my arrival for the day beforehand, to avoid a problem I had last time, namely: the train arrived well after the meeting concluded.  That meant I had some time on my hands for exploring  the area - in androgynous mode, as other attendees were “on the loose” in the area near the hotel.

After getting settled into my (expensive) downtown Chicago hotel room, I realized that I wasn’t far from the eastern end of “The Mother Road,”  US Route 66.  A few minutes later, I found the spot, and got this “beginning” picture.  Remaining elusive was the “ending” sign – it’s allegedly a few blocks away – I just haven’t located it yet.   Will try on another trip.

Shortly after getting the “beginning picture”, I glanced skyward, and was amazed at what I saw…a low-hanging cloud deck obscuring the tops of skyscrapers.  It’s a phenomenon I haven’t seen in a long time, and it definitely was a Kodak moment…

Anyone remember “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” series from the ‘70’s?   His "office" was in the Old Colony Building.  I found that building, which is now undergoing serious renovations.  And yes, the elevated train runs right next to his office, just like on TV!

The rest of my time in Chicago was centered around preparation for the meeting I was there to attend…and also for my day-after departure from Chicago. Nothing very interesting...

However, instead of traveling east and returning home as originally scheduled, everything came together for an opportunity to ride to the west coast in a very old (1948) sleeper/dome/round end observation, on the back of a regularly-scheduled Amtrak train.  How could I do anything other than say yes to that?  

WEEELLLLL - Easy answer:  Let’s go!   So away I went, for my “magic carpet ride.”  Very nice digs, big quantities of wonderful food, vestibule-riding available at will, good friends and a glass vista-dome for viewing the scenery.  (Rode through thunderstorms, complete with hail, lightning and torrential rain, in daylight and darkness. What an experience in a dome, and what a ride!  When do I leave to do it again?????) 

Yes, they're real flowers...

Needless to say, for the approximately 2 overnights and nearly 2 days of the train ride, no skirts or other fem-wear.  I was just my usual androgynous self, which the folks riding with me had seen previously.  So, no harm, no foul.   I was under orders from my wife to “not” show up around people we know in a dress (translation: nightgown.)  There was no need to, as the railcar had individual rooms with toilets and showers, so it wasn’t an issue.  But there were any number of reasons it could have been necessary overnight, which I pointed out to her, and I wouldn’t have any way to avoid it (such as derailments, plumbing leaks, broken windows in the night, etc.).  She knew those chances existed, but hoped they wouldn’t occur.   And she won that bet  -  nobody got to see me in a feminine nightgown.

I had been confident enough that the chips might fall my way, that I had previously made appropriate  reservations to check out a stateroom at the Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach…just in case I never get back to southern California.  (You might remember that I had to cancel that destination in last January’s trip.)   It certainly didn’t take long for me to get the repeat opportunity! Moral of story:  Never give up!  (Keep that in mind, Jen!)

Sunset from the dome:

Western sunsets are particularly breathtaking...

And a picture of yours truly, as I got off the train in Los Angeles:

More later, when I have a chance to write...

Mandy