Departure

I had never ridden on a train before, so I was a little nervous about the 17-hour train ride. Once we got our luggage on the train and filed into the car, I was thrilled to feel the comfortable temperature. After riding for nearly two hours on a bus with no heat… this was a luxury. It had been a long day and we were all exhausted so I was also looking forward to sleep. I leaned my chair back and kicked the recliner out and did my best to get comfortable. I was surprised at how smooth the train ride was – only being rocky a handful of times and nothing that was too crazy. I really enjoyed being able to just ride the train and not have to worry about listening to the GPS, looking for my exit, or pulling over for one of my passengers to pee. The food was overpriced and terrible, but that was partially expected.

I’ve learned a lot from this trip thus far. I learned that riding in a bus for two hours with no heat in the middle of December in Central IL is not something I want to do again; therefore I will have a ride waiting for me in Champaign when our train pulls up. J I also learned that I should pack more real food when I travel on a train… I only packed snacks (which really consisted of just candy). I learned how convenient train traveling is. We usually drive on every trip we take, but I really think that we will probably take a train next time as all of the hard work is done for us when we ride a train. Finally, I learned how to operate the seat that’s on the train, in order to make for the best sleeping experience.