Well, this will wrap up a long, long trip report. I need a better system for trying to upload pictures, or basically, a new home computer. Regretful about the various sizing issues with these photos, really not sure why not consistent between phone and desktop. At any rate, we pulled into Chicago right on time, as I recall. The train winds around the city and then reverses direction, it is much easier to see what's going on in daylight as opposed to the nighttime departure out of Chicago. I had the butter cake for breakfast with the coffee, which probably wasn't a great choice. It was a wonderful trip but I made my way to the lounge feeling very lightheaded. I had some time before the Wolverine departure at 2:15, so I found a chair in which to relax and sip water, which helped. Note that after the recent policy changes, your BC ticket on the Michigan trains does not give you access to the lounge; but if you are departing or even arriving on a sleeper ticket you do have, and I was so grateful to be able to just stay seated until the dizziness started to go away. Eventually, I stowed by suitcase in the bag room and went to go look for breakfast. I wasn't feeling 100% so didn't want to go on a long walk. Not a big breakfast eater but some protein seemed to be called for, so I got the egg, cheese and pepper stromboli from the Sbarro in the station food court, and ate it while hanging out in the Great Hall, which was rather quiet. This did make me feel better, and with the bag already in storage, decided to head outside. The sun was emerging from the clouds and it was even warmer than a few days prior. A favorite walk from the Amtrak station, is to wander down to the Ogilvie center and French market, and there was more than enough time for that. I returned to the station with plenty of time and stopped at Nuts on Clark for a bag of popcorn. The lounge had Kind bars again (and other stuff) so I took one to have with an apple that was still in my suitcase, before they called us for boarding. The agents called for boarding right on time, and I grabbed another Kind bar to have on the train, along with a bottle of water. There was a young man in line in front of me and he expertly weaved his way through all the construction to the track, and I wouldn't have been so confident, so it was a blessing to have him to follow.
The trip back was quiet and uneventful, a time to reflect on the adventure, update my family, but mostly savor the last hours of living in the train moment. Thanks for reading, and thanks to all who have shared your own trip reports, photos and videos. It's a fun diversion, but also so, so helpful.
