So we have been duly vaccinated, not gone anywhere for a year and a half, and rescheduled this New York trip several times as the pandemic unfolded. Thanks to Amtrak for making these multiple reschedules possible with no penalty. The more time went by with no traveling, the more our travel budget held up, so we added a day in NY, and an overnight in Chicago. I will concentrate on the rail portions of this trip, not as much on the time spent in the cities themselves.
Sat. May 15th. A beautiful spring morning. I've boarded out of Ann Arbor and Detroit in the past, DET station has character and you're among the first major station to populate the Wolverine, on the other hand, Ann Arbor has a more decent boarding time. The train was running on time and we arrived at the Ann Arbor station to find a somewhat sizeable crowd, nothing like the loads prior to Covid, but surprisingly busy. Trains were still capacity limited to 50%, so while my daughter and I got seats together, my son had an empty seat next to him, something that was a rarity on the Wolverine before. There's a new elevated boarding ramp at Ann Arbor and for the most part, they try to load and unload from the ramp. Coach passengers line up on the ramp and an Amtrak employee tells you whether to turn left or right as you board. I'm not too proud to tell you that after all this time not being able to do anything but shop for groceries, cook, clean, and work from home, when the Wolverine pulled into the station I was a little teary eyed. It was like seeing an old friend. So we are on board, the train starts moving, and the conductor scans our tickets. Mask compliance is being strictly enforced, via some clearly worded yet humorous announcements. We are basically planning to nap or look out the window until we get to Chicago, so no need to remove our masks. Overheard conductor advising a passenger that Amtrak was scaling back up to full capacity and that this was the last week of 50% bookings. Conductor also mentioned that this was the busiest train he had seen in a long time. So other newly vaccinated people were starting to flex their wings and travel too. Once people get the vaccine, they are raring to go. We enjoyed the peaceful and beautiful ride. The scenery from western Michigan gives way to more industrial views and eventually the skyline of Chicago. We are back!
Sat. May 15th. A beautiful spring morning. I've boarded out of Ann Arbor and Detroit in the past, DET station has character and you're among the first major station to populate the Wolverine, on the other hand, Ann Arbor has a more decent boarding time. The train was running on time and we arrived at the Ann Arbor station to find a somewhat sizeable crowd, nothing like the loads prior to Covid, but surprisingly busy. Trains were still capacity limited to 50%, so while my daughter and I got seats together, my son had an empty seat next to him, something that was a rarity on the Wolverine before. There's a new elevated boarding ramp at Ann Arbor and for the most part, they try to load and unload from the ramp. Coach passengers line up on the ramp and an Amtrak employee tells you whether to turn left or right as you board. I'm not too proud to tell you that after all this time not being able to do anything but shop for groceries, cook, clean, and work from home, when the Wolverine pulled into the station I was a little teary eyed. It was like seeing an old friend. So we are on board, the train starts moving, and the conductor scans our tickets. Mask compliance is being strictly enforced, via some clearly worded yet humorous announcements. We are basically planning to nap or look out the window until we get to Chicago, so no need to remove our masks. Overheard conductor advising a passenger that Amtrak was scaling back up to full capacity and that this was the last week of 50% bookings. Conductor also mentioned that this was the busiest train he had seen in a long time. So other newly vaccinated people were starting to flex their wings and travel too. Once people get the vaccine, they are raring to go. We enjoyed the peaceful and beautiful ride. The scenery from western Michigan gives way to more industrial views and eventually the skyline of Chicago. We are back!