Year 5, Day 252 “Living the Dream”. Wednesday, 1/07/2026, Day 2 of 22 day California Zephr cross country trip, followed by a California coastal drive, and then a 14 night Mexico Cruise. Stayed in the Four Points by Sheraton at Chicago OHare International Airport last night. We took the hotel airport shuttle to the hotel. OMG – don’t take that shuttle if you can’t jump. They did not put a step out to get into the van. The lobby in the hotel is so pretty decorated for Christmas. And to my excitement they had four huge nutcracker men welcoming you. You will want to take them home. The check in last night was very easy. We slept well even though the hotel is right on the highway. This is an older fairly nice hotel. It is clean and the employees are very nice. Only complaint is the shower did not have shampoo or body wash. For a one night pre flight or post flight hotel stay this hotel is okay. We are up early and down for breakfast at the Mirage Restaurant by 7am. We ate breakfast in the bar area. The restaurant provided excellent service and excellent food. Although the cost was $50.00 for two for breakfast.

The restaurant had a lot of airline employees eating. I spoke to one of the pilots. He stated that it is less expensive for them to stay here. It’s cheaper than staying at the Hilton connected to the airport. We have stayed at both hotels and they both are older and charge for breakfast in their restaurants. The advantage to the Hilton is it is connected to the airport. You never go outside. To pick up the hotel shuttle last night we walked from Terminal 3 to terminal 2. Yup, my suitcase got caught in one of the sidewalk cracks and I ended up laying on the sidewalk. No one has ever called me graceful. As a teenager, I was called Gazelda and at Selective I fell over a pinecone just walking. The hilarious part is after falling, and then jumping into the shuttle van. The driver stops at Terminal 3 and says hmm no one getting on from American Airlines. That was supposed to be us. Here’s a link to a video tour of the hotel and our room number 537.

We left our room at 10 am and checked out. We called for an uber to take us to Union Station. We needed to pick up the Amtrak California Zephyr there. The uber cost $58.88.

There was light traffic and we were there within 45 minutes. Once at Union Station we wondered around the station for awhile. This station is huge and beautiful. This station was built in the 1920’s by four railways (Pennsylvania Railroad; Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad; Michigan Central Railroad; and the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway) It cost $75 million to build and 10 years of construction. $75 million dollars today is worth about $1.4 billion. The doors opened in May 1925.  Walking into the Great Hall is so overwhelming breathtaking. The hall has a 219-foot-long barrel-vaulted skylight that is 115 feet above you. There is just so much to look at. It amazes me that people are just rushing through here. About 3 million Amtrak passengers use the station annually. An estimated 130,000 Metra commuters pass through the station each day. I just want to stop and take in the beauty and craftmanship. Love the long oak wooden benches

We checked into the Metropolitan Lounge at noon. We are allowed free access to this lounge since we are first class in a room on the train. The Metropolitan Lounge provides snacks, drinks, work stations, and comfortable seating while you wait for the train. You are allowed access to the lounge three hours before your train departure. Unless you are connecting with another train at this station. Here’s a link to another time we were here if interested in more Amtrak station and traveling. There’s also a video here of the Chicago Union Station Metropolitan Lounge. https://deestimes.com/2024/09/20/living-the-dream-year-4-day-134-clifty-hill-2-day-1-of-25-day-alaska-to-las-vegas-lexington-to-chicago-day-1-amtrak-empire-builder-metropolitan-lounge-video-empire-builder-roomette-video/

Connecting train passengers have no time limit before entering the lounge. We will be traveling 52 hours from Chicago to San Francisco on the California Zephyr. The train will be traveling through the plains of Nebraska to Denver. It will cross the Rockies to reach Salt Lake City. Then, it will continue through Reno and Sacramento into Emeryville/San Francisco. Before boarding we signed up for 5pm dining time. Dinner is available between 5:00 – 9:00 pm. White tablecloth dining service is included with bedroom car passenger fares. Gratuities are not included. For lunch we grabbed some Jersey Mike’s which is located within the station. We brought it back to the lounge to eat.

We boarded the train at 1:33pm and promptly at 2pm we were moving. We started under ground in Chicago and emerged into the bright sun. I felt like a mole coming out in the sun.

At 3:20pm we are chugging through the flat farm lands of Meriden, Illinois. There are lots of windmills for miles and miles in the background.

At 3:47pm we make our third stop at Princeton, IL.

The stops so far have been short drop offs and pickups. At 4pm, we are passing through Buda, Illinois. The land has started to get a little bit rolling and not as flat. It is 49 degrees Fahrenheit with no snow. Seems strange to us. Our conductor just blows and blows the horn. It should be an interesting night. At 4:50pm we got off at Galesburg, Illinois for a fresh air break. Funny, but we were breathing anything but fresh air standing outside. There was a train blowing out diesel fuel fumes. Was able to get a picture with our car attendant standing outside.

Here’s a picture of our private separate room shower and bathroom. The sink is in your room near the door. Previous Amtrak trips we had a roomette where we shared bathrooms and showers with the rest of the car. Amtrak train travel is not luxury at all. Do it for the adventure and to see countryside that you cannot see from a car or an airplane.

We sat in our room and stared out the window at the passing scenery and towns until 5pm dinner time. At least I did. Steve became a little bored.

When you enter the dining car you are sat with other passengers. We met some interesting people from Ohio. Dining with others is one of my favorite things about train travel. The food and complimentary wine with dinner was excellent. They do give you a lot of food.

We headed back to our room and settled in for the night. The train is really cruising through Iowa tonight. Actually we had a hard time walking back to our room. We are three cars away from the dining room. It is pitch black outside and the horn is blowing constantly.

Here’s a little something to ponder.

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4bAtYWS 40×60 Monocular Telescope with Smartphone Adapter: A must for traveling. Don’t miss that far away detail. Great for viewing wildlife. 

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Year 5, Day 251 “Living the Dream”. Tuesday, 1/06/2026, Day 1 of 22 day California Zephr cross country trip, followed by a California coastal drive, and then a 14 night Mexico Cruise. Today is the start of a new 22 day adventure. We will be traveling by car, plane, train, and cruise ship. This adventure will take us across the United States. We will travel in a bedroom on the California Zephyr. Our Amtrak journey starts from Chicago, Illinois and heads to Emeryville, California. Then we will travel by rental car from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Following our coastal drive we will do a 14 day cruise ship to Mexico from Los Angeles. The first leg of our journey is today. We are flying from Lexington, KY to Chicago, Illinois.

It has been very hectic with the holidays. Working around the house preparing to build Clifty Hill 3 did not provide time for preparing for this trip. I didn’t pack until this morning. We left the house at 2pm. Justin dropped us off at the Blue Grass airport around 3:45pm. We flew in an Erj170 which is a small plane. American Airlines upgraded us to first class for the 56 minute flight. The First class section has 3 seats across. Two on the right and one on the left. This is our first experience with first class. We were offered alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages and snacks. The rest of the plane was not due to the length of the flight. It was called a quick turn around flight. The plane arrived at 4:59PM from Chicago to pick us up. It quickly emptied and we boarded. The lights were dimmed for safety. We then sat at the gate and waited for 22 minutes. This was due to Chicago – O’Hara having a float time.

Wheels are up and we are in the air at 5:59pm. It is basically dark now. With the one hour time difference we will arrive in Chicago at 6:15pm. I feel like I am in a tin can blowing around in the wind on the plane. It is a LITTLE bit bumpy tonight and really dark outside. Peering out the airplane window, I see the flashing wing light to the rear of the plane. Many American Airline employees are seated around. I have never seen that before.

We actually landed at 5:58pm Chicago time in a bank of clouds. Picked up our luggage and headed to pick up the hotel shuttle.

We are staying at “Four Points by Sheraton Chicago O’Hare Airport. We had some Marriott points and this hotel was cheap for the night.

Tomorrow we are off on the California Zephyr.

Here’s a little something to ponder.

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4qk0z6X Valentine’s Cards with Animal Astronauts Finger Lights: How cool are these for Valentines day.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. #CommissionsEarned

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