We were watching the time closely. Missing the train would be even worse than missing a flight as we would have to wait 2 days for the next one! So we went out the front doors and stood on the sidewalk in front of the hotel door that Mike had specified to the desk clerk. And waited. And waited. We were getting really close to leave time, now. Several taxis sped by. Hmmm.....Mike went back in to check with the desk. (Now this is always the time when the taxi pulls up, and one of our party has left....) Nope. The desk clerk said she called a taxi to the parking garage door, evidently that is where everyone goes to get a taxi. ???? (This is where I want to stomp my foot and say, "But that isn't where he told you he wanted his taxi!!!") Needless to say, the taxi had left with no passengers. My heart was racing. Mike was fuming. I am proud to say that this one time in history.....THIS ONE TIME IN HISTORY....I got to be Mike's hero! Mike is the most gallant, daring, protective, brave man alive. He is always the hero. Nope. Not this time. I got the leading roll. Thanks to spending hours watching every episode of Sex and the City, I knew how to step out into the street and hail a cab! I thought I did it with great grace! Well, I am sure I didn't look as great as Carrie Bradshaw in her high heels, since I was wearing flats, but the end results were the same!
We made it to the train station in the nick of time, tipped the driver generously, and waited for a long time in a long line. Whatever. I still had my hero moment. And the look of surprise and relief on Mike's face was well worth it.
The train ride back was blah, blah, blah. We tried to avoid talking to any service personnel. The seats were hard. The train was crowded. Frustratingly for many people, the attendants didn't manage seating. As seasoned travelers, we knew that if there is a white tag sticking out over a seat, that seat is taken by a passenger. The passenger may not be in his or her seat, but that is their seat and their luggage garage. I felt sorry for all the people that would get on the train (probably first timers) didn't know where to sit and got the wrong place, which upset other passengers when they came back. Or just wanted their seat.....Then the poor person in the wrong seat didn't know where to sit, felt disoriented and confused. We helped about 15 people find new seats in the first day. They just needed to know that any seat without a tag was up for grabs. The attendant was never anywhere to be found until it was his break, in which he walked though the car to the dining car to sit in the break room. When you are riding the same train for 42 hours, you learn these things.
One great thing about this part from San Antonio was two ladies (former teachers) who gave a guided tour of fun facts pertaining to the area we were moving through. These two ladies did an excellent talk. They used a microphone and interacted with everyone, who was participating in the club car. Remember the old man, who was supposed to be doing this on the way down? He needed to be retrained.
Anyway, blah, blah, blah. Long boring trip home. We had our Subway sandwiches for lunch. We had tiny café pizzas and chips (so healthy!) for dinner. Our butts felt like they were permanently dented from the seats. Sketchy sleep that night. Breakfast in the morning was near St. Louis. We did see a pretty sunrise from the window of the train.
When we were in Illinois, which we considered almost home, Harrison started itching. Bad. I mean really bad. I feared bed bugs in the seats! I really did. I couldn't imagine what else it could be! At this point, I did realize that we forgot to give Harrison his last day of antibiotic. Today was the 10th day. I wasn't really sure if he needed it, but since we had been gone on an anniversary trip the weekend before leaving on this trip, the kids had stayed somewhere else besides home. Unfortunately, among other things, one of the kids, who was also staying there, had a fever and sore throat. I didn't know this before we left the kids there. I was discouraged to hear it from my kids afterwards. On cue, three days later, Harrison said his throat was sore. It was very red with little pus pockets, so I took him for a quick trip to the doctor, since we were planning on leaving for our big trip in just a few days. Although, I would usually try to wait out a sickness without meds, I didn't want our trip to be ruined if it was a bacterial infection. The doctor agreed with me and prescribed penicillin. So I quickly administered the last pill. (I had no idea this was the wrong thing to do!)
Fearing bed bugs, we moved our luggage and selves back to the club car to wait out the rest of the trip. We decided that it would be best to hit the emergency room when we made our way back to Rensselaer before we went home.
Finally, we made it to Chicago's Grand Central Station. We had a couple of hours before our train to Rensselaer, IN. Mike left us to find a pharmacy nearby in which to buy Harrison some itching relief medicine. Then we took turns using the restrooms. Now it was really getting crowded in the waiting room. I mean really, really crowded. So Mike left us with the luggage to get some McDonald's for all of us. At least we had chairs to sit in. Most people were standing body to body. Mike came back with our food, and we quickly wolfed it down. As I was finishing, a sweet older lady and an even older man, having trouble walking, asked me where we got our McDonalds because they were so hungry and hadn't eaten all day. They were trying to get home to Michigan after visiting their kids. My heart fell because I know where McDonalds is in the train station. It is so far away and upstairs to boot. I got frantically lost last time we were riding the train, trying to find the place. I looked at Mike, and he nodded his head. He told the lady that it was really far away, but if she gave him her order he would run and get it for them. She gave him some money and asked for coffees and sandwiches. The kids and I turned over our seats to the couple. We just sat on our luggage. Mike trekked out again, coming back 20-30 min. later with the spoils and change. The couple was SO grateful. She tried to tell Mike to keep the rest of the money, but, of course, he wouldn't. The lady and man were crying because they kept saying that they couldn't believe what a nice family we were. She said they never see nice families like that anymore! Ha ha ha. If only our own family thought that!
Finally, we were on the train back to Rensselaer. It was a short 2 hour ride. The train hardly even stopped before it sped away south. Mike's mom was there to meet us with our car. I had asked for her to bring garbage bags to put our luggage in because I was still thinking bed bugs. I know you aren't supposed to take contaminated luggage into your residence.
Next stop was the Jasper County Emergency room, where the young Doctor Louke confirmed an allergic reaction to the penicillin. So what a good move I made making sure Harrison took the last pill. (Ha! Not!) It took a week for the antibiotic to work its way all the way around his system. Different parts of his body would flare up with welts as the body reacted to the poison. I never would have guessed this could happened 10 days after starting the pills. I absolutely hated he had to endure this uncomfortable situation, but mighty relieved we didn't have to deal with bedbugs!
So is train travel for families a good idea? We thought it was so good the first time to the Grand Canyon that we did it a second time. The second time, we decided we will never do it again! Next vacation? CAMPING THE WEST! Stay tuned......
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