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shewhomust(Written on the train on Saturday, posted from our hotel in Sunnyvale)
We went out after breakfast to gawp some more at the buildings of central Chicago. Having explored yesterday towards, though not quite as far as, the lake, we turned the other way, and soon came to the river. I'd known that Chicago was the home of the skyscraper, and had expected to enjoy the challenge of photographing these brutally impressive buildings - their vertiginous height, the way they are grouped, echoing and reflecting each other (and yes, literally too). But that image of the ultra-modern skyscraper is so strong that I had failed to take into account that some of Chicago's skyscrapers had been ultra-modern in the nineteenth century. So as well as dazzling new builings, there are some very stylish old ones, and an abundance - sometimes, possibly, an overabundance - of decorative detail. A sign on the Roanoke Building describes it as ":desined in an unusual Portuguese Gothic Revival style..." Unusual. Right.
We'd come to Chicago just as the place to catch the train, but I enjoyed our less than a day there very much, and caught myself thinking about what I'd want to see 'next time' - an unlikely, though not impossible, event. It helped that the sun shone, and that people were friendly.
At lunchtime we hauled our belongings up to the atation, and eventually the California Zephyr turned up (we boarded 45 minutes late, time which allowed us to learn quite a lot about baseball from the television in the lounge, and which we have begun to make up). If I had known a) that we would be able to check luggage not only for the duration of the train journey but also on the coach into San Francisco and b) that even the smaller of our two large cases would not fit into our cabin, I would have organised my packing differently - but we live and learn.
Amtrak provide a route guide, with snippets of information about the towns where the train stops, as well as those where it doesn't stop. The wonderfullly entertaining thing about this is that its points of interest about each town seem selected to demonstrate that there is, in fact, nothing of real interest about this town. Thus, Princeton "was settled in the 1830s by families from New England. Its name was, according to one legend, drawn from a hat. Its former nickname, 'The City of Elms', is no longer used due to an epidemic that struck the elm trees and killed almost every single one of them. Its major employers include Ace Hardware Retail Support Center and MTM Recognition, makers of world championship rings. Actor Richard Widmark's parents owned a hardware store here during his early years." Still, you wouldn't want to pass through Galesburg without knowing that this was where, according to legend, the Marx Brothers received their nicknames during a poker game in 1914.
We've been on the move for three hours, and we're still in Illinois. But soon we'll cross the Misissippi. Time to head for the observation car.
We went out after breakfast to gawp some more at the buildings of central Chicago. Having explored yesterday towards, though not quite as far as, the lake, we turned the other way, and soon came to the river. I'd known that Chicago was the home of the skyscraper, and had expected to enjoy the challenge of photographing these brutally impressive buildings - their vertiginous height, the way they are grouped, echoing and reflecting each other (and yes, literally too). But that image of the ultra-modern skyscraper is so strong that I had failed to take into account that some of Chicago's skyscrapers had been ultra-modern in the nineteenth century. So as well as dazzling new builings, there are some very stylish old ones, and an abundance - sometimes, possibly, an overabundance - of decorative detail. A sign on the Roanoke Building describes it as ":desined in an unusual Portuguese Gothic Revival style..." Unusual. Right.
We'd come to Chicago just as the place to catch the train, but I enjoyed our less than a day there very much, and caught myself thinking about what I'd want to see 'next time' - an unlikely, though not impossible, event. It helped that the sun shone, and that people were friendly.
At lunchtime we hauled our belongings up to the atation, and eventually the California Zephyr turned up (we boarded 45 minutes late, time which allowed us to learn quite a lot about baseball from the television in the lounge, and which we have begun to make up). If I had known a) that we would be able to check luggage not only for the duration of the train journey but also on the coach into San Francisco and b) that even the smaller of our two large cases would not fit into our cabin, I would have organised my packing differently - but we live and learn.
Amtrak provide a route guide, with snippets of information about the towns where the train stops, as well as those where it doesn't stop. The wonderfullly entertaining thing about this is that its points of interest about each town seem selected to demonstrate that there is, in fact, nothing of real interest about this town. Thus, Princeton "was settled in the 1830s by families from New England. Its name was, according to one legend, drawn from a hat. Its former nickname, 'The City of Elms', is no longer used due to an epidemic that struck the elm trees and killed almost every single one of them. Its major employers include Ace Hardware Retail Support Center and MTM Recognition, makers of world championship rings. Actor Richard Widmark's parents owned a hardware store here during his early years." Still, you wouldn't want to pass through Galesburg without knowing that this was where, according to legend, the Marx Brothers received their nicknames during a poker game in 1914.
We've been on the move for three hours, and we're still in Illinois. But soon we'll cross the Misissippi. Time to head for the observation car.
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no subject
Date: 2012-04-10 05:23 pm (UTC)I'm glad my advice was helpful, though I wish I'd warned you about the lack of storage space for luggage (and the possibilites for checking luggage). Luggage issues tend not to loom large for me, given my obsession with travelling light, but I should have thought about it.
For breakfast, I always went for the omelette (more advice I might have given). Despite the cheese, it always felt and looked like the freshest thing available.
I can't quite tell from the two posts if you enjoyed the train journey or felt it was worth doing - apart from the obvious delights of Ruby Canyon and ramshackle settlements.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-11 03:19 pm (UTC)In that case, I've probably got the tone about right! Much of it was absolutely wonderful, but some of the issues of space - not to mention the steepness of the climb into the upper bunk (and I'm fine with the upper bunk on Brittany Ferries, for example) - were a bit stressful. If I were looking at doing it again, I'd even consider the ludicrous expense of a higher grade cabin.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-11 05:11 pm (UTC)The one long train trip I've done in the U.S. was on the Southwest Chief, from Los Angeles to Kansas City and they had some interesting entertainment along the way, e.g. a talk with flute demo while going through the Hopi regions of New Mexico.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-11 06:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-12 03:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-16 09:41 am (UTC)If I were looking at doing it again, I'd even consider the ludicrous expense of a higher grade cabin.
Or maybe, if it could be arranged, a separate roomette on each side of the train, so you would always have a roomette on the side for the best current view?
Thank you for the postcard, which arrived on Saturday. It's a novelty to receive a postcard while you're still very much on holiday!
Also: happy birthday for tomorrow! I look forward to hearing how you spend it.