Chicago Trek

I did the Chicago trek via the Amtrak Southwest Chief, boarding at Los Angeles Union Station ( LAX) and arriving at Union Station, Chicago, IL. The journey took two nights. All in all we were only about one hour late so it was a great trek. Returning the Los Angeles, I opted for the 4.5 hour flight. Here are some images to document my experience.

for the past two years I have traveled on Amtrak approximately 8 times. Three have been overnight or crossing other states. Amtrak’s standard seat is “coach” and the seat is equivalent to a first-class seat via airline. For overnight travel you have the option in addition to coach to invest in a roomette or sleeper-they are designed for up to two people. The benefits are huge but the cost can be high or in some minds “worth it” at time of purchase. I take a different plan using basic math and/or the supply/demand paradigm. If you do not opt to get a roomette/sleeper at time of ticket, you are afforded an “upbid” process. Using a roomette as an example, at time of ticket purchase the price would be approximately $750. In my case the minimum upbid offered was $310. (another fact is you do not have to bid right away) I bid $350 and lo and behold my bid was accepted. One critical downfall is you do not receive notification until about 24 hours prior to travel. For most this is unacceptable but in my case, it makes sense as the risk are worth it. Again, worse case if your bid is not accepted…..you remain in coach. One last benefit, you have access to Amtrak’s Metropolitan Lounge (Los Angeles and Chicago both have a lounge) where you can relax and enjoy refreshments as well as carted to your train.

I stayed at the Moxy Hotel (Marriott) downtown. This was my first time at the Chicago location but this was my fourth Moxy in the past five years. For transportation…….I did some walking and a combination of the CTA rail (Red line, Green line and Blue line) and UBER

Foodie Excursion

No trek is complete without a foodie excursion. Admittedly, this was a short trip and since the hotel had a nice restaurant with a full bar I opted to just relax instead of my usual, hitting the streets.