our next and final stop: Union Station Chicago

I thought I'd never hear those words, but here I am, finally in Chicago.

I was ready to go at 5 am in Lawrence, got to the train station, and waited. The train seemed late, but it wasn't until another passenger called for an update that we found out the train was more than 4 hours behind schedule. I piled my bags back into the car and got an extra hour or so of sleep at home, sent in a job application, and remembered to pack my umbrella before heading out again.

The second time around, the train came flying down the tracks at 10:32 am and I thought it wouldn't be able to stop in time. It did, but not long enough for me to even sit down before it was moving again. In the seat across the aisle was a young mother and her 5-year-old son, who had unfortunately waited at their stop in western Kansas from 2 am until they actually departed at 7 am.

Mississippi River at Fort Madison, Iowa

When we got to Kansas City, this woman and her son went off the train for some fresh air. They weren't back by the time we got moving again, but I figured they were in the observation car or cafe. About a minute later, the train stopped and we heard an announcement that we would be waiting a few moments longer. After that few minutes, the woman and her son appeared in their seats, flustered. Apparently the little boy had gotten sick during their fresh air break, so she had taken him into Union Station to clean him up. She told a train worker, who said she would hold the train. Clearly that did not happen. They ended up taking a ride in a tiny railway cart on the adjacent track to catch up to our stopped train. 

After that, we luckily did not have any other major delays and we each got handed "emergency" snacks, which were quite good, but still ended up getting into Chicago at nearly 8 this evening. I found the hostel after walking farther than I needed (right through "Greek town"-- shouldn't I have realized that's where the "Parthenon Hostel" might be??), and enjoyed some gyros for dinner. Museum-ing tomorrow.