take the last train to Clarksville and i'll meet you at the station.

Bryce and i left at 7:50 a.m. Monday morning to travel to Lafayette, Indiana (my hometown) via Amtrak. we were first supposed to be traveling on Train 8, the Empire Builder from Minneapolis to Chicago, where, at Chicago's Union Station, we would have a 2-hour layover, then switch to the Hoosier train which runs from Chicago to Indianapolis and makes a stop in Lafayette.

the problems started when, Saturday night, i received calls from Amtrak. first they said that due to the (undeniably) bad weather the train was canceled and we would be bussed from Minneapolis to Chicago, which made me groan since we were supposed to have a sleeper car. then they called back and said just kidding! there would be a train but it would be coach only. well, at least it wasn't a bus.

so that train boarded on time, but the crew we were switching to in Winona had a "rest issue" which meant we had to wait an hour before we left the station. then, because it was around -15 out, they had switch problems and we sat at a switchyard for fifteen or twenty minutes. at that point i called my mom because i was starting to get worried - we'd eaten up almost an hour and a half of our two hour layover. but not to worry, she said - she called them a minute ago and Amtrak said the train was only half an hour late! we'd make up time on the way!

not so. later into the train ride, the conductor came on the announcements to tell us we probably wouldn't be in to Chicago until 6 or so - and we were supposed to get there at 4 and leave at 5:45 so i went into panic mode. between my mother and i, we reached the conclusion that the Hoosier train at Union Station would be held until the Empire Builder arrived, because several passengers from our train were supposed to get on it. Bryce and i rushed out of the Empire Builder train, with our 3 hugenormous heavy suitcases, walked as fast as we could into Union Station, located the gate where our train was supposed to depart from, and walked down the hallway...

...into a massive, wall-to-wall, sardines-in-a-can style crush of people. Bryce texted my mother that it was "like the apocalypse" and i am pretty sure it was at least somewhat similar to the airport scene described in 28 Days Later. Bryce and i were lucky in that we only waited about forty-five minutes before our train was called for boarding, but i found out the next day that at least some of the people stuck in the station were there for

24+ hours without food or water.

on our way back we caught the train again at the station in Lafayette, where the weather was hovering around 60 degrees (wtf? apocalypse indeed!). the train was on time, and we arrived at Union Station...on time at 10:30! which meant we had about a 4-hour layover because our train departed at 2:15 p.m. i had checked before we left the house and the train was on time. when we checked in to the lounge, the receptionist told us there would be a delay, maybe an hour, but "nothing like last week," which we were relieved to hear. we wandered around the station, bought magazines, and ate a lot, looking forward to our train ride where we would have our own private room and beds and be able to sleep.

when we came back, the receptionist informed us the train was delayed more, and we were looking at a departure of 4p.m. okay, frustrating, but still, not that bad. and then, the delay just kept getting longer and longer, until our departure was set for 7:30 - 5 hours and 15 minutes AFTER we were supposed to leave originally. the station manager had us all come up with our tickets and IDs and gave us $10 per ticket for food; they said dinner would probably not be served on the train. they did not make an announcement, but when i asked, he said the train was broken and was being fixed in the yard.

so, about 9 hours after we had arrived at Union Station, at 7:30, we got on our train, finally. we discovered that dinner WOULD be served and would be complimentary for sleeper car passengers, which was nice, but mildly annoying since we'd used $11 of our $20 to buy dinner since the people at the station told us it probably wouldn't be served. the train crew was very apologetic (and scattered), but at that point we were just happy to be on the train. we got back to Minneapolis at 4:30a.m., and the station was full of passengers probably waiting for our train.

and that was where our adventure ended, and despite how frustrating it was i am also acutely aware that it could have been much, much worse.

just so this post isn't about our woeful travel difficulties, here are a couple of goodies for any readers to enjoy:

creepy, unusual street art.