Train Food and Music

The train has two food options, a dining car that was open limited hours near meal times, (11-2, and 4-7) and a snack car that had more hours but less delightful choices. When we went to Washington DC, the food at dinner was outstanding. This time it was really only mediocre, and I thought the prices had gone up, but the service was only adequate. We're not sure if we'll eat in the dining car again, unless we have to.

We brought along a cooler for our journey, planning to eat lunch on the train. Because of the delay and the late breakfast, we merely snacked our way to Chicago instead. Our cooler had snack size pineapple cups, cheese and crackers, jelly beans, a can of mixed nuts, granola bars, and a variety of soda, water, and juice. It was a nice mix, some salty, some sweet, some crunch some chewy items. It was a time and money saver. Again, the train is friendly and allows you to bring on any of these items with no comment.

With the exception of the rhythm of the rails, the train is very quiet; many of the travelers worked on laptops, and used iPods or other mp3 players. There was only a mildly fussy 2 year old, that soon fell asleep to the gentle beat of the wheels on steel. Teens, parents and I all napped too. Musically, my kids sometimes share one ear bud of their mp3 each. I think this looks so funny with the cord draped between them. They each have distinctive playlists, so they went through one and then the other's. I read a whole book without getting motion sickness, a first for me. Traveling by car I cannot read.

Our train from Minnesota to Chicago is called the Empire Builder. The connection we had hoped to catch was the Wolverine. Being 3 hours late, we didn't make it. But I did meet some lovely people, whom I will introduce tomorrow!

(The water was high everywhere we passed. When we were waiting to board the train, I noticed the top of the vending machine. Healthy! hmmmmm, and the music below is fun, but the guy plays none of these instruments, and doesn't appear to have a clue where to start-sorry about that. But I loved the footage of the trains coming into Chicago!)