Trip to Chicago, pt II [Dec 2007]

This is a continuation of a very old post from December 2007.  I took a bus to Chicago to see an exhibit at the Field Museum.  I wrote several entries describing my days, but I never got around to typing them all up.  A while ago I found the papers again and have had a hankering to finally get them typed up and posted.  I hope they're enjoyable even if a bit old.

Sadly I do not have any pictures of the trip that I can post right now.  They're all on a hard-drive that I can't access.  I need to send it off to a repair place to see if any files can be recovered or if they're all irreparably lost.  These days I back up my pictures on two different drives.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Indiana
Megabus, 09:40 

I just looked up and noticed that we were passing the Higher Ground conference center.  This was where AiG had a Family Camp this past summer.  I've not seen any mention of another one next summer, :(.  That will be too bad since I enjoyed going to hear the the speakers.  There is a conference at Branson with some other speakers, but nothing else I know of.
Now back to Evanescence and the Codex Alera.  There is more snow on the ground and it is beautiful.     09:45

Indianapolis
Megabus, 10:58 

We just reached the stop in Indy.  This must be part of the way they keep fares so cheap, no bus stations.  Their pickup spots (save in Chicago?) are just at municipal bus stops.  A guy just rode past on a bike wearing shorts--I'm not that crazy.  I think I'd have been fine with just one shirt (I have a long and a short sleeve T-shirt on) but my feet have been cold most of the trip.  At least I haven't had to share the seat next to me yet.  I don't mind if I have to, but as I know nobody here I prefer to enjoy the empty space to store my coat and my book when I'm not reading. 

I can be dense at times.  I didn't bring water because I left my water bottle at work again--that isn't a problem.  But while I brought lunch I forgot a napkin.  I also discovered that I can take pictures in different color modes such as black & white and sepia.  I really need to poke around the menus more.  I love the camera, but there is much I still do not know. I could upgrade to an SLR sometime in the far future, but I think that I must keep a camera with the panorama feature*!     11:18

*This is the feature I miss the most from my old Kodak camera--it could stitch together a panoramic image inside the camera.

Indiana
Megabus, 12:57 

We stopped at a truck stop a few miles back.  I should have stopped by a 5/3 ATM before I left Cincinnati, but I didn't take the time.  Therefore I had to pay a fee, but I used the $20 to buy a Dew & oreos, not so much for their nutritional value, but so I'd also have change I still need to buy a train ticket once I reach Chicago.  I wonder how busy the museum is today.   13:00

Indiana
Megabus, 13:40 CST 

We just passed a toll booth, another reason (besides gas) that I'm glad I didn't drive this trip.  It has certainly been enjoyable to spend the trip reading and listening to music.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy driving but my trips to Nashville have all been solitary and somewhat tiring*.  Even if I didn't talk to those around me (though one woman asked me what I was writing several hours ago--in Indy I think it was) they are there and thereby a comfort.  I can even easily deal with cold feet as they do not need to stay constantly near a gas and brake pedal.
Mom called me around 13:00 CST and I thought we were late as my watch read 14:00.  We may not yet arrive just by two, but the first train I can take leaves at 14:30 or :40 so I won't really complain. 

Right now I can see a control tower on the other side of a river.  A song from Muppet Treasure Island is playing on my eclectic playlist on my PDA and I'm a bit over halfway through "Captain's Fury."  I can hardly wait for the next Dresden Files book to be published next April.     13:48

*Little did I know I'd end up making plenty of long drives to Virginia several years later.

Illinois
3:40 West Line to Elburn; Train #39, 15:32 CST 

I'll be getting off at the West Chicago station, and I hope I know what I'm doing.  When I tried to catch the 2:40 train I entered the wrong station and walked back to Union Station underground.  When I got back on the street a guy came up to me and handed me a paper copy of the Onion, a satirical news outlet.  Then he asked me where I was going.  I answered questions truthfully but vaguely, trying to be polite.  Had I known then what I do now I would have simply politely recused myself.  He showed me to the proper station, explaining something about a large mission with several hundred people.  I felt guilty (as if that would have surprised him) and gave him a few bucks--he didn't want anything less than a twenty.  I declined and he wasn't happy--but I didn't ask for help and didn't want to give that much money for an unsolicited "service." 

Well the train is pulling out now and I'm somewhat regretting sitting on the upper level.  It isn't as spacious as the Metrolink in Southern California, rather narrow up here actually.  I was alone up here at first, but now nearly all the seats are taken.  I hope most are empty when I need to leave (at the third from last stop) because my duffel is large and there isn't really enough room for me to pass right now.  This also means it is too late to change my seat, I can only hope it will work out.'' 

In the meantime I've had to staff a new event at the Museum Center tomorrow night.  Why does this happen when I leave town?  Thankfully I already have staff at an event in the History Museum so I can cope if the two others I've called can't work.   15:48

I got into my aunt's place okay that evening.  They let me borrow a car to drive to the train station each morning where I would catch a train into Chicago itself.  More about the next day later...

~Matt