We were making travel plans to Canada right before the pandemic hit. Plane ticket prices had plummeted, and we snagged three round-trip tickets for about $260 each. We didn’t get to use them of course, and those tickets turned into flight vouchers that were about to expire.
Plane tickets cost much more now, and we couldn’t fly anywhere fun for our Spring Break with the vouchers unless we spent a lot more. I was wondering if it would be smarter to just stay home and let the voucher money go.
Daphne, my hero, had a better idea. We could still use the vouchers, go somewhere fun, and not break the bank.
Daphne’s plan was to leave her car at the Des Moines Airport, drive my car to Osceola, and we'd ride Amtrak’s California Zephyr to Chicago. The train trip would take seven hours and only cost us $125 in total. We could then buy passes for the CTA buses and trains to get around the city. To get home, the voucher money matched the cost of the flight from Chicago to Des Moines. That sounded great!
None of this would have occurred to me, and that’s why I let Daphne plan our trips.
You need to arrive 30 minutes before your departure time in case the train is early. Our train was running 20 minutes late, but that’s how it goes. The gals are on the left. Char's playing a game, and Daphne's checking the train's schedule.
I spent a lot of my trip in one of the observation cars. These seats are not assigned, so if you shuffle your feet, you could lose your seat.
It was fun trying to take a decent photo through the glass window as the train whipped through the countryside.
Flying can be really stressful for me. I know that turbulence is normal, but a shaking plane still scares me. When the trains shakes, however, I’m not afraid we’re going to crash into the ground like a lawn dart.
This is what it looks like when you cross the Mississippi River.
We arrived at the station just a little after our estimated seven hours. Not bad. A 20 minute bus ride got us to our hotel at 4:00, and a 7-11 across the street helped us get supplies for our room.
It was really cold on that Friday in Chicago, but we braved the frigid winds to eat at a Shake Shack.
Char ordered a vanilla shake despite the low temps.
The high on Saturday was 20, so we opted out of attending the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
It was cool to see the river dyed green. But I'll readily admit I was relieved that I didn't have to drive a car in the aftermath of the Paddy's Day Parade. There were people everywhere, and the streets were packed with honking vehicles and weaving pedestrians.
During our three full days, we went to the Museum of Science and Industry, The Navy Pier, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
The 60s 727 on display at the MSI was cool to walk around in.
The Swiss Jolly Ball machine at MSI was also really fun.
Riding the Centennial Wheel at the Navy Pier was a fun experience, and a little bit scary for me.
I was glad to step out of the enclosed gondola when the ride was over.
Daphne and I enjoyed seeing the famous paintings at the Art Institute, but Char... well, she put up with it.
I think it's a visitor requirement to visit Millennial Park and take pictures of yourself in the reflection of "The Bean" (aka "Cloud Gate").
With the help of Daphne’s navigation skills, we were able to visit a Goodwill store! I love that Charlotte is now excited to go thrift shopping, but Daphne... well, she puts up with it.
This a great way to sell excess DVDs.
Char picked out two hoodies and a Squishmallow octopus named Veronica.
But belive it or not, GoodWill was not my highlight from our vacation. My highlight was a fast-food lunch.
I've written about White Castle before on the blog, so I'll just quote myself:
"My mom was excited to get Chinese takeout when we visited my Great Aunt Elnora (we called her Grandma) in Minneapolis. Mom always ordered chicken chow mein. I thought that was grossest looking stuff ever. Dad would bring back hamburgers from White Castle to make me (and him, I suspect) happy. These were memorable for multiple reasons. 1) There are no White Castle restaurants in Iowa. 2) These burgers are kid-sized, and I felt pretty grown up because I could eat more than one. 3) At 37 cents a piece, Dad would buy as many as I wanted" (Plus, they taste good!).
I was a little worried about what Charlotte would think when she tried her first White Castle slider. She's been eating some of the plain hamburgers served at school lunch, so I had a hope she wouldn't hate White Castle. We placed an order for 10 sliders, and I mentally crossed my fingers.
After removing the pickles from her sliders, we all dug in. Pretty soon Char looked at the pile of empty slider boxes and asked, "They're gone? How could we have already eaten ten? Daphne pointed out who ate what (I ate the most), and it added up to ten.
I asked, "Wait. Are you saying you want more?" Char nodded her head, and I couldn't have been happier! I popped up and hurried to the counter. It is such a great feeling when your kid appreciates something that you do, too.
"White Castle is the best!" - Charlotte Monson
The flight home was uneventful. We were only in the air for 50 minutes. (I will be so happy when I can take indoor pictures of my family's full faces...)
I'm glad we were able to fly home and use our voucher money, but next time I think we'll just take the train to Chicago and back. It's easier, cheaper, and there's a lot less stress.
“Trains are wonderful.... To travel by train is to see nature and human beings, towns and churches, and rivers, in fact, to see life.” - Agatha Christie.
The Urbandale School District's spring break is ten days long. We spent five days traveling, and five days hanging out around home. We agreed that it felt like having two separate vacations. I'll have to try and remember that for next year.
Nah, I don't have to remember that.
Daphne will.
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