I had a very close friend of mine needing to move back to the Midwest from Atlanta. What better way to do that than an Amtrak trip? Most of the stuff was already moved up already in previous trips, so we figured "why not?"
In order to start, however, I had to get to Atlanta. And while work has a reasonably generous PTO policy, it's not quite "Amtrak both ways" generous. However, I did want to see some of the country, and so I took Megabus down from Minneapolis to Atlanta.
The journey from Minneapolis to Chicago was rather uneventful. I bought two tickets, but was not good enough at keeping both seats empty in Madison in the middle of the night while sleeping, so I had a seatmate from Madison to Chicago. Overall, though, nothing to report either way on that trip.
I did have about three hours of layover time in Chicago. Thanks to Sarah's wonderful knowledge of Chicago, I had a very lovely breakfast in Chicago (and filling, which was important later.) I didn't know two eggs with bacon could be so filling.
That being said, the coffee was expensive...nearly $3! It never ran even close to dry, though, so I'll forgive them.
After breakfast, I went to relax for about an hour in Union Station. During rush hour. It was crazy watching the lines just form, flow freely, and yet look so orderly amid the chaos. People rushing to work, listening to their music, all staying in the flow of traffic so efficiently. It was quite interesting to watch. Afterwards, I decided to head out with my stuff and catch my bus to Atlanta.
The trip to Atlanta was also relatively uneventful, though the scenery wasn't bad. The route took me through Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, and a few other cities. I personally found the scenery quite interesting once we got south of Indianapolis a bit, as there's more trees, the roads wind a bit more, etc. The wi-fi on the bus, however, did not work, so I had to use my hotspot in order to connect devices. (Another person asked to use it, which I obliged since I have plenty of data to spare on that particular hotspot.)
Coming into Louisville
We did make one rest stop south of Louisville about 4ish. I had a footlong sub even though I wasn't crazy hungry. This turned out to be a wise decision, as we did not stop again until Atlanta at 1 AM. 9 hours without a stop to get out and stretch your legs and get food? Boo, Megabus. The seats were also rather uncomfortable, and my rear end was noticeably sore for about a day afterwards. I may have to look at alternate bus companies for my non-rail trips here.
However, I did get in about 1:10 AM, took an Uber to my friend's place (extremely convenient and highly recommended) and promptly went to sleep.
Next part (up...sometime) will be Atlanta to Charlottesville.
In order to start, however, I had to get to Atlanta. And while work has a reasonably generous PTO policy, it's not quite "Amtrak both ways" generous. However, I did want to see some of the country, and so I took Megabus down from Minneapolis to Atlanta.
The journey from Minneapolis to Chicago was rather uneventful. I bought two tickets, but was not good enough at keeping both seats empty in Madison in the middle of the night while sleeping, so I had a seatmate from Madison to Chicago. Overall, though, nothing to report either way on that trip.
I did have about three hours of layover time in Chicago. Thanks to Sarah's wonderful knowledge of Chicago, I had a very lovely breakfast in Chicago (and filling, which was important later.) I didn't know two eggs with bacon could be so filling.
After breakfast, I went to relax for about an hour in Union Station. During rush hour. It was crazy watching the lines just form, flow freely, and yet look so orderly amid the chaos. People rushing to work, listening to their music, all staying in the flow of traffic so efficiently. It was quite interesting to watch. Afterwards, I decided to head out with my stuff and catch my bus to Atlanta.
The trip to Atlanta was also relatively uneventful, though the scenery wasn't bad. The route took me through Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, and a few other cities. I personally found the scenery quite interesting once we got south of Indianapolis a bit, as there's more trees, the roads wind a bit more, etc. The wi-fi on the bus, however, did not work, so I had to use my hotspot in order to connect devices. (Another person asked to use it, which I obliged since I have plenty of data to spare on that particular hotspot.)
Coming into Louisville
We did make one rest stop south of Louisville about 4ish. I had a footlong sub even though I wasn't crazy hungry. This turned out to be a wise decision, as we did not stop again until Atlanta at 1 AM. 9 hours without a stop to get out and stretch your legs and get food? Boo, Megabus. The seats were also rather uncomfortable, and my rear end was noticeably sore for about a day afterwards. I may have to look at alternate bus companies for my non-rail trips here.
However, I did get in about 1:10 AM, took an Uber to my friend's place (extremely convenient and highly recommended) and promptly went to sleep.
Next part (up...sometime) will be Atlanta to Charlottesville.
