The Chicago Day Trip Challenge

[thully]

Lately, I've been going on lots of trips to Chicago. However, this one is a bit different. Instead of spending a weekend, I am going just for a day - departing ARB on #351 this morning, and returning to ARB on #354 tonight at 6pm. The purpose of the trip is to see this afternoon's Cubs-Tigers game - while I originally hesitated taking a workday off to do it, I eventually relented and decided it was worth it.

However, this being a day trip is all contingent on me getting back to Union Station on time to catch #354 back (which will be tight) - if I don't make it, I'll find a place to overnight in CHI and take #350 back tomorrow. I know the transit system in Chicago and the whereabouts of everything enough that I think I can do it - though it could be challenging if the game goes much beyond 5pm. I've cut things close before on taking Amtrak to/from sporting events (went to the Sugar Bowl the same day the Sunset Limited arrived, and I've done Surfliner day trips to ANA before for Ducks games while in SAN) - but never this close.

And so I give you - The Chicago Day Trip Challenge!

The trip started from near where I live, where I boarded an AATA bus and made it to the station with plenty of time until arrival. When I got there, the place was already packed - perhaps more so than on any of my Friday night trips! it was obvious that many of the passengers waiting were doing the same this I was - many of them were wearing Tigers gear (and a few were even wearing Cubs gear). As the arrival of the train grew closer (it was running a tad late), everybody began filling the platform. Station personnel were having all the coach passengers to CHI stand in one area and all others in another area, though they did have a few of the coach CHI passengers go to another car (presumably the empty car they were filling in ARB couldn't fit everyone). As the station attendant was making announcements, they at one point interjected "Go Tigers!"

Found a spot in the coach car nearest the cafe - no luck getting the front seat this time, though my seat is fine. We quickly proceeded out of the station (about 15 min late), and it was smooth sailing to Jackson. Hit a small delay there, though it may have just been a large group of people boarding. Going a tad slow at the moment, but at least the game isn't until 1:20.

 

[trainman74]

Sounds like an excellent reason for a trip -- I've taken several same-day round-trips to San Diego to attend Padres games. So far always on Sunday, but since I'm currently unemployed, perhaps I'll see if they have any weekday day games coming up.

 

[thully]

Currently still on #351, having the last thing we need happen - delays. We did OK up until about Hammond, Indiana - however, somewhere between Hammond and Chicago, we've ended up stopped waiting to cross the tracks. The whole train is a bit bummed - most people on the train are going to the game, and it is obviously annoying to have a delay. Think a lot of people are pregaming in the cafe car - its definitely a quite lively and talkative train. Hoping I still make it for the first pitch - may cab it to save time, but then again it may not save time given game day traffic.

At least we're moving now, though - soon we should finally get to Union Station where I can store my bag and catch the L (or cab) to the park.

 

[jb64]

Sounds like a great reason to take the train. Hope you get to the game before the first pitch.

 

[thully]

I arrived at Union Station at about 12:40 - around 1 hr 20 minutes late. After getting off the train, I went over to the lockers and rented one - they were nearly full, but there was at least one left. Had a bit of trouble with the finger-reading part, though eventually I got it to accept one of my fingers.

After locking everything up, I decided a taxi would probably be a better bet to get me there on time, so I walked out to the taxi stand - and it was packed. I found it hard to find a taxi - I was alone, and the taxis were going for the groups first (of which there were plenty). After a while, someone walked up to me and asked if I needed a cab. Thinking he wanted to share a cab to Wrigley, I said yes. He waved one down, which stopped - but instead of getting in, he started asking for a tip! Having realized what he was doing, I just closed the door on him, and then the cab went on its way. To get there, it took a route which seemed a bit out-of-the-way - Lower Wacker to Lake Shore Drive to Belmont to Addison - though I don't know if this was a way to avoid game traffic or just to run up my fare. In any case, I did get to see some places I hadn't seen before. We arrived around 1:20 on the dot.

Though I was a tad late for the game, I didn't miss much of the action. I found my seat, which was much better this time (no annoying poles in my line of sight). The Tigers scored soon after I made it in, and then I was treated to an enjoyable game of baseball. Crowd seemed to be more Tigers fans than Cubs fans - which can probably be explained by the relatively short trip involved, the rarity of the two teams meeting, and the fact that it was a day game. In any case, the Tigers won, 5-3 (and the Cubs acknowledged this by raising their blue L flag). The game ultimately finished just shortly after 4 - giving me plenty of time to spare to get back to Union Station.

 

[thully]

To return, I decided to use the L - in retrospect, the taxi probably didn't save much time, and I had plenty of time to spare. After getting out of the stadium (which took forever), I opted to bypass the Addison Red Line stop and walk to the Brown Line to avoid crowds (I also had to buy a 1-ride farecard, which may be difficult to do in the crowds at Addison). I ended up walking to the Southport stop - though further than Belmont, I figured it would be less crowded than the former. As it turns out, this was a great plan, though Belmont may have worked equally well - the station was not crowded at all, and once I got on the Brown Line the cars remained sparsely populated all the way into the Loop!

Got off at Quincy/Wells, and quickly got back to Union Station with nearly an hour to spare. my bags (though not without spending several minutes trying every finger trying to figure out which one I used on the scanner), grabbed some food, and made way to the #354 line (which I could clearly identify by the large number of Tiger jerseys) where we slowly advanced toward the train. Once I got on the car designated for ARB, I managed to get one of the front-row seats. The conductor made several announcements about the train being sold out (and in fact, oversold) - and also added in a "How about them Detroit Tigers". We eventually pulled away from the station - leaving on time, though we soon had to stop momentarily at a couple of bridges (in fact the same places we were bottlenecked this morning).

All in all, I'm glad everything went relatively well - though next time I do a one-day trip to CHI, I'll probably opt for #355 and an overnight to avoid the frantic rush - and I'll probably opt for the L (as opposed to a taxi) no matter how late I am (not sitting in street traffic on the L probably makes this a wash anyway). I will say that with all of these recent trips to Chicago, I feel like I've been at Union Station so much It's practically my home station! Will likely go back again soon (though I may not bother with the trip log next time) - given my large balance of AGR points (from the credit card bonus) and the existence of at least two decent hostels in Chicago, I figure "Why not?" Granted, I do want to save enough for a cross-country trip, but I figure that I'll at least use AGR for all the higher-bucket tickets (which the last two trips have been).

 

[thully]

Just arrived in ARB - rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. Didnt lose any time after the bridge delays, and we sped down the Michigan Line as usual. Train was definitely packed with Tigers fans - its definitely interesting to see an event take over a train (I saw this happen before with Michigan football on the CONO after the Sugar Bowl).