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I've Got Something to Say
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Back on 4/4 when I booked my itinerary to take Amtrak from St Louis to Milwaukee, I was scheduled to leave STL at 7:55 AM & arrive in downtown Milwaukee at 4:44 PM. I also booked this to get to Milwaukee on Friday, a day early for the tour, because there is a meeting scheduled for 3:30 PM on Sat that I didn't want to miss.
Two weeks ago I received email notification that my train would be pulling out of STL at 7 AM, almost an hour earlier - and I would need to get to the station to get my bike checked in by 6 AM (ugh).
I got up about 5 this morning and Jacque & I arrived at the Amtrak station in downtown STL right around 6. I went to the ticket counter to get a box for my bike, and the agent proceeds to tell me the train is 2 hours late, and as it stands now taking this train would get me into Chicago (a transfer point for me) about 15 minutes before my connection - raising the risk that my checked luggage wouldn't make the connection and/or I'd have to wait 2 more hours in Chicago for the next connection, all assuming the STL train doesn't get any later.
Or an alternative would be to take charter bus to Champaign, IL, catch a train there that would get me to Chicago with a couple hours to spare for my connection. Part of the trick on this option is my bike would ride under the bus as is (no box), I would carry it onto the train in Champaign along with my other luggage (no checked bags here), then get a box for the bike & check it in Chicago for the ride to Milwaukee. And, by the way, the bus is now boarding. OK, I’ll do it.
The bus was a little more than half full, and provided a pretty smooth ride into Champaign. Upon arriving at the depot, we stood around for about 20 minutes waiting for the train to arrive. The conductor (who was on the bus and continuing on the train) escorted me & my bike to the back hall where I could board the train with those needing assistance boarding (ahead of general boarding). We then had to wait another 10 minutes for a freight train to pass through before our train could pull into the station for us to board. We were then delayed in starting due to a mechanical problem, but were underway in a short amount of time. About an hour into the ride we stopped in the middle of nowhere, they originally said one reason why, then later came back & said they were fixing a brake hose that was busted by some debris on the track. We eventually made it into Chicago about an hour behind schedule, and I had about an hour to get my bike boxed & checked in.
I went to the ticket counter to inquire about getting a box. There were two lines, the longer one for people needing tickets (I had mine, so I didn’t think it applied) and the shorter line was for those just needing to check baggage (ok, I want to be I need a box first). I stood there with my bike for a few minutes before the agent behind the counter said I need to go across the way to the customer service office to get someone to take the elevator to where the boxes are at. I got to the CS desk, and the one agent was helping another passenger with a ticket issue, then a few minutes later another clerk came in & after telling I need a box she escorted me back by the baggage check desk, loaded me into the elevator & sent me down. About 20 minutes later, my bike was in a box (as easy as I was told it would be), it and my travel bag were tagged and I was sent on my way to the gate to catch the train.
We pulled out of Chicago about on time, and after making 3 scheduled stops we arrived on the downtown Milwaukee station. There is another station by the airport, which is where the hotel for the starting point of the tour is at, but that station does not deal with checked baggage, so I have to go another 8-10 miles to the downtown station & then get a cab ride to my hotel. I had to wait 5 or 10 minutes for my checked baggage – and my two items were the only checked bags out of the 200-300 passengers on the train. So, carrying my shoulder bag, while totting my travel bag on wheels, along with my computer case and dragging my bike box I head out the door to hail a cab. The cab at the head of the line happens to be an SUV (the bike box wouldn’t fit in a standard cabs trunk, and I wasn’t going to unbox the bike yet since I want the box next weekend for the return trip). He gets me to the hotel just fine, then I realize he doesn’t do credit cards, my fare is $29.75 and all I have is $25 cash on me. He says he rather have the cash, then mess with the CC (and/or its processing fees, I guess). I apologize, but he says he is OK with it. Ok, then.
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