Train Ride - Take Two

The folks woke up Monday morning refreshed and ready to tackle the train ride.  Dad had checked out the new station and it would take him into downtown Chicago.  They now had cash and exact change.  They did not know if that was necessary, but they were not taking any chances.  They arrived at the train station a half hour early.  No one was working again because it was a holiday.  Finally, the train arrived and they boarded.  The man came by to collect money.  He told them they could buy a weekend ticket that was just $7 and it was for unlimited rides.  They only needed it for two rides, but since regular tickets are $6.25 each way, it was a deal.  They settled in for the 1 hour and 15 minute ride.  Dad said he thought their stop was the last one, but Mama was still on alert at each stop in case he was wrong.  Announcements were not made at the stops, so she had to keep an eye out for the station names.

On the train - see, they have tickets!

There is seating upstairs.

They finally arrived at their destination which was the final stop.  They then had to fine the correct L train to take.  It's like a subway, only above ground.  It took them a while because Mama forgot her map and you know how men are about asking directions.  They finally found their line and off they went on the L train.  They arrived just steps from Dad's work place.

This is Dad's work place for the next month.

Chicago!

Downtown Chicago is pretty!

 

Dad wanted to eat at Dick's Last Resort. He said he has seen a few of them in other cities.  However, he was quite surprised by the restaurant.  He did know that this is a place where the waitresses are rude to their customers.  Yep, that is what they do.  Mama really wasn't in the mood for it, but they stayed.  The waitresses are very loud and they tell you up front that they will insult you and take your money.  There is a sign saying that if you sit outside, you will not get a paper hat, so DON'T EVEN ASK.  Mama didn't have a clue what the hat thing was all about, but she learned.

Mama's hat - the waitress didn't know we lived in a RV park, but the insult was how old she was implying Mama was.

Dad's hat said "I'm so old that I fart dust.  The waitress had an "old theme" going for my folks.

Okay, then, on to the food.  Mama ordered a bacon cheeseburger.  Dad ordered a BBQ pork.  It came with coleslaw on it. He thought it was okay.  Mama said her burger was good, but she was nervous with all the yelling going on. One waitress kept yelling at her customers to put their hats on.  Mama was glad she didn't have that waitress.

Bacon Cheeseburger

BBQ Pork with coleslaw

Mama said she would not eat here again.  The food was fine, but this is not her type of restaurant.  Oh and she paid the waitress in cash and she didn't even ask her if she could keep the change.  The change wasn't that much, but once she did that, Mama refused to leave her any more tip money.

Dick's Last Resort

Dad decided to see how long of a walk it was from work to the train without taking the L train.  It was a pretty good walk, but Mama said I could have easily handled it.  The train ride home was uneventful and somewhat boring.  They left the RV at 9:30 a.m. and arrived back at 4 p.m.  Mama said all they did was ride the train and eat lunch.  She was tired when they got home.

Mama says there are a lot of things that they want to do that are not in Chicago, so she may not be going back.  It's a pretty city, but it sure is a long ride to get there.  Dad is going to try driving instead of taking the train.  It's about a two hour commute when he takes the train. He has been offered free parking, so maybe driving will be better for him.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Still Not Sure About This Place Called Chicago

The Train Ride That Didn't Happen

Sunday morning, the folks set out to do a test run to Dad's work place.  The folks have been to Chicago a few times, but have never taken the train.  They set the GPS to the train station and off they went.  Maggie (Our Magellan GPS) directed them to a place that did not look like a train station.  They circled around a few times.  Finally, they found a sign that said it was the train station.  They were already too late to catch the train, so they decided to grab some lunch.  The trains only run every two hours on weekends.  They stopped at White Castle.  If you are not familiar with White Castles, they are small, thin burgers that are fried in onions.  They stink up your car.  Mama's Dad used to eat them and she remembers him saying they used to be $.05.  They are now $.89 each.  They spent $13 on 8 burgers (remember they are small), onion rings and one drink.  Mama didn't want to drink much since she was getting on a train.  They still had time, so they decided to look for another train station.  They found one that was in a much nicer neighborhood, but since no on one was working, Dad did not know if it was the right train. (They really need to get a smart phone so they can check things out without having to go home to do so.)  They headed back to the train station in the not good area and parked the car.  Mama kept saying she didn't know if the car would be okay.  Dad didn't tell her that he saw two guys with walkie talkies watching people. She noticed some guys who were just lounging around and that made her nervous, but didn't see they were being look outs.  They walked into the train station and no one was working. The sign said to buy the tickets on the train.  They asked the conductor if they took credit cards and she said they didn't.  Well, that was a total waste of a morning.  They decided to try it again on Monday since if they took the next train, they wouldn't get back home until after 7 p.m.

They came home and Mama printed her Emeals menu out.  She decided to do her grocery shopping since the trip to Chicago was a bust.  They decided to stop at the Old Joliet Prison on the way.  This prison was built in 1850 and it has been in several movies including The Blues Brothers, Derailed, Red Heat, Let's Go To Prison as well as the TV show, Prison Break. 

Old Joliet Prison

Unfortunately, you are not allowed to go into the yard or even see the yard.  You can walk around the parking lot and that is about it.  Mama was disappointed that she couldn't see more.  Some of the windows were open which was a little spooky while others were totally knocked out.  This prison closed in 2002.  Dad was amazed at the amount of work it took to build it especially when you think about it being in the 1850's.  It was built by the prisoners.  There were prisoners as young as 10 when it opened.  They did not have indoor plumbing until 1910.  The women's prison was built across the street.

Decorated Gas Pumps are in several locations in Joliet.  This one is at the prison.  It has the Blues Brothers at the top.

After visiting the prison, the folks set out to find a place to eat.  They ended up going across town to where the nice train station is located.  Mama said that neighborhood is more to her liking, so they ate there.

They ate at El Burrito Loco.  Mama was disappointed when she walked in and found that you order at the counter.  That means that chips and salsa are not served.  Mama ordered a Chimichanga with steak and sides of rice and beans.  Dad ordered a beef burrito.  He thought it would be small so he ordered an order of loaded nachos.  They definitely ordered too much food.

Loaded Nachos

Chimichanga - which is loaded with cheese on the inside and outside

Beef Burrito

Mama said the chimi wasn't loaded with flavor, but it was good.  Dad couldn't believe the size of his burrito.  It took two hands to handle it.  He added hot sauce to his.  They both liked the food and may go back if time allows.  The prices were reasonable.  They ended up bringing home the nachos and half of Mama's meal.


Will the folks actually take a train into the city? Stop by tomorrow and find out.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Trying To Create A Cliff Hanger For His Readers (BOL)

We Are In The Chicago Area!

We arrived at our campground in the Chicago area Saturday afternoon.  Dad was able to get Goldie out of the wooded campsite without any problems.  Our neighbor said she was impressed.  We only hit rain for about ten minutes, so we were very happy.  The drive was an easy one.  We were on toll roads the whole way.  The total was $58.   That's crazy, don't you think?   We left around 7:30 a.m. and arrived about 2 p.m. with two stops.  We gained an hour during that time because we left the Eastern Time Zone.  We are happy to be back in Central Time.

In line to pay another toll.

 We passed through Elkhart, IN.  Dad was drooling because they build a lot of RVs there.  He has always wanted to take a tour.  Then, we passed by the RV Hall of Fame.  Mama didn't know there was such a place.  Dad said he didn't know it was so close to the highway.  Dad has a rule that we only stop at rest areas and gas stations on our travel days because it's just too hard to stop with a motor home. I think he would have stopped if he had known it was so easy to reach.

We had a heck of a time finding a campground here.  There is nothing that is close to downtown Chicago.  That is normal for campgrounds and big cities.  We read a lot of reviews.  We wanted to find something that was close to a train station so Dad could take the train to work. Unfortunately, it is still a 25 minute drive to the train station.

The campground itself is very nice.  It's a members only campground.  You have to belong to a club to stay here.  Many of the people have paid dues to stay here.  We thought the place would clear out yesterday, but it looks as if most of the campers stay put and the people just leave.  The place is basically full.  Most of the people have golf carts that they drive around.  We feel like outsiders because we don't have one.  There is a 24 acre lake that is really pretty.

The lake.

Scout on one of the docks.

Paddle boats in the distance.  Mama says she knows I would jump off as soon as I got on one.

There is a 2 acre beach that would be so cool for us, but no dogs are allowed.  It is a fenced area and it looks like a race track with water in the middle.  We would love to play there, but you know we would get kicked out of the campground if we were caught.

Mama is happy because the laundry room is an easy walk.  We are at a 50 amp site, so we can run both air conditioners.  We couldn't do that in OH because we were in a 30 amp site.  We were in the shade and it was cooler there, so it wasn't a big deal.  It's hot here, so it's really nice to be able to run both air conditioners.  Mama is really happy that the electricity is included in our rate.  We can run the AC as much as we want and not worry about a huge bill.


Our experience so far, is that people are not as nice here as in Ohio.  No one seems to want to pet us.  What is up with that? 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Loves Exploring New Campgrounds