Honeymoon Trip: Day 1

We said goodbye to all of our fabulous friends and family and the incomparable Alex and Mike drove us to the train!  We were nervous and excited.  It's scary trying to catch transportation when you're not positive how things work.  Once you've done it, you're okay.  But I was nervous about being on time.  We were there in plenty of time, though, and we got on the Hiawatha line to Chicago just fine.

It was a pleasant ride!  We got to Union Station a little early, even, if I recall.  Once there, we had to figure out where to go for our other train.  There was a huge line for the "All Amtrak Trains" area, and that made me nervous that they were doing some sort of slow-moving security check.  It was 12:30, so we had some time, but we wanted to grab lunch and I was afraid we'd be in that line forever.

We ran up to the food court and got some Pizza Hut personal pans, then ran back down to stand in line.  We were there for a few minutes when it suddenly began to move and the line was resolved within minutes, like it never happened.  I still don't know what the hold-up was; I've never seen a line for a train at Union Station before like that.  Once in, we sat in the waiting area for a bit until we heard some announcement for a Sleeper passenger lounge that we didn't remember/know existed.

Sleeper Car Passenger Lounge, Union Station

After that we moved over there, checked in, and sat eating our pizza and enjoying the free soda they have.  It's MUCH more comfortable and quiet over there.  We sat at a table with a nice retired couple (which would become a trend), who were eating hot dogs.  It was pretty crowded even though it was more plush.

After a short wait, our train was boarding.  We got on and got situated in our roomette, which was okey dokey.  Our sleeper car attendant was Johnny, who was awesome and a lot of fun. We were home-free at this point, so we stretched out as best we could and enjoyed the ride.

Laid back in the roomette

Dinner was exciting since it was our first meal on the train.  I think we both had the steak.  We sat with a nice retired couple, who were on their way back from a wedding I think.  Everyone loved us because we'd just gotten married and were on our honeymoon.  I think we might have played a game or two before getting to bed.

Dining car

That night we went through Nebraska, and I had trouble staying asleep.  I was on the bottom, Nick was on top bunk.  I think he didn't sleep solidly either, and the next day we agreed to switch.

That's it for day one!  Nothing too exciting, mostly just unwinding.  Stay tuned for more!