However, back to last night! For the third night in a row, the road gang were out grinding the main road that runs in front of the house. They begin about 6 pm and go right through the night!!
Ganache must have known that I was leaving as he decided to sleep on my bed for the very first time, the chirp that announced his arrival was rather lovely. This morning I was up at 7.30 to check my email and, sure enough, departure from Winona had changed from 10.11 am to 3.01 pm. So I went back to bed! A couple of hours and two emails later the departure time was out to 4.36 pm.
So we sat around watching the status of the train change at regular rates and mostly it was on the negative side. There was a short period when the time shortened but then it went out again. Meanwhile, we had some lunch, I enjoyed some more corn on the cob and the Apple Coffee cake was polished off, delicious!
It was hard to know what to do. Joe wanted to take me out to see where he grew up but as I would need some WiFi at times we could not really go! So we agreed to leave when the train left St Paul and this happened about 5.20 pm.
I said farewell to the cats about four times and had my final bathroom stop about the same number, lol! The two cowboys were totally confused as they had been down to investigate the packing and could not work out why I was still there.
I decided that walking to the Blue Line station from Union Station and travelling by that method on my own late at night was a no brainer so I booked a flat rate taxi, hence I knew what I had to pay. I rang the Amtrak number to find a few things out and did find out they have a complaints desk so I will ring and suggest they might like to pay for the taxi, lol!
At one point I even considered trying to find a flight from Rochester or the twin cities as there is a regular shuttle from Rochester to the TC airport. Connie helped me search but the prices put me off a bit and it would have introduced another variable into my journey as I always try and arrive in Chicago the day before I fly out. At least on the train I was fairly sure I would get to Chicago sometime in the night. It would have meant staying another night and disrupting Connie and Joe's Monday. Also, the sheets from my bed had already been washed, lol!
It was a lovely day although there was some cloud and a few spits of rain as we drove to Winona. It took about an hour and when we arrived at the station about 6.30 the ETA had been pushed out to 7.30!
So we went for a coffee and stood around waiting at the station, at least it was a pleasant evening, quite mild and not much breeze.
We spoke to a chap with a small pug dog, 13 years old and a bit shaky. He had come from Indianapolis and was supposed to meet his wife in Chicago. Once he knew the train was so late he contacted her and arranged to pick her up in Winona, about the same distance from home.
He said he would get home about 4 am and had a big day at work tomorrow. When he finds out what time the train reached Chicago I am sure he will be pleased with his decision!
The train from Chicago was due in at the same time but that was to wait for us to clear the station. Finally, our train arrived and after waiting for the people to de-train, we were told to board. Or at least we tried to, as some people were very late in coming down the stairs for a smoke break, I think they were lucky to be allowed off the train at all!On board, we were advised the ETA Chicago was 2 am so I texted my taxi driver to let him know. But wait, it gets worse, lol! About 9.30 pm we were advised that due to the fact we had a freight engine pulling us, an unusual occurrence, and we were arriving in Chicago after midnight, the engine had to be inspected! And they did not know this at Winona?????? The inspection would take about an hour so ETA Chicago was pushed out to between 3 and 3.30 am! So, I texted my driver again who by this time must have been regretting the fare, lol!!
Well the engine check, at Tomah, took longer than an hour so this meant an even later arrival time in Chicago, finally at 10.45 we were moving again! The driver put his (actually a her as I found out later) foot down then and the horn was being sounded almost constantly.
We had been advised that there would be no more announcements after 10 pm until 20 minutes before we were due to arrive in Chicago due to quiet time so people could sleep. I did manage to doze a bit even though some people continued to chat and others talked on cell phones!!
Finally, at 3.10 am we arrived at Union Station, only 11 hours 15 minutes late. Then I had to wait for my taxi and, while I was waiting there was nearly an altercation between two yellow cab drivers. Fortunately it did not come to blows but there was plenty of mouthing off. Made my hotel in good time and after a welcome cup of tea I crashed!!
I know they are trying to improve things by laying extra tracks through North Dakota but maybe they need to change the law that states Amtrak gives way to freight!! At least my flight does not leave Chicago until 3 pm tomorrow and with a noon checkout I should get a few hours sleep.
I will take this opportunity to thank Connie and Joe for a wonderful time. I did appreciate Joe taking me out for a drive on Friday and to the park for a walk on Saturday. I appreciated their hospitality especially when they welcomed Rose and Rich on Saturday morning and Connie provided lunch for all. I value their friendship and hope I can visit there again next year.
I sure love their fur babies with their different personalities. Willow who is so shy and also very beautiful. Ebony who is the elder statesman and he shows this in the regal way he sits and calmly surveys his domain. He would come to me and allow me to stroke him for a short time and then he was off. Suzi is so glossy and enjoys petting when she is ready for it and demands it, while the cowboys, Sizzle and Ganache, are great fun and good company for each other. I have quite a few notches in my shoe laces, courtesy of Ganache, I do hope they survive my trip home! I am sure the fur babies will all get back to their normal routines now that the strange sounding person has gone!
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