We had a lovely home cooked breakfast this morning, bacon, scrambled eggs and croissant followed by fruit. I had my usual morning cup of tea to accompany it!
I have had several cuddles with Apollo and he has let me pick him up a few times. Callie is feeling a front paw/leg but there is nothing obvious wrong, I think she is to go to the vet tomorrow to check it out.
We then went over to look at Dan and Cheryl's new house which is under construction and is well on the way. It will be a big house and has a huge basement, at least it is huge by my standards, lol! It will be a lovely home and I hope I get to stay in it at some point.
As occurred last night, we had a few rounds of Cribbage, I love playing cards and used to play Crib with my favourite uncle. Unlike the games I have played here, he played to win and it could get quite cut-throat, lol!!
We then headed off to Hagerstown where we were to meet Linda and her husband Mike for an early dinner at the Red Lobster. We stopped at a Walmarts along the way and arrived in plenty of time. Linda and Mike, who drove for about an hour and a half, arrived right on time. It was good to see them again and we had a very good meal in excellent company.
When we returned back home, we had a few more rounds of cribbage before I caught up on a few things, including my blog!
Monday
We decided to have a quiet day today and it turned out to be a good decision. The weather is still cool and was cloudy until mid-afternoon when the sun came out.
During the night, Apollo decided to sleep on my shoulder for a while, he disappeared but came back early this morning and wanted lots of loving. He went away again only to come back later for more!
After breakfast, we went out to get gas and do some supermarket shopping, we also stopped so I could get a coffee at a nearby McDonalds. As we were coming home I checked in on the TinyKittens webcam and Eve was very close to birthing her first kitten. Once home, we watched for almost the rest of the day. Such a beautiful cat and after a rocky start with the first kitten her natural instincts have quickly kicked in. The look on her face when she saw the first kitten was like, :What on earth is it?", lol, poor girl!!! She now has five gorgeous kittens.
While we were watching, I got the opportunity to take some lovely photos of Callie as she popped her head out from under a cover to have a quick look at the webcam!
Before dinner, Dan, Cheryl and I played a couple of rounds of three handed Cribbage. Later, eater a lovely home cooked meatloaf dinner, a
All four of us played a couple of rounds of cribbage. I could get used to this life, lol!!
Tuesday
This morning it was time to wash and dry all my dirty clothes. This means I will only have my travel gear to wash when I get home! We had a quiet morning and early afternoon and I the took a shower so I won't have to shower on the train. We had already planned to visit the Outback Restaurant in Martinsburg before I caught the train so we left in plenty of time.
It was time to farewell Apollo and Callie and there was good news from the vet, her blood work came back all clear. I do love the travelling BUT I also hate the farewells. We have some plans in place for next year, all being well.
It was a beautiful day, sunny and, finally, some warmth in the air, just as I leave! Murphy's Law, lol!
We reached the Outback in plenty of time and started by sharing a Blooming Onion. This is similar to something I had in Ohio at the County Fair. For my main I had a Filet Mignon and it was every bit as tender as they said it would be. We shared a decadent dessert, salted caramel over bagel with pecans, I think! I will sure have to get back on my diet when I get back home, lol!
With the help of Google maps we found a Starbucks before heading to the station. The station has some very old buildings, including a round house, and it looks as if there maybe some old time rail trips. There is also a Marc Train service through there.
We were chatting away and got caught by surprise when the train arrived three minutes early, lol! So it was a quick farewell hug and all aboard!!
We travelled through a lot of woodland and many step cuttings until the light went. Later we saw some isolated farms and tiny hamlets. There were many vapour trails very clearly visible and a lovely sunset to wave the day farewell.
Wednesday
The day dawned sunny although a wee bit cool when I reached Chicago. It was not a good day today on the travel front and I am afraid I have to give Amtrak and the CTA brickbats.
First of all to Amtrak! The train stopped at Pittsburg about midnight and there so much noise, people talking loudly etc, that it woke me up and I had not long got to sleep! This was followed by noise from overhead as some people moved into their sleeper, I was downstairs!! They were chatting quite a bit as well as making general noise. It must have been after three when I finally got back to sleep!
The sleeping car attendant had asked if I needed a wake up call and I replied in the negative as I use the alarm on my IPad. However, that was a total waste of time. Before 6.30 am, someone pressed the button to activate the sound that precedes a message to passengers, and they let it sound about half a dozen times or more. I was of course, sound asleep when it went off, grrrrrr!!
The fact that the train was running between 50 and 60 minutes late meant a late arrival in Chicago so the general wake up call was not really needed. We finally arrived in Chicago, 50 minutes late, and I headed for the Starbucks in the foyer of the Willis Building. I sat there quite a while with my IPad and just enjoyed being stationary again, lol!!
Second, the CTA! I left to catch the Blue Line train to O'Hare and ended up walking further than I should have to a different station. The walk was good but not having to take my large bag down two flights of steps. Once inside, I went to get a ticket and the machine does not give change so had to fossick around in my purse to see if I had enough loose change, thank goodness I did! Having secured my ticket, I had to go through to the station. As there was no CTA person in the area, the large gates were closed. Guess what, my bag did not fit, fortunately a young guy lifted it over for me!! Then down two more flights of stairs to the platform, another young guy took my bag down the last few steps. This is the train to the airport so such a surprise that people might have large bags, lol!! It is good to see that chivalry is alive and well!
The train was already at the station but it was very full and I was lucky to get a seat. The last straw was a young woman who talked loudly on her cell phone for most of the trip, she sang when we went through a tunnel and she lost reception!! This in spite of one of the messages asking people not to be too loud if using their phone or other electronic device!!
Once at O'Hare I waited about half an hour for the shuttle and arrived at the hotel before 1 pm. The good news was that my room was ready so I was able to go straight up. Phew, what a journey!! I think I will have an early night tonight as it will be a long trip home!
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