For the past 2 years Gina has planned a secret vacation adventure for the 2 of us. She doesn't tell me about it unless she absolutely has to... or if she gets drunk. Last year's Nashville trip was awesome! She really keeps her itinerary jammed packed and full of fun. This year she planned a trip to the windy city of Chicago! The one thing I did know about it was that we would be taking a train from the Cleveland Amtrak station by First Energy Stadium at the wee hours of the morning to Chicago's Union station. Now when I say wee hours of the morning I mean 3 am... yes that 3 am. An hour after the bars close and about 15 years after I could say that I voluntarily was up at that time. Now if you know me, you know that I love our RTA rapid here in Cleveland. Heck I actually love trains in general but here in Northeast Ohio they make it very hard to love trains. My guess is because either:
a) Everyone in this town is rich enough to charter private jets out of Burke so no one needs to take cheap transportation or
b) The price of gas is $0.13 a gallon and everyone loves driving and others who drive or
c) Focusing on the road for 9 hours sounds like an awesome time to everyone.
Either way, I get the feeling that Amtrak could care less about the city Cleveland. Heck probably because most Clevelanders and Northeast Ohioans... Ohioites... Ohiouns... don't even know that there's a Amtrak station in Cleveland. You knows us NEO citizens... if we aren't traveling by a large spotless pickup truck with balls hanging from the hitch, we must poor or ugly or both. I hate that about this area. It seems elitist and just plain stupid. Mass transit is the last thought on everyone's mind when it comes to local travel and investment but everyone complains about rush hour traffic on the major highways and the price of gas. We really do complain just to fill the silence between times we get to watch TV don't we? I know I do!
[I wrote this next part before I left so it's going to sound like I'm telling parents what it's like to have kids...]
Just saying that "I love trains" isn't a good enough argument especially to my potential audience --SO-- I feel as if I owe you at least a rudimentary comparison right?:
| Car Gas round trip (per MapQuest) - $108.60 Tolls = $37.90 Oil change I'd need to get before my trip - $30 Total - $176.50 5 hrs 30 mins one way - (doesn't include rush hour traffic, 7 construction zones, food stops, and potty breaks) |
Train 2 round trip tickets - $216.00 Parking at the Amtrak station - $0 Us both being able to sleep... Priceless Total - $216.00 6 hrs - there 7 hrs - back |
Plane 2 round trip tickets - $469.00 (Last second, I know...) Baggage fee - $60 Total - $529.00 1 hr 15 min - there 4 hr 30 min - back |
* That's just getting there and back and doesn't involve the travelling to and from that we will do as part of our vacation. That's just trading parking and gas for cab service.
So in my opinion a train combines the luxury of not having to drive with the low cost of choosing to drive. I see it as the best of both options! Plus the environmental impact and other hippy stuff. Really, I just think it will be an awesome story for when I get old and am too fat to get myself out of my recliner.
[Here's the real scoop on trains that includes 2 rides worth of experience...]
Cleveland Station: First of all, getting to Cleveland's Amtrak station is an out of the way adventure especially at 2:30 am. From route 2 east you take an exit right after the muni lots and then circle back behind the muni lots west under East 9th St and then into the station's parking lot. All sorts of fun when you're half asleep and Google maps is taking you through the sewer system because it's completely confused. This is no surprise though. If you've ever gone to a Brown's game you know the cluster f#ck that is the area between West 3rd and East 9th. Exits crisscross with local roads, there's a pedestrian bridge that is closed to pedestrians, depending on where you park it's easier to learn to fly than trying to navigate the train tracks/highway/fence combo to the stadium. Anyways... FIX IT ALREADY! Maybe something like this?
The station is a bit on the underwhelming side especially if you've been to Boston, NYC, Chicago, or DC. It's just a blah building from the 60's. Nothing exciting here. It's actually on par with other big cities on the route such as Elkhart, South Bend, and Elyria. Right up there where we belong! You check bags right when you walk in and you sit in beat up leather seats until the train comes. They have bathrooms and snack machines. It's very minimalist... but passable.
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Seats: The seats recline more than a plane seat and have more way more leg room... way way more. They are more cushiony than a car seat and have a little foot rest like a recliner does. They are still not comfortable enough to sleep well on, per Gina. I can sleep upside-down on a ladder so I had no trouble. My guess is they make them this way so that after you take a midnight ride on one of these and find out that they are hard to sleep on, you fork over the extra $ to get seats in the cars with the fold out beds. Understandable. I think the best part about it other than the extra room you get is that there's no divider arm in the middle to deal with. This makes trying to sleep a little easier... unless you're next to Gina who likes to "spread out" when she sleeps. Easily me in the pic to the left.
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Timing: OK, so this one I was a tad off on. I started out being a bit naive to try to make my point that trains are awesome. You're going to experience delays on trains. Amtrak doesn't own their own tracks except for their route from NYC to DC. You're going to go through times when there are backups going into major cities because of freight traffic. More freight money than people money equals higher priority for freight. If you don't need to make a connection, you really just sleep through it or you get some extra time to eat in the dining car.
Other Awesome things:
- There are electrical outlets in each seat so you can charge your phone or laptop the whole time.
- The dining car serves meals during meal times no matter how short your particular trip is.
- The common areas are great for viewing the sights as you go past or striking up a conversation with a stranger.
- There are bathrooms on each car so there's less of a chance that you'll have to cross your legs and do the pee-pee dance.
- No baggage fees and plenty of overhead room for your 2 allowable carry-ons.
- You never have to turn off your electronic devices. Suck it planes!
- No security screening... OK only the time saving part.
- Being able to relax the whole time. The views were great in most places. Getting into Chicago it goes through some sad areas though. I got to look at them all without having to snap my head back to the road for a suddenly stopped car in front of me.
- You really won't have a problem getting around without a car. Most vacationable cities are very walkable. Cabs, Uber, and Lyft are in a lot of large cities as well. Trust me, I need to walk a whole lot more. Deep dish pizza isn't a calorie negative you know...
Things that weren't awesome:
- The running lights in the isles are always on. They aren't the full blown lights but they are annoying when you're trying to sleep. Bring a sleep mask or something to cover your eyes.
- Wear layers. The temp seemed to be unpredictable so make sure you can add or remove clothes when necessary.
- If you have a connector in your destination city, give yourself 6 hours of leeway. You may just want to give yourself the rest of the day to sight see and make your connector the next day. Like I said above, you're going to be delayed.
- Bring pillows. The seats are comfy but it's not a Craftmatic model II. Gina bought one of those neck pillows and it worked for me pretty well. We also brought another pillow that helped out.
- If you get annoyed by sounds easily while you are trying to sleep, bring ear plugs. The noise level is comparable to a plane but each stop brings awake people who are trying to settle in. I was fine with it... Gina was not.
Other Things to Note:
All-in-all I think it was a great experience and a memorable part of this year's wonderful secret getaway. I'm certain that I will take a train again and will be happy to do so. It took some of the stress out of travel which was really all we could have asked for. Look for more posts on my trip to Chicago in upcoming weeks. Enjoy your weekend Cleveland! Love ya like a brother from another mother.
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| A shot I snapped on the way back home. This is in the Sandusky area. |
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