Midwest & More Road Trip Discussion (Pre-departure)

[YFlower]

I liked Wow Bao for a quick snack/lunch/grab-on-the-go kind of place.

Bon voyage and safe travels!

[HostDave]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[FeAudrey]

Amtrak's "Status" report is showing slightly early arrivals for the Southwest Chief for the last few days, except for today -- about an hour late after traveling through several hundred miles of horrendous weather.

[HostDave]

Yeah, sounds fun, doesn't it It has been departing up to an hour late from LAX on a regular basis, but seems like they make up time somewhere along the line. We'll probably be sitting at the station for hours since we're being picked up at 3:30 for a supposed 6:50 departure from Fullerton.

[MemberErik]

Bon Voyage! I'll be looking forward to reading about your travels, I hope you enjoy the train trip, I knew someone who used to book a long train trip each year to get away from it all and do his taxes without any interuptions. I guess with cell phones and internet he wouldn't be able to do that today. Have a great trip.

[FeAudrey]

Some stuff I just thought to mention ...

A little Chicago geography (in case not already covered in your trip research):

Chicago has a gridiron street system. There are 800 street numbers to the mile, and the zero point is State and Madison. Addresses can be located by name ("Rush and Division"), by number ("1200 North, 100 East"), or a combination ("1200 N. Rush", or "100 E. Division"). There is a major cross street about every half mile; it will usually have a bus route running down it. The best freebie map is the CTA map (available at all "L" and subway stations).


Offical tourism:

The City of Chicago Tourism Information center in the Loop is in the Cultural Center (the old Library building, an architectural landmark -- mosaics, Tiffany glass domes, etc) at Michigan Avenue between Washington and Randolph (couple of blocks from theWit). The center has all sorts of (free) maps, guides, discount coupons, and pamphlets on area attractions.


Maps from Union Station's site (more station information there, as well)

Concourse level: http://www.chicagounionstation.com/map_concourse.html

Mezzanine level: http://www.chicagounionstation.com/map_mezzanine.html


In case of bad weather -- the Pedway! (underground walkways of Chicago downtown):

Maps

(simpler) http://www.spiegl.org/pedway/pedway.html

(more detailed) http://wvaughan.org/chicagopedwaymaps.html

Wikipedia (history and links):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pedway

[HostDave]

Thanks for the Pedway info. I've printed the maps just in case. Looks like the weather forecast has improved, so hopefully we'll be able to do all the walks already planned. But, if not, no big deal, we'll cope!

[Marybeth]

Have a great trip. I can't wait for your reports It will be so interesting since I've been to many of your stops and I'll at least have a point of reference. Travel safely.

[FeAudrey]

... Pedway info. I've printed the maps just in case ...

You can also walk through many buildings at ground level. Forecast for Friday is not looking so good.

Happy travels! Looking forward to the trip reports.