Days 16, 17, 18, & 19 - Sep 17, 18, 19, &20 The train ride back home

Luckily Hurricane Lee was just a mild windstorm for us in Topsham Maine so no delays the next day for our departure. We were very sad to leave but time to board the train and begin our 4 days ride all the way back to Portland OR. We started with a 3-hour ride on the Downeaster that runs between Brunswick Maine and Boston MA. In Boston the train came into the "North Station" and we needed to get to the Back Bay station for our next train the "Lake Shore Limited". This was reverse of our travels to Maine so we were 'old hands' at getting on the MTA between stations.  We did not see "Charlie" on the MTA but we did need to purchase "Charlie" cards to pay our fare. 



The "Lake Shore Limited" is an overnight run that goes from Boston to Chicago, so this was our first time to check out an Amtrak sleeper Bedroom. On our past overnight train travels we have gotten the "Roomette" but we have grown out of that and needed more space and our own bathroom. So we upgraded to the full bedroom. Still very cozy but made the trip so much more comfortable, and we are going to be on the train for 4 days!





In Chicago we had a 4-hour layover until our next train, so we went walk-about. And strolled a little bit over a mile to Lake Michigan all the while wondering at the tall buildings and architecture. I found Chicago to be more impressive in architecture than NYC and the city had a completely different vibe. Maybe because in NYC we were in the tourist area of Times Square and in Chicago we were in the business district. 

The Amtrak station in Chicago

Walking toward the lake with "The El" going by.






Suan at the Lake

We boarded the "Empire Builder" at 3pm, found our room, and this train terminates in Portland OR. We were on the train from Monday afternoon until Wednesday morning when we arrived back home. 

Here are few pics from this part of the journey, and the end of this blog. I hope you enjoyed the pics and travel log.  :-)

Stop in Minot ND


The lounge and observation car








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