April 8&9, 2026
On Wednesday afternoon we left New Orleans by train headed to Chicago a bit over 900 miles on an Amtrak super liner train. What that means it’s a double decker train with roomettes that provide a place to sit and then converts into bunk for sleeping. The space is about the size of a business class seat but is actually really comfy for sleeping.
We sat in the observation car to experience the sunset in rural Louisiana. The colors were spectacular!!!! Taking a picture was a bit hard due to the speed and shaking of the train!!! When we were at dinner we encountered turbulence that cause the food to go flying…lol!!!!
Soon it was time to convert our roomette into sleeping quarters which is a bit fun since you only have about a foot of space left to close the door. The rocking of the train made for a great sleep. I did get up early and headed to the observation car again to catch the sunrise in rural Illinois! It was spectacular. Traveling by train is so different because you get to see all the little towns and develop an understanding of how much of our county is sparsely populated.
About 9:00am we arrived in Chicago and headed to our hotel. I have not visited Chicago since I left there 35 years ago so it’s going to be an adventurer to see how it has changed. After settling in we headed out for pizza! Chicago is known for its pizza and we are determined to try as many of the top 5 that we can!!! After our yummy pizza break we headed out on the Riverwalk towards Navy Pier that provides awesome views of the Chicago skyline and we happened upon the world largest roof top bar and of course we had to check it out.
After chilling and enjoying the view of Chicago from the rooftop we walked along the river to Millennium Park home to the iconic Cloud Gate statue (aka “The Bean”)! The Bean’s reflective surface was inspired by liquid mercury. This shiny exterior reflects the people moving around the park, the lights of Michigan Avenue, and the surrounding skyline. The one picture that I took is from the inside and to me it looks like multiple faces. The sunrise picture was take early morning on Friday just after the rain stopped.
We had dinner at Berghoff an iconic German restaurant because you can’t have pizza every meal!
We headed back to the hotel after a full day of travel and exploring. Hopefully the predicted rain for tomorrow will not happened and we can continue adventuring!!!
Loving this new journey and the great photos and stories. That pizza looked awesome, just got up and I’m so hungry for one now! The beginning or Route 66 was moved just a few weeks ago (3/25/2026) to the Navy Pier, but for the last 100 years the intersection of S Michigan Ave and Adams was (is) the actual starting point. Thank you for continuing to share your best days ever!!